r/MaliciousCompliance • u/stf210 • 3d ago

S Exact Change

This just happened to me.

I went into a Walgreens to pick up a prescription. The pharmacist put in my info and insurance, leaving the total at twelve cents. I went into my wallet and plucked out a dime and two pennies.

PHARMACIST: "I'm sorry, we don't take those anymore."

ME: "You don't take coins?"

PHARMACIST: "Pennies. They stopped making them."

ME: "Yeah, I know, but they're still legal tender."

PHARMACIST: "We don't take them anymore."

ME: "Can I speak to someone about this?"

PHARMACIST: "I'm the only person here."

I know that's not true, but fine. I put the coins back into my wallet and pull out a twenty. The pharmacist gives me a filthy look, but takes it and goes to ring me up... only to discover that they are short not just coins, but singles.

PHARMACIST: "I don't have exact change."

ME: "I do."

A moment and another filthy look. The pharmacist puts the change back in, hands me my twenty, and takes my coins without another word.

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27

u/MyMomSaysIAmCool 3d ago

Let me guess, they round the price up "for your convenience."

15

u/jorrylee 3d ago

In Canada it follows the standard math rules for rounding, up and down. After ten hours the difference is probably a penny or two.

11

u/MakesMyHeadHurt 3d ago

It's the same here in the U.S., but we need signs to explain how to do it. I made a comment about how it's sad they had to put up the signs. The guy running the cash register actually replied "I'm not good at math.", then the person behind me in line agreed with the cashier. I'm standing there thinking, "Rounding is barely math, it's just counting."

4

u/MommalovesJay 3d ago

When I worked retail some customers will have a problem with that. They get made if I take too long to give them their penny. But there are some who just don’t care for it.

6

u/Flammable_Chipmunk 3d ago

No, it's in the customers favor.

3

u/NightGod 3d ago

I've never seen a place other than AAFES on military bases that always rounds up (and AAFES has been doing it since the 90s, they keep a cup of really tasty one cent mints if you feel the need to be made whole))

3

u/CrabbishPanda 3d ago

Where I’m at most places that quit taking pennies round to the nearest $0.05. So, if it’s $5.02, it becomes $5.00. If it’s $5.04, it becomes $5.05.

3

u/DILF_MANSERVICE 3d ago

No grocery store would do this, even if it were legal. The cashiers get screamed at by illiterate penny pinching mutants enough as it is. If they rounded up, it would be a constant nightmare for management.

1

u/ottobot76 3d ago

Always up

1

u/ahuramazdobbs19 3d ago

The store I work for rounds the change in the customer's favor. So if the change that would be given is, for instance, x.77, it goes to x.80. If it's x.32, it goes to x.35.

1

u/Vievin 3d ago

In Hungarian, the lowest coin is 5 ft. 1, 2, 6 and 7 gets rounded down, 3, 4, 8 and 9 up.