A few years ago, while in college, I worked part time in a video rental store.

There are few things more frustrating than getting a brand new cash register drawer with a few tens, fives, and ones, plus assorted change... and then having your first customer pay for a $2.11 rental with a 100 dollar bill.

Then, when you ask them to wait for the manager to open the safe to get proper change, they get all huffy. We'd take the 100, but you'd have to wait for the 10 minute delay on the safe.

Plus a lot of places do it in hopes of avoiding counterfeit bills.

I agree though, not being able to use it can be annoying, buuuut... at the same time trying to give someone back $97.89 change is pretty darn annoying when you don't have anything larger than a 10.

As a customer, I feel bad asking someone to break a 100 for a small total in a place where the average transaction is less than $20. If I'm wanting to pay in cash with a 50 or 100 in such a place, I ask if they can do it, because I've been in their shoes. I do it as a courtesy.

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- The Federalist #46 -