Waiters/Waitresses rounding the bill up if you pay cash?

[gspren]

This only happened once last year but it happened twice this past week. My bill as $27.68 and I gave the waitress $40.00 and when I counted my change it was $12.00 even, no explanation of the missing 38 cents. When I asked her she said they don't carry change anymore so they just round up,   I told her I was going to leave a 5 but I'm rounding down to 3. Next place my bill ended in .90 so when he rounded up it was only a dime but he gave the same story, different bar/restaurant so I only rounded down one dollar, but I told him it cost him to do that. Am I just too old fashioned or should they at least offer the coin part of the change?

[WV Sawmiller]

Pay with a card and use the exact amount or bring rolls of pennies and pay the exact amount with the partial dollars in pennies.

[OH logger]

They should have a sign stating that they’re gonna charge you more than the stated price if you pay cash. That’s BS to me too 

[Southside]

I had a drive through do that to me once, I caught it before leaving and made her get the change while I waited at the window with cars lined up behind me. 

Didn't happen the next time I went through. 

[trapper]

Around here many restaurants charge extra 3percent for using card.

[Ianab]

There is a cost involved in keeping change on hand, often the banks charge a service fee for this. Locally the smallest banknotes are $5, and the smallest coin is 10c. Supermarkets will still price to the cent, and round to the nearest 10 using 5/6 rounding. 5 cents is rounded down, 6 cents rounded up. Card payments are exact amounts. 

Most eateries price to the nearest 50c or $1, depending on how fancy they are. But even then you have some change in $1 and $2 coins. But 95% is card payments anyway. 

Currently discussions are going on about how to keep cash circulating for those that prefer to use it. There's a cost involved, but it now only accounts for ~2% of the economic ransactions, and electronic payments are actually cheaper to operate (Credit card companies excluded) 

[sawguy21]

This is an interesting discussion. Pennies are no longer in circulation here so prices are rounded 5/6 after taxes as Ianab suggests. I so seldom pay in cash so it's not a worry for me, my only cash payments are my rent which is an even amount, I won't get into the story, and the dog groomer.

[Downstream]

I agree a very interesting topic.  My philosophy is simple.  If they tell me up front by either sign or wait staff I will pay by credit card this time, but probably not come back again.  Just another push to eliminate cash so all purchases/income can be tracked.  Bad enough I cannot get a discount for using cash anymore even though the business pays 3-4% if I use my card.  They have already jacked their prices to cover the card fee so why should I give them additional profit by gouging a good customer.  We eat out alot less these days because of this type of craziness.

[Ianab]

People (and it seems many businesses) seem to think that there are no costs associated with cash transactions, but there is. It costs time, and actual money to secure it, account for it, take it to the bank, get change organised etc. 

When cash was still more commonly used, it was standard practice for the supermarket cashier to actually ask if card paying customers wanted to withdraw any extra cash.  The fees for the local EFTPOS system are low enough that it was more convenient to hand it back to customers, and have most of the daily takings credited directly into their account. These days they will still do this, subject to having enough cash in the draw, but you have to ask. 

But the fees for EFTPOS are low, less than 1% as the system doesn't involve the credit card companies, it's a direct bank to bank transfer. It's become so popular that the Govt now has to make policy to actually keep some cash in circulation. Not all smaller businesses accept credit cards, because of the higher fees, but anyone in a retail business accepts EFTPOS. 

[rusticretreater]

Wait staff usually don't ring things up, its a cashier and a lot of times the manager/owner.  So the staff just does what they are told.  The thing is that the money probably ends up in the register and not as a tip to the staff.

I would watch a few transactions and see if the change is put in a tip jar. 

[twar]

There is a cost involved in keeping change on hand, often the banks charge a service fee for this. Locally the smallest banknotes are $5, and the smallest coin is 10c. Supermarkets will still price to the cent, and round to the nearest 10 using 5/6 rounding. 5 cents is rounded down, 6 cents rounded up. Card payments are exact amounts.  Most eateries price to the nearest 50c or $1, depending on how fancy they are. But even then you have some change in $1 and $2 coins. But 95% is card payments anyway.  Currently discussions are going on about how to keep cash circulating for those that prefer to use it. There's a cost involved, but it now only accounts for ~2% of the economic ransactions, and electronic payments are actually cheaper to operate (Credit card companies excluded)

This sounds like the mirror image of the cash/card situation in Norway.

[WV Sawmiller]

   The US military exchanges in Iraq and Afghanistan when I was working there in the early to mid 2000s used to print their own change in little cardboard tokens in 5, 10 & 25 cent amounts. Everything was rounded to the nearest 5 cents at the register. They would take coins if you paid in them but unless specifically asked they never returned them. We could use the tokens just like coins or turn them in for paper money when we had $1 amounts. No telling how many were destroyed in the laundry or just never cashed in. I figure it was a decent profit center for them.

   In Saudi when you checked out if you were less than a Riyal they would toss in a box or two of Chicklets type gum as your change.

[Ron Wenrich]

A long time ago, I heard a Dave Ramsey type of commentator said it was smart to pay cash for dining out.  The simple reason is that long after you had your meal, you still had to pay for it.  Budgeting is a lot easier if you pay in cash.  Either you have the cash or you don't.  Meanwhile, US credit card debt has now surpassed $1 trillion.  The banks are very happy.

When tipping, I just put it in with the price of the meal.  I pay and don't ask for change.  I carry enough bills to handle any bill. If there's any change less than a dollar, that lets management and wait staff battle over the loose change. 

I see now they're asking you if you want to tip where there is self service. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

To Ron's point, the tip for self service. . . I got it during kungflu when people were locked down, but we're not anymore, so no more tips for self service please.

I also try to pay cash for food / fun /toys.  If I don't have the cash for those activities, I should probably hold off til I do

[customsawyer]

I do the same as Ron. I don't eat out much but when I do I always pay cash. Put the cost of the meal and the tip on the table or hand it to the server and never expect any change. Now and then I get caught with only a larger bill in my pocket so have to wait for change but it is rare. My mother worked in restaurants most of her life and I have a soft spot in my heart for them folks putting up with some of their customers, so I tend to over tip anyway. Giving them 5 bucks extra isn't much but it can sure put a smile on the servers face. The ones that have gotten to where they just expect it, regardless of the service, do get under my skin though.

[Cedarman]

Next thing you know the gas stations in states that let you fill your own car will want a convenience tip for the cashier who you go in to pay cash.  Or the pump will want a tip because it is going to become AI.
Many restaurants in our area round down if 25 cents or less.  Have not seen any of them round up.  I pay like Ron.  Part of the tip is the change.  If anyone is going to round my money, it will be me.
If you want my money, do not treat me like a cash cow.

[YellowHammer]

We are a changeless business.  We don't accept coinage.  It's always good for business, the way we do it and it makes for happy customers.  I'm not going to quibble over a quarter or a few dimes and pennies if somebody hands me a few hundred$$ in cash, or even just a few bucks.

In all cash cases, we round DOWN, and give the money back to the customer.  They are happy, we don't make a big deal of it, but the customers always notices it and thanks us.  Somebody hands us cash, I say "We don't do change" and they immediately get their hackles up.  So I smile and say, "Nope, we round down, you get to keep the money, and we don't have to deal with it."  Some even offer to give us exact change, and we say nope, thanks for your business, consider it a tip or cash back, for you, as a customer.  Then the customer smiles, and sometimes even says, like the guy last weekend "I've finally found a business that doesn't cheat me!"    

Yep, welcome to Hobby Hardwood.  An honest business, come again anytime.  And they will.  It's just the right thing to do and it's good for customer relations.  
 

[Magicman]

In restaurants I pay with cash and round the total up to the next dollar amount, add the tip, and generally hand it to the waitress and say "no change back".  I would never reduce my tip because I didn't get change back.

I don't want my credit card to ever leave my hands nor my eyesight.

When figuring my sawing invoice, I knock the decimals off after adding the bf, and then knock the cents off for an even dollar invoice amount.

[Ianab]

This sounds like the mirror image of the cash/card situation in Norway.

Yeah, some Scandinavian countries are almost cashless now. Because it's not a credit card and is linked to your bank account you can't spend money you dont have. 
Other thing they have at some gas stations is Pay By Plate. Camera reads your number plate and charges your credit card automatically. 

[Stephen1]

At my shop, I do not do change. Not even small bills. I price to the closest 5-10$ downward. They like it when I calculate 134$ and charge them $130. I especially don't do change for our TAX system. As I tell customers the next person will get or pay for the little differences there are. 
Customers really like it when they pay cash. 
At the restaurant If I pay with CC , I pay the tip in cash if I can for the times I do not have the proper cash on hand. We do not go out nearly as much as pre covid.