Don't you have anything smaller?

On a recent trip back to the UK, I went into a newsagents shop to buy some chewing gum.

At the till, I was served by a woman who was talking angrily on a mobile phone in some unidentifiable language , while all the time, staring down at the counter.

I waited politely, expecting her to pause or finish her call to serve me.

Instead, after a quick "swipe" across the barcode machine, she continued her mysterious rant, her observation of something invisible on the counter and simply held out her hand.

This really got my back up, so I waited.........and waited..........until.....
finally, she paused her call, looked surprisingly at me, and said "eighty nine pence"!

Wot, no "please" I thought as I handed her a twenty pound note.

"Don't you have anything smaller" she said.......I kept my cool........:bnghd:

Slowly, and calmly, I said: "Yes, I have a penny"........

Haaaa!, the ball was in my court

She seemed quite perplexed as I gave her a satisfying smile, and deep inside, I think she got the message while she fussed £19.11 from the till.

The moral is: don't ignore me as a customer, treat me with politeness and respect, and I'll allow you make a profit from me. A shop with no customers is a billboard.

This happens all the time in corner shops over here. I don't understand why they are always on the phone. It's a mystery to me. However I'm very used to the ignorant behavior by now and could not give a s*** just like them lol. Good on you for putting that in her place though.

[edit on 9-5-2007 by Xeros]

i hate it when customers pay with notes (£10-£20) for a 0.25-£1.00 good
thats why i always give them small change in return (bloody piss take)
and worst ones are those that complain about the notes are to wrinkly or something (£5 note)