Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Up to Their Old Tricks Again

I do have a love/hate relationship with my morning deli. After many years, they have finally gotten to know me well enough to make my coffee the way I like it without my even asking-- which is only a problem when I want to switch to iced in the summer and have to flag them down and say "Not the usual, not the usual!!" It always reminds me of some movie scene where you see the hero in slow motion, running and screaming "NOOOOOoooo" as someone opens the door where the bomb is hidden...

Anyway, aside from the coffee drama, and occasionally ending up with a bagel that is half whole wheat and half plain, the deli is great and the people who work there are friendly. But they still sometimes do this annoying thing of rounding amounts in their own favor. Today my bagel and iced coffee came to $2.93. I hand them a $20. They give me $7 back. I stand there with the change in my hand, waiting, and finally say, "I gave you a $20?" So they give me $10 more, with this odd look as though I'm a little crazy for wanting it. At this point I don't feel like carping about it anymore so I just decide to forget the 7 cents. But I think I will have to do a little psychological test on them. I'm going to count out my change and go in there a few times with exactly $2.85 (even if I have to use some laundry quarters) and just hand it to them with a smile to see what they say!

(I also noticed last week that samerwriter shares another pet peeve of mine about how most cashiers give out change!)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My pet peeve regarding change, in addition to the deli change "not-in-your-favor" that you mention, is recieving "stupid change" from a bartender or cocktail waitress.

For example, getting a pint of beer for $5 (yeah, yeah, somewhat rare now, as $6 seems the standard in NYC now, but still a few places). I'd often pay for the pint with a $20 bill. Bartenders would invariably hand back two bills - a $10 & a $5 (i.e. "stupid change"). Now, if I wanted to tip, I need to ask them to change the $5.

Good bartenders know to always give plenty of singles when making change; stupid change only hurts their tips.

Anonymous said...

How about this ... your bill comes to $13 or $14 for lunch at a restaurant and the waiter/waitress picks up the check with my $20 in the folder and asks "do you want change?"

Now I have no problem tipping $2 or $3 for good service, but $6 plus? I'm more irritated at the nerve to have asked, hinted or assumed that the tip amount would be the change from the $20, than occasionally having the option of leaving a good tip.

Anonymous said...

I received a Canadian penny the other day at a NY gas station. I mentioned that it was Canadian, and she said, quite rudely 'Do you want another one?' I said, "Yes, and American please." She acted like I was the idiot. She took the Canadian penny and put it right back in her register.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see I am not the only one who gets irked by change! As a part time waitress, I understand some of the comments above.

To note, I always try to bring back singles when I can and I never ask if people "need" change. I think it's rude and quite audacious.

However, keep in mind that most servers make less than minimum wage. I make $2.35 an hour. Tips are our livelihood.

Anytime I am waited on, I always leave $5 as a minimum, if the service was good. If its poor, then its your descretion, obviously. Sorry... I hate the $2 tippers on $15 bills (especially when they "need" 5 free refills)... gimme a break, if you need the money that bad, pack a lunch.

Rad said...

I agree completely. Most people won't say anything because they don't want to seem cheap in front of the rest of the crowd. I work too hard for my money and I don;t know anyone in this store, even if I did I wouldn't care. I gave you a $10 and I would like my $5 and 8 cents as well. Stand up for your change people! :)

Anonymous said...

Bronx Chica...OMG I hate when they do that! Sometimes I just stay there until I get all my change back. They shouldn't think that they can keep the change as a tip for making or ringing up my purchases!

uzvards said...

Hey, anonymous! You should hate a LOT of people, I guess. What's wrong with a 13% tip ($2 on $15 bill)? I would probably leave $3, but to make me want to give a 33% tip you'd really have to make me smile. Maybe we're using different kind of money here, in San Francisco, huh?

SavingDiva said...

I think your plan for the exact change is a great idea. However, I'm still a fan of eating my breakfast at home (or preparing it myself) because it's so cheap and I don't like to deal with people before eating.

I agree with uzvards. I usually tip about 20%, but I think $5 for a $13 bill is pushing it.