"Looks like I'm a few $ short..."

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Hey, guys! Quick question here:

How do stores/businesses in your area react when you are short of cash (or miscalculated the amount needed) when doing your groceries?

Here, it is widely understood that they will just let you pay them back later for pretty much any amount, as long as you are a regular to that particular place (obviously), but I was told that this isn't the case everywhere in the world.

That got me really curious because I have seen the line being drawn as ludicrous amounts in media, but I don't think that's a very accurate mirror of reality (or has since stopped being true).

Which outcome is more likely to happen in your neck of the woods?

 

[ThatOneLum ThatOneLum]

Depends on how much and where the shop is. If it's a big chain you're fucked, you gotta come back later with the proper money or you'll leave with nothing.

In a corner shop where you've known the owner for years you tend to find a bit more leeway on missing a few pence or pounds.

 

[Lod 10]

Olá, pessoal! Uma perguntinha rápida:

Como as lojas/comércios da sua região reagem quando você não tem dinheiro suficiente (ou calculou mal o valor necessário) ao fazer suas compras?

Aqui, é amplamente aceito que eles simplesmente permitem que você pague depois, praticamente qualquer valor, desde que você seja um cliente frequente daquele lugar específico (obviamente), mas me disseram que esse não é o caso em todos os lugares do mundo.

Isso me deixou muito curioso porque já vi essa linha sendo traçada em valores absurdos na mídia, mas não acho que seja um reflexo muito preciso da realidade (ou pelo menos deixou de ser).

Qual resultado é mais provável de acontecer na sua região?

NIn my city it was common to pay on credit, but with modernization...

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

If it's a big chain you're fucked, you gotta come back later with the proper money or you'll leave with nothing.

Indeed you are -- be it COTO or Tesco, they will just not help.

That's why I do all my shopping in corner shops.

 

[bjork]

I used to let people skate if they were less than .50 short on a thing, because I usually had enough pocket change to balance the drawer out, and I'd rather sell that thing for $49 instead of $49.26 or whatever, because that beats $0. But that was at a mom and pop where things were pretty loose as far as rules.
In bigger chains? Someone might do it for you, but with cameras watching cashiers and stuff needing to be exact down to the cent, they'd be jeopardizing their livelihood in some cases.

 

[Danieru-Emanyueru]

Well, where I'm from, it's brutally strict: if you can't pay, you don't get anything.

 

[TheMinuMaster]

If I go out carrying cash, it’s usually when I’m shopping at small neighborhood markets. If the total is off by a few cents, it’s no big deal. Still, when I go back there, I always pay the difference — I don’t like feeling like I owe anything.
But it reminded me of a funny moment from this year: I had R$50 and went to buy two carrots to make a cake. When I got there, the total was about R$0.38. When I went to pay, the lady at the counter just looked at me and said, ‘You don’t need to pay, we don’t have change.

 

[Bakuma1997]

In my local market i am pretty know, so assuming i am not too short, they let me take it and pay later, i hate debts so i pay with no failure

 

[Boofytan]

Only at convenience stores where they have a take a penny/ leave a penny tray, but tbh in not sure that's a thing anymore

 

[RustySK]

Unless you personally know the store owner and/or it's a small local business, that kind of thing would practically never happen around where I live, sadly. No matter how low the amount in question.
Really wish it would, but the second money is involved with pretty much anything, people around here turn into machines.

Unless you're at a bar, now that I think about it. That's the one exception where the local mindset is still willing to give people some credit, ironically enough.

 

[skramz]

i grew up in a pretty small town where everybody knew everybody, and every shop had either

a - a very relaxed version of a tab system

b - would still sell you whatever you were buying if you were a buck or two short, no biggie

c - would sell you some small item if you were out of cash on the condition you came back to pay the next day

after moving into a bigger city though, those luxuries dissapeared. :(

 

[medisinn]

There are probably local businesses in downtown Portland that would let a person pay it back later or maybe cover their bill. I'm less sure about the suburb I live in. I don't have any local grocery stores I shop at, so there is likely zero leniency. A couple times I've forgotten my wallet in my car and the cashier was fine with me leaving my stuff there to go out and get it, but that is of course a little different.