The next day Sarah asks Hiromi to do another chore.
I’m sorry but could you go to the bank and cash this cheque? I want you to buy the office supplies on this list with the cash. I need a receipt as well.
Hiromi receives the cheque for $300. She is used to dealing with cheques as she uses them in Canada for the payment of anything more than $100. Hiromi goes to the bank, signs her name on the back of the cheque and gives it to the teller at the counter.
Please cash this cheque.
Is twenties OK? Or do you prefer fifties?
Fifties, please.
The teller counts out six $50 bills and places them on the counter for Hiromi.
…Two-hundred, two-hundred-fifty, three-hundred. Here you are.
Hiromi rounds up the office supplies on the list at a stationary store which is a block away from the bank, and asks for a receipt after making the payment. The cashier gives her a receipt and change.
The total amount is $260 and you gave me $300. Here is the change - 270, 280, 290 and 300 dollars.
The cashier counts four $10 bills one by one and gives them to Hiromi. Hiromi feels somewhat strange as she leaves the store. She feels the amount charged was a bit more than what she had summed up in her head. Looking at the receipt carefully, she finds she’s been charged for 6 calculators when she only bought 5.
Hiromi hurries back to the cashier and tells her about the mistake while showing her the purchased goods. She is worried that the cashier won’t admit her mistake, but she does and returns the money immediately after correcting the receipt. It is unsettling to Hiromi how unapologetic the cashier seems, but she leaves the store without saying anything.
It is David’s advice that saved Hiromi! He had advised her to always “check the receipt after making a purchase”. It seems that calculation mistakes happen often in Canada. Although Hiromi felt the cultural difference when the cashier didn’t even seem to be ashamed for making a mistake, she heaves a sigh of relief that the chore was carried out without trouble. (To be continued)