Change Etiquette (1 Viewer)

[Jason Boucher]

This is inspired by the $1 coin thread, but is something I have been pondering for awhile. When is appropriate to tell the cashier to keep the change? It obviously is easier and faster to fork over a $1 bill and be on your way when purchasing a 69 cent candy bar. I am somewhat troubled between the notion of being cheap (waiting for the cashier to break open a penny roll to give me 2 cents back) and appearing rude and arrogant (I'm too important to wait for you to count out 37 cents, just let me be on my way). Any cashiers have an opinion? Does it mess up the drawer count when the customer leaves the change behind? Would you rather not have to count out change at all? Do customers look like cheapskates when they stand with outstreched hand waiting for their 7 cents back? Not a critical issue, but something I have been wondering about.

 

[Scott_lb]

I worked in retail for a very long time. In short, when you count out your till at the end of a shift you have very little margin of error. In other words, you can't have a surplus (or deficiency) of money in your till that keeping the change would promote. Also, it would likely be looked down upon by keeping the change or having some sort of jar filled with change. A few pennies is one thing, but a jar with $4.65 over a few hours would likely be stolen.

 

[Brian Perry]

The answer is there is no etiquette. With rare exception, the cashier should have no expectation of tipping.

That being said, I sometimes leave pennies in the "leave a penny" bowl.

 

[Jason_Els]

The answer is there is no etiquette.

Brian mostly correct. Etiquette in this situation calls for you to patiently await your change to be returned. It is perfectly acceptable to count your change after it has been handed to you. You are conducting a business transaction and it is completely expected that you will tender a reasonable amount for payment and that the exact change will be returned to you. There is no expectation that you will be seen as "cheap" by expecting even a penny to be returned. It's your money and you are completely entitled to it.

Think if you tendered a dollar for a 99 cent item and they did not return your penny to you. That would be an arrogant and illegal assumption on the part of the business. It also throws off the accounting of the business possibly resulting in trouble for the cashier.

Tipping for good service at counters is not expected and, in any event, such a small amount would be seen as practically worthless. Keep in mind cameras in many stores monitor the actions of the cashier and if the tape is reviewed to show the cashier pocketing money you gave them it could lead also lead to trouble. With no audio on these tapes it would appear that you overpaid and the cashier is pocketing the difference.

It is best simply to accept the change, place it in your pocket and then drop it in a jar at the end of the day or add it to your toll drawer in the car.

 

[MarkHastings]

Jason, I know what you mean. I hate it when I am getting back 4 cents and I have to stand there while the cashier breaks open the penny roll. You DO feel kinda cheap standing there waiting, but I'd feel just as cheap if I said "Keep the change" (in my best Chad Sexington voice) as if I were some great guy who goes around giving cashiers 4 cents.

I can see where a cashier may get in trouble at the end of the day if the drawer was over by 4 pennies. It may not seem like a big deal, but I can also see a manager getting upset that the cashier (in his mind) cheated someone out of change. This would suggest that the cashier made a mistake and might make a more costly one in the future. So what you thought of as being "A good deed", maybe be more harmful than you think.

That's why I've started to just take back the change no matter how long I need to wait. I doubt that anyone would see you as "being cheap" for wanting your change back. As Brain stated, there's no reason for tipping, so every last cent belongs to you.

Kinda off topic, I LOVE it when something comes to $10.03 and the cashier says "That'll be $10". It happens more in places where the cashier is the owner (like the local deli). That definitely makes me a happy customer.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I stop at the same convenience store on the way home from work and buy a 44oz Diet Pepsi, which with tax comes to 96 cents. I always have a dollar bill and a penny ready to give the cashier so they can give me a nickel back instead of counting out 4 pennies. This keeps me from having tons of near useless pennies all over the place, nickels are a bit easier to get rid of.

I try to do something similar with every cash purchase that results in change that will cause the cashier to have to count out a bunch of change.

If a purchase comes to $10.23 and all I have is a $20 bill, I give them the 23 cents in change rather than get back a sheaf of ones and a pile of coins.

 

[david stark]

In the uk a few places have charity donation pots by the till so you can easily drop in your change if you are generous or just don't want loads of coins. In particular as a kid I remember the one for the RNLI (Royal Natinal Lifeboat Institution if memory serves me correctly) that had a RNLI boat in it and when you dropped a coin in it would hit the boat making it rock...