What would you do in this situation of money loss?

There should have been an overage of the person’s draw and the store should be notified so they can make you whole again.

Tell the store. They’ll work with you.

Go back and get my money.

How about this. You take $100 out of the cash machine and put it on the ledge. You pack up your purse and walk away. Soon you realize you left your money behind. You rush back, but the money is nowhere to be seen.

Now how do you feel?

Take your store receipt back to the store and talk to the manager. The manager will run a check on that cash register for the day in question. Your transaction and the lack of money received, should be part of the store’s records and easy to trace.

Yes, you should report it. If the cashier didn’t give you the money, she should have been over.

Call the store and explain. They will probably show an overage and keep the money aside in wait for someone to claim it. If you can give them the amount of your bill and the amount of cash you paid in then it will make sense to them, they might even remember you and be relieved you can claim the money.

Our stores hold overages out for a few weeks in a little envelope with the dates on them. We usually have a pretty good idea if we’ve shorted people on cash as to which transactions they were.

Good luck.

Call the store or walk in and have the receipt. If they have cameras on the register they will see visually you did not receive the money. Also, the will know that register was over exactly the amount you did not get back. They will work it out for you, and give you your money.

@creative1 ”...so they can make you whole again” ?
@worriedguy I hope so. I also hope that the clerk isn’t fired.
@wundayatta It doesn’t always work that way. It was my responsibility to collect the money before leaving the store. If the clerk’s drop isn’t over, then it is going to be difficult to prove that I walked out without the money.
@john65pennington I have the receipt and went in the next day. The manager/owner wasn’t there. The clerk that had been on duty at the time was just about to walk out of the door. She said that she didn’t recall the transaction. and that I would need to return the next day.
@marinelife I agree that the clerk should have been over in her shift deposit. And yes, it has been reported, but the clerk on duty didn’t ask for my name and number.
@Neizvestnaya As a former clerk, we were also often able to figure out where the overage or shortage came from. We always had to deposit the overages if not resolved. Still, it was on record. And thanks.
@JLeslie The store has a security camera. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that it works, is real, or isn’t running on a looped tape. If the overage isn’t on the books, it would be helpful to have it on film.

I have to initial my receipt in exchange for money at my Sobey’s. I would go back, too and tell my story. If the money went into the clerk’s pocket, there’ll be no overage. Is the store bound to believe the customer in that case?

@faye Thanks for the response. If you mean is the employee required to initial my (the customer) receipt, I don’t know. I’ve received cash back there before, but no one has initialed the receipt. All I know about the manager/owner is that he owns a few other stores and that there is are a few employees that stick around. They occasionally get rotated to a new location.

@Pied_Pfeffer No, I mean you would sign when the clerk gave you your money. I sure wish you luck with this.

@Pied_Pfeffer You are correct. A few months ago I lost something at walmart. I knew I had it at checkout. I told the time of the receipt and the register, and they pulled it right up, even printed me a picture of me there. Meanwhile, many stores have old systems that only have one or two cameras taping at a time, or non taping at all, or no cameras at all, very true.

Still, the register should have been over, and most stores would give you the money just based on that.

@faye Thank you for your concern. It really isn’t a big deal. It was $25 and my mistake for leaving without it. The purchases were rung up at one counter and then I moved to another station in order to use a debit card on a reader that worked. The clerk and I started chatting about her pregnancy, and by the time I got back to the original station (not far…it is a horseshoe shaped counter), thoughts were focused on her and not the money.

If the clerk’s shift deposit was over, and I have a receipt, it should be a simple process to get the money without any repercussions for the clerk. When I asked her the next day, she did not mention being over and only said to talk to the owner/manager the next day about it.

I just want the money back if the clerk’s deposit shows an overage. I’d also like the owner/manager know about the incident, whether he believes me or not. As a former manager, I would want to know.

@JLeslie Thanks. I have inspected enough hotels to know that some of their security camera systems are sorely lacking in a proper process.

We would have given the money to the customer at Bloomingdale’s. It’s just overwhelming proof if you have the receipt and the register is over. The tricky part is if the register would have been off anyway, and the overage or shortage is not the perfect $25, but a different number. If you came to me as the manager and the numbers didn’t match up, I would take your name and number, in the event I could show you indeed did not get your money, and then I would set up that cashier to have an overage to see if she steals it.

There is always the off chance while chatting a customer puts change in a wrong compartment in their purse, or in their pocket, so having the video would be an extra bonus.

I would go back and explain my dilemma…

@Pied_Pfeffer In plain simple terms give you back the money. Right now you are missing money (so all of your money is not present and accounted for) that you withdrew and by giving it to you, you are no longer missing it (now making you whole as far as money goes because you now have all your money present and accounted for). Sorry must be a banking term I picked up over the years and I thought is was common knowledge.

@JLeslie I thought about it possibly being forgetfulness on my part and double-checked my wallet, as that is all that I took into the store. I never put money in pockets when I have the wallet, but I just went and checked the trouser pockets worn that day. Nothing.

All I know is that I checked the wallet at the counter for the amount of money it had in it, and it wasn’t enough to cover the cost, so the debit card was used. The same amount was in the wallet the next day.

@creative1 Thank you for explaining the meaning. I’ve heard the term before, but not in regard to a financial matter.

@Pied_Pfeffer Oh, I believed you. i am just saying from the stores perspective, if things don’t tally up, they may suggest forgetfullness. If they are off by the $25 I think they will just hand you the money. Although, people seem to be pretty stupid and lack customer service skills as of late. I think Memphis is unusually bad. That incident I had n Walmart, they did nothing for me initially, and I finally left. Then I went back the next day to try again, because I felt like they did nothing. When I finally got up my New York nerve bitchy self, the security person actually went to the camera system and came back with the photo. By then it was really too late. They did not give a shit, I find that all too often here, apathy. My staff never would have behaved like that, they would have cared about helping the customer from the start. So, since you live here, I will be anxious to see if they help you.

@JLeslie Thank you for believing me. Your post just encouraged me to check the pockets. The last thing I want to do is create a false accusation.

Update: As instructed by the clerk, I went back to the store (Day 3) to check with the owner/manager. He wasn’t there, but the assistant manager was and offered to help. She was behind the counter, as well as the clerk who initially waited on me. The situation was quietly explained. The manager asked who was on duty, and I pointed to the clerk.

The manager (you’ll love this @JLeslie and fellow Memphian) turned around and proceeded to question the clerk while she was serving another customer. I asked the manger to wait until the clerk was finished. The end result was that the assistant manager had no access to the records, and that the manager/owner, who wasn’t scheduled to be in the store that day, would need to be contacted on Monday. She gave me his name and the store number.

Stay tuned for sit/com Episode #4.

Yes, otherwise where would the money go? It can’t be treated like nothing happened, right? Is it not like any lost item that the store holds it until the customer comes back? If it is a manager, what if the customer calls the owner/head office to report it?

@Pied_Pfeffer It is reasonable that they need to wait for the manager/owner. I hope they contact you without you having to chase them.

Did the manager who questioned the clerk make it seem like the clerk might have done something wrong? I hope not. I have found, another generalization, that people here tend to try to bury when they made a mistake, rather than tell their manager and trying to do the right thing. I can only guess that management is very punitive, rather than being contructive.

In the end it is probably just a simple mistake, human error.

@flo It is possible that the money went into the pocket of the clerk. I just hope that this isn’t the case. In my experience as a clerk, we made a drop in the safe at the end of our shift that noted any overage or shortage. If a customer came in the next day and said they they left money from a transaction behind, then I would offer to to take their information. This didn’t happen. The owner/manager isn’t often there, as he owns other stores.

@JLeslie I agree and am fine with waiting while not giving up yet. If the clerk’s deposit doesn’t show an overage, then it is my mistake and my loss. The security camera tapes might shed some light, but by the time the manager gets to them on Monday, if he does, five days will have passed.

And I forgot to mention earlier: when the assistant manager was talking to the clerk she said, “Weren’t you short on your deposit by $27 yesterday?” While it wasn’t the same day that I was in the store and not the same amount, it just adds to the mystery.

@Pied_Pfeffer Oooh. That is interesting. Even if you eventually get your money, you might never know that full story.

If the money went into the pocket of the clerk, then I hope the management is punitive. Stealing is one of the legitimate causes of suspension/firing.
A the customer reporting it is the thing to do, just as a matter of record, whether it is at the self serve cashier (esp. if you are the last customer at that machine) or the human cashier.

@flo Of course management would be punitive. That is such an odd statment to me. If it cannot be proven, they will watch or set up that cashier to give her opportunity again.

@JLeslie why is that an odd statement? As I wrote ”If it went into the pocket… ” that means if it is proven.
And, since I don’t know store, the manager/owner, in question, I can only hope that it is punitive, right? (added)

It just dawned on me that I didn’t post the outcome. That following Monday, I called the store and talked to the manager. He took my name and number and said he would look into it and get back to me the next day. Tuesday: no word. Wednesday: I went to the store, and the manager was there. After introducing myself, he apologized for not getting back, and gave me the money. @JLeslie as you predicted, no explanation was offered, not that I was expecting one.

I’ve been back a few times since, and there is no sign of the clerk. The manager was there each time though. I asked one of the clerks if the young, pregnant lady had her baby yet (hoping that she is just out on maternity leave), and the clerk said that she was fine and wasn’t due for another couple of weeks.

For anyone that is still following this thread and responded, thank you for your help.

Thanks for the follow up. I’m glad you got your money back.

@flo Because if it is proven, of course she would be fired. You said I hope, like you are not sure management would address it.

@JLeslie I have no reason to say anything about the store simply because I don’t know the store.