So how often does someone hand you a Ten and then after getting change claim that they handed you a twenty? (Insert denominations of your choice.)
Back in the dark ages, when I worked at 7-11 we were trained to place the bill the customer gave us on the register in front of the cash drawer, and not put it away until change had been made and the transaction was complete. Also to verbally acknowledge the amount, “That’s $7.83 out of ten…and your change is $2.17. Thank you, sir.”
I don’t think anyone ever actually tried to pull a switch on me, but following these procedures made it a lot less likely.
This was one reason I lay the bill given across the cashbox’s change drawer while making change, sort of a visual reminder for clerk and customer of what was given.
And this is another reason it is a good idea to put twenties in a special drop box, as another reminder cue and differentiation–if someone claims they gave you a twenty, you can open up the drawer and show them: “look, no twenty.” But if they did give you a twenty and you thought it was a ten (fat chance) it will be in there in the tens slot, and if they gave you a ten and claim they gave you a twenty, odds are it will be the only ten in there, since tens are relatively unusual. (Really. Shouldn’t be, but they are. I only ever had them immediately after getting changed out.)
I only had a few people do this, and I think all but one were genuinely confused. But, I know what I get and what change I give out because it gets narrated:
“So, a grand total of 8.50.”
“Out of ten, that makes for a buck fifty in change.”
“Here’s the fifty cents which takes us to nine and another dollar brings us back to ten, have a good one.”
This takes a little longer than the standard zombie performance which seems to be en vogue of just standing there with the register screen pointing the total at the customer and wordlessly handing them whatever change the register says to, but it’s worth it in trouble avoidance and as a customer gives a better experience, generally. I find it really weird when clerks don’t talk.
They have plenty of time in there to say, “hey, I gave you a twenty!” In which case I can point out the ten still laying across my change drawer that they gave me, since I don’t put that away until I shut the drawer.
Actually this once happened to me, in reverse. I gave the cashier a twenty, she put it in her drawer and gave me change for a ten. Of course she thought I was scamming her. We had to get the manager to count her cash before they believed me.
A common enough one pulled by chancers on naive barmen in Britain. Tortuga’s method, distilled (hah), worked fine, which is whenever you got a twenty, say ‘that’s twenty, thanks’. Enough to put them off trying their luck. Nothing else was needed. And if they bought one pint with a tenner, handed you a tenner and claimed it was a five, just laugh at them.
That said, mistakes are made. In pubs I’ve drunk in regularly, I’ve had staff I know well get it wrong, and as soon as you mention ‘that was a twenty’, their reaction is ‘oh shit, so it was’. Which helps reinforce the belief that if somebody tells you it was a twenty and you remain sure it was ten, you’re right.
When I worked at a Staples in rural Ohio, I had a few cases where people would come in to try to pull this. As others have mentioned, we were always trained to leave the money on the counter, clearly state the amount given, and then count back change.
A popular trick they would attempt would be to get hold of a 50 or 100 note, write something on the border, usually a phone number, and then work in pairs. The first person would come in, buy something worth a little under 50 or 100 dollars, and pay with the marked note. Very shortly after, the partner would come in, buy something, pay with a 5 or a 10, and then claim they paid with the larger note. As proof they would protest, “But, I can prove it! It had ‘552-2616 Call Me!’ written on it!” Fortunately, we could show them the note they gave us on the counter and then congratulate them for being only the fifth or sixth person to try that one.
That was in Paper Moon.
One tactic for the customer with a twenty is to hand it over and say, “there’s a twenty” or something clear to that effect.
Now there’s also a con the customer can use with this same tactic. It might only work fifteen percent of the time, but when caught they just laugh off their “mistake”. The con hands the clerk a ten (mostly obscured by the hand - but natural looking) and in the same motion touches the clerks hand while stating the denomination. This can be with the hand the bill is in, or the other hand (though that’s harder to make natural looking). The idea is that the clerk is shocked at being touched. They aren’t used to it, and a gear involuntarily locks up in their brain - which makes them more open to suggestion. Cons try this at casinos because you aren’t allow to touch the dealer at all. The dealer’s head spins thinking of how to explain the rules to this apparent rube, and the cons suggests that he bet a hundred dollar chip or whatever. Lot’s of risk at a casino, but at the gas station a con can just laugh and claim he grabbed the wrong bill.
It was, wasn’t it? Apparently it was a popular movie in central Ohio.
Thankfully, nobody conned widows into paying for bibles
An automatic register at Wal-Mart did that to me recently-completely ignored the 2nd $20 I stuck in. The attendant on duty went in the back (presumably to check the video), and I eventually got credit for the $20.
Which was based on the book Addie Pray. It helps when you have a cute little girl crying about the bill her grandma gave her for her birthday and the mean old cashier won’t give it back. Management comes running right away to make things right and dry her tears.
I once handed over a ten and the casher, who was flirting with the bag boy, rang up a twenty and gave me change.
I also once handed over a ten, the cashier rang up $100 and started handing me twenties!
When I woked retail, I was also taught to put the bill the customer gave me in plain sight–usually on top of the till. I worked a casino change cart once as well, and putting the customer’s bill in plain sight while making change was SOP. Never had a problem.
I got in a cab once and the driver had a bill in his hand. I asked him about it and he put it away, but he said that he always keeps the bill of the previous customer in his hand until he drives away. That way if they claim they handed him a $20 when it was a ten, he still has the actual bill and it never left their sight. He said he used to get scammed all the time when he put it in his money pouch at the same time he got out change.
It’s happened to me personally maybe 6 or 7 times. I was actually wrong on one of those occasions - lady gave me a 20, I thought it was a ten, she pumped her gas and left in a fury because I only gave her $10 worth. I was CERTAIN that I was right, until I figured it out later. It was resolved, and I apologized profusely. Probably my most embarrassing moment in 20 years of retail work. The other times have been mistakes or scam attempts by the customer.
Joe
I don’t work retail, but do collect a door/cover charge a couple times a week. I’ve sort of developed my own system for keeping track of what the customer has paid.
I hold the “bank” in my left hand, between thumb and index, sorted to be all facing the same and in numerical order, largest bills on the bottom. Whatever I get handed, goes on the bottom, stuck between my middle and ring fingers until I’ve given any change and stamped their hands. Then it gets put into its correct spot, either into the bank or just slipped onto the bottom if it’s a large bill. Anything over a $20 and I’ll count out the change when giving it back.
I’ve had people try to hustle me every once in a while, usually without luck.
It’s not the same as retail, however, there’s no real checks or balances to what I take in, other than replacing the starting “bank”, nor is there any way to verify what the customer gave me. I’m trusted by the owners to keep track and be honest.
I’ve been known to make a mistake, and if the customer’s polite about it, I’ll usually give the the benefit of the doubt, but if they’re being a jerk, I’ll peel off a five, stuff it into their hand and throw them out.
I once gave a cashier a 10 at the supermarket and she gave me change back for a twenty. I tried to explain that she made a mistake and she informed me she didn’t make mistakes. I tried again and she cut me off again so I took the change and left. I still feel a little bad that I didn’t go to the service counter and give the extra ten back but by that time I was pissed off.
I was recently shocked — SHOCKED I say! — when the cashier at a fast food joint counted my change back to me from the amount of the bill up to the amount of cash I’d handed her. It was the way I’d been trained to do it at my first fast food job 25 years ago and the way I subsequently did it at every other cashiering job I had over the years. It always worked well for me - I think only once did I ever have a till come out more than twenty-five cents off, even during the one busy Christmas season I worked in retail and had tills with over $5000 in them. Most of the time my tills came out perfect at the end of the shift.
There was a Born Loser comic strip along these same lines years ago. The guy got his change, started out of the store, and then realized he’d gotten too much back. He went back and told the cashier, “You gave me the wrong amount of change” and the cashier replied, “Well you should have mentioned it at the time. It’s too late to do anything about it now!” So Born Loser said, “That’s too bad - you gave me too much!” As he walked away he looked directly at the reader and said with a smile, “Occasionally I win one.”