Math Is Your Friend, And Their Enemy
I used to work at a one-hour photo at a CVS-style store. We would take overflow at our register if the lines got too long. A lady comes up with a cart full of stuff and a large fist full of coupons. I ring her up to process the coupons.
Me: “Your total is $122.35.”
Customer: “You messed up! You didn’t do my coupons right!”
After a little back and forth (with her being very patronizing and questioning my intelligence and math skills), I void the whole transaction and start again. After every item:
Me: “This cat food rang at $0.89 is that okay?”
After every coupon:
Me: “You can see $1.00 came off, ma’am. Is that correct?”
This must have taken fifteen minutes. At the end:
Me: “As you can see, the total is $122.35.”
She was furious but couldn’t say anything. It was glorious. I am now thirty-nine years old with three kids, and one-hour photos don’t exist, but I still think of my petty triumph.
Related:
Math Is Your Friend, Part 20
Math Is Your Friend, Part 19
Math Is Your Friend, Part 18
Math Is Your Friend, Part 17
Math Is Your Friend, Part 16
