To feel like a complete idiot?

[feellikeatwatsad]

I have recently got a job in a local supermarket. I've been out of work for a while.

It's only my 3rd week in. Just got home and feel like a complete twat.

I had already opened the till to give change and he wanted to give me some money so it made a 5 note. I completely forgot that the amount shown on till is his change and I mistakenly thought it was the total of the shopping (I knew it wasn't but it was just a mistake) and he even said "you've given me too much change" I then went and tried to explain why I hadn't and he just went okay and left and probably thought the stupid bitch and rubbed his hands together.

I have an a level in maths as well

The till wasn't short when counted so don't think anyone knows but I just feel so stupid.

You're not stupid, you're just getting used to the job. Give yourself a break!

It happens to everyone - we all do silly mistakes. You will be laughing about it in a few weeks time. Don't fret about it anymore. However, how was your till not short?

But if the till wasn't short are you sure you did make a mistake?

It was absolutely a mistake. I literally worked it out just after he left.

They say that the till has a leeway of £10 as the coins are counted in a machine and that can sometimes not be 100% accurate?

Thanks for the support. It just seems so stupid especially as he said!

In my time in retail I'm not aware of a leeway of £10 but that was many years ago and I would be surprised if it was less accurate now.

You could speak to a supervisor which might make you feel better? Or if I were you I would just forget it and chalk it up to a learning experience. There was no harm done!

That's what they told me at training. If the till is £10 or more short (then explained why it was £10) it gets looked into.

I feel like if I said to a supervisor they might not let me keep the job? Probationary period is 3 months. I'm hoping I'll think nothing of it tomorrow.

If it makes you feel better I once mislaid £5500 at work. We never found it. I really didn't steal it. (I swear) and amazingly they didn't sack me.

Wow that definitely makes me feel better how did that happen?

Honestly op, most of us who have been in retail have gotten confused at some point and made a mistake. Try forget about it.

how did that happen?

We couldn't work it out. I worked in a bank. It was a foreign transaction I processed rather than a wad of cash and whatever I did with the transaction it didn't go into the account it was supposed to. It was back in the days where you had to fill out eleventy million pieces of paper for one transaction. We decided that somewhere amongst all the to-Ing and fro-ing I wrote down a digit wrong and sent it somewhere else but we couldn't find it on the system. Maybe it turned up 7 months later having gone half way round the world

If you are worried, replace the money yourself.

We all make mistakes and you were nervous. Don't beat yourself up about it.

If you tell your supervisor and offer to put the money in they will know it was an honest mistake. I'd hope they will say no to your offer though if it's a big supermarket....Either way it will stop you worrying that they might find out and sack you.

Ahem.

I once left a till box (the black thing, full of an entire days takings after a hugely busy day, nearly £20k in it) on top of the till in plain sight of customers as I tidied up.

It didn't get nicked miraculous, and I didn't get sacked! God knows why not.

Everyone makes mistakes op, but as others have said if it is making you stress or be anxious about work then just ask your supervisor for a quick chat and explain what happened. It will put your mind at ease and the situation is resolved quickly rather than you worrying.

Don't raise this with a supervisor and don't try to 'repay' the money.

You've made a mistake because as it happens you are human and still getting to grips with the job.

Let this go. Eventually you won't even recall this.

I am a supervisor in a shop and if a newbie told me this i would probably regale them with tales of all the mistakes i and others have made. It really is very easy to do and as long as you dont constantly make similar mistakes completely expected dont worry it does get easier.

No need to feel like a COMPLETE idiot over something so small. Just today's idiot :) Sure you sort it by tomorrow. I want to keep my complete idiot status a little longer xx

I'm usually really black and white about doing the right thing but if you hadn't realised then you wouldn't have even known about it later as the till was right when you cashed up. I'd say don't let it worry you, it was just a mistake, you weren't trying to pull a fast one. If you're worried that the price of some small change might impact your employment then I'd truly be tempted to just forget it ever happened, because you'd honestly be oblivious if you were just going by a balanced float.
Every single person who has dealt with transactions has made a mistake, some tiny like this one and some that are complete fuck up territory.
I once had a card machine fuck up of spectacular proportions, I accidentally put a transaction through for £2K instead of £200 and, although they didn't notice I did, went to refund it before they even left and when refunding somehow managed to put it through again manually instead of the refund. It was a vet practice and I'd been up all night on call (again) and it was the second day of new machines, so although the reason was total brain fart stupidity I was tired and trying to get the bloody thing to work as the client was giving me an absolute bollocking, nightmare. Not only did he shout at me at the time he then complained to the practice manager that he wanted me fired and he wanted his bill waived for the inconvenience. Claiming back any fees I'd understand and had already offered to pay out of my own considerably smaller pocket. It just proved the rule really, if you're going to fuck up you'll do the wrong thing to the absolute worst person to do it to and I 'picked' the wrong person that day!
Generally these things all even out. Any supermarket is going to make more money out of you than they lose with the amount of work you'll do vs what they pay you and I bet if you saw some of the debts they write off you wouldn't think another thing about it.
I will say though that your integrity and honesty is absolutely an asset and any employer should be grateful to have employees like that (we had a schedule 1 drug stealing scandal, I know that of which I speak).

Learn the lesson. Take your time. Keep the note ontop of the notes compartment, check the till for the amount it says you should be giving back...check it twice, and hand the customer the correct change. Then, you put the note in the till. That way if a customer says 'oh you gave me change for £10 but I gave you a £20'...you can see the note you were given because its still there on top of the compartment.

Every till operator makes a mistake here and there, it happens....from fake notes to mistakes. It happens.

But wow...a £10 shortage allowance is HUGE! lol When I worked in retail our staff were allowed 10p up or down on every £100 taken in the till - if someone messed up on change over a £10 or £20 note, I would have some very very serious explaining to do to my boss come Monday morning lol

Oh that's nothing. I once mistakenly put 3.7trn Japanese yen on deposit over golden weekend instead of 3.7bn leaving the JPY account of the Honk Kong Monetary Authority rather overdrawn. Realised couple of hours later but cost us about £60,000 to borrow the money back for 3days

I once bought a coffee and paid with a fiver the sales assistant gave my a twenty note back, I almost walked off (as I was suffering the beginnings of a migraine) then remembered I’d paid with the smallest note so how’d I end up with another note, I quickly told her she’d given me too much. She was so greatful & poor thing was shaking when she realised. As a customer, I didn’t think it was a big deal or that she was stupid. These things happen.

My first job was working in a bar (underage) and someone asked for beer and I put ice in it 😂😂 These things happen, it's fine.