Maybe it's a weird thing to think, but I feel a little conflicted about correcting change. I don't want to make an extra few dollars because of a mistake. It's just a little uncomfortable for an employee to thank me for being honest when I am also going to be honest in my report. I imagine that if they knew that I had not actually saved them, they would not be so grateful.

I suppose there are other times when we seem like such great customers from the employee's point of view. Until we're not.

I don't feel as if I should do something different. It's just a bit of a drain.

I would always report incorrect change, I check my change always. Anyone can make a mistake. What do you mean when you stated,I don't want to make an extra few dollars because of a mistake?

I have had employees try to give me free stuff several times and had to argue with them to charge me so I could get the receipt! I know that they have to think that's weird.

Slightly different, but last time I did a post office authorized sender shop the clerk asked me three times if I was sure I wanted to send my box Priority, because it was SO much more expensive! I told him someone else was paying and I was following what they told me to do :-)

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I have had employees try to give me free stuff several times and had to argue with them to charge me so I could get the receipt! I know that they have to think that's weird.

Yes Kathy, I say the same thing when they try to talk me into a cheaper option, or say my elderly aunt/mother said she wanted it to go priority through the post office and she is set in her ways. They usually smile and nod. I often try to go just after 5 p.m. so that they don't tell me to go to the post office a couple of miles away.

@shopper8 wrote:

I would always report incorrect change, I check my change always. Anyone can make a mistake. What do you mean when you stated,I don't want to make an extra few dollars because of a mistake?

I just mean that part of me wants to just let it pass and let them deal with a short drawer instead of it going into the report. I admit it’s a weird feeling. Especially because I know that a short drawer would more likely get the person fired than retrained.

I just want to avoid the person complimenting me or thanking me.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I have had employees try to give me free stuff several times and had to argue with them to charge me so I could get the receipt! I know that they have to think that's weird.

If an employee comps you, why could you not buy an additional item to get your receipt? The only time that ever happens to me is at a bar. If I absolutely must turn in a receipt, then I buy another drink.

I have never had an entire meal comped, just parts of it and when that happens I always ask myself why in the heck that almost never happens on my own dime. I want to be comped when I am not getting reimbursed.
I do remember reading on this forum about a shopper who was not compensated because another customer she knew had picked up her bill. It was not a guest at her own table. So s/he basically worked for the very small or non existent fee and then felt s/he had to do something nice out of her own pocket for the person who "treated" her. I found that to be very wrong on the side of the msc but probably a very awkward situation.
As far as wrong change is concerned, generally I will let the person know and have never been thanked. In any case I would report it even if I did not have it corrected at the establishment. People make errors and if it is a one time thing and the employee has not been caught doing this often chances are they will not lose their job. If they do this consistently, perhaps in order to get a bigger tip or perhaps they do not know math or to pocket the difference, this is the same to me as someone giving everyone a second round of drinks at the bar for free...I observed this at a place that used to be mystery shopped and even got a free drink myself but really wished it was a mystery shop.
These are some of the reasons they hire us... and in the long run we all pay in the end when the prices go up to cover the costs involved in employees giving things away or putting money in their own pockets.

I got a teenage cashier once who could not make change for my $0.69 purchase.

When I asked her why she couldn't make the change, she just stated "They didn't teach us that in school". I then asked her how she makes sure she gets the right change herself, when she buys stuff. She said she never counted her own change.

As to the shopper above who says she never gets thanked when she corrects the change, wow. I get thanked almost every time. That's not why I do it, of course; I do it because it's the right thing to do.

As for the report....any employee can make a mistake. Sometimes (I know from personal experience), bills are in the wrong slot in the drawer. Sometimes, bills stick together. Sometimes the clerk is having a bad day, and counts "4-5-9-", LOL.

It's NOT that they make a mistake -- it's how they handle it when brought to their attention. Did they "make it right"? Were they pleasant, or defensive? Professional? Did they, in fact, practice excellent customer service skills? Then THAT's what I say in the report!!!

If you were shorted change, you would make it right, right? This is the other end of the spectrum.

When I carried cash on a regular basis, I tallied how much I made from these counter errors. In one year, it was over $60.

@1cent wrote:

Maybe it's a weird thing to think, but I feel a little conflicted about correcting change. I don't want to make an extra few dollars because of a mistake. It's just a little uncomfortable for an employee to thank me for being honest when I am also going to be honest in my report. I imagine that if they knew that I had not actually saved them, they would not be so grateful.

I suppose there are other times when we seem like such great customers from the employee's point of view. Until we're not.

I don't feel as if I should do something different. It's just a bit of a drain.

This happens on my gas station shops a lot.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I have had employees try to give me free stuff several times and had to argue with them to charge me so I could get the receipt! I know that they have to think that's weird.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

If you were shorted change, you would make it right, right? This is the other end of the spectrum.

The point was more that I find the exchange somewhat trying. I stated that I did not want to keep the money.

@1cent wrote:

@shopper8 wrote:

I would always report incorrect change, I check my change always. Anyone can make a mistake. What do you mean when you stated,I don't want to make an extra few dollars because of a mistake?

I just mean that part of me wants to just let it pass and let them deal with a short drawer instead of it going into the report. I admit it’s a weird feeling. Especially because I know that a short drawer would more likely get the person fired than retrained.

I just want to avoid the person complimenting me or thanking me.

A short drawer by a few bucks won't get someone fired. Minor shortages/overages are an expected part of business. Now, if it started become habitual with the person, then that becomes a different matter. But if it is rare, nothing will probably even happen to them, not even a "retrain".

Sometimes it throws off timings for some shops. Also, I don't think I could eat a second dinner and it would look really odd for me to order another meal after I just ate one. And those were shops where there was nothing wrong with the meal, those were male servers/bartenders who were trying to get cozy with me. And if it was a shop where alcohol was involved, there are many MSCs who have a strict 1 drink policy. It doesn't say that I can only purchase one drink, often it states clearly that there is a one drink maximum per person.

@AZwolfman wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I have had employees try to give me free stuff several times and had to argue with them to charge me so I could get the receipt! I know that they have to think that's weird.

If an employee comps you, why could you not buy an additional item to get your receipt? The only time that ever happens to me is at a bar. If I absolutely must turn in a receipt, then I buy another drink.