Fiver going in ....

[andy-hughes]

Anyone who likes Peter Kay will know that the root of his hmour is based on things we all see / hear / do.

That includes the shop assistant who calls over to her colleague "Fiver goin' in Elsie ..." but why on earh do they do it?

Perhaps the original reason was that large notes were a rarity years ago, and one assistant was supposed to watch the change being given by the other, to make sure it was accurate.

But these days, larger notes are perfectly common, but in the cake shop I visit occasionally, they still do the "Fiver going in ..." speech, even though the other assistant simply said OK, and took no notice of the transaction at all.

So - anyone any idea why assistants are still told to do this, and why, if they are doing it, does the other assistant not pay attention, since ifnoring it, as they all do, negates the entire object of the exercise.

[mojay]

It deters customers from claiming that a £10 note had been given !

[rowanwitch]

so a customer can't say Excuse me I gave you a tenner and you only gave me change from five pounds

[annie0000]

it also allows the customer to then say while the note is still in the assistants hand if the note is not a "fiver" but a "tenner".

[annie0000]

never ever seen that done though - maybe it is a North England thing.

[mike11111]

I thin Annie is right. It's to avoid the customer pulling a scam. You have to be old enough to remember pre-decimal currency for this one, but a popular scam in my younger days was for someone to go into a pub, ask for a pint (in the days when beer was much cheaper) and plonk half a crown on the counter. The barmaid would mentally register the half crown, but while she was pulling the pint the punter would exchange it for a florin. The barmaid would more often than not fail to recognise the switch and give him change from a half crown rather than two shillings. At 6d profit per time it soon mounted up.

[grasscarp]

When I was a child we had a local shop where the owner was a bit of a sharp one with the change. He would try to give change of a pound note if you had given him a fiver. I remember my brother recounting one incident as he was waiting for his change from a five pound note (or maybe it was a ten shilling note and a pound involved). "I looked at Mr X. Mr X looked at me." That's how it went as he was gauging whether or not you remembered what you had given him!

[Canary42]

For the younger brethren, half a crown is twelve and a half new pence, a florin is ten new pence, and 6d (6 old pence) is two and a half new pence.

[vodkancoke]

They still do it in Greggs in Edinburgh. I have always thought that whoever it is they are shouting at, doesn't pay attention at all! lol

[mike11111]

Thank you for that explanation, Canary, you've just made a happy man feel very old.

[andy-hughes]

Thanks all for the explanation - I can see the sense of it now, although it always appeared a meaningless statement, there is genuine logic involved.

I have learned something today.

[grasscarp]

I collected farthings as a child. You could buy chews for a farthing each. For those who were born less than 60 years ago there were 4 of these little brown coins (usually with a sparrow on them) to the penny. Only it wasnt 1p it was 1d (denarus)!

[mccfluff]

i was taught to do that with a £50 - to make sure the change was accurate but never heard that said before

[mike11111]

Not only punters, but also shop assistants, were canny folk. The main reason for so many items having the price ending in 19/11 (or 99p these days), was so that the assistant had to open the till to give the penny change, thus registering the sale instead of just slipping the note into his/her pocket.

[mike11111]

Grasscarp, it was a wren, not a sparrow!

[grasscarp]

sorry Mike. I was very young and am still not very good on bird types!

[Jemisa]

Yes I remember the farthing as legal tender & yes it was a wren
(The smallest British bird) on the 'tail' side.

I've never experianced this "Fiver going in Elsie)
Not in London or Essex.

jem.

[B00]

No, we don't in Co op.

However we do immediately "pod up" any £50.00 notes we get ASAP. Which means we put it in a little plastic pod type thing and send it up a chute which takes it directly to a safe in the office.

[Zeuhl]

I thought it was good practice to keep a note out of the till (in a special holder) until the transaction was completed and change accepted

Speaking out the value is however a good technique for getting the assistant to consciously process what value the note is (rather than stay on auto pilot) and as mentioned above gives the customer the chance to disagree.

[B00]

My customers tend not to disagree with me. If they so much as tweak an eyebrow, they get The Look. This usually sends em scurrying out of the shop again almost at a run :-)

[EcclesCake]

I've never come across that in any shop I have visited.

I'm now planning a cross country shopping expedition.........