People holding money in their mouths

[Notyouthful]

Was in a shop this afternoon and the shop assistant refused to take a lady’s £10 note. Why? She held the note in her mouth.

My friends who work in retail say it’s a thing done mostly by elderly. Why do they do it? It’s a disgusting habit. Even during the mask compulsory wearing days, a friend caught a customer lowering mask so could hold money in her mouth. The customer denied she lowered the mask.

How would these customers react if staff decided to hold money in their mouths before giving them to customers? They would be horrified. So why do customers think it’s ok to hand over money held in their mouths?

The risk will be to the person putting grubbing dirty money in their mouth, not to the person handling money with their hands.

I'm not sure that is correct!

YANBU @Notyouthful What a foul thing to do. Put your money in your mouth and then try to pass it to someone. FOUL! 😖

As a teenager I’d work on a checkout and sometimes someone would do this. Gross. It mystified me. Would love to have refused it

What on earth? I've never come across this and I hope I never do.

Over 40 years in retail and I've never had anyone do this.

I have however refused to accept money pulled out of bras and sweaty cleavage.

In fact one shop I worked in, the owner considered putting a sign on the counter warning it will be refused!

Wow! Never seen or heard this. Do people leave the house and literally have money in their mouths as opposed to a wallet! Eh?!

Cash is actually exceedingly filthy. Dirtier than most toilets to be honest. So the person popping the notes in their mouth is actually at the higher risk. I understand it feels gross to actually collect the notes from the paying customer but it’s actually not as foul as putting money in one’s mouth.

My dad used to do this all the time. It was just temporary while he used both hands to do something else, while at a checkout for example. He turned his lips inwards and held the note between the dry part. He didn’t walk around like it.

Huh?! Why would people put money in their mouths? Why do they get cash out of pockets / purse before they need it? I worked in retail years ago when cash was more common (and cheques still a thing!) and never saw this.

I doubt it makes the money any dirtier than it already is tbh, but still off putting. I actually think it's a bit rude to refuse it though- you know nothing about the person or their background. It might be their last tenner. Or you might humiliate them in the queue and send them over the edge. It's a bit mean.
I never see people working in shops washing or even sanitizing their hands so don't think hygiene is really their number one.
I wouldn't refuse to take it.

Agree it is disgusting
I hate it when I’ve served people and they hold out their hand with change in expecting me to take it and they also have a snotty tissue in their hand 🤢

Wouldn't bother me at all to be honest. People's hands will be dirtier and more germy than their mouths in most cases!!

Honestly be more shocked to see someone paying anything by cash nowadays.

£5s and £10s can be rolled up and used as shoots for sniffing coke. I means money is pretty gross. Maybe the old girl at the till was hoping for a bit of a hit from the reside coke....did she bounce out of the shop looking supremely happy by any chance?!

It’s grim.

Friends who work in retail have been told to refuse any money which is temporarily held in customers' mouths. If they insist on speaking to a manager, they will back their colleague 100%.

It is not just bank notes, customers hold in their mouths. Lottery tickets, coupons, receipts (if require a refund).

There are still 1m adults that don't have a bank account. I say its 50/50 split of illegal immigrants and the elderly who refuse to adapt.

It's an odd hill to die on.

Given that money is absolutely filthy the person holding it on their mouth is at greater risk and the cashier could catch far worse than someone else's mouth germs.

They can set whatever rules they like but it's a strange hill to die on when all money is absolutely filthy in the first place. I used to cash up 4 tills in a bar every night and my hands would be black by the end of it.

I can't understand why anyone would want to put money in their mouths! Absolutely disgusting.

The worst I've seen working in a shop when I was younger, was a larger lady pull notes out of her sweaty bra 🤢 whatever is wrong with a purse or a pocket??

Oh that's just gross!

I didn't know people did this until COVID when they put a sign up in a local supermarket asking people not to do it.

It's like handing a snotty tissue over. Disgusting. Just why?

I worked in retail and never gave a shit. I don’t think it’s good for people’s mental health to fixate on random germs.
Especially not as there are other threads at the moment panicking about world war 🤣

Mouth germs will most certainly be the least of the issue when it comes to money!

I never heard of, or encountered this when working in retail. I still think it's a bit ott. It's money. It's full of germs. It's been up peoples noses and everything! You can always wash your hands.
Retail workers can be a bit like that though- look how some carried on during covid!!
I bet if it was their own business an someone had 'unclean' money, they'd accept it, rather than send their business elsewhere! Especially a large amount.
Germs are on everything the public touches.
I think they need to stop being so precious.