Manager, Manage! Part 5

I work one summer at a local store of [Major Fast Food Company]. I work the morning shift as I have a second job in the evenings. One morning, after we have switched from breakfast to lunch, this customer comes to my register.

Customer: “Hi. I’d like [item], please.”

Me: “Certainly. Your total is $1.17.”

I turn around, grab the item and bag it, and turn back to collect his money. He gives me a $20 bill. I take it, set it across the till as we are taught to do, take out the $18.83 in change: a ten, a five, and three ones — note the order — plus eighty-three cents.

Me: “It was $1.17 and here’s your change. Eighty-three cents makes two, three, four, five, ten, and twenty.”

As I hand him his food, the customer folds the bills in half, puts the change in his front pocket, and then immediately pulls it out again. During this, I put the $20 bill under the drawer and close the till.

Customer: “Excuse me, you didn’t give me the correct change.”

He holds out the bills and shows me a one, a five, and three ones in that order.

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but I gave you the correct change.”

Customer: “No, you didn’t. You gave me a one-dollar bill instead of a ten.”

Me: “No, sir. I counted it out to you. A ten, a five, and three ones, plus the coins.”

By then, I have figured out what happened by the order of the bills. He must have had the second set of bills already in his pocket and switched them so he could scam me out of the $9 difference.

Customer: “No, you counted so fast that it looked like you gave me a ten, but you gave me a one, instead.”

Me: “Sir, if you’d like, you can give me your name and address. We’ll count out the till and if you’re right, it will be over by $9. We’ll mail the money to you.”

Customer: “No. I want my money now.”

One of the assistant managers has seen us debating and comes over.

Manager: “Hello, sir, what seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “This kid short-changed me. He gave me a one instead of a ten as part of my change. Look!”

Me: “I counted out his $18 in change. A ten, a five, and three ones. He now says I gave him a one, a five, and three ones. I offered to take his name and address and we’ll mail him the difference after we count the till.”

Manager: “No, it’s not fair to make him wait like that.”

She opened the till, took out $9, and gave it to the customer, who walked away with a happy smile and his food. She then closed the till, ran the count report, took both back to the office, and returned with a fresh till for me. She then returned to the office and counted the till. Surprise! It was $9 short.

After the store manager arrived and was told what had happened, he came to me and congratulated me for handling it correctly. I give credit to the assistant manager for not trying to blame me for her mistake. He then asked me — during the lunch rush! — to write out a description of what had happened so he could send it around to other fast food restaurants in the area.

Guess who had a discussion with the store manager about proper till procedures?

Related:
Manager, Manage! Part 4
Manager, Manage! Part 3
Manager, Manage! Part 2
Manager, Manage!