Cashier Class in Session
Stuff I hate November 8th, 2010
Any cashiers out there? Gather ‘round for class. Today’s lesson is brief and simple.
What I’m about to tell you is something you should have learned in cashier kindergarten, but bears repeating.
Ready?
When giving change to customers, always, always, always give them coins first, then place bills on top.
Why?
Because the customer only has so many hands. They need to put the coins in a pocket or wallet. By putting the coins on top of bills, the customer risks spilling coins as they attempt to drop them in whatever coin-carrying vessel they have on their person.
They are likely trying to do this with the other hand holding the thing, let’s say Lay’s Salt & Vinegar potato chips, that they just bought.
I repeat. Do not try to balance coins on bills as you extend them to customers. If you’re having problems balancing coins, what will the customer do?
The customer will spill them all over the counter and the floor, watch a dime and a quarter roll away spastically under a refrigerator, curse you under her breath and wonder why you thought that handing her a shaky pile of bills and coins as though you were passing her plutonium would end well.
So, to recap.
Coins in the palm.
Bills on the top.
Receipt when customer has deposited her change in her wallet.
Class dismissed.
p.s. For an insider’s look at the other side of the equation, check out the most excellent Confessions of a Cashier blog for insight into what it’s like dealing with the general public. This woman has all my pity.
Stumble it!
November 8th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
This is why I use my debit card all the time. I haven’t seen a dime in quite a while. 😉
Emily Suess´s last blog post ..Reflection Sunday- What I Can Do With an Extra Hour
November 8th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Cashiers can give me the change any way they please as long as they carry on a loud conversation over my head with the cashier on the next aisle over.
Next time one does that I think I will start narrating their actions in song.
“She’s weighing the bananas! Bananas from the tropics! Lovely ripe bananas, I wonder what they cooooooooossssttttt”
November 8th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Mom uses those plastic money thingys….we tried to grab it to order treats online but she caught us.
The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie
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November 8th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
BRAVA, Kathy!
And thank you for posting this! OMG, I can’t tell you how much that annoys the crap out of me.
“Receipt when customer has deposited her change in her wallet.”
Yeah, I love how they ALWAYS shove the receipt within the bills and coins, so when you pull out receipt, all the money falls on the floor!
Grrrrrrrrrrrr!?$?@!?
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November 8th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Long,long ago and far, far away in the land known as my youth I was a cashier for a brief period of time. The thing I remember most is learning to count back the change properly. Today mostly what you get is just a wad of change and the receipt just thrust in your hand. I guess we’re supposed to read the digital printout of how much change we’re due and then just trust the overworked, underpaid, cashier with the sore feet to give it to us.
injaynesworld´s last blog post ..injaynesworld its the Sunday Recap
November 8th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
I remember the day when every shop assistant counted out your change into your hand, and then handed you the receipt. In fact I remember when, in many shops, you only got a receipt if you asked for one.
Babs – beetle´s last blog post ..I am charmed again
November 8th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Emily Suess — I use my debit card whenever possible, except for one thing. I’m really prone to leaving it in my pants pocket and then you can guess what happens to it later, right? Comes out of the wash all sparkly clean!
Tracy — I would pay you to do that.
The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie — OK, little secret. All you really have to do is memorize two things: 1) the long account number on the front and 2) the secret code on the back. If you practice real good, I see many, many treats in your future.
Ron — The very first thing that my manager said to me on my first day of my first cashier job was “Coins first, bills second.” I don’t understand why cashiers don’t know to do this. Don’t they themselves ever buy anything? Don’t they remember how annoying it is to juggle coins? I mean, get with the program! The receipt thing kills me as well. I know it’s a small annoyance, but it’s so easy to eliminate!
injaynesworld — Yep, I think the burden now is on the customer to do a quick check of change and see if it matches what’s on the digital readout. Incidentally, I remember the day at my fast food job when the registers were down. The managers left the till open and said “Do the math in your head.” About half the staff freaked out and said they’d do any other job but do math in their heads. That was the face of the future then. Wonder whatever became of them.
Babs Beetle — I’ve read up on this issue and there are a lot of people who remember those days. I would think that’d take extra time now that no one has, neither the cashier, nor the customer. Whole lotta trust out there now, eh?
November 8th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I believe the biggest problem that causes this is the fact that most cashiers rely on the register to tell them the change due and then pull it out as they see it. So 17.52 as change due and they just start pulling the ten, 5 and so on and then top it all off with the coins. Sadly very few of these folks seem to actually know how to make change without the machine telling them what it should be.
I remember having to count out change and being responsible if I came up short.
I worked as a cashier for a blind man in a snack shop where not only did I have to count out change ..but there was no such thing as a register and I had to memorize the price of every item ..add it in my head ..and count change lol. I became quite good at that actually 🙂
November 8th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
The worst part is most wallets have a little coin holder on one side, and then the paper-money goes in another spot. My Mommeh is always in a panic trying to put all the money away, pick up her shopping bag and purse before the people behind her get annoyed. Usually she just grabs everything and juggles it all while walking out the door. Shopping is a little bit hard.
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November 8th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I don’t even know why we still have change. You can’t get anything for a penny any more, can you?
Nick´s last blog post ..Atoms Gone Wild
November 9th, 2010 at 12:40 am
As a fellow former cashier, I received the same training you did and the coins on top of the bills continues to bug me to death! For my own personal payback and enjoyment I like to give them a penny or a nickel AFTER they enter the amount I’ve given them. Their faces are priceless and I’m glad to wait while they struggle to try to figure out my change which is different than what the cash register is displaying. Handling cash is really foreign to this generation and it is very sad but thanks for the laugh!
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November 9th, 2010 at 1:44 am
I generally hand back the change first, then the bills, unless the customer has made me mad…then it’s the opposite. 😀
I also put up a gripe from cashiers about this very topic. 🙂
Cashier´s last blog post ..Giving Back Change
November 9th, 2010 at 6:31 am
kathy, it’s worse for men. often on top of the bills and coins, is also the receipt. a man just wants to put the bills in his wallet, so with one hand he is supposed to separate all three items.
michael molovinsky´s last blog post ..The Nickel and Diming of Allentown
November 9th, 2010 at 7:01 am
My very first job was with Macy’s and if memory serves me, we were trained for almost two weeks! I went on to many retail jobs and I was always grateful for such wonderful training. We had to count back change and then balance our tray at the end of the night…big doings for a young 16 year old. They also had secret shoppers, to see if you were treating the customers as you should. I passed, though the shopper must have been a decent customer since it is easy to take on the mood of a customer…good or bad.
Nowadays, most stores care about time; get them in and get them out. Do the supervisors monitor to check and see that the employees realize that they should talk TO the customers and not to each other, when they are waiting on paying customers? In their defense, are these kids taught to make change? I don’t think so. Civility and good manners are unheard of with so many people. When I was in retail I met more than my share of rude people and then, as a customer, I would meet clueless and rude salespeople. Unfortunately, there is plenty of blame to go around. But, I do think that if more people had the experience of waiting on people, they would be a bit less harsh. Just a thought, have you ever considered suggesting, in your sweetest voice, that the young person might consider giving you your change differently and why you are suggesting it? I teach and so many children today aren’t being brought up to think about how their actions may effect others. So many of them aren’t being taught manners…I have taught many of them about please and thank you. OK, I will get off my soapbox for now.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:43 am
Coins? Bills? I’ve heard of these, I’m sure of it. I just use plastic so I don’t have to bother with the cold hard stuff.
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November 9th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Sue, I am with you. I also got extensive training in the 70’s at JC Penney. The HR person/Trainer was Judith Viergut. That fact that I remember her name when hundreds of other people who have passed thru my life have become anonymous. She taught me well and I still think of her when counting change – coins first, then bills, then receipt. I miss that simple level of service. Cash registers (computers) today do not allow for individual thought. Just hand a cashier change to round up (hoping only to get bills in return) and see what happens. They freak!!!!
November 9th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Man I hate this! This always happens to me at the drive thru and then the change falls onto the asphalt between the car and the little window, it doesn’t even come close to falling into the little bin for needy children. What to do? You have to keep the flow of cars moving to the next window so you can’t pull up just a tad and then get out to retrieve your change, you have to let it go.
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November 9th, 2010 at 9:08 am
A very long time ago in a land far away, cashiers were trained to actually count your money back to you. So, if it was $1.75 and you gave them $5.00 – they would give you a quarter and say $2.00 and then hand you the singles, one at a time, intoning 3, 4, 5. That way you both knew that you had the right change. In modern (current) times, most cashiers don’t even know how to count that high.
November 9th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I hate giving change because I’m challenged when it comes to math. I would need to pull off my shoes to do the arithmetic. I’m so glad I stopped doing anything where I had to give people change. I’m much better at brain surgery.
Linda Medrano´s last blog post ..Its So Not My Season
November 9th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I did my time as a cashier and where I worked the registers didn’t figure the change for you, you had to ‘count it back’ to the person in their hand. If their total was $17.25 they handed you a twenty, you’d give them 75 cents and then say that makes eighteen, then nineteen, twenty and count the singles into their hand. (I feel old realizing that those people who were spending $17 were buying cartons of cigarettes…I think cartons come with APR financing and a credit check now…)
I used to read ‘Confessions of a Cashier’ and I had to stop because I was developing the overwhelming urge to talk her into finding a better job.
Shieldmaiden1196´s last blog post ..202-549
November 9th, 2010 at 11:24 am
If they give you the bills first, grab them between your middle and ring finger. Then, quickly turn them sideways and face your palm to the ceiling. Wait for change.
Poleethman´s last blog post ..Still Not Cool
November 9th, 2010 at 11:44 am
My question to you is – did your cashier actually know how to make change?
Pricilla´s last blog post ..Reflections on My Home
November 9th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
And here I thought they were doing it on purpose so I would look like an idiot. I didn’t realize they didn’t learn the proper way in cashier school. Silly me.
November 9th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
What I hate are the drive throughs and as you are trying to balance that change on top of the bill as you bring your arm back in to your vehicle. I hope every cashier reads your post because this has always been one of my little pet peeves 🙂
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November 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I really love those cash registers that have the change dispenser attached. It’s great to be able to pick up the change at your leisure instead of dancing around with the balancing act. In Japan the cashier doesn’t have to make contact with the customer. All transactions are taken care of in a little tray on the counter. You put the money down there and they pick it up then place your change in it to pick up at your convenience.
November 9th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
That is hilarious, and I honestly never thought of that – but you are so right!
November 9th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
One more reason why I love my debit card! No awkward money-juggling, as I try to step away from the register quickly enough to avoid being impaled by the buggy that the crack monkey behind me has been jamming into my heels.
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November 9th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Katherine — But even if they need the machine to tell them everything, can’t they still remember how to hand the change to the customer in the most convenient way possible? I’m impressed you could do all that in your head. I could maybe do it on paper w/pencil. Kudos!
Daisy the Curly Cat — Yes, Daisy. Shopping is a little bit hard. That’s why it’s really helpful to just click a “Pay Now” button on the Interwebz. No juggling!
Nick — No, you cannot. But you just reminded me of Penny Candy Fridays in grade school, when you could actually fill up a little brown paper bag with goodies for just a buck!
Sherra — When I see an opportunity to add coins after they’ve already punched in the first amount I gave them, I try to only give them an amount that they can easily figure out the new change for. You know, so their heads don’t actually explode all over the things I just bought.
Cashier — Thanks for chiming in and also writing about it over at your place. I can guarantee you I’d be one of your best customers. You’d love me. I cause no problems at the counter whatsoever.
michael molvinsky — I hear ya! And my husband has it a little worse, because he insists on putting all the bills in the right order (lowest to highest), and all facing in the right direction, before he leaves the counter. I imagine anyone standing in line waiting behind him wants to slit his throat.
sue — Thanks for sharing your cashier experiences. I don’t even know if I’d be capable of counting back change. Seriously. You are right. If everyone could walk a day in other people’s shoes, imagine the civility that would come out of that! I sometimes try to slip the bills out of the cashier’s hands and lay those down on the counter, then let him or her give me the coins first, then I pick up the bills. That’s the extent of my trying to end the shenanigans.
Surfie — And you don’t have to get other people’s germs on you either. Do you know that money is in the top five dirtiest thing we touch every day? And keyboards are worse than toilet seats. That’s why I scrub down any time I’m done working on a client’s computer.
Lynski — Can you imagine if Judith Viergut Googles herself and finds your nice memory of her? You’re going to make her day if she does. You’re right, machines do everything, but we still need the personal touch. Where did it go?
Jen — Hate that too! You figure it’s not worth going after coins. But it must be like a coin fountain for the employees. I bet they go outside at the end of every day and collect a couple bucks of lost change in the lane. It’s a conspiracy, I’m sure.
Joan — You’re right. And I’m ashamed to say I don’t know if I could count back change, at least not when it’s super busy. I would probably have to reconcile the register at the end of my shift and owe at least five bucks.
Linda Medrano — “I’m much better at brain surgery.” LMAO!
Shieldmaiden — The counting back thing seems to be popular with a lot of former cashiers here. I don’t even remember having to do that. Maybe I thought it would take too long? My goal was always to move the customer along as fast as possible. I’ve had the same reaction to Cashier’s blog. There are times I wanted to just leave a comment “Please, girl, get a different job.” But the blog is a great reminder of the stupidity of humanity and it still makes me laugh.
Poleethman — Excellent idea! I’m trying that!
Pricilla — She doesn’t appear to know, no.
Lanita — It occurs to me the cashier may know I have a blog and thought I might have needed something to bitch about.
ann — Agreed! And all the while they’re trying to hand you a drink, a straw and your bag ‘o food. They always seem oblivious that you still have work to do with your change!
Medical Assistant — Oh, man! Yeah, love those things! Although can you imagine how funky they are with everyone else’s finger germs in there? Always wash your hands when you get home. You don’t know where people have been.
absepa — Yeah, me too, except too often I leave it in my pants pocket and end up washing the card. I cannot believe it still works after no less than a dozen washings. Crack monkey. Hee.
November 9th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Agreed! Coins first, then bills. Now though I rarely use cash.
November 10th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Oy, I hate that as well. Yesterday I went to 7-11 to get a pop and paid close attention to how the change came back.
Coins ON TOP of dollars. GRR!
I did step to the side, slid the coins off, put them in my change purse, put the dollars in my wallet, grabbed my pop and walked out. I didn’t block the path while doing this, but I was annoyed at having to slide the coins off.
cardiogirl´s last blog post ..You win Mother Nature now step off
November 10th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Amen Kathy! Thank you for giving the cashiers of the world this MUCH NEEDED tutorial. I am so sick of dropping and subsequently losing my change when they put the coins on top!
Im off to check out the Confessions of a Cashier blog!
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November 10th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I’ve never really thought about how the cashier gives me change before but I agree with what you are saying. It makes sense.
November 10th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
AMEN!!!!!!!! I hope all Canadian cashiers are taking note as we have dollar and two dollar coins as well and they bounce like crazy across the floor…. 🙂
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November 10th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Eh, if they had common sense, they wouldn’t be cashiers.
God, I can be an arrogant prick sometimes, can’t I?
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November 11th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I have been reading that Cashier site all morning. I have laughed so hard my sides hurt. Some of the stuff she talks about I experience at my job, some people act so entitled I just want to blow my nose into their clothes.
November 11th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I just dump it all in my purse as I go. Usually I find money when I change purses out, and if I was ambitious, I’d go pull all the money of the ones I have used.
I get more aggravated by those that can’t effing count. The other day I gave the girl 11 bucks so I would get a 5 back. After telling her why, the insistence I gave too much, I finally said “Put it in your system. I’ll get back $5.36.”
She was amazed I could do it in my head *facepalm*
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November 11th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Heh, remember, Kathy, this needs to have a disclaimer that reads: “THIS IS NOT A TRUE STORY. Except for the potato chips. And the dropped coinage. And the cursing.” 🙂
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November 11th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
You’ve struck a chord. I usually dump the change back on the counter, put down the bills, then scrape up my change AFTER I’ve put away the bils, thus slowing down the next person and horrifying the befuddled cashier in the process. It’s especially effective at a drive thru when it’s raining.
bookmarked.
.end transmission.´s last blog post ..AntiSocial Network
November 11th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
This makes perfect sense especially at a drive through window for example. I’d hold my breath while taking my change and bringing my arm back inside the vehicle while watching the coins slide around on top of the bills. I just assumed it was me but now I know it’s not.
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November 12th, 2010 at 5:43 am
Linda — My husband has this weird insistence on using cash whenever possible. And I have read that it’s not good for us to use debit cards so much because you’re not covered for unauthorized use like you are with a credit card. Still. It’s so easy!
Cardiogirl — See, now I would have fully expected you to chastise that cashier and tell them that Kathy says NOT to do that. You disappoint.
meleah rebeccah — We need an uprising! Cashiers of the world! You’ve been warned!
Shelly — And now you’ll never forget it.
robert bourne — Ugh. Dollar coins. That stinks. Who can carry all that weight around? Well, maybe it doesn’t matter if you’re dropping them all over the floor. That’s one way to unload.
Knucklehead! — I pity cashiers. There’s gotta be a better job out there. Anywhere. Anything. Scrubbing toilets. At least there you don’t have to deal with people face to face.
Phunnieone — “I want to blow my nose into their clothes.” Awesome. Yeah, I love Cashier’s site. It both cracks me up and maddens me. I don’t know how she lives with that job. Honestly.
SewDucky — I hate that too. Which is why I only offer an odd amount to the cashier if I know he or she will understand that I’m doing advanced math. If I don’t think they can keep up with me, then I give them a break and take a whole truckload of coins back. Then drop them on the floor.
Jenn of Many Cabbages — Hee. Nobody would believe it anyway. They know me.
Get Off My Lawn — What I don’t get is when cashiers SEE us making all those adjustments to put change back in our wallets, why the hell don’t they use the coins first, bills second method? It’s maddening!
Stanthrax — Rise up and fight back! Next time, refuse the bills first and ask for the coins. We must educate the next generation of cashiers.
November 12th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Thanks for this one Kathy. I can think of a million other pieces of advice, not just for cashiers, but for anyone dealing with the public. How about, actually greeting the customer with a simple hello and do not just stare at the person until the tell you what they want? Oh, I could go on…
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November 12th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I think I have officially turned into my grandma because I have this little change purse now and I stand there and count out the exact change for every purchase I make with cash. It drives my husband and kids NUTS! But see, then I have more bills in my purse, which makes me feel rich. And besides, isn’t that what all that change is for???
Lin´s last blog post ..Targetcom still sucks
November 12th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Boy, you really hit on one of my pet peeves here. It’s the way I give THEM money, why can’t they do the same? And now I’m waiting for the NYT to pick up on this complaint of yours! 😀
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November 14th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
As much as I hate being a redundant commenter, this is such a pet peeve of mine and being that it is so commonly practiced I had no idea it bothered others as well. At times the cashier will hand me the bills first and as she/he is about to pile the change on top I pull my hand (with bills) away and make her/him wait until I have put the bills away. It annoys the hell out of them..payback’s a bitch.
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November 19th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I manage a fast food restaurant and have always been taught to it coins first, then bills. Counting back the change isn’t practical … most customers would be upset I was taking too much time out of their day. It’s classic though when the customer is digging for change after giving the bills and I open the drawer & start making change while they are still digging for coins in their hand/pocket. It’s like they expect me not to be able to make change without the help of the register. But I’ve never had to use the register to do math & I have no trouble making adjustments for the change you are handing me. I love how most people think fast food workers are dumb & couldn’t get a better job. I have a college degree to do what I do & most of my employees are college students. Sorry I’ll get off my soapbox. Btw it would be great if customers would give money to the cashiers coins first then bills … especially in the drive thru, but I think they’d rather glare at us as we are unsuccessful at juggling their money & the coins fall on the ground …
November 20th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I was a cashier for several years, and this was always the way I gave back change. It should be common sense. But out of every 100 customers or so, one always wanted it the other way…then got pissed when the change fell on the floor. Oh well, can’t please everyone.
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December 3rd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
The customers do it too. I worked in a grocery store and this happened all the time to me. I even yelled at a friend when he did it to a cashier.
December 7th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I have been busy doing a 30 days blogging experiement over on my blog, so I am a tad bit behind in my ‘reading’. Suffice to day…I never get coins, because I never pay in cash anymore. I only use a debit card. Coinage has not seen the inside of my pockets since 2008.
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