Penniless?
I've been noticing a annoying trend in restaurants: a lack of change.
I'm not talking about a getting an odd assortment of bills back. I'm talking about a lack of coinage. The most noticable of this is when there's a complete lack of coins.
Now, most of the time, I make an effort to not need change. I just figure out what the check plus a good tip would be, rounded off to the nearest dollar and just leave that. But, there are times that I need to get change. And it seems with increasing frequency, that at those times I'm not getting coins back.
For example, tonight I went home by way of downtown with the intent of stopping for dinner. So, I had a tasty short rib sandwhich (ironically while reading in Michael Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef about how Thomas Keller of the French Laundry loves braising, such as short ribs) and a diet soda. I get the check, see that it's $14.12. I have a $20 bill, and I know I need to leave a tip, and that I need $0.50 for the subway home (my monthly pass isn't valid in the city proper). I don't have enough coinage for the subway, or singles for the tip.
So, I'll have to ask for ones. And the thought occurs to me: do I need to ask for quarters? No, I don't think so, I should get the coins back when it's onlly $0.12. So, I just ask for the ones.
Waitress comes back with my change: five ones, three quarters and a dime. Pennies? Not a one. The kicker? Sitting beneath my change is a receipt declaring my change is $5.88.
So, what gives here? Is there something about the restaurant environment that erodes the skill of counting change that has been ingrained since the early days of elementary school? Is the naked copper of pennies considered a noxious hazard to a restaurant?
Now, there's a thought. Next time I'm in a restaurant, I'm going to slap down a pile of pennies on top of my check and listen for the alarm klaxons and watch the warning strips spiral down from the ceiling as bunny-suit clad hazmat handlers deploy to contain the hazard.
Never the less, that still wouldn't explain why sometimes I don't get any coins back whatsoever.
Has anyone else noticed this? Anyone able to give any insight?
I'm not talking about a getting an odd assortment of bills back. I'm talking about a lack of coinage. The most noticable of this is when there's a complete lack of coins.
Now, most of the time, I make an effort to not need change. I just figure out what the check plus a good tip would be, rounded off to the nearest dollar and just leave that. But, there are times that I need to get change. And it seems with increasing frequency, that at those times I'm not getting coins back.
For example, tonight I went home by way of downtown with the intent of stopping for dinner. So, I had a tasty short rib sandwhich (ironically while reading in Michael Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef about how Thomas Keller of the French Laundry loves braising, such as short ribs) and a diet soda. I get the check, see that it's $14.12. I have a $20 bill, and I know I need to leave a tip, and that I need $0.50 for the subway home (my monthly pass isn't valid in the city proper). I don't have enough coinage for the subway, or singles for the tip.
So, I'll have to ask for ones. And the thought occurs to me: do I need to ask for quarters? No, I don't think so, I should get the coins back when it's onlly $0.12. So, I just ask for the ones.
Waitress comes back with my change: five ones, three quarters and a dime. Pennies? Not a one. The kicker? Sitting beneath my change is a receipt declaring my change is $5.88.
So, what gives here? Is there something about the restaurant environment that erodes the skill of counting change that has been ingrained since the early days of elementary school? Is the naked copper of pennies considered a noxious hazard to a restaurant?
Now, there's a thought. Next time I'm in a restaurant, I'm going to slap down a pile of pennies on top of my check and listen for the alarm klaxons and watch the warning strips spiral down from the ceiling as bunny-suit clad hazmat handlers deploy to contain the hazard.
Never the less, that still wouldn't explain why sometimes I don't get any coins back whatsoever.
Has anyone else noticed this? Anyone able to give any insight?