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Boomers please take note

357 replies

Crushingdandelions · 19/04/2026 10:04

First sign you're of a certain age...you always pay in cash and count out every last frickin' bit of change no matter how big the queue is behind you.

Just don't? Use a card please. I don't want to count out your 5p pieces.

Also - why do you need a receipt when you have bought 2 items worth £1.49?

OP posts:
LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 21/04/2026 00:47

AccordingToWhom · 20/04/2026 23:49

Lots of my local independent shops and cafes prefer cash and have signs to say so. Probably because of the bank charges.

Also if I never paid cash, I'd never have any change for charity collections or a pound coin for the trolley...

I'm Gen X, for all that matters.

I have a token for a trolley and haven’t seen a charity collector (as opposed to a chugger) for a few years, now I think of it.

i guess it depends what’s usual for where you live

AccordingToWhom · 21/04/2026 01:02

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 21/04/2026 00:45

And unfortunately that will be something that will contribute to their potential downfall. I know a lot of people who don’t carry cash and I would assume that it they wouldn’t take a card it was because they were either dodgy or not bothered about keeping afloat.

Mine do take cards, they just prefer cash. And the locals are aware. So no, they're not in trouble. My local high street is actually thriving.

Anyway, this is getting way off topic.

WearyAuldWumman · 21/04/2026 01:07

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 21/04/2026 00:45

And unfortunately that will be something that will contribute to their potential downfall. I know a lot of people who don’t carry cash and I would assume that it they wouldn’t take a card it was because they were either dodgy or not bothered about keeping afloat.

You might think so, but people just make sure that they have cash - particularly for the very popular Chinese takeaway.

Oxo01 · 21/04/2026 01:26

I ask for a receipt for any amount of items due to going into a our local tesco express which i have used for 20years where I bought a few bits (got a receipt) started to walk away and realised i forgot something so went back and got the item, whilst at the self service till a security guard said I hadn't paid for the items ( bought seconds ago) was a good job I had it other wise who knows how it would have ended.

Oh and by the way I use my card for most things but I love a bit of cash too.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 21/04/2026 06:57

I would assume that it they wouldn’t take a card it was because they were either dodgy or not bothered about keeping afloat.

Many small businesses switch to cash only (or bank transfer) to stay afloat. Card transactions cost them money.

keepswimming38 · 21/04/2026 07:00

What’s with all the boomer threads at the moment. Fuck of with the stereotyping bullshit!

LeticiaMorales · 21/04/2026 07:01

There's a small, family run bistro near us that ask customers to pay in cash, if possible, because of costs.

AClassicTrenchcoat · 21/04/2026 07:07

Hey old sales assistant, are your varicose veins playing up, and on your swelling trotters all day? Your discomfort is converting into impatience and whinging. Time to retire. Customers pay how they like, you are there to serve them, not judge them, dear.

MyThreeWords · 21/04/2026 07:31

Crushingdandelions · 19/04/2026 10:04

First sign you're of a certain age...you always pay in cash and count out every last frickin' bit of change no matter how big the queue is behind you.

Just don't? Use a card please. I don't want to count out your 5p pieces.

Also - why do you need a receipt when you have bought 2 items worth £1.49?

That stereotype about old people has been around for decades and decades, and it seems from your post that it hasn't changed even though payment practices have evolved so much over these same decades.

So the stereotype will probably still be around when you are in your seventies, @Crushingdandelions , and you will think WTF, that isn't me!

I probably laughed at the stereotype myself when I was very young and knew that old people were a radically different species. Now that I am older myself, I have this weird illusion that I am exactly the same person as I used to be, just with some more years of actually being her.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 21/04/2026 08:28

DisplayPurposesOnly · 21/04/2026 06:57

I would assume that it they wouldn’t take a card it was because they were either dodgy or not bothered about keeping afloat.

Many small businesses switch to cash only (or bank transfer) to stay afloat. Card transactions cost them money.

I Understand that but small independent shops are struggling to survive so* *the ones that refuse cards are restricting their customer base somewhat

AgnesMcDoo · 21/04/2026 08:32

Another day, another ageist thread on MN

backslashruby · 21/04/2026 11:09

maxslice · 20/04/2026 19:01

Just feel lucky they’re not writing cheques while you wait.

Yes I remember when loads of people paid by cheque at the supermarket. You got to the till, out came the cheque book. Have you got a stamp for the cheque? And the till operator stamped the cheque. Then you wrote out the cheque and handed it over with your cheque guarantee card. The till operator then had to check that both the words and numbers were correct and that your signature matched the signature on the card. Took ages by comparison.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 21/04/2026 11:54

Have you got a stamp for the cheque?

I came on to say that 😂

SerendipityJane · 21/04/2026 17:00

TheyGrewUp · 20/04/2026 18:32

I don't recall email in the 70s. We were still receiving, and sending, telex in the early 80s. I remember the first fax from NY coming in. The entire floor went to watch it :)

Email was developed in the 60s, and the standards laid down in the 70s and early 80s (I know, because I was involved in the Request For Comments process that the IETF uses. Did you know you can have an apostrophe in an email address ? No ? Well neither do 50% of the "experts" out there either 😀)

Telephones, as we all know were invented in 1875 - 150 years ago).

So why in the name of all that is holy are people one third my age still incapable of managing with email and everything is a "you have to call us" load of bollockynonsense /

Do you dare call me an old fogey if you are happier with calling rather than emailing.

CaptainMyCaptain · 21/04/2026 20:11

SerendipityJane · 21/04/2026 17:00

Email was developed in the 60s, and the standards laid down in the 70s and early 80s (I know, because I was involved in the Request For Comments process that the IETF uses. Did you know you can have an apostrophe in an email address ? No ? Well neither do 50% of the "experts" out there either 😀)

Telephones, as we all know were invented in 1875 - 150 years ago).

So why in the name of all that is holy are people one third my age still incapable of managing with email and everything is a "you have to call us" load of bollockynonsense /

Do you dare call me an old fogey if you are happier with calling rather than emailing.

What has this got to do with the OP?

Damnloginpopup · 22/04/2026 06:54

I had a copper jar with £70 in it, 1p 2p and 5p pieces (I know, but they're fiddly and small.and they go in too).

It's amazing, two lots of shopping I paid for with those. Asda self service tills swallowed it up. Bet the poor fucker in accounts hated me! Probably fell out of some pipe like an office jackpot 🤣 took a while though, to be fair. Felt proper satisfying though!

SerendipityJane · 22/04/2026 09:32

CaptainMyCaptain · 21/04/2026 20:11

What has this got to do with the OP?

The OP was berating "boomers" for not being with the times.

I am blaming society as a whole for being behind the times. And I bet the OP is part of society.

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/04/2026 10:18

SerendipityJane · 22/04/2026 09:32

The OP was berating "boomers" for not being with the times.

I am blaming society as a whole for being behind the times. And I bet the OP is part of society.

Ok thanks. I missed the bit where the thread diverted.

SerendipityJane · 22/04/2026 10:37

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/04/2026 10:18

Ok thanks. I missed the bit where the thread diverted.

One persons diversion is another persons wider discussion. Maybe this thread should be moved from chat ?

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/04/2026 10:58

SerendipityJane · 22/04/2026 10:37

One persons diversion is another persons wider discussion. Maybe this thread should be moved from chat ?

Not on my account. I thought someone had posted on the wrong thread. I agree that us somewhat older people have been using the Internet etc for decades.

Letskeepcalm · 10/06/2026 20:21

Crushingdandelions · 19/04/2026 10:13

Haha !! Yes - they do that as well.. drives me insane.

Needless to say I try to maintain a neutral expression

Sounds to me that you just can't be arsed to handle the money.

Get another job

maxslice · 11/06/2026 00:44

AClassicTrenchcoat · 21/04/2026 07:07

Hey old sales assistant, are your varicose veins playing up, and on your swelling trotters all day? Your discomfort is converting into impatience and whinging. Time to retire. Customers pay how they like, you are there to serve them, not judge them, dear.

But it’s okay for you to judge people?

maxslice · 11/06/2026 00:50

BadLad · 19/04/2026 23:12

Gen X here. I always use cash, and if I can get rid of some of my smaller coins in the process, I always do that. The people behind me can wait.

Exactly.

maxslice · 11/06/2026 00:54

Lauren1983 · 20/04/2026 13:10

I haven't read the whole thread so might be saying something already said but the problem is the lack of patience people have for anyone who isn't going at the speed of light.

I have worked in retail and dealt with elderly (not boomers more like boomer parent age) who are a bit slow to pay or gather their stuff up and I can see the huffing and rolled eyes of people behind. I then had to apologise for the wait which might only be 20 seconds longer than a quicker customer. It is quite hard balancing serving a customer who is keen for a chat with one of the few people they may speak to that week and the customers waiting. I wish people had more patience. You are in a shop not in a life or death situation where every second matters.

God bless you.

Gettingbysomehow · 11/06/2026 04:59

Bloody hell so ageist. Im only just old enough to be a boomer but still look young, work full time, manage everything online just like everyone else.
The only 5 pences I have are in the small change bell jar with mostly coppers in. Some of the local shops still only take cash and what the hell do you do with the left over small change?
I know loads of 80 year olds who are perfectly managing the modern world.

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