Are mini mart clerks regularly screwing me out of 100-200 riel in change?
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:04 pm
I went to "8 Day" minimart last week, the one a few doors down from Larry's towards the Riverside.
One thing I hate about this particular minimart is that the counter space is totally covered with viagra and condoms and cheap cigars, so instead of sliding your items across the counter like anywhere else, you have to lift the items up, and then place them down on the other side of that wall of crap. If I were an aggressive dickhead like Ricecakes, I would just use my items as a bulldozer to push all that shit out of the way and onto the floor everytime I want to buy something. But I'm not, so I just passive aggressively roll my eyes at the clerk each time as I lift my stuff over and carefully put it down.
Anyway, last week, I buy 2 large bottles of water, and the screen says I owe $1.20. I hand over one dollar and 1000 riel to the girl. She takes the money and says thank you. And that's it. I'm pretty sure the screen also said change due 5 cents. But the screen is now blank. And she's not giving me any change.
Now, I'm not the kind of guy to argue over 100 riel. But will I argue over 200 riel? Absolutely.
I tell her she owes me change, she says she doesn't. She says the 1000 riel I gave her = 20 cents. We go back and forth on this for a while, and she outlasts me. She just keeps playing dumb until I leave, without my 200 riel.
I go back to the same minimart yesterday, having actually forgotten about the incident a week earlier. I buy two large bottles of water, which I might point out, are kind of heavy for a short arse weakling like me to have to lift up to shoulder height so that the bottoms of the water bottles clear the boxes of viagra and condoms and pointy cigars on the counter as I am reaching across to put them down on the other side.
There are two dudes behind the counter. The screen says the total cost is once again $1.20. I hand one of them a $10 bill.
The screen now shows that I am due $8.80 AND it also explains that this is $8 + 3200 riel. The clerk hands me back $8 and 3000 riel, as the screen I'm looking at goes blank. I tell him he owes me 200 riel more, that I JUST saw on the screen that I'm due 3200 riel. He shrugs his shoulders and gives me the 200 riel.
I think these shenanigans happen all the time. If I go to Panda Mart and buy 1.37 worth of stuff and hand over two bucks, am I due 2400 riel in change? 2500 riel? 2600 riel? I don't fucking know. Some of them have signs saying $1 = 3900 riel or $1 = 4100 riel, and I can't do the math on that. If something costs 50 cents and I hand over a 5,000 riel note I have no idea if I'm getting back 2900, 3000, or 3100 riel.
Can't these clerks just short change everyone by 100-200 riel on every transaction, and is that what they are doing?
One thing I hate about this particular minimart is that the counter space is totally covered with viagra and condoms and cheap cigars, so instead of sliding your items across the counter like anywhere else, you have to lift the items up, and then place them down on the other side of that wall of crap. If I were an aggressive dickhead like Ricecakes, I would just use my items as a bulldozer to push all that shit out of the way and onto the floor everytime I want to buy something. But I'm not, so I just passive aggressively roll my eyes at the clerk each time as I lift my stuff over and carefully put it down.
Anyway, last week, I buy 2 large bottles of water, and the screen says I owe $1.20. I hand over one dollar and 1000 riel to the girl. She takes the money and says thank you. And that's it. I'm pretty sure the screen also said change due 5 cents. But the screen is now blank. And she's not giving me any change.
Now, I'm not the kind of guy to argue over 100 riel. But will I argue over 200 riel? Absolutely.
I tell her she owes me change, she says she doesn't. She says the 1000 riel I gave her = 20 cents. We go back and forth on this for a while, and she outlasts me. She just keeps playing dumb until I leave, without my 200 riel.
I go back to the same minimart yesterday, having actually forgotten about the incident a week earlier. I buy two large bottles of water, which I might point out, are kind of heavy for a short arse weakling like me to have to lift up to shoulder height so that the bottoms of the water bottles clear the boxes of viagra and condoms and pointy cigars on the counter as I am reaching across to put them down on the other side.
There are two dudes behind the counter. The screen says the total cost is once again $1.20. I hand one of them a $10 bill.
The screen now shows that I am due $8.80 AND it also explains that this is $8 + 3200 riel. The clerk hands me back $8 and 3000 riel, as the screen I'm looking at goes blank. I tell him he owes me 200 riel more, that I JUST saw on the screen that I'm due 3200 riel. He shrugs his shoulders and gives me the 200 riel.
I think these shenanigans happen all the time. If I go to Panda Mart and buy 1.37 worth of stuff and hand over two bucks, am I due 2400 riel in change? 2500 riel? 2600 riel? I don't fucking know. Some of them have signs saying $1 = 3900 riel or $1 = 4100 riel, and I can't do the math on that. If something costs 50 cents and I hand over a 5,000 riel note I have no idea if I'm getting back 2900, 3000, or 3100 riel.
Can't these clerks just short change everyone by 100-200 riel on every transaction, and is that what they are doing?
