OK, what's $5.20 minus $4.20?? If you said $1.00 you are overqualified .

for a job as a cashier at Panera Bread.

Something that always gets my goat (see, I'm showing my age with that cliche') is the inability for cashier's to do simple math . . .

Yesterday, I made a purchase at Panera Bread. The cashier had rung up my sale. $4.20. After she put in the amount that I had paid, which was a $5.00 bill, I told her that I had 20 cents. She said "I can't take that, I've already rung it up.". I told her that it wouldn't make any different in her register, just the amount of change she would be giving me. She struggled with that for a moment, then said "I can't figure that out".' I said, "It's $5.20 - $4.20" You owe me a dollar. She had to call her manager over to verify that I wasn't trying to "rip them off".

WTF is wrong with young people nowadays. Is this what calculators have done to our youth? I remember when I was a cashier I had to count the change out in reverse to a customer and come out with what they had given me.

Sheeeesh. Am I just being an old geezer?

 

Determining how bad this is really depends on whether she was hot or not. I used to get my morning coffee from a girl that was dumb as a brick but I didn't care because she was so cute.

 

Just remember, half the people in the world have below average intelligence.

 

She was cute if you were a "chubby chaser". I like my women "crack wh**e skinny"..

 

If you really want to mess with their heads, go into McDonald's at breakfast and tell them you want a #2 (Sausage McMuffin), but with no hash browns. If you just ask for a Sausage McMuffin, they will give you the one off of the dollar menu, which doesn't have an egg.

They will tell you that you have to take the hash browns because it is part of the meal deal.

But what if I just hand the hash browns back to you?

You can't do that once they are in the bag.

So don't put them in the bag, put them on the side and take them back.

We can't do that, it is against McDonald's rules.

Oh, and I want the discounted Senior coffee.

We can't do that, sir. Beverage is part of the meal, so you have to pay for it.

But if I just came in asked for the Senior coffee, you would give me that for the discount?

Yes, sir, that is correct.

 

Oh, yeah I just thought of this.

Why do they price things so that with tax, it comes to, for example, $4.01. They have to know it is coming out that way. Why don't they charge a penny less so it would come out to $4.00 even.

You never have that penny on you. Of course, many places have a penny tray, but I swear people steal from them. I always put my pennies in there, but more often than not, it is empty when I need it.

 

It's a sad situation, there's a lot of people that are significantly below average in math and reading. On the other hand a lot of people use plastic (myself included) so they are not often faced with the "challenge" of calculating change.

On the other hand there's a Mexican restaurant that I frequently visit that is cash only - they know how do to do math because they do it on every transaction.

 

People cannot do simple math anymore because they don't practice it. They'd rather use a computer for simple addition and subtraction rather than exercise their brains. Personally I like to use my brain. On the other hand my spelling skills have gone way down because of computers.

I'm working on becoming a crotchety old man!

 

One of our standard interview questions is "what is 25% of $1.00". Sometimes we may change it up to "What is 25% of 100, or what is 100 divided by 4. Since we started asking about 20 months ago, 37 out of 106 have gotten the answer correct.

 

So more than 25%.......

 

Computers are tools. They're actually dumb pieces of metal. I'm afraid if we don't do something our young people will end up just like computers...

Oh and I'm not working on becoming a crotchety old man.

I am a crotchety old man. And a damn good one! Get off my lawn!

 

No, 37 out of 106 is more than half which is a bit more than 25% but less than 50%.

 

I was at a restaurant once and my GF ordered a Cheeseburger which of course came with fries. She asked if she could substitute the fries with a side salad. They said no, we can't do that. So she said fine and that she wanted a salad, which she knew was an extra cost, in addition to the burger and told him not to bring the fries. The waiter said he couldn't do that and that he had to bring the fries anyway. But my nephew was able to order his pulled pork sliders, which came with cole slaw on them, without the cole slaw. How does this make any sense? They simply couldn't just not put the fries on the plate but were able to not put slaw on the sliders?

 

When we were in school (I hate to say back in the day but I will) we had to have a good grasp of math basics before we moved on to the next grade; they still teach all the basics, but they allow calculators well before the basics are solid. I do believe technological changes has made its impact here dramatically and would be difficult to monitor in a classroom setting. But I do wonder how many of these people when paying cash for items notice when they are short changed? Then again, how many carry cash?

Another pet peeve I have with is reading clocks; not that we see clocks in Vegas. If the clock isn't digital many of them have no clue what time it is; I suppose, that is why they all have cell phones

 

I think this is a couple of things going on:

She might have been new/newish to retail: having been in retail for quite a few years I can say that a lot of new people working the cash register/POS seem to think that it keeps track of everything including how much it should have in bills and coins and its pretty common for them to worry that things won't "balance" if they punch something in and then modify the cash in/change out.

For the part about you trying to "rip them off" - thats actually pretty common in retail and depending on the place it could be happening as often as daily or weekly where somebody comes in, makes a purchase and then when it comes to getting change back they come up with more change, alter things, try to fast-talk the employee and try to get more back than they should.

But all that said... as far as "street smarts", savvy and general problem solving skills I think this current generation of youth, right now in the 12-25 year old range, is going to be about the overall worst that we have seen in probably well over a thousand years. Not saying that they are all going to be dummies, but as a collective and on the average they will be.

 

Bring back the draft.

And get off my lawn.

 

the Jack Nicolson routine from 5 easy pieces come to mind




[Bobby wants plain toast, which isn't on the menu]

Bobby: I'd like an omelet, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee.

Waitress: A #2, chicken salad sand. Hold the butter, the lettuce, the mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee. Anything else?

Bobby: Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules.

Waitress: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?

Bobby: I want you to hold it between your knees.


but i hear the OP point. say what you want, but there's something for teaching basic arithmetic and others subjects via the rote method, rather than having to explain your answer..
teacher in the old days... 2+2=4
student...why?
teacher....because it is....

but i digress...

 

I will say this, you do see it more often in the younger folks, but I have seen it plenty of times with people over 50 working registers as well. Stupidity doesn't limit itself to age.

 

On the other hand, when you have a computer or printer problem, who is the first person you look to? a fellow old geezer or the young teen who can count?

 

"Wht we hav hair, is a failyer, to communicake"

I thought for sure this was a trick question! lol

I tel u wht, jst ritin on ths brd has mde me spel bezzer

Around here the curriculum is geared towards higher grades = more $ from the coffers that be

Unfortunately, the kids don't know how to write in cursive let alone print good.
(other areas of the country may be learning this, but not our grade to middle school kids)
They can't write or read anything in cursive. It's not important anymore to our board of edjumakacion.

(side story)
When the low carb eating craze was gaining popularity I pulled into a BK and ordered a Whopper with 'no bread'.
:confused2: The cashier quizzically asked over the speaker, "You said, with No Bread, right?" I said, yep that's it.
I get to the pay window and the whole kitchen work force were stretching their necks to get a good look at the wacko.

"Wht we hav hair, is a failyer, to communicake"
- Luke's warden