My wife went out this morning and one of the stores she went to refused to take her penny. The bill was $27.31 and she paid in cash and with exact change. The clerk got nasty with her and pointed to a sign she hadn’t seen. It stated that the store will not give out nor receive pennies in change due to the government policies of not producing them. That's a new one on us as numerous places that round but will accept and give out cents when they have them.
So did they take her $27.30, or did they try to make her pay $27.35? Or, to put it another way, did they want to retain her business, or did they want to pocket an extra four cents (0.15%)?
As long as they didn't try to give her specific directions on where to put it, I guess. Seriously, why would a merchant get nasty if someone offered a single cent as part of a payment? I guess there are some people who are just determined to be cranky.
It sounds like a form of protest. Okay, they reason, if you won’t make any anymore then we won’t use them at all. Kinda shortsighted if you ask me. Petulant and petty. And that’s the management. It’s apparent it has rubbed off on the blue collar as well. I’ve ended doing business with stores for less reason.
