Gave Him More Than He Could Chew

(My uncle is the customer in this story. He lives in a large city in Mexico. On the corner of the street there is a small, family-owned convenience store. In Mexico, the smallest coin is .50 cents, the usual cost for a small packet of gum. Most of these stores give out packets of gum when they do not have change; of course, they usually ask if this is ok.)

Uncle: “I’ll take a quart of milk, please.”

Cashier: “That’ll be $11.50.”

Uncle: *hands cashier $12*

Cashier: *takes money gives back a packet of gum as change*

(The following day:)

Uncle: “I’ll take a kilo of eggs, a quart of milk, and a loaf of bread.”

Cashier: “That’ll be $62.50.”

Uncle: *hands cashier $65*

Cashier: *takes money and gives back $2 and a packets of gum as change*

(This happens for several occasions. The cashier would give him back packets of gum as change whenever there was a .50 cent difference. Then one day…)

Uncle: “I’ll take a quart of milk, please.”

Cashier: “That’ll be $11.50.”

Uncle: *takes $11.50 worth of packets of gum, and hands them to the cashier*

Cashier: *stares at him blankly*

Uncle: *takes milk and walks away*

(After that whenever my uncle went back into the store and bought something, the cashier would always give him his exact change. No more packets of gum!)