Making Change

 One of the first things I learned on my first official job in retail was to count change back. This should give you an idea of my age! ;-) We had to learn to do this because our registers did not figure the change for us.
 Today, the cash registers do everything possible for you, except maybe wash your hands. The need to know this skill has been replaced with a "fake count-back". You know what I'm talking about...it's when the register tells the clerk it's $7.88 in change, so they "count" it back to you - "5, 6, 7 & 88 cents." What's the purpose of doing that? I wish I knew...I mean, I can clearly see that the register wants me to have that much. But what happens if the clerk puts in the wrong tender? I usually see the "deer-in-the-headlights" look on their face while they figure out what went wrong.
  One of the reasons we had to learn to count cash back was for our own protection. Back in the "old days", we were responsible for any shortages that occurred on our bank, so we were extra careful in giving change. It protected us from customers that claimed that they gave us a certain amount, too, since we always called out what bill we'd been given. It was also protection for our customer, so they knew that they were getting the right change.
 How do you count change back? Here's a short lesson:
1. When you tell the customer the total and they give you the money, you say, for instance, "$15.62 out of $20.00." At this point, you'll put the tender in and the register will tell you how much change comes back (if you put it in right).
2. When the drawer opens, put the bill in the right slot, but leave the spring arm up. That way if the customer says she gave you a $50, you'll know it was only a twenty, 'cause that slot's arm is up.
3. As you take out the change, count it to yourself, starting with the customers total, and adding pennies to get to an even amount..."$15.62, 63, 64, 65"
4. Now that you're at $15.65, you'd add a dime (because that's next denomination) to get to $15.75, then a quarter to get to $16.00.
5. At this point, you start adding dollars to get to $20.00..."$17, 18, 19, and $20.00."

Hopefully, that explanation wasn't too hard to follow. Try it yourself at home and practice a little...you'll get the hang of it. Remember, it protects you and the customer.

Naming Names...

I just wanted to address the fact that I won't be naming any names as I blog about my retail experiences. Aside from the fact that I don't want a lawsuit, I also don't want to hurt revenues at any particular place. I mean, the reason I'm doing this is to help improve business! So while a lot of my experiences may be positive, and could help...the idea behind the blog is to help people understand from a customer perspective as well as a retail perspective, the way customers should be treated.
And just F.Y.I., Dorothy Ellen is not my real name, either. I currently work in retail, and do not want to be in violation of the social media clause in my employee handbook.
Just sayin'...

"Have a nice day!' - a variation of "Thanks?"

  I can't tell you how many of my retail transactions as a customer have ended with "Have a nice day!" That would be a great way to end our interaction except for one thing...most clerks use this INSTEAD OF "Thank you!" I'm so tired of people using this on me.
  Why is it that people find "thank you" a hard thing to say? I believe it ranks right up there with "I'm sorry" and "I love you" in the difficulty dept. But it is a necessary statement. We must ALWAYS remember to thank our customers for patronizing our establishment. If they don't frequent our store, we don't get the sale. If we don't get the sale, we don't make a profit. If we don't  make a profit, we go out of business and then we don't have jobs. So a "thank-you" is letting the customer know that we appreciate them coming in. They do, in an indirect way, provide our paychecks.
  Whenever I wait on a customer, I always make sure to thank them for their business. It's not a hard thing to do when you get in the habit of it. I've noticed that some customers are even surprised when I say it, but they shouldn't be. It's just that they're not used to hearing it very often. The other thing I've noticed is how appreciative they are when I thank them. This really does foster good customer relations, so make sure to use it every time. And if you want them to "have a good day" that's fine, too...just make sure to thank them first.