(I go to the checkout and my total comes to exactly $6, so I hand over a $10 bill. The young man behind the counter starts pulling out $1’s, but quickly notices he only has three. He is also low on change, so he starts pulling out heaps to give me! At this point, I stop him.)
Me: “Sorry, but I really don’t want all of that change. Could I just give you a $1 and get a $5 back?”
Cashier: *blank look of confusion*
Me: *pulling out a $1* “Here. My change was $4, so if I give you $1, my change should be $5. That way I can just get a $5.”
Cashier: *after a long pause, looking at all the money* “I’m going to have to cancel the transaction and start over.”
Me: “Oh, um… all right. I guess that’s fine.”
(He takes another few minutes to re-ring. Then, he takes the $1 from me, looks around, and realizes the $10 is in the drawer and the other change he had started counting — but hadn’t finished — was outside.)
Cashier: “This isn’t enough money.”
Me: “That’s because that’s the change you were giving me. I gave you a $10 and a $1. My total was $6, so my change should be $5.”
Cashier: *looking more confused than ever* “I think I should call a manager.”
Me: “That’s probably for the best.”
(It takes a few minutes for the manager to come over. At this point, I’ve been there for ten minutes, and there is a line starting to form. One lady behind me only got there recently, and hasn’t seen the previous interactions. She is starting to get really agitated. )
Manager: “So, what’s going on?”
Me: “My total was $6. I gave him a $10 bill. He didn’t have enough change for me, so I gave him a $1 bill to get a $5 back. The $10 is in the drawer, my $1 is right there, and the original change he was trying to count out is that pile there. With all the money swapping around I think there was some confusion. If it makes it easier, I can take my money back and just pay with a card.”
Cashier: “No, we can’t redo a transaction once we start it.” *to manager* “Can you please count my drawer so we can start over?”
(While the manager starts to count the drawer, and I’m wondering why he could cancel the transaction before but not now, the old lady behind me implodes.)
Lady: “Oh, my God! I’ll just pay for her if it’s that big of a deal. Jesus, girl. You should have paid by card to begin with instead of wasting our time with your scam!”
(She rants for a while, and I just ignore her. Eventually, the manager is done counting.)
Manager: “She did exactly what she said she did. Just give her her $5, and in the future don’t cater to people who want special attention.”
(I was finally given my change after 20 minutes and upsetting everyone in the store. Was I the wrong one?)
