Short Changed

"That'lll be $10.80" said the girl behind the counter. 

$10.80 for bubble tea and bread at Utopia Myaree.  

Man, I hate this addiction for flavoured water with jelly bits.

I give the girl with the orange bandanna $15. She takes the notes and continues to press some buttons on the register.

"Um... do you have 80 cents?" She asks nervously.

"Nopes.  Sorry that's all I've got"

"Because we don't' have any change"

And that's when the staring game started. 

We just both stood there staring at each other. 

Not in a Oh-my-god-I-can-see-through-your-eyes-that-you're-my-destiny-my-love-my-everything romantic kinda of stare. 

On the contrary, I was giving her a commanding stare.  I was trying to get her to find some change or just say 'don't worry about the eighty cents".

And I was also secretly staring at the pimples clumping on her cheeks.  They've grown quite big and very purple.  Kinda like little berries.  

I was wondering if pimple juice ever get into the bubble tea she serves.

She, on the other hand was giving me puppy dog eyes, searching for a lifeline to this difficult situation.

For what seemed like a ten second eternity, my pimple staring left eye stumbled across the tips jar brimming with coins.

"Can't you just use that?" pointing at the tip jar? (I lost the staring game)

Her eyes widened, she stepped backed crying "No.  Noo.. NOOOOO!"

As if I just put an evil curse on her by suggesting something so blasphemous as touching the tips jar. 

Thankfully the other staff member watching remedied the situation by grabbing a handful of coins from the tips jar and replaced it with the $5 note. 

Change given, crisis aborted.

Too bad the she's cursed now.

****************

Last night, I used my monthly Maccas quota and ordered myself a Big mac meal drive thru (I was gunning for the CRV in their Drive-thru-to-win promotion)

I know its bad, but I'm also addicted to the special sauce and plastic cheese.

The stocky guy at the window took my $10 note and asked

"We've run out of five cent coins, is that alright?"

He's suggesting he short changes me and is checking if I'll be alright with that.

Now I had two choices. 

I could say:

A - yeah thats cool. Rip me off five cents, but im down with that.

or 

B - no, its not alright.  As an establishment who has failed to project the coin usage for that day, I think they should at least try to appease their customer by giving me more change rather than less.  By making me happy, they increase the likeliness of me returning (although my addiction for the orange special sauce and plastic cheese gives them the upper hand).  And if you think about it, five cents, for the individual might not be much, but if they shortchange every one of the million of customers they serve daily, then you're talking big bucks.  I for one, will not stand at this injustice.  Who can say that this guy isn't in fact pocketing the five cents and making a lucrative business for himself by hi-jacking customer five cents.  Most importantly, its the principle of things.  I should get the correct amount of change for the money I've given.  Its a basic principle of sale.  But to suggest something so bodacious as ripping myself off?!! Crazy right?

So of course I opted for option A.

Five cents annoy me because I can't use the coins for parking.

And when I get home, I open up my brown bag, only to find the FRENCH FRIES WERE MISSING!!!

NOOOOOOOO!! 

:(