Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Making Change

or My Two Cents



Long ago and far, far away in another time and place, people knew how to give you change. You gave them money (bills and coins) to pay for something and they gave you back change in a very organized and easy to hold way. That doesn't happen today. Today, you get change in a disorganized, easy to drop way.

Used to be that there weren't cash registers that automatically calculated the change that was due back and the clerk had to actually count it out. They started with the amount that was due and counted the rest into your hand starting with the smallest domination until they reached the amount that you gave them. What you ended up with was an assurance that you were getting the right amount back and a tidy pile of coins in your hand with any bills on top of them. It was easy to grip the coins while you were putting any bills away. It all made perfect sense.

Today, the amount of change that is do back is calculated by the register and the clerk puts the whole pile in your hand at once with bills on the bottom and coins on the top. If you stop to count it, others in line behind you get annoyed that you're holding things up, and then you're lucky if the coins don't slide off the bills before you get them put away.

I don't know why we've gone to new this method, when the other way was so easy and so much more user friendly. I long for yesteryear.