s/o of the "paradigm shift" and dumbing down, is it true tha

Last year my family went to Legoland. My brother and I stopped into one of the eateries and picked something up. Our order came to $15 and change (think $15.56). I paid with a $20, but when the employee opened her register, she didnt have any $1s left. So I said, "Thats ok, I can give you $1 and you can give me back $5 and change." She told me it wasn't allowed. The dollar bill amount had already been entered and they weren't allowed to make changes. The reasoning she gave me was that is how customers can confuse the cashiers and end up conning them. Im familiar with the switching of several bills thing...but I was seriously just adding $1 so I can get my money and go.

I have never heard of this, but perhaps it isn't as much that teens are too dumb to recognize a quarter, but to help foreign employees who aren't as familiar with our money system and might unintentionally give the incorrect change back because of similar appearance to their own coinage, with the values being very different.

Just a guess.

However, I have been bothered by the fact that too many young people can't figure out how much money to give back without the register telling them. And yes, I have given a coin or two extra in order to get back only bills, or to avoid pennies returned to me, and seen too many cashiers freeze and not have a clue as to how much money to give back. It's such practical math, so it ought to be taught. Granted, a lot of cash registers figure it out for the cashier, but there are times when it is a needed skill.

When I worked at a pizza place over twenty years ago, it was company policy that once your drawer opened you could not accept different currency. Even if it was $7.01, they gave me a $20 but found a penny after I opened my drawer I couldn't take it. It was absolutely because people try to short change you by confusion once you start the transaction. We ended up banning a couple of people from coming in as they were the reason the rule was in place.

What irks me is cashiers who have extraordinary fingernails that prevent them from being able to extract change from a drawer in an efficient manner.

The bottom of a till drawer is curved for the purpose of allowing one to slide a quarter or whatever from the drawer section quickly and without hassle.

If your nails prevent you from being able to do your job, something needs to be reconsidered.

Exactly. I'm sick of people wanting others to actually break rules that can get them fired. It occurs at my job all the time. When a customer wants to change info on their account or send a package to another address they have to verify the last four digits of their cc#. No I cannot bend the rules for you. They are there for your safety. Don't scream at me or tell me I am stupid. Argh.