Your Count Has A Good Bills Of Health

I used to work for a convenience store in the mid-2000s. Before we had a safe drop system to hand over large amounts of large-denomination bills, the practice was that once enough were in the register, you pulled them out, put a rubber band around them, and slid them between the till and the bottom of the register drawer.

This was put in place after several instances of bills being up too high and getting caught inside the register, being pulled out unknowingly, and cashiers getting written up and nearly fired for coming up so short at night. It also deterred people from wanting to rob us, because it looked like we had far less money in the registers than we did.

One day, I had just put a stack of hundred-dollar bills under my register in between customers. Several minutes later, a man came up and paid with a twenty. I gave him his change and receipt and went to help the next person in line, but he wouldn’t move.

Customer: “You gave me the wrong change back.”

Me: “I gave you [change], which is the correct amount, sir. I can help whoever’s next.”

Customer: “No! I gave you $100! You owe me another $80!”

Me: “Sir, I promise you, you did not give me $100. Our only options here are for you to wait about a half-hour while my supervisor does an audit on my register to show you that I gave you the correct change, or you accept that I gave you the correct change and head on to your destination.”

Customer: “YOU ARE STEALING MONEY FROM ME!”

Though I wasn’t supposed to do so, I popped my register open.

Me: “See how there’s not a single $100 bill in there?”

I shut the register again after he looked.

Me: “I can help the next person in line.”

He grumbled and complained for another minute or so, but he ended up leaving.