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I'm going out of town on business for a few days so I stop at a local drug store to pick up some travel size items. I grab the few items I need and head to the register, the girl rings up the items and it comes to a whopping $1.07. I hand the girl a five dollar bill which she punches in, the drawer opens and then I made a HUGE mistake....I uttered the phrase that makes the world stop spinning, "Oh, wait I have change." When I start to hand her a dime I watch the blood drain from her face and she starts sweating like a lawn sprinkler. An eerie silence falls over the checkout isle as she reaches out with a trembling hand to take my dime. She puts the dime in the drawer then all movement stops, her eyes widen like a deer in headlights and I'm thinking I should check for breathing. Finally she looks up at me a says "How much will that be, I already rang it up." Now it was my turn to stand in stunned silence not believing what I just heard.....what bothers me more than anything about this is that I see this more and more frequently. Do we really rely that much on these machines? I truly was at a loss for words, other than $4.03

I had something similar happen recently. I went to Mcdonald's. My total was $8.83. I give the guy a $20 bill, and he accidentally entered into the register that the amount tendered was $10.

I do want to commend him for this though: He caught his mistake immediately. As soon as he put in the $10 for the amount tendered, he realized he had pushed the wrong button. I stood and watched as he calculated it to himself over and over. He finally pulls out $12.17.

Trying to do the right thing, I very politely said, "I think you got $1 too much there." I was just about to count it back to him to show him that it was $1 too much, but before I could get anywhere with him, he calls the manager over.

I started saying, "You have $8.83, the $0.17 takes you up to $9." He interrupts me and says, "Hold on a minute." So, I stand there and watch as he explains to the manager, "He gave me $20, and I put in $10." The manager says, "That's okay. Just add $10 to it. It will be $11.17." So, he puts the extra $1 back in the register, and all is well.

Everything worked out fine, but I think it would have been much better and less embarrasing for him if he would have let me finish my sentence before calling his boss over. I do though think that he deserves to be commended for realizing his mistake and trying to fix it. With a dumber casheir, I could have been standing there trying to explain in vain that he owed me $10 more than what he gave me.

What's even MORE scary is these dunces are actually allowed to VOTE.

OMG! This is soooo funny...
I was at a gas station once, and my bill was 4.02. I gave her a 5.00...then added the 2 cents...she ACTUALLY walked across the room, got a calculator out, punched about 20 numbers and then gave me 2 dollars and 2 cents back....I almost died from laughter and disbelieve!!!

Amazing!

Where are you people buying travel supplies and gas? $1.07? $4.02? I need to shop where you shop. Takes me $75 to fill up my truck.

surfpirate wrote:Where are you people buying travel supplies and gas? $1.07? $4.02? I need to shop where you shop. Takes me $75 to fill up my truck.

oh, no...i use my debit card at the pump for gas...MUCH SMARTER and usually more personable service....

The 4.02 was for a Coke, Cheetos, and M&M's, you know, travel food

The youth of America....

Good thing debit cards are becoming so popular...
Just like the commerical states... do things really slow down, and get complicated when we use cash these days?

finsupnorth wrote:oh, no...i use my debit card at the pump for gas...MUCH SMARTER and usually more personable service....

I blame it on two things:

1) For decades the public schools have been promoting the idea that elementary math (arithmetic) can and should be done with the aid of a calculator, whether or not the student understands the underlying mechanics of the math itself.

2) Businesses these days all operate computerized cash systems which don't alllow the operator (cashier) to meddle in the process. Just push the button that says "combo #3" and everything will be alright. That's how clerks are trained and the technology will rarely allow them to override errors without a manager intervention.

Kids these days are just as smart as their parents, but their parents' generation has "short-changed" them in the education department, IMHO.

I am very afraid for us as Americans!
Anyone watch that new show.."are you as smart as a 5th grader?"
A ucla grad thought Columbus day was in Sept.
He also had no clue how to figure the area of a triangle.


The next woman pondered for about 10 minutes on the name of the ship that brought the pilgrims to America

Another guy was stumped by 5x2...

I really hope it is staged...cause it is so sad!

kitty wrote:I am very afraid for us as Americans!
Anyone watch that new show.."are you as smart as a 5th grader?"
A ucla grad thought Columbus day was in Sept.
He also had no clue how to figure the area of a triangle.


The next woman ponder for about 10 minutes on the name of the ship that brought the pilgrmas to America

Another guy was stumped by 5x2...

I really hope it is staged...cause it is so sad!

i Saw it.....Thank god i knew all the answers but one...who was the 1st President impeached.....new it after i heard the answer!!!

before anyone comments on my typos...they are simply that...I do know that it should read "pondered" and I do know how to spell Pilgrims...

Wino you know wrote:What's even MORE scary is these dunces are actually allowed to VOTE.

Wait...
They vote maybe once every couple of years, BUT THE DRIVE EVERY FRICKEN DAY!
Think I'll stay off the roads...

what do you expect when kids can use calculators when taking the SAT's now....no joke.....

And it's not only math. Did you ever read one of the books that compiled soldiers' letters home during WWII? For the most part, these were kids in their late teens, or early to mid-twenties. But their language skills far surpassed what most any young adult could write today. These letters were filled with emotion and eloquence, while today you get resumes with spelling errors and job applications that are illegible.

Flyboy, I agree with all that you said. You need to understand the concept before getting the help of a calculator. My wife teaches 3rd graders, and it seems every couple of years they change the math/science/reading programs....whatever the latest gimmick is sold to their district. In the end, the district will buy whatever books they believe can raise the standardized test scores.

My theory is that with so many more people in the work force and unemployment at low levels, the people that should have these jobs have jobs higher up the food chain. Thus the people ringing you up from McDonalds should actually be unemployed. Its time to thin the herd in my opinion and let some of these knuckleheads to back home to watch Springer.

Wino you know wrote:What's even MORE scary is these dunces are actually allowed to VOTE.

And have kids

TommyBahama wrote:

kitty wrote:I am very afraid for us as Americans!
Anyone watch that new show.."are you as smart as a 5th grader?"
A ucla grad thought Columbus day was in Sept.
He also had no clue how to figure the area of a triangle.


The next woman ponder for about 10 minutes on the name of the ship that brought the pilgrmas to America

Another guy was stumped by 5x2...

I really hope it is staged...cause it is so sad!

i Saw it.....Thank god i knew all the answers but one...who was the 1st President impeached.....new it after i heard the answer!!!

Andrew Johnson?

kitty wrote:I am very afraid for us as Americans!
Anyone watch that new show.."are you as smart as a 5th grader?"

Victoria watched last night. She wants to be on the show.