Saturday, March 26, 2011

The art of counting change...

I just ordered a cup of coffee at the coffee shop (which will remain unnamed) in Mamassas. The bill was $1.69. I handed the barista $5.79 and he attempts to give me $3.10 In change. His cash register "does the math", however he didn't use that feature. I caught the error so he used the "change" feature entering $5.00 (or less than I gave him) and tried to again give me $3.00 and change.

I then gave him a "short lesson" on what Chuck Donahue taught me in 1962, a required skill for everyone in the days of mechanical cash registers, "the art of counting change". Anyone over 40 (or perhaps 50) who worked retail knows this simple math tool. I have probably saved myself a few bucks over the years counting change that clerks give me (catching the occasional error).

The take away: technology only works if applied correctly; however, make sure those who use it understand the math. Those occasional "change counting tutorials" really make me feel old.

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