A Penny For Your Thoughts. Seriously, Use Your Brain!

(In Canada, we have not used the penny since 2013. Totals are either rounded up or down. For example: $1.52 would round to $1.50, while $1.54 would round to $1.55. Credit cards still use the penny.)

Me: “Hi. I’d like to buy these and pay with the store credit I have.”

Worker: “Okay. Your total comes to $45.20. The store credit is $45.19, so your new total is $0.01.”

Me: *expectant pause* “So, can I get my receipt, then?”

Worker: “No. You still owe one cent.”

Me: “Well, yeah. But that’s a penny. I literally can’t pay you that.”

Worker: “If you don’t pay, my till will be off. You have to pay one cent.”

Me: “Okay, fine. Then I guess I have to put the penny on my credit card.”

Worker: “You can’t. Because of the store credit, I processed the transaction as cash. You have to pay in cash.”

Me: “I don’t understand what you want me to do. I can’t give you one cent. The lowest coin I have is $1, but then you owe me $0.99, which you can’t do, either.”

Worker: *light-bulb moment* “I think I’d better call the manager.”

(The manager arrived and quickly overrode the message, handing me my receipt so I could go. I’m still not sure how the worker expected me to find currency that we haven’t used for almost seven years.)