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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be slightly "wow really" at this

150 replies

Lonnie · 13/05/2010 19:14

I wasnt in the mood to cook tonight dh was out and it was just me and the kids so we decided to have a take away went to fish and chips shop was served by a very polite I would estimate 16-17 year old whom took my order and then said that will be £11.90 I handed her £22 and at this point the chip shop owner stepped closer to her and said "seeing you how gave wrong change yesterday with the £10 now be careful today" She went "I dont know how to do that I dont know how much I need to give her back" I was quite shocked and just said "£10.10" but after i was thinking this is really not a hard piece of math and I would expect someone working in a shop to be able to do a piece of math like that in their head. at the dinner table I asked my lot whom could do it asking them to put their hand up in the air once they had it all bar dd3 (age 6) could do it within 1 min ds and dn (8 and 16) doing it within max 10 seconds.. (ds being a bit of a math wiz I did expect him to be able to that fast) dd2 whom struggles in school was the longest (age 10 ) but still got it within the minute..

So I am obviously aware that this girl could have had issues but I find it quite that she wasnt able to do this if she worked in a fish and chips shop (she isnt new Ive seen her there before she has been working there for a while)

I did ask cant the till do that for you?"+ and she went no but the owner went well yes so perhaps once I left she was taught how to use the till in that way

OP posts:
zookeeper · 13/05/2010 19:32

I can see how that might throw someone, especially if her boss and a slightly incredulous customer are studying her

lovechoc · 13/05/2010 19:33

full stops, comas etc. it's okay to use them, you know!

YABU - some of us are utterly crap at mental arithmatic yet great at other subjects like english.

thisisyesterday · 13/05/2010 19:33

£8.10... that would be a fiver and 4 coins (unless they had a £2coin)

and places like that are normally low on fivers too... lost count of the amount of times i've been given it ALL in change

plus, shop often prefer it if they don't have to give away more change than necessary

ANYWAY, regardless of any of that... giving £22 is no indication of it not being real

LetThereBeRock · 13/05/2010 19:34

It could be a lot of coins if they didn't have a £5 note,and I often find that shops have ten pound notes but not five.

cory · 13/05/2010 19:37

Don't think much of her boss for showing her up in front of a customer when there was absolutely no need

scurryfunge · 13/05/2010 19:37

That was my point ahlavache.

Original poster
Lonnie · 13/05/2010 19:37

As my children are growing up in the UK 3 of them not dyslexic (hence my comment up in the original posting that I am obivously aware that this girl could have a problem) I am sure they will do just fine.

I am crap at punctuation I try my hardest I did not patronise the girl unlike many of you here are doing to me, without giving me the benefit of the doubt that I may have a issue (and I do)

I did in case any of you are looking at what I wrote actually give her a way that may be a way forward to her to keep her job. ("cant the till do that for you?")

Happy?

I stand by what I said if you work in a shop then math like that should be something you can do. I also said she isnt new if you had read it

stupid blinking thing is I actually went back to remember to add the "" in the speach thing

I would like to see people be able to do this. If that offends many of you so be it, it is my opinion

OP posts:
GrimmaTheNome · 13/05/2010 19:37

The OPs writing style is irrelevant, assuming she doesn't have a job which requires good writing style.

Dealing with other people's money requires either basic numeracy or training in how to use the till. I've come across plenty of people with learning difficulties who have been able to accomplish this sort of task perfectly competently. Hopefully the owner will rectify the problem with this particular girl - otherwise she really shouldn't be doing this job, she could accidently shortchange someone who could ill afford it.

usualsuspect · 13/05/2010 19:40

Why give £22? thats odd to me

Original poster
Lonnie · 13/05/2010 19:41

for those of you whom didnt feel the need to comment on my lack of grammar.

I take on board that yes she may have been flustered etc, however my original comment stands I would expect people to be able to do this and I dont think that it is that odd of me to be a bit "wow"

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 13/05/2010 19:41

I work behind a till ..annoys the hell out of me when people give me odd amounts

scurryfunge · 13/05/2010 19:41

The common theme, OP, is that you seemed very quick to comment on her ability without perhaps knowing whether there were any issues.

The OP's writing style is very relevant if she is discussing basic education and being critical of someone she knows nothing about.

Stop getting so het up and be thankful your children are bright.

nickytwotimes · 13/05/2010 19:43

Oh, fgs op.

A boss pointing out how crap you are at mental arithmetic in front of customers would put anyone off.

Like Riven just said, I used to be totally thrown by the various assortments of cash handed over by customers when I worked in a shop. My colleagues were not. Guess which one of us did English Lit. at uni? And btw I did very well in maths too. Mental arithmetic is different altogether.

IfAtFirstUDontSucceed · 13/05/2010 19:43

poor lass - nothing like being put on the spot to make everything you know suddenly pop straight out of your head!

I remember being put in a similar situation when I was at college. I worked part time at Woolies (hasnt everyone), and I inputted the incorrect money that the customer gave me in to the till, so I had to work out the change in my head.

I would have worked it out if it hadnt been a Saturday afternoon, with a queue snaking down the aisles and a witchy old woman making comments along the line of "can she not count?" "how on earth did she get a job behind a till?" etc etc....

I was so embarrased!

BAFE · 13/05/2010 19:44

Lonnie, can I ask what you do for a living? Or if you're a SAHM, what you did before you were a SAHM. Would you mind telling us. And have you lived in Britain for long?

nickytwotimes · 13/05/2010 19:44

ANd re: training; given that the girl was young it is surely reasonable to assume she is currently being trained.

cupcakesandbunting · 13/05/2010 19:45

I would have to really stop and think about that, sorry. I really struggle with numbers and they don't come easily to me, just like spelling doesn't come easily to some. I can't do timestables, division, simple adding or subtracting without a calculator.

I suppose my first class hons degree in English isn't worth the paper it's written on though, since I am sooooo very s-l-o-w in the "math" department.

venusonarockbun · 13/05/2010 19:45

Im a bit divided on this one. Its sometimes a PITA when you have served someone - tell them how much they owe, say for example its £5.34 - you tell them then they start raking in their pockets/purses for the odd 34p. They think theyre helping when in reality it usually takes ages for them to rake out all their 1p and 2ps only to find in most cases theyre short by a couple of pence anyway.

bibbitybobbityhat · 13/05/2010 19:45

I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight. Dh was out and it was just me and the kids, so we decided to have a take away. We went to fish and chips shop and were served by a very polite (I would estimate) 16 - 17 year old who took my order and then said "that will be £11.90". I handed her £22 and at this point the chip shop owner stepped closer to her and said "seeing how you gave wrong change yesterday with the £10, now be careful today". She went "I dont know how to do that, I dont know how much I need to give her back". I was quite shocked and just said "£10.10".

But, afterwards, thinking about it, I thought "this is really not a hard piece of math and I would expect someone working in a shop to be able to do a piece of math like that in their head". At the dinner table I asked my lot who could do it, asking them to put their hand up in the air once they had it. All bar dd3 (age 6) could do it within 1 minute. Ds and dn (8 and 16) did it within max 10 seconds. Ds is a bit of a math whizz so I did expect him to be able to that fast. Dd2, who struggles in school, took the longest (age 10 ) but still got it within the minute..

So, I am obviously aware that this girl could have had issues, but I find it quite what? that she wasn't able to do this as she worked in a fish and chip shop (she isn't new, I've seen her there before, she has been working there for a while).

I did ask "can't the till do that for you?" and she replied "no" but the owner said "well, yes", so perhaps once I left she was taught how to use the till in that way.

venusonarockbun · 13/05/2010 19:46

Sorry - meant to add that I know this wasnt the same as what happened with the op.

gorionine · 13/05/2010 19:49

I am puzzled by paying a £11.90 bill with £22. It just does not make sense to me.

bibbitybobbityhat · 13/05/2010 19:49

Op, I have just slightly tweaked your words and put them in to vaguely acceptable written English. I must have made 50 + corrections.

I have three 'A' levels and a BA Hons (Lond) Upper Second Class degree, and I could not have done that sum on the spot in my head.

I think, overall, that a good command of English and spelling and grammar is more useful in day to day life.

OrmRenewed · 13/05/2010 19:49

Oh dear! Poor inadequate girl. How absurd that she is permitted to work in the real world.

I can't work out what is worse. Your smugness about your children's abilities or your scorn of someone without quick mental maths skills.

JaneS · 13/05/2010 19:49

Lonnie, think about what you're saying here. An awful lot of low-paid jobs require you to use a till. She may not have a lot of choice. You weren't really inconvenienced, were you, so what's the big deal?

Btw, I do think you are patronizing her, even if she can't hear it. It is patronizing to be 'wow' at someone else's weaknesses.

You say it's not a hard piece of maths. I agree, but it is quite ignorant to assume that her basic problem was the maths. It's also fairly unlikely. My maths is fine, I have a A* at GCSE, but I wouldn't reliably manage this. Why do you assume she's struggling with the maths and not something else?

Shaz10 · 13/05/2010 19:51

I used to work in shops from about that age. It took me bloody ages before I could instantly give change to amounts like that, instead of working up/down from one note.

And it's really nerve wracking dealing with the public before you're used to it. Lots of people treat shop staff like crap and you really care when you're a teenager. As you get older your skin gets much thicker. Cut her some slack FFS.

Oh, and I have lots of degrees. So I'm not completely thick.