Cents-less Mathematics

(I am working at a sandwich shop part time, and having been there longer than most of the other staff, the general manager trusts me to know all of the cash register balancing procedures, and even train new managers, even though I don’t have the clearance to do the steps myself. A sandwich costs $7. Chips alone cost $1.50, and soda alone costs $2. Chips and drink combo added to the meal costs $2.50. I accidentally ring a guy up for the sandwich and his chips, but forget to hand him a cup and ring him out for a drink. [We were chatting, and we got distracted.] Rather than swipe his credit card again, he has a dollar ready in-hand, but in order to finish the transaction I need a manager override, which requires the manager to open the drawer with a fingerprint scanner. [Welcome to the future, guys.] I call over the manager on duty, a new hire, and explain the situation.)

Me: “He wants to add a drink to make it a meal, so he owes us a dollar for the cup. All we have to do is open a manager override, do a price override so the soda costs $1 instead of $2, and in the manager notes select ‘Customer Satisfaction.’”

Manager On Duty: *brushes me off* “I’ve got this.” *to the customer* “Sir, I need your credit card.”

(She swipes his card, refunds the whole transaction, swipes his card again, and charges the total of the chips and the sandwich. Then she swipes his card again to refund the order, leaves to grab a calculator, adds a bunch of numbers together, rings up the order with the sandwich and chips again, and stares, dumbfounded, at the computer. The whole process takes about five minutes. All the while, the customer and I are just staring at each other and at her in silence.)

Me: “[Manager], the difference is one dollar—”

Manager On Duty: “I said I got this. Uh… that will be forty cents, please.”

(The customer hands her his dollar and gets sixty cents back in change.)

Me: “Why did you–“

Manager On Duty: *waving her hand dismissively* “You just don’t get it. It’s simple math. I’ll explain it later.”

(She never did explain it…)