thursday june 10

today i placed a take-out order at one of my most-frequented restaurants, phil's bbq. when i arrived and saw the total price of my order, i was pleased -- it came to $9.04, which meant i could pay about $10 and leave my standard 10% take-out tip. i handed the girl behind the counter at phil's a $20 bill along with a dime, intending to pocket the $10 and leave the $1.06 in change that i got back. "there's your change," she said, handing me a $10 bill, a nickel, and a penny, with no loonie in sight. "thanks," i replied cheerfully, secretly very concerned now about how to handle the situation. as far as i could tell, these were my options:

• fish through the rest of my change to try to find a dollar to leave, which would essentially meaning leaving a TWO dollar (20%+) tip. more than i'd leave a waiter!
• calling attention to the forgotten dollar, only to just give it back to her anyway -- so not only would i be suggesting she was an idiot for forgetting all my change, but i'd be doing it just so i could get the RECOGNITION of handing it back to her.
• leaving the nickel and penny, in hopes that when she took the bill back she'd notice her mistake, but risking being viewed as the guy who left a six-cent tip.

i elected for the final option. i hope they don't remember me next time.