(Des Moines, Iowa) A deli store clerk caused a stir at a local establishment after she called police when a customer tried to pay her bill using real money.
The clerk, Audrey Smithers, told responding officers that she not seen anyone use actual dollars to settle their tabs since going to work for the store in December 2022.
“Honestly, I thought all real money had been banned, you know, and replaced by debit cards and Bitcoin,” Smithers said after apologizing to the unnamed customer and to police.
“When I went through my in-store training, no one said we should expect customers to use real cash,” Smithers continued. “I don’t even know how to break it down and, you know, give people change and stuff. I was never taught how to do that.
“It’s really a lot for the business owners to ask of its employees when you think about it,” she added. “The next thing you know, they will expect us to use landline telephones and count without using the calculator on my device.”
The customer reportedly took the incident in good stride and said she still planned to show at the deli, even if it meant leaving her cash at home.
