When It Comes To Coins, They Hold No Quarter

I’m on register when a woman comes through my lane with a small order; her total is only $5 or $10. I know I am low on bills at the moment, but since we are in the middle of the evening rush and since most people pay with cards, I figure I can wait a little bit before asking for a loan from customer service. That is, until she hands me a $100.

Me: “Oh, do you have anything smaller? Or perhaps a card? I don’t have many bills right now, and I would have to give you a lot of coins.”

Customer #1: “No, I don’t have anything else. Just give me the change.”

Me: “Okay, but you will have several dollars in quarters.”

Customer #1: “Whatever.”

I carefully count out her change. She cleans me out and I end up giving her $5 or $6 dollars in quarters.

Customer #1: “What are you doing?! I don’t want any coins!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I told you I would have to give you a lot of coins.”

Customer #1: “I don’t want the coins!”

The customer behind her decides to speak up.

Customer #2: “Then you should have listened when she said she would have to give you the coins! She told you she was low on bills, and you insisted on paying with a hundred-dollar bill.”

Customer #1: “She should have more bills!”

Customer #2: *Pulls out his wallet* “Here, I have a five. Give me $5 of the quarters and you can have this.”

They make the trade and she storms off. I page customer service immediately and say I need more cash.

Me: *To [Customer #2]* “Thank you for that.”

Customer #2: “It’s no problem. I’ll be paying with my card. And who knows, there might be a quarter I need in this pile.”

We ended up talking about our respective quarter collections while I scanned his groceries, which gave customer service time to get more cash for my till.