$100 Bill Not Accepted At Local Retail Place

Saw a sign saying that because of the large number of counterfeits, they'd no longer take a $100 bill. It was a coffee/donut place, so usually not the place you see too many of them being used so you'd figure when they see one, they can afford to be cautious in accepting it. Most places that don't want $100's do so because the large amount of change needed for small purchases.

Still....with all the security measures on the $100 bill, I was surprised this place would get caught accepting fake $100's.

I know you have rushed retail staff trying to glance at a large bill while 5 or 6 people are waiting on line and they feel pressure to make a quick decision. Again, I was still surprised that folks are getting caught accepting fake $100's.

I've never worked in a retail establishment, maybe some of you have. Are you surprised by this ? Have you seen it elsewhere ?

 

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No. It’s too much change to make. Plus a lot of them have trouble counting. I’ve noticed it quite a lot. The last time was just a few weeks ago at a McDonald’s. It was $4.60 and I gave him $5.10 and said just give me quarters and he stood there staring at the register for about twenty seconds then handed me four quarters. Drive-up. He’s taking the next order. Window is closed. Just took the damn thing. They charge too much for that cold crap anyway.

 

I haven't noticed the $100's anywhere but around 6 months ago, I got a counterfeit $20 bill at a Vietnamese Sandwich shop I go to. I took it back to them and I was reimbursed, I was gonna take a pic and post it right here on CT but I took a couple of pics and honestly by pics you couldn't tell the difference at all. The only way to tell the difference is in hand so you can tilt it and look at the gold numbers or watermark, the paper was a little different but not much. A lot of fakes out there, beware!

 

Not surprised at all but other denominations are counterfeited more, like a twenty. The brown pen is not good as it only identifies the proper paper was used. Just bleach a one dollar bill and photo copy a higher amount. Now it’s good. There is a small machine with a black light in it that isn’t expensive and it works great. That little strip in each bill lights up to a different color. Works every time. I just don’t shop in those places.

 

I'm just sad that I don't have $100 to spend.

 

I hear ya Sal...me too!

 

Around the world I understand there are a lot of counterfeit $100s floating around. Iran and N. Korea are rumored to be the guilty printers. A fellow recently gave me $1000 in hundreds and he had a receipt from the bank in his country listing all the serial numbers, and it stated that they had all been tested as genuine. I recall in Taiwan years back, they would not accept USD $100 with serial number beginning CB.

 

I worked in restaurants when I was younger. I know of several times when fake $100's were accepted. They were all inside jobs. The servers would gladly accept the fake $100's from a friend/customer and swap them out with real money at the end of their shift.
I personally doubt there are many fake 100's accepted truly by accident. And I've never heard of any denomination being turned down out of fear of counterfeits. I would be embarrassed if I was that business owner. You can't handle big bills? You're in the wrong business.
If it was an issue of not having too much cash on hand, I can somewhat understand.

 

I’ve seen establishments in my neck of the woods that have posted signs putting $100s off limits. Not sure if they are scared of fakes or don’t want their change burned off. With all the armed robberies in the New Orleans area, I imagine a lot of places are carrying the bare minimum of cash in their registers.

 

My son was handed a fake 20 the other day. He said it felt fake. He laid it back down and ask for a real one. My son thought the clerk knew it was fake but passed it on.
One of my workers took what he thought was a fake 100. I called it real. The SS agent that picked it up said it was fake. They gave it back to us a few weeks later and said it was real.

 

I had it happen at Walmart. The helper at the self-service insisted on scanning a large group of items that I had, about 30 of the same thing. She would count them as she scanned and every time, eight times, she would start shaking her head at the 14 mark and freeze up when she got to 16. Every time. She'd stand there staring for a while then start over. Finally, 10 minutes later, she said she had to get the manager. While she was gone I scanned the items, bagged them, and left.

 

I hear you loud and clear Buddy!! Walmart Sucks.

 

"Counting back change" is a lost art. Truly. My father taught me when I started waiting tables and "handling the till" at age 10. With the new cash registers the change is supposed to be indicated, but I've had the blank looks from cashiers also, and been given the wrong change countless times. It would be amazing if the cash drawers ever balance out at the end of the day in most business establishments.

Steve

 

I owned a convenience store once. In the day time armed robbery wasn't much of a threat but my help was. In most cases when someone hands you a hundred dollar bill, you take notice and examine it further than you would any other bill. The main issue I had was employees not paying attention to what they were doing and making mistakes. They couldn't count change so would enter the tended amount in the register and let it calculate the change. They would enter $100.00 for a ten and because the register said the customers change was $94.00 they would give that back.

After 4 in the afternoon, there would never be over a couple of $100 in change in the register as all denominations above a 10 were pulled from the register and added to the safe. All it takes is for someone to pay for a pack of gum with a dollar for them to see what you have in your register.

 

Just an excuse to not take them because of all the change they must make...from a customer relations standpoint it's better/easier than trying to explain it. Also agree on the making change point...it's bad...but that's what/how/where we've morphed to by dumbing down the basics of our education systems...can't add/subtract, can't read/write, etc...edited

 

"can't add/subtract, can't read/write, etc..." edited

I doubt that. Just think back when you were in school. How many of the students you knew who really didn't care about school? Some of them didn't have the sense God gave a goose, but they were the best auto mechanic in town. And the parents didn't care what the kids learned as long as they graduated or dropped out.

 

Are your scanned prices the same as the tagged prices on the shelves? Next time take pictures of some of the tagged prices on the shelves and see when you self-checkout. I don't shop at a Walmart anymore for this. I can't say the scanned prices are higher than the tagged prices on the shelves at every Walmart, but at this one, they were, consistently. I remember when I first noticed it, I checked a Meijer I went into for a few items, and one of them was higher. The last time I shopped at that Walmart, I took the receipt and my photos to customer service, and got my money back, just over $10. The tagged prices are your contract price. When their prices go up, they have to change those first, then reflect that in the scanners, but some of these places aren't, and are doing it backwards. Just FYI, and up to you how or whether you want to deal with it. But if you'll pay attention, I'll bet you'll catch this. And probably not just in Walmarts and Meijers...

 

Disagree. They're stupider than Jupiter, these days.

 

I enjoy casinos so seeing $100 bills being exchanged is not strange, neither to me nor the casino.
Of course they have their "magic" pens and use them every time with bills $10 and up.

 

Yes, I always watch the scanned prices to make sure they are the same or lower than the price on the shelf. Sometimes, if you look to the back of the shelf, you will find the older lower prices.