He handed me the change - but I gave it back

Hey ,

I think I'm pretty good at mental maths (1). Numbers are easy to follow, even in a foreign language (maybe not the words for numbers, but the figures (2) themselves, like 4, 52, 697 etc.).

I'm such a numbers nerd that before I go to the supermarket checkout, I add up everything I'm buying in my head, so I know how much money to get out to pay with. It's also a way to double-check that the cashier has scanned everything correctly and that the prices are what I expected.

Sometimes there are problems. Maybe with the price in the system (it can be higher OR lower - I check in both cases). Or maybe it's with the change that the cashier gives me. Or maybe with the money I think I've given the cashier 😳.

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece about a time when I wasn't given the correct change. It was wrong by quite a bit and so I stepped back into line and had the person fix it.

Which took a moment. I don't think he was very good at maths...

So I'd like to share the last time I was given the wrong change. It was at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago.

Like usual, I had mentally added my things up. They came to just over €3, so I found the correct number of cents in copper (3) coins (it was less than 10!) and decided to use a €5 Euro note.

Everything went perfectly until the (nice) young man handed me the change. It was €20 🫣. That was more than I had given him to start with!

I stopped him and pointed out that it was way too much. Then I said that €20 was great (but jokingly, I was laughing as I said it).

He checked the docket (4) and gave me the right change. He also apologised and said he thought I was a different customer.

It made my day (5), being given the extra money, even though I was honest and gave it back.

How are you with numbers, ? Do you like them or hate them? Do you have a story about being given the wrong change that you'd like to share?

See ya 'round,

Andrea

(1) mental maths - maths you do in your head, without pen and paper or calculator

(2) figure - a symbol used for a number

(3) copper - a metal that's an orange/brown colour

(4) docket - a small piece of paper with numbers on it, like the one they give you in a shop when you've paid

(5) make (someone's) day - in my story, it is to show happiness/satisfaction.

When Clint Eastwood said, "Go ahead, make my day." in the film 'Sudden Impact', it was as a threat or dare (you do a certain thing and it'll make me happy to do something (usually violent in films) you don't want me to)