Basic Math Proficiency (or Lack There-of)

[skb12172]

Well, yeah, the old business processes were good. They HAD to be good in order to work in that pre-electronic, do everything for you age.

In late elementary school, I used to suck at basic math. Then, I got really into sports, especially baseball, and started working hard to figure out stats and whatnot on my own. To this day, I am a basic math master. Like someone previously said, working hard at it is most of the battle.

[Precision]

Well, yeah, the old business processes were good. They HAD to be good in order to work in that pre-electronic, do everything for you age.

In late elementary school, I used to suck at basic math. Then, I got really into sports, especially baseball, and started working hard to figure out stats and whatnot on my own. To this day, I am a basic math master. Like someone previously said, working hard at it is most of the battle.

Yes, but ... yah know.. well.. and ummh... that requires ... ahhhh ... WORK. The thing that so many people see to be allergic to today.

I realize that some people are not mathematically inclined. I realize that some people just aren't as bright as other people. I make allowances for those things (most of the time). However being a cashier and not being able to make change for a $20. That is absolutely ridiculous. Sorta like being a line judge (tennis) and being BLIND.

I had that happen in a store. 10 minutes and 2 managers later, I demanded my $20 back and left without the stuff I was gonna buy.

[Cybrludite]

I can almost (note the word almost) sympathize with Netpackrat's "victims", I don't remember the last time I saw a $2 bill (except the one I have in my jewelry box, that my Dad carried in his wallet for good luck).

In particular, a $2 bill was usually carried for luck at gambling. The rarity of the bill symbolized winning against long odds. That's been genericized over the years to just plain good luck.

(Random trivia courtesy of my weird reading habits... )

[Lokidude]

.......Being able to (accurately) subtract $18.23 from $20 isn't understandable for anyone (a) above the age of ten at the outside and (b) working with money for a living......

It's worse - you don't even have to know how to subtract to make change. All the kid had to do was start at $18.23, add two pennies from the drawer for $18.25, add three quarters for $19.00 and a dollar for $20. That's the way I was taught to count out change back to a customer, presumably so the customer would know he/she was getting the correct change. Sometimes the old business processes were good........

That's how I do it to this day. My computer will tell me the change, if I ask it to, but I just count back to the customer, and guess what... our drawer is never off. Of course, we don't do that much cash sales, it's mainly a charge business, but still, it's not that difficult.

[FelixEstrella]

I like to fuck with cashiers. For example, if my total comes to $15.77, I'll hand then a $20 bill, a $1 bill and two pennies. Instead of (the simpler) giving me a $5 bill and a quarter, I invariable get puzzled looks. Then they spend 40 seconds adding up the amount I gave them, and poking my amount into their "calculator" the puzzled looked turns to a "wow" look.

[mekender]

i ran a cash register for 3 Christmases in a row at Toys R Us... got an award for not being over or under by more than a dollar for the whole time... if i can do that with all the cash that flowed across my register, i have zero tolerance for people that are less capable than that...

[Jered]

Ever watch the kids today? They stand there and count on their fingers. I always laugh. Used to make the point that education was shit today to my students by telling them to take a guess at what tax on 675 dollars would be if the tax rate is .0825 cents per dollar. I'd have them write it out and I'd work it out in my head. I'd usually win the race, amazed the kids. Quick guess on that, is it'd be around 57 dollars.

If the tax rate on $675 is around eight hundredths of a cent then It's not going to be $57.

[Steamforger]

I like to fuck with cashiers.

I like to fuck with customers, but for some crazy, unexplicable reason, everytime I got in a customer's face and let them know where exactly they were on the food chain, they found some place better to be.

Funny ol' world, ain't it? I will be living in my truck and three days from starvation before working retail ever again.

There's nothling like doing a crappy job to get yourself through a rough patch (instead of finding a way to attach yourself to a .gov teat) and some asshole with nothing better to do wants to come in and play games. Imagine some person off the street coming into your office and telling you how to do your job not only correctly, but with enough style for them to validate their concerns about society. Most of you would tell them to go pound sand up their ass. It's flat out disrespectful.

I really can't understand how this is considered to be fair game. OTOH, maybe it's just a Yankee personality flaw as I never really ran into the problem until moving north...

[FelixEstrella]

There's nothling like doing a crappy job to get yourself through a rough patch (instead of finding a way to attach yourself to a .gov teat) and some asshole with nothing better to do wants to come in and play games. Imagine some person off the street coming into your office and telling you how to do your job not only correctly, but with enough style for them to validate their concerns about society. Most of you would tell them to go pound sand up their ass. It's flat out disrespectful.

As a customer, a good cashier is tolerable, while a bad cashier is an impediment. Sorry if it's a crappy job, but I'm here (in the store) to buy a boot for my CV joint because my old one's busted and I need to get my Cat going quickly so my guests can continue their hunt. I'm not in the store to commiserate with you about your social status, and if my you can't make change, then what exactly *can* you do?

But no worries. Cashiers are slowly being replaced by self-checkout, and once retailers figure out how to reduce theft to tolerable levels I won't have to deal with another cashier in a crappy job ... ever.

[Rod]

Ever watch the kids today? They stand there and count on their fingers. I always laugh. Used to make the point that education was shit today to my students by telling them to take a guess at what tax on 675 dollars would be if the tax rate is .0825 cents per dollar. I'd have them write it out and I'd work it out in my head. I'd usually win the race, amazed the kids. Quick guess on that, is it'd be around 57 dollars.

If the tax rate on $675 is around eight hundredths of a cent then It's not going to be $57.

Ummmm, did I make a mistake somewhere? .0825 cents on a dollar is 8 and a 1/4 cents.