You Tell A Stupid Joke Enough Times And It Stops Being Funny

I had a regular customer who would joke about having printed the note all the time when I checked for counterfeit bills. At one point, the conversation went like this.

Regular: “Oh, the note is fine; I printed it this morning.”

I slid the note back to him.

Me: “In that case, I cannot accept this. Do you have a card with which you can pay?”

Regular: “No, but I’m just joking. You know that, right?”

Me: “You just admitted to trying to pay with a counterfeit note. I cannot accept this note — or any cash payment from you now. Do you have a card with which you can pay?”

As he got more irate, my manager got involved. But this was a rare manager — one who had my back. The regular did not have a card, so he did not get his shopping that day.