Getting Short Changed
Posted: October 12, 2006 1:44 am
I think that everyone of us at some point in time has been short changed. Cashiers like everyone else make mistakes. It has happened to me many times. But, never before has the cashier refused to do the right thing--that is until a couple of weeks ago.
I was on a road trip with a buddy of mine. We pulled into a Burger King for breakfast and went through the drive thru. Two biscuits, two cokes, total of $6.92. As we pull around to the window, I pull out a few $1 bills to pay with, but my buddy interupts and pulls out a $20. He says that he needs to break the $20. He then realizes that he has some change. I start counting my change and between the two of us, we round up ninety-two cents. He then asks if I would give her one of the $1 bills that I had out so that he can get $15 even back. I did, and we agree to settle up later.
I get up to the window and hand the lady the $21.92. She puts the money in the register by the window and walks away. I'm thinking that she probably mistakingly thought that the $20 dollar bill was a $5 dollar bill. A few minutes later, she comes back to the window and announces that our biscuits are cooking and that they will be out shortly. When she finished telling us that, I very politely informed her that I had given her a $20 bill, a $1 bill, and ninety-two cents. She agrees and says that she took the $21.92 that I gave her, subtracted, the $6.92 price, and gave us back $15 change. I very politely but firmly told her that we never received the $15 change. She walks away from the window without saying anything.
She comes back and tells us that we are going to have to park while they close the register and count it. At this point, I am frustrated, but I understood the situation. She thought she had given us the change back, and any scumbag could come through there and insist they didn't get change and go out of there with a free meal. I understood why they were doing what they were doing. So, we park the car and go inside. About twenty minutes passed, and the manager comes to the counter and tells us that they have the computer printout from her register and that she was only sixty cents over.
My buddy opens up his billfold and shows him that all that was in there was $20's. The manager says that the computer printout shows that she is only over by sixty cents. My buddy storms out the door. Well, I stepped up to the plate, and I very calmly asked the manager, "What am I suppose to do? We came through the drive thru and never got our change back?" He tells me that I can call back after 3:00 when the deposit is made and see if they are over in any of the other drawers (Like that would make a difference) but that the computer printout showed that they had not short changed us. I said, "Well, tell me what you would do if you were in my position. If you came through the drive thru and paid $21.92 for a meal that costs $6.92 and they were refusing to give it back to you, what would you do?" He said, "Well, I understand you feel like you got took, but her computer shows that she is not over, and we can't give out money that is not ours. It's the owner's money."
I said, "Well, where did the money go?" We gave you $21.92 for a $6.92 meal, the money didn't come back to us, and it's not in the register. Where did the money go?" He said, "I don't know where it went, but we can't give out money that's not ours when the computer shows we're not over." Realizing that I was not going to get anywhere, I said, "Okay, well, where is our food?" (Heck, we paid $21.92 for it, we better get it) He turns to the cashier who waited on us and asks where our food is. She goes and gets the sack with our food in it, slaps it down on the counter , and never makes eye contact with me. I said, "Where is the number that I can call?" The manager hears me and writes down the store number and an office number. He gives it to me and says, "I'm sorry about that." When he said that, I really wish I would have said, "Sorry for what? According to you, you didn't do anything wrong."
We started down the road and while eating our $21.92 breakfast, my buddy told me that he had to come outside or he would have lost it and said something that would have probably gotten him arrested for disorderly conduct. He said that he knew I was a lot more capable of handling that than he was. He took the numbers and called them back after we got back home. He didn't tell me everything that was said, but he basically said that they told him it was his word against theirs and that the computer showed they weren't over.
We split the $15 between us as we realized that we're just out of options. While I don't know for sure, I've got a really good idea what the answer is to my question about where the money went--in that cashier's pocket. Where else could it have gone?
I apologize for the length of this post as it took awhile to tell that story. But, I am just curious: Has anything like this happened to you before when you were short changed and the cashier refused to give you back the correct change? Like I said, I've been short changed before, but this is the first time they have not made it right. Have you ever had a cashier refuse to do the right thing? If so, did you do anything about it other than just eat it?
And, while we'll never get that $15 back, I can get them back by posting this on a public message board for thousands of people to see:
BOYCOTT BURGER KING
I was on a road trip with a buddy of mine. We pulled into a Burger King for breakfast and went through the drive thru. Two biscuits, two cokes, total of $6.92. As we pull around to the window, I pull out a few $1 bills to pay with, but my buddy interupts and pulls out a $20. He says that he needs to break the $20. He then realizes that he has some change. I start counting my change and between the two of us, we round up ninety-two cents. He then asks if I would give her one of the $1 bills that I had out so that he can get $15 even back. I did, and we agree to settle up later.
I get up to the window and hand the lady the $21.92. She puts the money in the register by the window and walks away. I'm thinking that she probably mistakingly thought that the $20 dollar bill was a $5 dollar bill. A few minutes later, she comes back to the window and announces that our biscuits are cooking and that they will be out shortly. When she finished telling us that, I very politely informed her that I had given her a $20 bill, a $1 bill, and ninety-two cents. She agrees and says that she took the $21.92 that I gave her, subtracted, the $6.92 price, and gave us back $15 change. I very politely but firmly told her that we never received the $15 change. She walks away from the window without saying anything.
She comes back and tells us that we are going to have to park while they close the register and count it. At this point, I am frustrated, but I understood the situation. She thought she had given us the change back, and any scumbag could come through there and insist they didn't get change and go out of there with a free meal. I understood why they were doing what they were doing. So, we park the car and go inside. About twenty minutes passed, and the manager comes to the counter and tells us that they have the computer printout from her register and that she was only sixty cents over.
My buddy opens up his billfold and shows him that all that was in there was $20's. The manager says that the computer printout shows that she is only over by sixty cents. My buddy storms out the door. Well, I stepped up to the plate, and I very calmly asked the manager, "What am I suppose to do? We came through the drive thru and never got our change back?" He tells me that I can call back after 3:00 when the deposit is made and see if they are over in any of the other drawers (Like that would make a difference) but that the computer printout showed that they had not short changed us. I said, "Well, tell me what you would do if you were in my position. If you came through the drive thru and paid $21.92 for a meal that costs $6.92 and they were refusing to give it back to you, what would you do?" He said, "Well, I understand you feel like you got took, but her computer shows that she is not over, and we can't give out money that is not ours. It's the owner's money."
I said, "Well, where did the money go?" We gave you $21.92 for a $6.92 meal, the money didn't come back to us, and it's not in the register. Where did the money go?" He said, "I don't know where it went, but we can't give out money that's not ours when the computer shows we're not over." Realizing that I was not going to get anywhere, I said, "Okay, well, where is our food?" (Heck, we paid $21.92 for it, we better get it) He turns to the cashier who waited on us and asks where our food is. She goes and gets the sack with our food in it, slaps it down on the counter , and never makes eye contact with me. I said, "Where is the number that I can call?" The manager hears me and writes down the store number and an office number. He gives it to me and says, "I'm sorry about that." When he said that, I really wish I would have said, "Sorry for what? According to you, you didn't do anything wrong."
We started down the road and while eating our $21.92 breakfast, my buddy told me that he had to come outside or he would have lost it and said something that would have probably gotten him arrested for disorderly conduct. He said that he knew I was a lot more capable of handling that than he was. He took the numbers and called them back after we got back home. He didn't tell me everything that was said, but he basically said that they told him it was his word against theirs and that the computer showed they weren't over.
We split the $15 between us as we realized that we're just out of options. While I don't know for sure, I've got a really good idea what the answer is to my question about where the money went--in that cashier's pocket. Where else could it have gone?
I apologize for the length of this post as it took awhile to tell that story. But, I am just curious: Has anything like this happened to you before when you were short changed and the cashier refused to give you back the correct change? Like I said, I've been short changed before, but this is the first time they have not made it right. Have you ever had a cashier refuse to do the right thing? If so, did you do anything about it other than just eat it?
And, while we'll never get that $15 back, I can get them back by posting this on a public message board for thousands of people to see:
BOYCOTT BURGER KING
)
I can't say I've ever been in your position, GITP.. ![[smilie=puking.gif]](./images/smilies/puking.gif "puking"){kind=small}
