Change Scammer (long)

[kokopuff3]

Background: This happened this morning at about 3:45 am, while I was working in the drive-thru. The customer places his order, then proceeds to my window, where the problem starts.

Me: Hi, 3.55, please

SC:* Pays with a five *

Me: *Tenders his order, gives him his change*

SC: Excuse me, I paid with a ten

Me: No you didn't, it was a five

SC: I paid with a ten

Me: *calls manager over* I need you to count my till..this customer is claiming he paid with a ten, and In know it was a five

Manager: OK..*takes till, counts it* Your till is spot on, Kokopuff3..that customer paid with a five

Me: I knew it. Please relay the message to the customer.

Manager to SC: You paid with a five. My crew member's till is exact and it wouldn't be if she shorted you.

SC:How do I know YOU didn't take the money to cover for her ?

Manager (tiring of the whole thing): Look, I'm siding with my employee because the proof is in her favour.

SC: I'm gonna create a big stink, I'll be back *blargle*

Manager: Feel free, have a nice day.
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Me: As if I would sacrifice my job and good name for a few dollars..gimme a break

[malmalthekiller]

We all know you're slowly stealing $1's to supplement your income.

[kokopuff3]

Yeah..I mean nooooo..*shifty look*

[MaseMan]

If I ever work a retail job with a cash drawer again, I'm going to put the customer's money on top of the other cash until after they leave. Seems like it works in shooting down these scammers.

[Dreamstalker]

In my last job I was discouraged from doing that (cash drawer was located such that it's extremely easy for someone to reach over and the clerk couldn't do much). I managed it though. Once I had a guy pull that scam...a regular who had seen the entire exchange backed me up, Cool Manager recognized the dude and he was banned. For all of a month until The Jerk un-banned him and he got away with it a few times.

[Sapphire Silk]

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Me: As if I would sacrifice my job and good name for a few dollars..gimme a break

My Dad caught a bank teller shorting him in the act. He went through the drive through and withdrew several hundred dollars in cash (we were going on vacation), and counted it before leaving the window . . . $20 short.

Dad went in to complain, and the teller tried to say he gave the correct amount. The manager checked the drawer, and it was correct. Dad left unhappy.

A few weeks later it happened again, same teller, only this time Dad was actually in the bank. He made a big stink, but again left unhappy. But it flagged management's attention . . . and apparently there were other complaints regarding the same teller. Guy got fired, Dad given his $40 back.

Point is . . . some people will indeed risk their job and good name for a few dollars . . . and that's how scammers get away with what they do.

I always count my change. Errors happen, they are rare, and easily fixed. But if you don't count, you could lose some hard earned cash that way.

[kokopuff3]

@Panacea: I do agree that errors do happen, which is why if my drawer had been iffy in any way, I would have apologized and handed over the change for ten dollars. However, the turn around time from me taking the money was 30 seconds, I was in the customers view the whole time, and I live in the land of multicoloured money, making it pretty hard to confuse a ten with a five. That, and I had two cameras that show colour and detail pointing at me,which my manager also checked. The fact that the customer went just that little bit further to try to discredit me, prevents me from giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was an honest mistake, and led me to believe he was a scammer.

[chainedbarista]

errors can happen; i agree that the best thing to do is have a manager or shift do a till count, as well as keeping the payment in view (but out of reach) so the customer is less likely to try and pull a stunt (in the case of a scammer, that is). we all make mistakes, but when a potential scammer is in the mix, i play it safe and let the cash do the talking.

[Shalom]

We all know you're slowly stealing $1's to supplement your income.

"...Speaking of money, I remember a time when I didn't have any. As a matter of fact, I still don't have it... But before there was Benny Bell Phonograph Records, I had to work to earn a living, heaven forbid. So my first job was in a toothpick factory, and I took home samples. A couple toothpicks today, a couple toothpicks tomorrow, and they never bothered me. Then I got a job in a button factory and again I took home samples. A couple buttons today, a couple buttons tomorrow, and they still didn't bother me. But when I got a job in the bank and I took home samples, a couple dollars today, a couple dollars tomorrow--? Aha! Then I had no lack of troubles..."

-- Benny Bell, "Gelt, Gelt, Gelt" Bell Records 385-B, 1946. Translated from the Yiddish by yours truly.

[Hyena Dandy]

At the video store I worked at for a while, the manager told us to say the bills we'd been given so that a scammer would have more difficulty with that. Its harder to try to pull something like that if you're still holding the money and just told them what they gave you.

[MadMike]

Point is . . . some people will indeed risk their job and good name for a few dollars . . . and that's how scammers get away with what they do.

We had a problem with people scamming the blind cashier in our cafeteria awhile back. While I thought it was great that a handicapped person was getting a chance to work, I knew that people were going to do it. They'd either "forget" to tell the guy about some of the items they were buying, or tell him they were giving him a bigger bill than they actually were. The company ended up sending out a nastygram telling people this was going on, and that anyone caught doing it could be fired and/or arrested.

I'm not sure if these were people in high-paying positions or people in entry-level jobs, but this was in an office building. Most people don't picture things like that going on in that type of setting.

[EricKei]

Most people don't picture things like that going on in that type of setting.

Sadly, that could very well make it easier to do >_< I feel sorry for that cashier, I hope he didn't get in trouble for what the patrons did.

[Hyndis]

We had a problem with people scamming the blind cashier in our cafeteria awhile back. While I thought it was great that a handicapped person was getting a chance to work, I knew that people were going to do it. They'd either "forget" to tell the guy about some of the items they were buying, or tell him they were giving him a bigger bill than they actually were. The company ended up sending out a nastygram telling people this was going on, and that anyone caught doing it could be fired and/or arrested.

I'm not sure if these were people in high-paying positions or people in entry-level jobs, but this was in an office building. Most people don't picture things like that going on in that type of setting.

Thats horrible.

[underemployeed]

I laugh at the fact of counting tills, it only catches honest mistakes. Dishonest mistakes like say a cashier shorting you change and putting it in their pocket won't be caught because if your shorted $5, and its in that employees pocket without cameras it hard to prove. Bonus points if you have our wonderful cameras that snap a shot about every 3 seconds because in theory it would be possible to avoid having proof that you pocketed money if the stars aligned. Also, idiots like my manager will know it is a scammer and pay them off. 5-15$ "isn't enough to get upset over".... really when your getting an hour or two of my mimimum wage labor in 2 minutes it kind of bothers me.

Also with my register, it counts how many times I have opened my drawer and for how long. So setting the money on top of the drawer isn't an option best I can do is say what they give me and count back the large change. Keeping in mind to keep the biggest bills on top of the stack which would be more likely to get caught by the camera and as I have a habit I can now avoid most scammers.

[DeltaSierra]

At the video store I worked at for a while, the manager told us to say the bills we'd been given so that a scammer would have more difficulty with that. Its harder to try to pull something like that if you're still holding the money and just told them what they gave you.

This is what I was taught when I worked at Micky D's as a teen. We'd acknowledge what we got to the customer, and then also count "Here is your change from a $20...blah blah" when giving change. It really cut back on people trying to scam.