Unable to break $100 bill, customer's friend gets mad

[BowserKoopa1]

I'm starting to have quite a few of these customers lately, as it seems like more and more of them are thinking that we are a fucking bank. I'm getting so sick and tired of it.
Last night a group of about 6 people come through my line, 20 minutes or so before I'm supposed to get off, and I was working on my day off because the company cut back way too many hours and I needed more hours.
Customer hands me a $100 bill, and I know I don't have the change to break it.
Me: Do you have anything smaller?
C: Let me check.
She checks and has nothing else except small bills which don't equal the $22 she owes us.
Me: I can call a Sup, but at this time of night, I should let yall know that they are very hard to get ahold of, because around this time they are closing down the other registers.
I call a Sup over, which we do by punching in a code at the register and let the customer know that I have done so, then we wait for them to come. Customer's stupid friend, or mother I'm guessing because she looked and sounded older, steps in to criticize me.
SC: Can't you take it?
Me: I don't have enough in my till to break it. As I said, my Sups are very hard to get ahold of at this time of night. It'd be easier if you paid a different way.
SC: You know what? This is ridiculous.
Me: Sorry about that.
SC: Oh that's fine, but now you can listen to me bitch and complain.
Ok, so now you're going to stoop that low and start cussing at me? Fucking bitch. She proceeds to scan her credit card, which would have been alot easier. She has a bunch of friends/ family members there with her, so I see no reason why 1 of them couldn't have just paid with a credit card for her and then have her pay them back, rather than going through all this bullshit. If I, the cashier, tell you that I can't break the bill, cussing at me and trying to make me feel stupid ain't gonna help. I can't pull the money out of my ass and give it to them.
Me: I'm just trying to help out.
SC: You're trying to discourage her from paying with that bill.
Me: But I can't break it, I don't have enough in my till.
SC: You could have called a Sup.
Me: I did call a Sup.
SC: You're not being very helpful.
Me (trying my best to diffuse the situation): Sorry, I apologize if I offended you.
SC: You know what, I'm done with this conversation.
They have 3 different transactions, and when SC pays for her stuff, I give her a big cheery smile and tell her to have a great day. She ignores me and her group leaves the store.
Maybe I'm wrong saying what I am about to say, but customers should have more than 1 way to pay. Its just common sense folks. You never know when your card is going to be declined.

[Amina516]

SC: You know what? This is ridiculous.
Me: Sorry about that.
SC: Oh that's fine, but now you can listen to me bitch and complain.

At this point, I personally would have stopped her, ("I dont get paid to stand here and get yelled/cussed at" - Ive said it before) but I do understand why you did not. They were huge assholes. I do enjoy making people explain themselves though, once they do get angry at me for something I cant change. "Ok, how would you like me to handle this situation when *specific item cant be done*". Its usually crickets or more cussing, which is my cue to go, but Im not manning a til like you, so I can usually break away.

SC: You're not being very helpful.
Me (trying my best to diffuse the situation): Sorry, I apologize if I offended you.
SC: You know what, I'm done with this conversation.

Once again, assholes. Im sorry they lacked common sense.

[pltkcelestial18]

Maybe I'm wrong saying what I am about to say, but customers should have more than 1 way to pay. Its just common sense folks. You never know when your card is going to be declined.

^^this

I've had people come in and have their cards get declined and have no other way of paying. Some of them are nice enough to step aside and let me get the next customer while they call the 1-800 number on the back of their card, but others will hold up the line and dig for money or another card or keep trying their card even though it's not going to change anything.

I had these two people come in and come through SCO. They bought just a couple of things. On my screen all it said was basically their card was getting declined and they needed to contact their bank or credit card company. When I went up to them to tell them so, they said they had used two different cards and it must be my machine. I remember thinking that if that were me I'd be calling my card company and not trying to blame the store for my card getting declined.

Also, it's not your fault you can't break a $100. No reason to whine and moan and complain. People shouldn't come into a grocery store or convenience store expecting them to break a $100. Did the customer handing you the $100 complain much or was it just that other person?

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

Haha oh yes. I've had this too. Never anyone as bitchy as that, but they are always surprised. I love it when they come it right at opening, too. Dude, my drawer is literally $100. I've had no transactions today. NO I can't break a hundred-dollar bill. FFS.

[BrenDAnn]

Try having a person come in with a $100 and be all "Can I have three 20's, some tens, a five and five ones?" Yeah...I had that happen today. I had to bite my tongue damn hard not to tell him that the name of the company does not include BANK in it.

[ADeMartino]

Maybe I'm wrong saying what I am about to say, but customers should have more than 1 way to pay. Its just common sense folks. You never know when your card is going to be declined.

No, you only need one way to pay - and that involves bringing appropriately-sized bills. If you're going to a fast food restaurant, $50 and $100 bills are inappropriate even in the middle of the day. I don't know how anyone can consider a $100 bill is even remotely acceptable late at night unless you're buying at least $60 worth of food.

Common sense even dictates that you don't carry big bills. Suppose a bank gives you a $100 and it turns out out to be bogus? (Yes, it's happened). You're out $100 if/when it's discovered. A counterfeit $20? Not nearly as bad. Same goes for if you happen to drop a bill by accident. And in how many places do you really spend $100 or more at a time, really? Large totals like that should be on a charge/debit card or paid by check. $100 bills are dinosaurs, just like the penny, and they need to go away.

[WoodenSunshine]

Haha oh yes. I've had this too. Never anyone as bitchy as that, but they are always surprised. I love it when they come it right at opening, too. Dude, my drawer is literally $100. I've had no transactions today. NO I can't break a hundred-dollar bill. FFS.

I had this happen to me at Big Retail Store. A guy was buying some $20 at open with a hundred. He had no other way to pay. I had to get management to break the hundred and get me change (I think our drawers had fifty in change first thing). The guy did look apologetic, but seriously?!

[XCashier]

$100 bills are dinosaurs, just like the penny, and they need to go away.

I do agree, but I'd be very surprised if they ever did go away. The American people won't accept a dollar coin, just try getting them to part with their precious pennies and big bills.

Though it is true that we've had larger bills in the past, and those eventually went by the wayside, so there's hope. Who knows, with the increasing popularity of debit cards, they may just finally get rid of cash altogether.

[Lady_Foxfire]

The only time I'm happy to see a $100 bill is when the customer's buying a money order. Those are cash only, and I would rather count a stack of big bills than a stack of $20s. But most of the time, when a customer gives me a big bill they're buying like $20 worth of stuff, and I have to explain to them that most gas stations have rules about not keeping more than $100 in the till during third shift.

[Writer Cath]

Been there

I'm starting to have quite a few of these
Maybe I'm wrong saying what I am about to say, but customers should have more than 1 way to pay. Its just common sense folks. You never know when your card is going to be declined.

I had a similar experience.

I was working at a coffee shop drive through. It was around two in the morning. This woman pulls up to the drive-through and asks me to make change for a hundred dollar bill.

Since it was so late, we didn't have that kind of spare cash on us, so I said we couldn't do it.

Naturally being told "no" is an affront to nature itself, but this lady, oh this lady she gets an idea. A wonderful, brilliant, sinister idea, an idea so brilliant that she should be awarded a Nobel Prize for deviousness. Machiavelli would be impressed with her cleverness.

She says "I would like to buy one Timbit."

A Timbit costs less than twenty cents.

When I told her she wasn't getting her change or her Timbit, she drove off.

[Grendus]

Used to get this all the time at MalMart. Usually it was people trying to withdraw their welfare money (it was on the poorer side of town) all at once by asking for $100 cash back on multiple small food stamp purchases. Not usually a problem except when they would all come in at midnight when we swapped out the till and their food stamps hit, pay with nothing but food stamp cards, and keep getting cash back. The worst was the lady who wanted $100 back in fives. I gave her what I could spare (think it was forty) in fives and the rest in twenties and very respectfully suggested that in the future if she needed a specific mix of bills she should ask a bank. She got mortally offended, informed me that she had never had a cashier be so rude to her, and stormed out. I kinda felt bad, as I did have enough fives, but that would have cleaned me out and getting a manager to break a hundred or a few twenties could take upwards of half an hour. I just couldn't justify inconveniencing my already long line by giving them all to her.

[EricKei]

The American people won't accept a dollar coin, just try getting them to part with their precious pennies and big bills.

I can only speak for myself, but I would love to see dollar coins (and get rid of pennies while you're at it!) -- the problem is, the government has re-designed the dollar coins we DO have a few times amidst complaints that they look and feel too much like quarters. Their response, thus far, is to come up with new designs that look and feel MORE like discolored quarters. ARRRRRRRRRGH

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I can only speak for myself, but I would love to see dollar coins (and get rid of pennies while you're at it!) -- the problem is, the government has re-designed the dollar coins we DO have a few times amidst complaints that they look and feel too much like quarters. Their response, thus far, is to come up with new designs that look and feel MORE like discolored quarters. ARRRRRRRRRGH

I'd actually like less coins thanks. I do keep a bit of cash on me, with plenty of ones, and having all those ones be COINS would be obnoxious. I have experienced it, the T ticket machines in Boston give out dollar coins as change when you're loading up your charlie card. I do not like them. I honestly think we should just figure out a way to get rid of coins except for maybe quarters.

[shopgirl15]

I can only speak for myself, but I would love to see dollar coins (and get rid of pennies while you're at it!) -- the problem is, the government has re-designed the dollar coins we DO have a few times amidst complaints that they look and feel too much like quarters. Their response, thus far, is to come up with new designs that look and feel MORE like discolored quarters. ARRRRRRRRRGH

I've never had a problem paying in dollar coins or giving out change in dollar coins. Lucky me I guess.

[EricKei]

AW - fair enough. I meant the coins as something to exist alongside bills, not take their place.