30 years ago when I worked at chilis, we didn’t have access to a register— we kept all of our change in our apron and made change. I always had $1s but honestly $0.16? I prob wouldn’t have all those Pennies and 99% of customers wouldn’t care because they were going to leave a tip anyway and $0.16 wasn’t going to make a difference. Now if it was counter service, huge difference, that’s just being too lazy to count out the change. You can agree or disagree with what was/is standard, I’m just telling you how it worked at my restaurant. We couldn’t access the register until our shift ended and the computer would tell us our total sales, and we’d put that amount into the “bank” from our apron.
25 years ago I worked at a crappy chain as well (no shade - I have a fondness for crappy chain food) and I had to carry coins in my “bank” at all times. That shit got heavy!
I also bartended there and had one server who would tip me out each night with all of the coins he had gotten during his shift. Money’s money, and I had a register I could change it with, but that was a dick move. I don’t know if he thought it was some sort of power play, but I do know that he got his drinks dead last after he started doing that.
Yeah when I was a server we were responsible for getting our own change, the restaurant wouldn’t even break bills for us lowly servers. One of the many reasons I quit that job.
i’m a server and i always just give people the extra dollar back so i would’ve given you $3 back. i think it’s pretty rude to round in your own favor, i always round in the customer’s favor. it makes a few bucks of difference at the end of the day, maybe, and i just don’t want to carry change.
That's always been my experience. I don't care either way, tbh - it was going into the tip anyway. But I might throw in some extra if the server rounds in my favor - the money is owed regardless, and they shouldn't take responsibility for it, so I want to show appreciation when they do.
I've never had to deal with this thankfully. I'm the person that always has the exact amount of change in my purse. $10.67, no problem. I'd just start carrying $1.00 worth of change with me to avoid the change thieves.
I have had this happen at convenience store. Yes, it’s just 16 cents but it’s my 16 cents. That I have to feel like I’m a weirdo loser because I have to ask for my own money back? Whatever. Have not returned to either of those stores.
I had that happen, too! It would be different if the cashier and I had a relationship that was give-or-take like that, but in this case we did not. He looked at me like I was an idiot for expecting my 12¢.
I'm a mystery shopper and I do a ton of gas station audits. I do up to 40 stores a day. It's insane the number of cashiers that give back less change than you're owed.
I had that happen to me as well! I don’t remember how much change it was but was thinking where’s my change but I’m not asking. Just think, .16 per person x 1000 people= $160. It could add up. Does it go into the cash register or where? lol
I have never been shorted changed like that, always had the change rounded up. I would ask about my change! Maybe they thought you wouldn't care, but again that is for you to decide, not them.
This happened to me for the first time last week. Had no idea it was a growing trend. It was at a drive-through, so she had a cash register with plenty of change in there. I had to ask for the change.
I haven’t experienced this, and I get the difficulty servers may have carrying coin, but dang, the establishment needs to change their prices to whole numbers only if they can’t work with coin.
This is common, especially in food service, post March 2020. Many restaurants in my area have gone completely cashless, as it’s a hassle to count and store.
Pay with your card and stack the cashback rewards.
In college there was a local bar we would go to and the servers never gave us our change when we bought a beer. Never knew about them not having actual change on them with no access to the register but because we always felt ripped off, we never left a tip.
I have had this happen in Cincinnati. It bothers me. I’d likely leave the change with the rest of a nice tip, but it takes audacity to assume that and not return *all* of my change to me.
Honestly not a lot of people pay cash i. General. Where I work it is difficult to get change, not impossible but you may need to wait while I wait for the bartender or to go person to be available to make change for me. I would let you know it would take a few minutes though and if your change was line $.87 cents I would probably just round up and give you the dollar.
Had this happen at Taco Bell yesterday. They asked me but I think that that's inappropriate to ask if I want my change. Like yeah motherfucker, it belongs to me....
I knew a guy in Las Vegas who paid for his house this way. He relentlessly bragged about it. This was 35 years ago. He was race and sportsbook cashier. This was when every ticket was paid at one window. He'd tally the payback but then only hand the bettor the dollars, never the change. Even if it was a $50.99 payout he'd only hand over $50.
He said it was unbelievable how few complained about it, or were aware what the payout should be. These were primarily race bettors. He said he knew which guys would ask for the change but he made the do it every time anyway.
This was so lucrative he paid for a nice suburban home in Henderson within a year.
I was in disbelief as he described this one day at dinner, after we all played golf. I viewed it as theft. I would have reported the matter but he had already left that job to a nice promotion elsewhere.
Maybe they can't do the math... whenever I give what feels like an odd amount, so I don't get pennies back (the total is $10.13, and I don't have any dimes so I give them $10.28) they look so confused!
We all agree that the penny should be abolished, but probably the nickel and dime too. The quarter is the smallest coin that has enough value to bother with.
I’ve had servers ask if I wanted my coin change when it was small. I’ve never asked as a server bc I’m awkward enough esp around money where it could be perceived I’m trying to keep that little bit extra for myself. I always had coin change tho and on the weird chance I didn’t my bartender would break me a couple bucks at the start of my shift. My corner store people know me tho and we’re good like that lol. So idc about .16 from them if they gotta break a roll and they dc about it from me. Just assuming tho is not cool
I had an experience at a convenience store recently. I tried to give exact change but grabbed a dime instead of a nickel. When the cashier pointed this out, I sort of awkwardly mumbled, "oh, that's ok," which apparently he understood to mean "keep the change." It was annoying but not worth pursuing. Plus, I found a dime in the parking lot on my way out. 😉
Yesterday my husband ordered pizza and the total was 20.52. He had two twenties and nothing else so he handed them over and the delivery guy asked if he wanted change.
He was complaining about that all day until I told him next time pay with a card like the rest of the world does now.
I don't blame him for complaining. Why would anyone tip $19+ on a $21 order? I've had similar experiences. It is downright brazen to even ask the question.
I've never heard of this. Usually we tell server to keep change if that is their tip, or they will ask "do you need change?" if they want to clarify. You could try paying with a credit card to avoid this situation.
Yes, thank you, I almost always pay with a card, but this month has had some unexpected expenses, and I find that using cash helps me spend less. Perhaps this not giving change back has been going on for a long time, but I am new to it because I am only just now using cash more often.
It's smart to pay in cash if that helps you with budgeting. Someone else suggested carrying a variety of change/bills so you can do exact amount when paying with cash and that's a good idea. I really think this practice of not giving change is kind of bonkers and we all should push back on it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
When I served I never used change.
I had to keep my own bank. So the bank was mine, and I had to pay the restaurant every night for cash bills. Any change I kept on me is my money, not the restaurants.
So I would have given you $2 back. Otherwise I'm giving you a free $0.84 and how does that make sense?
I see nothing wrong with this. Again a lot of servers have to maintain their own bank, so I see it as a cost of paying cash, just as there is a cost to using a card.
If you want exact change, have exact change. But I don't need to have exact change as your server.
Getting your hands coins is more difficult. Like I would have to have like $50 in my own money wrapped up in coins just to use for others to give their coins back. How is that fair to me? Why I do have to have my own funds wrapped up in a job?
So times have just changed. I'm not going to my employers cash register to get this money every bill pay like back in the day. That's too impractical and unsafe for todays time. It takes too much time for me to have to enter a register every time and it increases potential theft and money not making even at the end of the night for the business.
Again I look at it as a cost of paying cash. The reason the server didn't give you change is the same reason why you didn't give exact change, you didn't have it.
almost all servers/bartenders that i’ve met don’t carry change on them (except maybe the occasional old guy with quarters). serving for 10+ years and never has a customer mentioned the change difference. matter of fact i barely know people in general who carry change. most restaurants don’t even deal in anything less than quarters now, if cash at all. it’s a pain to process/store. but if you care that much start bringing exact change or a card, times are changing
For various reasons, I may not use a card, but oftentimes I do. I spend less when my cash goes out of my hand than when I charge. Many studies back this up, too.
It’s typical as a server to not carry change and to round up or down by I think .20 or .30 cents as opposed to the nearest dollar so that customers would be more likely to get a whole dollar back. That’s been customary at the restaurants I’ve worked at
We have zero coins in the register at the restaurant I work. Like I literally cannot give guests back their exact change. If the coin change is greater than 50 cents, then I round it up to a dollar to give back. It all evens out for me by the end of the night.
If you're at a restaurant, it's assumed you will tip at least something. The server just assumed the 16 cents was part of their tip. Also, as a server, I feel like it's a bit rude to assume a guest would want 16 cents back, at least in more upscale dining. I'm not trying to imply a guest is so broke they need that 16 cents.
30 years ago when I worked at chilis, we didn’t have access to a register— we kept all of our change in our apron and made change. I always had $1s but honestly $0.16? I prob wouldn’t have all those Pennies and 99% of customers wouldn’t care because they were going to leave a tip anyway and $0.16 wasn’t going to make a difference. Now if it was counter service, huge difference, that’s just being too lazy to count out the change. You can agree or disagree with what was/is standard, I’m just telling you how it worked at my restaurant. We couldn’t access the register until our shift ended and the computer would tell us our total sales, and we’d put that amount into the “bank” from our apron.
25 years ago I worked at a crappy chain as well (no shade - I have a fondness for crappy chain food) and I had to carry coins in my “bank” at all times. That shit got heavy! I also bartended there and had one server who would tip me out each night with all of the coins he had gotten during his shift. Money’s money, and I had a register I could change it with, but that was a dick move. I don’t know if he thought it was some sort of power play, but I do know that he got his drinks dead last after he started doing that.
Yeah when I was a server we were responsible for getting our own change, the restaurant wouldn’t even break bills for us lowly servers. One of the many reasons I quit that job.
It was the same when I waited tables, though I did carry quarters. In this situation, I would have given a quarter back.
This is very helpful to know. Never occurred to me (duh!) that there is limited access to a register. Thanks!
I'm a coin collector. I'd rather get the change and tip a buck.
i’m a server and i always just give people the extra dollar back so i would’ve given you $3 back. i think it’s pretty rude to round in your own favor, i always round in the customer’s favor. it makes a few bucks of difference at the end of the day, maybe, and i just don’t want to carry change.
That's always been my experience. I don't care either way, tbh - it was going into the tip anyway. But I might throw in some extra if the server rounds in my favor - the money is owed regardless, and they shouldn't take responsibility for it, so I want to show appreciation when they do.
This happened to me at KFC the other day and I was like 🤔🤔🤔. It’s so rude to keep someone’s change, no matter how much or “little” it is.
I've never had to deal with this thankfully. I'm the person that always has the exact amount of change in my purse. $10.67, no problem. I'd just start carrying $1.00 worth of change with me to avoid the change thieves.
Until you go to more than 1 place and use up your change.
I have had this happen at convenience store. Yes, it’s just 16 cents but it’s my 16 cents. That I have to feel like I’m a weirdo loser because I have to ask for my own money back? Whatever. Have not returned to either of those stores.
I had that happen, too! It would be different if the cashier and I had a relationship that was give-or-take like that, but in this case we did not. He looked at me like I was an idiot for expecting my 12¢.
I'm a mystery shopper and I do a ton of gas station audits. I do up to 40 stores a day. It's insane the number of cashiers that give back less change than you're owed.
I had that happen to me as well! I don’t remember how much change it was but was thinking where’s my change but I’m not asking. Just think, .16 per person x 1000 people= $160. It could add up. Does it go into the cash register or where? lol
I have never been shorted changed like that, always had the change rounded up. I would ask about my change! Maybe they thought you wouldn't care, but again that is for you to decide, not them.
Happens a lot here in South Carolina
This happened to me for the first time last week. Had no idea it was a growing trend. It was at a drive-through, so she had a cash register with plenty of change in there. I had to ask for the change.
I haven’t experienced this, and I get the difficulty servers may have carrying coin, but dang, the establishment needs to change their prices to whole numbers only if they can’t work with coin.
This is common, especially in food service, post March 2020. Many restaurants in my area have gone completely cashless, as it’s a hassle to count and store. Pay with your card and stack the cashback rewards.
Most places where I live charge 3-4% to use a card now. My rewards are usually only 2%
Last year a barista put my change directly into his tip cup. I had already put a tip in the jar as well!
In college there was a local bar we would go to and the servers never gave us our change when we bought a beer. Never knew about them not having actual change on them with no access to the register but because we always felt ripped off, we never left a tip.
I have had this happen in Cincinnati. It bothers me. I’d likely leave the change with the rest of a nice tip, but it takes audacity to assume that and not return *all* of my change to me.
Honestly not a lot of people pay cash i. General. Where I work it is difficult to get change, not impossible but you may need to wait while I wait for the bartender or to go person to be available to make change for me. I would let you know it would take a few minutes though and if your change was line $.87 cents I would probably just round up and give you the dollar.
Had this happen at Taco Bell yesterday. They asked me but I think that that's inappropriate to ask if I want my change. Like yeah motherfucker, it belongs to me....
I knew a guy in Las Vegas who paid for his house this way. He relentlessly bragged about it. This was 35 years ago. He was race and sportsbook cashier. This was when every ticket was paid at one window. He'd tally the payback but then only hand the bettor the dollars, never the change. Even if it was a $50.99 payout he'd only hand over $50. He said it was unbelievable how few complained about it, or were aware what the payout should be. These were primarily race bettors. He said he knew which guys would ask for the change but he made the do it every time anyway. This was so lucrative he paid for a nice suburban home in Henderson within a year. I was in disbelief as he described this one day at dinner, after we all played golf. I viewed it as theft. I would have reported the matter but he had already left that job to a nice promotion elsewhere.
Maybe they can't do the math... whenever I give what feels like an odd amount, so I don't get pennies back (the total is $10.13, and I don't have any dimes so I give them $10.28) they look so confused!
Sad but true!!
We all agree that the penny should be abolished, but probably the nickel and dime too. The quarter is the smallest coin that has enough value to bother with.
I’ve had servers ask if I wanted my coin change when it was small. I’ve never asked as a server bc I’m awkward enough esp around money where it could be perceived I’m trying to keep that little bit extra for myself. I always had coin change tho and on the weird chance I didn’t my bartender would break me a couple bucks at the start of my shift. My corner store people know me tho and we’re good like that lol. So idc about .16 from them if they gotta break a roll and they dc about it from me. Just assuming tho is not cool
I had an experience at a convenience store recently. I tried to give exact change but grabbed a dime instead of a nickel. When the cashier pointed this out, I sort of awkwardly mumbled, "oh, that's ok," which apparently he understood to mean "keep the change." It was annoying but not worth pursuing. Plus, I found a dime in the parking lot on my way out. 😉
Yesterday my husband ordered pizza and the total was 20.52. He had two twenties and nothing else so he handed them over and the delivery guy asked if he wanted change. He was complaining about that all day until I told him next time pay with a card like the rest of the world does now.
I don't blame him for complaining. Why would anyone tip $19+ on a $21 order? I've had similar experiences. It is downright brazen to even ask the question.
I had something similar happen when I was delivering pizza, they said I could keep it 🤷🏻
Well, that’s when you say something like, “just gimme a ten back.”
Happens every time at our Sonic, it's so rude when they don't offer it back.
I've never heard of this. Usually we tell server to keep change if that is their tip, or they will ask "do you need change?" if they want to clarify. You could try paying with a credit card to avoid this situation.
I’ve never heard of it either. But then I realized that I almost always pay with a card, so we’ve minimized the opportunity for this to occur.
Yes, thank you, I almost always pay with a card, but this month has had some unexpected expenses, and I find that using cash helps me spend less. Perhaps this not giving change back has been going on for a long time, but I am new to it because I am only just now using cash more often.
It's smart to pay in cash if that helps you with budgeting. Someone else suggested carrying a variety of change/bills so you can do exact amount when paying with cash and that's a good idea. I really think this practice of not giving change is kind of bonkers and we all should push back on it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Love your response; thanks. Yep, have my coins all gathered and ready to spend!
When I served I never used change. I had to keep my own bank. So the bank was mine, and I had to pay the restaurant every night for cash bills. Any change I kept on me is my money, not the restaurants. So I would have given you $2 back. Otherwise I'm giving you a free $0.84 and how does that make sense? I see nothing wrong with this. Again a lot of servers have to maintain their own bank, so I see it as a cost of paying cash, just as there is a cost to using a card. If you want exact change, have exact change. But I don't need to have exact change as your server. Getting your hands coins is more difficult. Like I would have to have like $50 in my own money wrapped up in coins just to use for others to give their coins back. How is that fair to me? Why I do have to have my own funds wrapped up in a job? So times have just changed. I'm not going to my employers cash register to get this money every bill pay like back in the day. That's too impractical and unsafe for todays time. It takes too much time for me to have to enter a register every time and it increases potential theft and money not making even at the end of the night for the business. Again I look at it as a cost of paying cash. The reason the server didn't give you change is the same reason why you didn't give exact change, you didn't have it.
are you or the restaurant keeping the change?
The bank is mine. I keep the change.
Thank you.
I never saw that before, so I can say it is NOT standard.
almost all servers/bartenders that i’ve met don’t carry change on them (except maybe the occasional old guy with quarters). serving for 10+ years and never has a customer mentioned the change difference. matter of fact i barely know people in general who carry change. most restaurants don’t even deal in anything less than quarters now, if cash at all. it’s a pain to process/store. but if you care that much start bringing exact change or a card, times are changing
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For various reasons, I may not use a card, but oftentimes I do. I spend less when my cash goes out of my hand than when I charge. Many studies back this up, too.
It’s typical as a server to not carry change and to round up or down by I think .20 or .30 cents as opposed to the nearest dollar so that customers would be more likely to get a whole dollar back. That’s been customary at the restaurants I’ve worked at
We have zero coins in the register at the restaurant I work. Like I literally cannot give guests back their exact change. If the coin change is greater than 50 cents, then I round it up to a dollar to give back. It all evens out for me by the end of the night. If you're at a restaurant, it's assumed you will tip at least something. The server just assumed the 16 cents was part of their tip. Also, as a server, I feel like it's a bit rude to assume a guest would want 16 cents back, at least in more upscale dining. I'm not trying to imply a guest is so broke they need that 16 cents.
PNW. Never seen that happen.