Today, a man came into the shop and bought a box of juice, which costs 60p pence. He paid with a 20£ note and a 10p coin, giving him 19.50 change. While i am always generally annoyed when someone uses such a large bill for such a small price, I rang it through with a smile. Then when I gave him his 19.50 change, he asked me if he could “have change.” I thought he might want more pound coins in lieu of a 5£ note. He did not. He proceeded to add a 1£ coin to the 19£ change I had just given him and asked for a 20£ note.  This confused me, and secretly pissed me off as he just gave me a 20£ note. So, as he held his 20£ in coin and note in his hand I held my hand out for him to give it to me. He didn’t. He just held his hand there asking for a 20£ note. His mannerisms were really throwing me off, so I clarified. I said, “Do you want me to give you a 20£ note?” He said yes, but kept pulling his hand away when I put mine forward. Finally, as a line was forming behind him, I said, “You have to give me the money” as I was note about to hand over a 20£ note first. He laughed it off with an “Oh, of course” smile. As I was counting his money he then gave me 60p in 10p and 50p coins and asked for three 20p coins, then joked, “Sorry, I know you’re not a bank!” He left, and Jess (my manager) piped in and said that last time someone asked for a long and complicated change order the till ended up being for a significant amount of money. If he was trying to give me counterfeit money the most he got away with was 1.20£ because I gave him back his original 20£ note and he my original 19.50£ from the change. The only additions were his late-to-the-game pound coin and 2 10p coins.

Jess and Ron thought he may have been trying to distract me while I handled the money to err in his favour. I’m sure I counted right. We’ll see when the till gets counted.