[ExI] the fun they had

[spike]

> ...On Behalf Of BillK
> Subject: Re: [ExI] the fun they had
> 
> On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 8:31 PM, spike  wrote:
> <snip>
> > ...But hey, I could make change for four hours and 
> > have the till balance to the penny at the end of the shift. 
> > Numbers are my friends.
> 
> Some stores in the UK don't have the modern tills that 
> calculate the change the way you describe.  I have fun 
> sometimes when the total is
> 2.83 by giving the operator 3.03 (and expecting a single .20 
> coin in change).  Some almost have a mental breakdown as they 
> stare helplessly at the odd sum of money I give them.

BillK, there is a trick for dealing with people who do that.  Actually
rounders are helpful to the till guys if they get numbers, I always
appreciated it.  But if the the till guy doesn't get numbers, here's a way
to deal: the total is 2.83, a British cat trying to trip him for fun gives
him 3.03, so he sets aside the three cents, does the dollar compliment for
83 cents, counts out 17 cents, adds the original three pennies perviously
set aside and gives the joker seven coins.  That'll fix him.

{8^D

> I sometimes make a profit on the deal if it is more complicated.
> Recently the total came to 7.52 and I offered a 10 pound note 
> plus a .02p coin (expecting 2.50 in change). After a bit of 
> hesitation, I was delighted to receive 3.50 in change.
> 
> BillK

The same trick works here too.  Knowing the dollar compliment often goes
with knowing the 10 dollar compliment and the twenty.  But not the fifty.
For some reason, that oddball bill never really did catch on over here.  Set
aside the 2 pence, make the change without it, hand the joker his 2 pence
back.  {8^D  Or if you want, you can sweep the three pennies, the tupence
and a nickel back into the till and hand him a shilling instead.

It can be a fun little contest between the cash register guy and the
customer.  The older customers would sometimes do stuff like this: a joker
might have a tab of 3.47 and give me two singles, a two dollar bill and 22
cents, just to see if I would choke.  {8^D  I didn't.  

It's too bad they have those computer cash registers today.  Now that we are
old, we can't play those kinds of gags on the next generation.  So how do we
pay it forward?

spike