Making Change

First things first, this post is about "making change." This is not the same as "causing change." If you are looking for literature on "causing change," feel free to read President-Elect Obama's campaign speeches.

Making change is a very important ability in modern capitalist society. Unfortunately, not enough people have the mental capabilities to calculate correct change without the use of a computer or calculator. This can be tested by going to a local retail chain and purchasing an item that costs $5.27, and then giving the cashier a ten dollar bill and a one dollar bill, expecting to receive a five dollar bill, two quarters, two dimes, and three pennies back (as opposed to the four singles, two quarters, two dimes, and three pennies that you would be given without the extra dollar).

Most likely, the teller will politely (or not so politely) let you know that you didn't need to give them the extra one dollar bill, return it to you, and then hand you the four singles and change. You then ask for your five singles be changed into a five dollar bill, and get told that either the register is already closed, or tellers cannot make change without a purchase.

If you don't follow the logic here, you should probably learn a few facts about the average American. Most people prefer to have as few bills in their wallet as possible. If given a choice between five singles or a single five dollar bill, most people will chose the five dollar bill (unless they plan on going to a gentleman's club in the near future).

For this reason, if you are a cashier, you should attempt to learn a bit of standard math. Start with addition and subtraction, followed by working with decimals, and then multiplication.

Here is a free example problem to test your mathematical common sense:
A customer is purchasing an eleven foot length of rope. The store charges $0.47 for a foot of rope. The customer pays using a twenty dollar bill and a one dollar bill. How much change should they receive, and by using what bills and coins in the highest denomination possible?
a) I don't care, I'm just stuck here until I can get a real job.
b) Hand back the single first, and then give the customer $14.83 in a ten dollar bill, four one dollar bills, three quarters, a nickel, and three pennies
c) $15.83 in a ten dollar bill, a five dollar bill, three quarters, one nickel, and three pennies.

The correct answer is (c). If you selected (c): good thinking, you've selected the right answer! You must have at least a little common sense.

If you selected answer choice (a), you are destined to work at Wal-Mart for the next four years before getting fired. If you selected answer choice (b), you are probably one of those "special" people that the store hires in order to benefit the community through helping you hold down a low-end job. Keep it up!