Comments on: In receipt of receipts

By: Spoon

Spoon — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:45:13 +0000

Am I the only one here recalling the Mitch Hedburg bit about buying a donut?

“I bought a donut and they gave me a receipt for the donut… I don’t need a receipt for the donut. I give you money and you give me the donut, end of transaction. We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this. I can’t imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a donut. To some skeptical friend, Don’t even act like I didn’t buy a donut, I’ve got the documentation right here… It’s in my file at home. …Under “D”.

By: glenn

glenn — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 14:07:54 +0000

As an “Anglo” who’s lived in Italy for more than 6 years now – or has it been a lifetime? – the real crime is that while, yes, technically you MUST be given (and leave with) a receipt for every piddling purchase of a coffee, or brioche, or I guess a bag of popcorn (though, personally, I have enver witnessed the authorities baring their teeth by upholding this law), EVERY single time I’ve gone to a dentist, they have flat out asked me if I’d like a receipt. If not, I’d get a 20% discount on the work just completed! It’s out there in the open for everyone. My father in law had a massive amount of work done and was able to reduce his bill by several thousand euro.

Dentists, as a general rule, are some of the richest people in Italy. It seems I’m the only idiot who pays full prices …

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 14:03:58 +0000

You get 25 receipts/coupons at any blockbuster but you can’t get one at electronic voting machines.

By: Christopher M

Christopher M — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:54:51 +0000

Kvetch & Mythago: Did you misread Tomasky to be arguing that you shouldn’t be able to get a receipt if you want one? Most of the time, when people buy a few little things at a convenience store or pharmacy, they aren’t going to need to balance a checkbook, check for overcharging, or submit the purchase for reimbursement.

You don’t have to be rich not to bother with balancing your checkbook—anyone who’s confident that there’s a buffer of $50 or so in their account can just glance through the bank statement each month to make sure nothing looks ridiculous. And how much of what you buy do you submit for reimbursement? A Coke and a couple of pens at CVS? A batch of photos developed at Walgreens? Receipts for that kind of thing are a waste of paper and just clutter things up, if they don’t go straight into the garbage. Maybe there are good reasons to require them (like avoiding cashier fraud) but fellow-feeling with the poor and overworked isn’t one of them.

By: Uncle Kvetch

Uncle Kvetch — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:50:46 +0000

What Mythago (#25) said.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 07:04:02 +0000

For those of us who carry pens but not PDA’s, receipts are sometimes handy for making notes, so long as they weren’t printed on thermal paper.

That being said, when I buy an espresso, I resent being handed a paper receipt along with a cup with a lid, two items to be thrown away before I can get to my little dollop of coffee.

By: mythago

mythago — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 03:22:40 +0000

Shorter Michael Tomasky: I make so much money that I don’t ever need to balance a checkbook, look to see if I were overcharged, or submit to an employer or a health-savings account for a reimbursement.

By: p king

p king — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 02:03:18 +0000

Re #22 I believe this is because of cash registers which calculate the change as $5.35 when $10 is tendered for a $4.65 purchase. It is easier for the clerk to pay out in the order they read from the display ie $5 bill followed by quarter and dime. Back in the day, the cash register would have read $4.65 and the clerk would have counted up to $10 ie 10 cents makes $4.75, 25 cents to make $5 and the a $5 bill.

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:55:03 +0000

The real crime here is using lire instead euros…when were these anecdotes from? 1999? Last I was in italy the only mention of lire I saw was occasionally on the receipt when the price would be quoted in both lire and euros…presumably for the vecchios who still needed time to adjust

By: Christopher M

Christopher M — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:52:56 +0000

Here’s the real question. When handing back your change and a receipt, why do cashiers place the bills in your palm, then dump the coins on top of the bills? It’s quite awkward, as you then have to somehow pour the coins off the bills into your other hand before pocketing them (or putting them in your change purse or whatnot).

By: julia

julia — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:52:01 +0000

Requiring the staff to give receipts is also a way to make sure that staff don’t get to pull Claude Allen-style return scams.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:03:51 +0000

Re 11: So when a company asks an employee to compromise of their personal life and sacrifice some of their off-work hours in a location not of their chosing to try and benefit their employer, they should also ensure to accrue only the minimum expenses possible in doing so then? You dont think that when most employers inconvenience their staff they should be willing to accept some financial cost in the bargain?

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 18:52:26 +0000

The newsstands at Penn Station in Manhattan provide receipts for even the most trivial purchases, with the sole exception of newspapers. It’s odd, because most small stores, delis etc. in Manhattan never give them.

By: Adam Kotsko

Adam Kotsko — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:58:23 +0000

In terms of a company expense account, I think that in a world where there’s an even chance that the CEO will run the company into the ground and abscond with funds intended for the pension plan, ripping off your company at every step is completely wise and moral, provided you don’t get caught.

By: abb1

abb1 — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:19:57 +0000

Here is Geneva I noticed when you buy something at a gas station convenient store, they ask you: “do you want a receipt?” In French, of course; the bastards stubbornly insist on speaking their dead language. Otherwise they are nearly perfect.