OMG! How do you not know...

[Aaron]

Simple math when you are a cashier? I feel bad for the people who work at a local drive-thru. I just went over there to pick up some lunch. The lady told me my meal was $5.71. I handed her a $20. Then all hell broke loose. The computer didn't do something right, so it didn't tell her what the change would be. It took me a minute to figure out the problem. I figured it out when she called for some help. So now I had two ladies trying to figure out what change to give me... I politely told them that they owed me $14.29. They wouldn't believe me. It took a manager to come over and help them both. I can't believe that people cannot do simple math! I think I learned addition and subtraction back in 1st grade....

[Budman]

I hear ya...

[scottycards]

I just want to know how many times you double checked your math in your post so that you didn't get :bbq: 'd by da math police here.

Yeah, no kidding on the change thing. I had a similar experience this morning.........

[jeeplvr79]

happens more often then not... but the look on their face :eek: when the computer malfuctions is priceless. :D

[CapnCrunch]

Just imagine the looks on their faces if you had handed them $20.71. http://www.fivethirty.com/images/notooth.gif

[UrbanCowboy]

Their head would certainly explode

[clemsonkrawler]

Just imagine the looks on their faces if you had handed them $20.71. http://www.fivethirty.com/images/notooth.gif

$20.75 is more fun... they cant ever figure that sh!t out, hehehe.

[scottycards]

Just imagine the looks on their faces if you had handed them $20.71. http://www.fivethirty.com/images/notooth.gif

A fun one is to just give them some random amount of change in addition to the twenty- whether it makes sense or not.

The "does not compute" look is super funny to watch. That, or they'll just mindlessly punch in the amount tendered and hand you the .42 right back, without ever noticing.

It's kinda mean to do, but funny nonetheless.......:shrug:

[Aaron]

I just want to know how many times you double checked your math in your post so that you didn't get :bbq: 'd by da math police here.

LMAO... I didn't even think about my math when I was writing this. But they sure had me guessing when they didn't believe me at the counter...


I do quite a bit of math for a living but doesn't everyone?

[scottycards]

I do quite a bit of math for a living but doesn't everyone?

I'm in sales. I can figure your discount, then figure it with early pay incentives, your annual volume rebate, and advertising allowance- all while your write your order and I'm sitting across from you reading the order upside down..........:D

[MinesJeep]

I can solve differential equations in my head does that count? Cause I sure as hell can't do 20-5.71 in my head

[Waifer2112]

I can play 3 on 2 on a drum kit, does that count?

[Jake_Blues]

I'm in sales. I can figure your discount, then figure it with early pay incentives, your annual volume rebate, and advertising allowance- all while your write your order and I'm sitting across from you reading the order upside down..........:D

All the sales guys I know are just figuring their commission in their head while the order is being written up :)

-E

[scottycards]

All the sales guys I know are just figuring their commission in their head while the order is being written up :)

-E

Hence the reason for the dots at the end of my sentence. Of course you're figuring up the bucks- is that not normal? :shrug:

Every order, every time, dude! Generally the next thought after figuring commission is what kind of parts/modifications/upgrades this order I'm writing is going to buy for my vehicles..........

Seriously, I thought this thought process was perfectly normal!

[Colin]

reminds me of when I worked as a bagger, when the register malfunctioned the cashiers would ask ME what to do.....gah

[Frank Z]

I can almost count to 21 if I'm buck nekkid.

[jeeplvr79]

^^^^^
That explains the testes cb check :D

[scottycards]

I can almost count to 21 if I'm buck nekkid.

41 if you count your fingers and toes?

[PhantomD AKA Zach]

My experience with it all is the cashier is responsible for the money in the register, so if they DONT give the correct change then they get in trouble... I usually double check with the calculator in my cell phone when I fawk it up royally...

plus you have to figure they do a pretty mindless job for 8 hours straight, and to switch gears and work their brain for you order takes some time usually...

I cashiered for 4 years, still do from time to time...

Zach

[Aaron]

I just got off the phone with my friend who is the cashier's/customer service manager for a hardware store in Boulder. I was telling her the story and she started laughing. She said that she isn't allowed to test the employee's math skills before she hires them. But she wishes she could. She said that if it wasn't for the computer system, 90% of the cashiers probably couldn't give correct change.... That's just sad.

[Barf Bag]

we have a simple math test on our employment application form.

I can tell you what part of the problem is - the schools. My eldest son is in the 9th grade. when he was in the 3rd grade, his teacher sent home a note to the parents informing us that all the students needed a calculator. I refuse to let my kids use calculators for simple math, which is what they were doing, so I sent the teacher a note telling her that my son would not be showing up to school with a calculator. She sent me a letter back asking for a conference. Went to the conference and she told me I was doing Nate a huge disservice by not giving him a calculator. what a stupid lady. I dont remember using a calculator until trig, and even then it felt dirty, like cheating

[Big Dave]

My sister is a high school math teacher, she teaches a class called "Everyday Math" that teaches kids the stuff they were supposed to learn in elementary school.

[scottycards]

Why have your child do long division? It's like washing your clothes with a washboard and tub.
The technology is there, and as long as the kids can do the math, and understand the principles, it's silly to ask them to do it the long way. It's much more prone to errors, as well.

Should they absolutely rely on calculators, and forget how to do arithmetic? Of course not, but spending time doing long division, when you could be learning other math principles seems to defeat the purpose, IMO.

I learned business statistics by looking up values in a table in the appendix of my stats book. Very tedious, and also prone to generating errors. Why introduce that factor if it can be eliminated by using a calculator?

But if you're going to be a cashier, you ought to be decent at making change. Pretty basic stuff. I think it really comes down to being qualified to make change.

Were my parents the only ones who played math games? When my dad would fill the car up, he'd tell me the miles driven and the number of gallons he put in, and then would ask me to figure MPG- stuff like that. I'm so glad he did that!

[Aaron]

we have a simple math test on our employment application form.
So do we now... You should have seen the test I did a few years back for a metal staircase company! That was insane....


Went to the conference and she told me I was doing Nate a huge disservice by not giving him a calculator. what a stupid lady. I dont remember using a calculator until trig, and even then it felt dirty, like cheating
I have failed only one course I have ever taken. It was a re-up on math at Front Range a few years back. Had to use a calculator, it was mandatory. Teacher and I ended up getting into it cus I solved a problem faster in my head than he could with a calculator.....

[Aaron]

Were my parents the only ones who played math games? When my dad would fill the car up, he'd tell me the miles driven and the number of gallons he put in, and then would ask me to figure MPG- stuff like that. I'm so glad he did that!

My father and my brother were playing some math games with my nephew on Sunday. It was making laugh cus this little 6 yr old was beating my mother in math problems!

[newracer]

Cashiers that cannot do simple math really get on my nerves. When I worked in a liquor store during college I could total up the next three people in line in my head while the first person was writing their check. Most of the time I never even entered the amount tendered in order to give change. People would complain that it wasn't on the receipt and would question the amount.

[scottycards]

Cashiers that cannot do simple math really get on my nerves. When I worked in a liquor store during college I could total up the next three people in line in my head while the first person was writing their check. Most of the time I never even entered the amount tendered in order to give change. People would complain that it wasn't on the receipt and would question the amount.

Same here! I worked at a frozen yogurt place in college (oh yes, right next to the tanning salon near CU, and the babes were plentiful), and always had the total in my head- this info was secondary to checking out the customers, of course.

Nothing like hawt CU girls going to work out, then tanning, then to get frozen yogurt, then to the restroom to puke it all up..........those were the days.:drool:

[Eric]

How do you not know simple math when you are a cashier?

I can deal with the usual math-challenged cashier, it's the annoying practice of not including the damn taxes in the price which distracts me I guess. Even those who can do simple math are still helpless when it comes to figuring out what you'll actually owe (I certainly don't carry around a list of the local tax rates, do you?). The "cash register" has become an interpreter for translating the prices you see into what you actually owe. For some reason this has become a mindless habit where everyone trusts the cash register / vendor to be honest when including the taxes.

Next time try asking the cashier if they know the tax rate that they're quietly applying to your purchase, or better yet the total cost of something before feeding it into the cash register / interpreter. Try buying something on the $.99 menu with only $1.00 :rolleyes: . As you can probably tell this annoys the hell out of me.

[FORMULA51]

did anyone else figure the total after the first 4 sentences, while you were reading about why all hell broke loose?

i dunno... i work with numbers all day too.. :shrug:

[Yucca-Man]

How likely was it that the 'droid at the register had a visual prompt telling her which coins to give? I have watched the fools at the register count quietly to themselves as they pull out one, then two, then three....no wait, only two quarters...plus a dime, and then a mental break to let the gears in their head cool down before adding four pennies into the equation. They deserve to work fast food for the rest of their lives.

[Aaron]

I can deal with the usual math-challenged cashier, it's the annoying practice of not including the damn taxes in the price which distracts me I guess. Even those who can do simple math are still helpless when it comes to figuring out what you'll actually owe (I certainly don't carry around a list of the local tax rates, do you?). The "cash register" has become an interpreter for translating the prices you see into what you actually owe. For some reason this has become a mindless habit where everyone trusts the cash register / vendor to be honest when including the taxes.

Next time try asking the cashier if they know the tax rate that they're quietly applying to your purchase, or better yet the total cost of something before feeding it into the cash register / interpreter. Try buying something on the $.99 menu with only $1.00 :rolleyes: . As you can probably tell this annoys the hell out of me.

Yea, this really gets to me as well. But that is a whole other rant that I could go off on for hours:rant:

[74BuckinBronc]

What happend to the old days when you had to count the change back.

"You total is $5.71, 4 cents is $5.75, a quarter is $6, and $14 totals $20" My FIRST summer job, I learned that.

What I like to do is if the total is $6.23 and I give them $11.25, they don't get it until they hand me back the change. I had to convince the lady at Lowes to go ahead and ring it in, she'll see my logic. My wife just shakes her head at me most of the time. hey, singles take up a lof of space!

J.D.

[newracer]

Even better if the total is $6.68 and give them $22.18. I try to keep my change as large as possible. :D Your right most of the time they look at you like your the idiot until they enter it in the register.

[potter]

I was at Which Wich yesterday for lunch and the kid working the register actually asked me "what's the change back from .31?" I immediately thought of this thread and laughed on the inside.

[74BuckinBronc]

Even better if the total is $6.68 and give them $22.18. I try to keep my change as large as possible. :D Your right most of the time they look at you like your the idiot until they enter it in the register.


Yes, I do that too. No sense in carrying around a bunch of pennies, nickels and dimes!

I'll admit that I am not the best at math, but I do know how to do the basic things without the help of technology. I think everyone needs to know how do to it long hand, and well, so they appreciate technology.

I'm a drafter by trade. Our first semester was on the "boards" (drafting by hand). That sure made me appreciate the computer!!

J.D.

[scottycards]

I can deal with the usual math-challenged cashier, it's the annoying practice of not including the damn taxes in the price which distracts me I guess. Even those who can do simple math are still helpless when it comes to figuring out what you'll actually owe (I certainly don't carry around a list of the local tax rates, do you?). The "cash register" has become an interpreter for translating the prices you see into what you actually owe. For some reason this has become a mindless habit where everyone trusts the cash register / vendor to be honest when including the taxes.

Next time try asking the cashier if they know the tax rate that they're quietly applying to your purchase, or better yet the total cost of something before feeding it into the cash register / interpreter. Try buying something on the $.99 menu with only $1.00 :rolleyes: . As you can probably tell this annoys the hell out of me.

That's funny! I always just add about 8% or so, if I want to know the whole price.

My thought process to get to 8%? 10% of purch price, then subtract 2%, which is quickly calculated by doubling 1%- that's how the wheels turn in my head........

So if a purchase is $1300, I take 130 for the 10%, then subtract 26 from the 130 to get a tax total of 104, for an out the door price of 1404.

[Jake_Blues]

That's funny! I always just add about 8% or so, if I want to know the whole price.

My thought process to get to 8%? 10% of purch price, then subtract 2%, which is quickly calculated by doubling 1%- that's how the wheels turn in my head........

So if a purchase is $1300, I take 130 for the 10%, then subtract 26 from the 130 to get a tax total of 104, for an out the door price of 1404.

Most of my math is done the same way. 120x9 is really 120x10-120, etc. This seems to really confuse some people though.

-E

[Eric]

I always just add about 8% or so, if I want to take a guess at the whole price.

Fixed it for ya ;) That gets you ballpark, but you could still be overpaying and not know it. Wouldn't it be so nice if all you had to do was add? Crazy idea I know.

[1973CJ5]

My wife teaches third grade and always has good stories. It is amazing how lame some the youth of today is, and how their parents don't care.

She has kids who can't even copy from the board correclty, much less think on their own.

[potter]

Most of my math is done the same way. 120x9 is really 120x10-120, etc. This seems to really confuse some people though.

-E

X3 for me. Like when the kid asked me what the change was for 0.31. It's 70 - 1. I dunno, it's weird cause you'd think it would be a slower way of calculating. But for some reason I can usually do math 5X faster than "normal" people. :shrug:

[Jason861]

X3 for me. Like when the kid asked me what the change was for 0.31. It's 70 - 1. I dunno, it's weird cause you'd think it would be a slower way of calculating. But for some reason I can usually do math 5X faster than "normal" people. :shrug:

I do the exact same thing...weird :flipoff2: I tried to explain it to somebody once, it was bad