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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think local garage could have let me off 20p!

140 replies

cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 16:00

I called in at the garage with children as we needed milk and I realised I was short 20p. Garage is down the road from my house, they all know me, I know them. I said I was sorry and could I drop it in later. 'No.' Sad

OP posts:
melj1213 · 05/01/2017 23:18

Yes you wouldn't let EVERYONE off would you?? It's just a one off.

It's a one off for the customer, but not the checkout worker, it probably isn't even the only one of the day.

I work in a supermarket and on a daily basis I have at least 20 transactions that have been suspended from the checkout and sent to the customer service desk because the customer got to the checkout and realised they had forgotten their wallet or card, or their card wasn't working. Most customers understand that we can't just let you leave without paying, but since they have to come back anyway, we'll keep their shopping at my desk so they can just nip in, I can have their transaction completed in less than 30 seconds and they can take their shopping home once it's completely paid for. I'll even be kind enough keep any of your cold/frozen things in the undercounter fridge freezer I have at my desk for this very purpose, so we don't have to waste any items that have been out of the fridges too long and you don't have to go and get them again when you come back. 90% of those customers leave their shopping at my desk and return fairly soon after with a form of payment, but you'd be surprised at the amount of people who will just go and get their card out of the car or will "nip home and get the card and be back in ten minutes" ... and yet at the end of my shift 6 hours later, their basket of shopping is stll sitting at the end of my desk. If I had "extended credit" to them then I'd be royally fucked trying to explain it to my boss when they asked why the till was down.

That's not even taking into account the many transactions we have daily where people have £X but their total comes to £X.98 and they have to void an item or two off the transaction to get it below the £X the customer has on them.

So yes, for the OP it was a one off, but the shop will see this kind of thing happen multiple times a day, every day and in that situation those 20p "credits" add up

Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:20

Well, in fairness I do think there's a bit of difference between a basket of shopping and being short 20p for milk.

OP posts:
SuburbanRhonda · 05/01/2017 23:25

Well, in fairness I do think there's a bit of difference between a basket of shopping and being short 20p for milk.

So you think there should be a different rule for people who want to be let off 20p and those who want to be let off £20? I wonder why you might think that, OP?

haveacupoftea · 05/01/2017 23:27

This reminds me of a bloke in work, we used to do a breakfast run, he would say get me a bacon bap but i have no change, i'll give you it after lunch. The money never appeared and we had to stop doing breakfast runs because it was too awkward that whoever went out also had to buy his breakfast Angry

He also used to 'borrow' £1 for parking and never give it back. Again cue awkwardness when he popped his head in and asked did anyone have £1 and everyone said no Confused

Not saying thats you OP, but the people in the shop can't tell who can be trusted to return and who can't, and the money would cone out of their own pockets.

intheknickersoftime · 05/01/2017 23:29

Perhaps you should have put "light-hearted" in the title op, I think sometimes people on here struggle to know the difference.

Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:29

Not really, Suburban just that I wouldn't for a second expect to be given a basket of shopping for nothing but in these circumstances, given I live close by and the small amount it would have been s nice gesture but I'm really not sitting here thinking up dark things to happen because of the rules Smile

OP posts:
Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:30

I had a friend like that tea too.

OP posts:
Costacoffeeplease · 05/01/2017 23:36

I wouldn't feel bad for your dh having to get milk on they way home. He should.feel bad that he's regularly leaving you skint on Thursdays which on this occasion meant you has to wait hours for milk.

This

melj1213 · 05/01/2017 23:38

Well, in fairness I do think there's a bit of difference between a basket of shopping and being short 20p for milk.

The monetary value perhaps, but in the moment they were at my desk, they promised they would return in a short time period with the money ... they may have had every intention of coming back, but then got home and the cat was on fire and then they had to go hunt for the moon on a stick for their child's school project and the shopping totally slipped their mind.

I don't know any of this, all I know is that someone promised to return with money and never came back.

At what point should I apply a cut off? In my supermarket you can get a pint of milk for 40p, so if youre 20p short then you're short 50% of the price. what about if you want some bread for £1 but you only have 50p, should I let you owe me that too, it is the same % after all ...

Also what monetary value should I let slide and at what point do I say no? So you're 20p short, no problem, what about 50p? 75p? £1? Where is the cut off of going from "Sure, don't worry about it!" to "Sorry, you can't afford this, please comeback when you have the correct amount" and why is it the customer who decides?

Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:39

I understand that. I'm not criticising them or you, you obviously have to follow systems anyway and I would never expect them to be bypassed :)

OP posts:
ParksAndWreck · 05/01/2017 23:43

When I worked in a garage we had a big tub of pennies/five pences from the sheer volume of people who arrive with, say, a £20 note and went slightly under because they were scared of going over when filling up. No one ever wanted the change. This meant that when people did occasionally go over, or someone was a little bit short for their groceries, it wasn't a problem, we'd just take the money from the jar. I find it hard to believe that everyone in your local area dutifully waits for their few pence change when they put, say, £19.98 worth of fuel in - unless they put this money immediately in an inaccessible charity box, they were being mean and jeopardising future custom which would cost them far more than 20p.

melj1213 · 05/01/2017 23:45

in these circumstances, given I live close by and the small amount

Since you live so close, I would have assumed that you wanted me to let you off the 20p so you could nip home and bring it straight back, but that was never going to happen as you admit you didn't have the 20p in the house to bring back. What if you'd got home with the milk and then forgotten about the 20p in all your afternoon busy-ness and then the next time you go to the shop, you've got the right change but actually you're still 20p short as you still owe them, or again you're 20p short aand so now they should let you off since they've done it before, but now you owe 40p ...

If you live so close that they should extend you credit, then you live close enough for you to nip back when you could afford to pay for the items you want to buy.

WyfOfBathe · 05/01/2017 23:45

Depending on your area though, they could have a lot of "regulars". I pop into my local corner shop once or twice a week. So do many of the other people who live within a mile or so of the shop, as well as the students at the local school, people who use the local library, people going to the nearby play area, etc. So that's a lot of people which the shop assistants "know", but they can't let them all off, even if only by a penny.

the small amount it would have
The problem is that, unless they have a specific policy on it, "small" is fairly subjective. If they lend you 20p, what if your friend is short by 50p, or by £1? If they lend you 20p against a £5 shop, should they also lend 20p against a 30p shop?

ComputerUserNumptyTwit · 05/01/2017 23:46

Would your husband have given you the 20p once he got home?

melj1213 · 05/01/2017 23:46

I would never expect them to be bypassed

Except the whole point of this thread is that you want them to bypass it ... since it's only 20p

And you didn't answer the question, if we let 20p slide, where are we supposed to draw the line?

Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:50

Yes, computer, he would.

I know what you mean Wyf and I do understand that. I feel like I'm constantly in and out of the garage so "they must know me!" But obviously they have to draw a line.

melj I didn't want to be "let off" the 20p and I didn't "admit" to anything, I asked quite honestly if I'd possibly be able to nip back in a couple of hours. I didn't answer the question because you're not Judge Rinder and I'm not on trial Smile

OP posts:
Blondeshavemorefun · 05/01/2017 23:52

HOPE you have your milk now :)

Original poster
cherrycrumblecustard · 05/01/2017 23:54

Yes, and in seven minutes I will have actually have a bit of money! Grin

OP posts:
ragdoll700 · 05/01/2017 23:56

Strange my local shop would let me do a small shop and come back with the money if id left my purse at home, in fact I could do this in most places in the small town I live in e.g the chemist, the doctors, even the pound shop or the hairdressers but guess its different in Ireland I dont do this but its nice to know I could and Id never be left stuck for milk or a bottle of calpol.

melj1213 · 05/01/2017 23:57

ParksAndWreck in my supermarket, if anyone leaves change behind or tells you to "keep the change" then it goes straight in the sealed charity pots we have at the tills. If it's over a certain value and/or notes then it goes to customer services to be logged as "lost and found" (as it could be that they got £5 change and just forgot to take it out of the machine) and goes to the cash office at the end of the day (if not claimed) because we aren't allowed to have money just lying around unsecured in the till area, not even a few pennies, as it is against company policy.

chipsandchilli · 06/01/2017 00:10

It's not the till operator's choice, probably on minimum wage and will have no say in it. A garage cashier might have let someone off with £1 or £5, boss cashes till's up and they are down, boss ask's why till's are down, XXX didn't have enough money and said they would come back but they didn't, this has happened a few times so boss say's from now on you don't let people bring money back, boss might take it out of till operator's wages depending on boss. Fair enough if you go in a shop and get served by the owner or manager who can make the decision but the worker's are just doing what they are told.

user1477282676 · 06/01/2017 00:14

YANBU. I always remember this happening at the local corner shop in my old town...it was a privately owned shop...not a CoOP or anything. The woman behind the counter knew me as her son went to the same school as my DD...had done for 5 years!

I was trying to buy bread...so we're talking 1.50 here...and the card machine had broken.

Did she say "Oh pay me tomorrow!"

No. She said

"Oh dear....well, can't be helped!"

I was 9 months pregnant and she knew there were no other shops!

I never went in there again. What a miserable cow! I used to chat to her at the school gates!

Liiinoo · 06/01/2017 00:18

I am a very regular customer at a local nail bar. One day I had treatments that came to £50.20. They didn't have change for my £51.00 so the owner 'generously' said I could drop the 20p in later. I walked away reeling that anyone could be so tight to a regular customer. I dropped the 20p in later that day all in 1p coins and I don't tip there anymore.

Scrounged · 06/01/2017 00:29

I filled up my car at the local garage and when I went to pay realized I didn't have my purse. Even though they didn't know as I live in a biggish town they just said that I could drop the money in later. They were really nice about it. I left my name and number but they didn't ask for ID

I presumed it was because they had my vehicle on CCTV.

user1477282676 · 06/01/2017 01:30

Liinoo wouldn't you just give them the 51 pounds? Confused