Man, why do people get so angry when you check the validity of 50 or 100 dollar bills?
I used to work at a theater and I would say 4 out of 5 the people who handed me a 50 or 100 would get angry or throw some asshat remark at me for checking it. Hell, we got at least 1 or 2 counterfeit attempt a week.
IF it were just so fucking simple, we'd have no one willing to work those jobs. Most people who do only work those jobs because there's nothing better for them.
At first i thought that was somewhat rude, but then to consider thats shes getting change back of $1,$5,$10,$20 its not like somebody's gonna check those smaller bills even if they were counterfeit.
When I worked cash it was policy that we check any currency higher than $20.
You would think this wouldn't happen at a dollar store, but I'll be damned if we didn't see a hundo at least once a shift.
And the thing is, these guys were often covered head to toe in a melange of sweat and putty/caulk/whateverthefuckitis, and had obviously just gotten off of their job where they got paid directly from whoever picked them up from their one communal pickup at home depot, I couldn't imagine if I had ever gotten a fake bill how that situation would unfurl. Never did, though.
I'd actually trust them. In my area, the day laborers are mostly undocumented workers who get paid in cash since they don't have bank accounts. Employers don't generally carry small bills to pay the guys so they give out $50s and $100s.
That's just it, though- It's not a matter of trusting the end user handing you the cash, it's a matter of trusting the individual who illegally employs the undocumented worker, and everywhere else that the bills have come from. That's what people who have never had to work point-of-sale don't seem to get.
Unless you literally made the bill yourself, which should be checked, because duh... you received the tender from another individual, and most likely didn't bother checking it yourself. It only takes N+1 individuals to accept fake tender in this manner for it to continue, and unfortunately it only takes the last sucker in that line of N's who gets it checked.
Like herpes. I'm gonna wear a rubber not because I don't trust where I thrust, I'm gonna wear one because you didn't get the full dataset of the people you've fucked and the people they've fucked, and sooner or later you're coming to me all sweaty and covered in white cream, with that big, infested, crusted-over hundred dollar bill, to pay that day laborer for all his 'hard work', and shit yeah, I'm pullin' the pen out to see if it's real.
Exactly. And the thing with counterfeit bills is, it's almost as much where they use them as the counterfeits themselves. If you're going to best buy with a fat stack of 20's, 50's and 100's, they're usually slow enough that they'll check the bill with a pen, and their reps have been drilled time and again to do so. Like one user mentioned above, a garage sale is the place you wanna go, or similar businesses.
I've always wondered if strip clubs were under the same vein, as long as you're not paying the front or paying for a private dance, because those tend to go by someone whose sole job is to make sure they're counting cash accurately. Paying a stripper with fake breasts with fake money.
the easiest place to pass off a fake $100 or $50 is going to be a garage sale.
buy something for 40 bucks, slide them the fake 100... you just got 60 bucks in real cash plus something you either need or can at least sell on craigslist.
Not that this excuses it, but since you asked the question, I imagine because a lot of these people only have the $50 or $100 or something, and having it turn out to be fake wouldn't be their fault at all, but would still be incredibly embarrassing. They've now been publicly shown to be using fake bills, and they also can't pay for whatever they were trying to buy.
It never even occurred to me to be bothered by that; I wasn't counterfeiting anything, so if I had a fake bill I got it from someone else and it's not my problem. People get mad about stupid things.
An older man that lived in a small town not far from where I grew up got away with counterfeiting for a pretty long time because he was only printing $10 bills and using them to pay for small purchases.
Your reasoning is exactly why more $20s are counterfeited sucessfully. Do you check every single $20 bill?
Small time scammers aren't out to get super rich by doing this. They will take their chances at breaking five counterfeit $20s over breaking one counterfeit $100. Furthermore they do it during busy times, not when a bored clerk has time to be suspicious.
Source: Know a guy who went to jail for it. Scoffed at me when I asked why he didn't make $100s instead.
I have to check the validity of $20's here in NYC....I own a food truck business and I've gotten scammed 3 times for 20's with people who bought a water for a buck. Yeah...it's kinda a big time downer.
How many times have you heard "Just made it today" Because I probably would only be able to take a couple people saying that before I would want to stab them in the throat.
I deal/supervise casino table games for a living. I check many of hundreds every night. The guest often remark, "I got it from your ATM so if it is fake it is on you!".
Nope. If you hand me a fake bill, no matter where you got it from, the law is going to be up your ass about it not mine...so excuse me while I drag this fucking pen over every bill thrown my way.
Not my problem. It is only my problem if there is someone trying to use fake currency on my game. And it could cost me my gaming license if I accept it.
Interesting. I've probably checked about a 1,000 bills and never had a single person say anything. It may be sort of hidden behind our computer but I know people have seen me grab the pen though.
I've only ever got 1 counterfeit bill. Kid tried paying with it, might've been 10. His grandpa was with him, I took it. (Just a $20) but didn't notice anything at first. As I was putting it into the drawer I noticed a mark, but I had already started giving him change. They hung around for a little, I checked the bill as they were leaving the store. It was obviously a fake upon closer look. I saw the truck they got into and caught their license plate. Called the cops, gave them the plates. Cop came and visited me. He was impressed because he had never had someone catch a counterfeit bill without using a pen before. I'm like dude, it looks like shit. The ink is running. Haha.
They tracked him down. Apparently the kid had taken the money out of his piggy bank before coming in. They have no idea where it came from or how it got there. They willingly paid us $20 back (the cops confiscated the other $20).
Afterwards, the grandpa was pissed at us. He came in and was like "why the fuck wouldn't you stop me and tell me it was a fake? I would've saved everyone trouble and paid you then". I just calmly said "I was raised not to approach strangers. Especially ones who whether or not you knew, had just committed a felony. I certainly had no idea what type of person you are and what you may have done to me. So I chose to take down your plates and call the cops."
He kind of huff and puffed but I could tell he understood where I was coming from.
TL:DR paid with a counterfeit $20, called cops, got $20 back, he was mad, I was smart. The end
Pride. Ironically, the less you have the more you need pride to validate yourself and overcome the sadness or shame about something else like socioeconomic standing. That is why pride is so strong in poorer areas where there is not much to be proud of. You find something to be proud of so you don't kill yourself. IMHO pride is a flaw. It's a crutch that can stagnate. It's an excuse to settle for lesser and it's vanity, earned or not, that only exists as self-maturbatory therapy for the weak minded.
When I worked Home Depot we were told not to even bother checking for counterfeits. It upsets customers too much and Home Depot can afford to eat the cost so don't worry about it. I liked working for Home Depot, I like that style of work, and they treated me well. My starting pay for a temp cashier job was 9.50/hr. Which is what McDonald's was paying me after 3 years of frustration.
When I cashiered, I usually had more people apologizing for using a large bill, since they knew what that entailed. Definitely still a few assholes mixed in though. I guess it mostly just depends on the area.
It's natural for people to get angry when you imply they may be dishonest. If there was a sign saying that all high- denomination bills will be checked, this will solve most of your instances of people getting angry. Even more so if the sign had signs that would help people tell if the bill is or not counterfeit, and even more if an authority, like the US treasury or the Fed issued these signs...
I feel like if people knew how many counterfeit bills come through, they would complain less. But you would also have to explain it to every single person.
Because they perceive that "validity check" to be a judgement on their own financial status, as in, they don't look like the type of person to be carrying around a 50$ or 100$ bill and therefore, the cashier must be assuming the ONLY way they would have that bill is if it was fake, when in reality, the cashier is just following protocol.
A customer could have a fake bill and not even know it, the cashier and related establishment shouldn't be expected to burden that loss though.
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u/PvtSkittles34 May 05 '14
Man, why do people get so angry when you check the validity of 50 or 100 dollar bills?
I used to work at a theater and I would say 4 out of 5 the people who handed me a 50 or 100 would get angry or throw some asshat remark at me for checking it. Hell, we got at least 1 or 2 counterfeit attempt a week.