My boyfriend ran into a situation about a month ago with Dunkin’ Donuts. He paid for a $2 coffee at the drivethru with a $50 bill. He received $7 as his change and no receipt, so he parked the car and went inside to get the receipt and $40 they didn’t give him. The clerks working said they couldn’t open the drawer because the manager wasn’t there.
He went back the next day to speak to the manager. She said she would watch the security tapes and call him that day. He never received a call. He called her back the fallowing day and she rudely told him to “stop trying to rip them off”.
We are truly honest people. We’ve both worked in retail and know how to handle customers. We’ve contacted Dunkin’s consumer care (three times!) and have received no response. Is there anything else we can do? -Vicki
First off, I’m so sorry about this! What a frustrating situation!
In this case, since there’s no receipt and likely no transaction record — as your boyfriend paid with cash — it comes down to your word against theirs. How far you take it will depend upon how much time you have and how much $40 is worth to you. Here are some suggestions I would have for dealing with this type of situation:
1) Document the Experience in Detail
I had a really bad experience at CVS one time where the manager accused me of stealing and told me rather loudly to never come back to the store. He didn’t incorrectly charge me, as was the case with you, but he did treat me in a very rude manner for using coupons as intended. As soon as I arrived home from the store, I wrote out what happened in very in-depth detail. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget anything in case I couldn’t get ahold of someone at CVS corporate for a few days.
{By the way, CVS corporate was very polite and apologetic and actually wanted the manager to call and apologize to me personally. I told them that wasn’t necessary, but did ask that they clearly inform this particular store’s manager and employees of how ECBs and coupons worked. Apparently it worked, because that store became very coupon-friendly!}
2) Contact By Phone and Email
I see that Dunkin’ Donuts has a contact form and a 1-800 number on their website. I’d contact them through both at least once a day or every other day until you get a response. I’d also call the local store and politely inform them that you are contacting corporate and also reporting this to the Better Business Bureau. They need to understand that this is improper treatment of their customers and will result in consequences for them if they don’t resolve it.
3) Be Polite But Persistent
Don’t give up if you don’t get a response within a few days. Keep trying until you get through to someone. But don’t ever allow yourself to be frustrated or flustered with someone on the phone or through email. Showing common courtesy as well as professionalism will always get you much farther than ranting and raving will.
4) File a Complaint With the Better Business Bureau
If you cannot resolve this with the local store or with the corporate headquarters, I’d suggest filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. There are some good tips here if you plan to go that route.
If this had happened to you, how would you respond? What suggestions or advice do you have for Vicki and her boyfriend?
Didn’t see much on “what to do” – so here’s a few things that should work …
1) Write a firm but polite letter to their corporate office cititing the situation & your actions to date … address this to the “Office of the President” or just address to him directly. His name is Nigel Travis and his (dual) title is the Chief Executive Officer, Dunkin’ Brands and President, Dunkin’ Donuts. Corporate address is: Dunkin’ Brands //
130 Royall Street // Canton, Massachusetts 02021 — complaints to their call center or corporate desk won’t get much attention, but a letter to his office should get a response. If nothing else, he may simply have someone send you an equal amount of coupons/freebies as an apology.
– Be sure to outline in your letter that you will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau
– Ask for a full loss prevention review. They should have the till reconciliation from that day, a video of the drive thru cashier station, etc. Either the till was over or the cashier stole it. Either way, they have a loss prevention issue.
– Remind him just how viral this has gone, you’ve blogged & gotten 150+ comments … he needs to think about what’s next – twitter, facebook, etc. (I’m not saying continue, I’m just saying include the option in your letter)
2) File a complaint with the Better Buiness Bureau AND your local Chamber of Commerce … while the local DD store is a franchise, major corporations try to stay off these complaint lists & in good standing
There a lots of other things you can do, but I think a complaint letter to the CEO/President and a BB/CoC complaint is enough. If you don’t get resolution, then yes you need to consider just how much time is your $40 worth …
One place I am always very careful is the credit union. I always check my receipt for my deposit transaction before I walk/drive away from the teller. Only once has there been a problem: the teller entered my account number incorrectly and deposited my check into another person’s account. But I looked at my receipt before I walked away, saw the mistake, and it was corrected immediately.
I heard a nightmarish story about a woman whose Wells Fargo account was on the receiving end of such a mistake, and she spent months and months trying to get thousands of dollars that didn’t belong to her out of her bank account. Whatever kind of business you’re conducting, make a habit of checking what’s handed to you before you leave!
My rule is never walk away until you know you’ve got what’s owed you. This includes many situations. I’ve been shorted $330 cash at a bank once because they “left out” cashing one of my checks. I’ve also made a deposit at the bank once that was credited to the wrong account! Always check before you leave the teller or the cashier. If there’s an issue, it’ll be much harder to deal with even ten minutes later. Just my 2 cents!
Thanks for sharing this scenerio. I will definitely make sure to STAY at the drive thru until the issue gets resolved or make sure I have a receipt in case that happens to me, although I am sorry that Vicki’s bf had to lose $40 to teach us all this lesson.
I second all of the commenters who say to skip customer care and track down the general manager or district manager. It’s worth at try at least. I mean, $40 is half my grocery $$ for the week!
this is exactly why I NEVER pull away from a drive-thru window until I am sure that 1) I have the correct change and 2) that my order is correct
If it isn’t, I just tap on the window and alert the person of my needs… it saves me alot of time and frustration!
A similar situation happened to me about 2 years ago at a Carls Jr. I ordered my burger but paid with credit. I was distracted and got a reciept, but they DIDNT give me my card back (I know, I know, I should have paid more attention). I noticed when I got home and called, but was given the excuse that the manager didnt speak english. So I had to wait hours until an english speaking (yeah right! such a heavy accent I coudnt undertand him) manager came in. Then they said they didnt have access to the register/safe. I panicked and called my credit card company to put a hold on the card and a fraud alert out on my name (I used to work in credit, and know how quickly things can go wrong).
Finally I recieved a call from a clear english speaking manager from another store. She had to drive to the store to look for my card, and surprise, it wasnt in the safe or the register. She questioned the teller from that day and surprise, there was my card. The teller had stashed it under her register for “safe keeping”. Im glad it wasnt used, but I have worked several reatail and food service jobs in the past. One and all had the policy to put unreturned credit cards in the safe for the manager to call in to the credit card company. It was 4 or 5 days before I got my card back, but it sure was nerve wracking!
This has happenend to me twice. However, now when I pay in cash $20 or more I note the last digits of serial number. That way they will know the $50 or $20 in drawer was mine.
The Better Business Bureau is the best solution after you have tried in good faith to resolve with the company.
Vicki, I owned a retail business. OK. They have very detailed cash receipts of sales vs. cash in the till for several shifts during the course of one day. Go back in there! Dont give Dunkin Doughnuts a $40 tip! That drawer that the sales person was working would have been $40 over in cash during their shift. THIS IS HOW THEY KEEP TRACK OF SALES AND ACCURATE CASH. They keep written records, as they do in every retail business. They will easily be able to look up the cash sales during that shift and easily see that it is over by $40. Dont mess around with the shift/ on duty manager- go to the general manager or better yet, the owner. I would be mortified if any employee of mine ever did that. They would be fired. Period.
I would follow up with an email ( if you can find an email address). All future contact should be in writing if possible.
Remember to sandwich your complaint between two compliments. Remember to end your letter by stating exactly what you want done.
I would have called corporate right when it happened. When they told him there was not a mgr. available I would have asked for the corporate # and called them right then – not hours later. No one would take my change – I would stand there and not leave until it was resolved. I once called Wal Mart in the parking lot of the store where I had a problem and I think they took me more seriously , because I did not call after the fact, but right then.
It is so important to tell the clerk what denomination that you are giving them. Then, if they are dishonest they will be aware that you know what you should be receving back. Also, if they are honest it helps them to not make mistakes! I worked at a coffee shop in the mall and we had so many customers try to jip us by saying that they handed us a $50 not a $20. The thing that we did that would catch them in the lie was to lay the bill on the register and then give them their change back. Then, when they would say, “I gave you a $50 or $100,” we were able to pull it off the register and say, “No, here is the bill you gave us.” We began to know who the customers were who would try it – and they would always pick the new employees. Good thing we were trained to do it this way and to be on the look out for them. I had it happen to me a handful of times by people who may have been mistaken or looking for more money.
whenever i hand over a bill I say the amount for example “out of 20”. I do this because I got ripped off the same way, but I did get my money back because they have to balance the cash drawer at the end of the day and it should the exact amount of change I was owed. This was a long time ago before computers.
In this type of situation, I would NOT leave the line. Until fixed. Yes, the people behind have to wait, but that is too bad. You may save them from being ripped off too!! Once you leave the line, it becomes your word against theirs. When we go to the bank, we also sit right there in line in our car and count the money. That is your best time to get it changed. My daughter got $100 TOO MUCH once that way…probably saved the teller some problems later!!
I would call DD corporate. I had a serious food quality issue with them once and my husband called corporate. We had to complete a detailed questionnaire on the experience. They send us dozens of coupons for our trouble. They took our call VERY seriously, I’m sure they would take yours too.
As a teenager I worked as a cashier. Once I cashed a man’s paycheck and he dropped a $100 bill. I found it on the floor near my lane and turned it in to the store manager. A while later, the man returned and accused me of shorting him and pocketing it. I had to close my lane and count the cash drawer in the manager’s office in front of the customer and the manager. My drawer was perfect. The manager told the customer I’d found a $100 on the floor and turned it in and gave it to the customer. The customer huffed out and didn’t apologize or anything.
How very frustrating!
We have had some experiences happen like this. Be patient and calm for the first few times- otherwise they’ll get upset and be even less likely to help you. But, after doing all you’ve done, then what we’ve done before is let them FIRMLY, not rudely know that you’ll be contact the Better Business Bu. and it has always worked for us. All of a sudden they want to be helpful.
Maybe this has already been mentioned, but there was no way I could get through everyone’s and still have time to write something.
I paid a cashier with a 20 dollar bill and was given change back for a $5. I was about in tears because I knew that all I had to my name was that$20. The manager wouldn’t do anything because he had to count the drawer at the end of the day to check. I called the next morning and sure enough the drawer was over. I had to drive all the way back to that drug store to get back my change. The cashiers were there that shorted me and wouldn’t even make eye contact let alone apologize. They kept whispering to each other and glaring.
This is just sad and I’m sorry it happened to her boyfriend! All these comments are scaring me, but at least it’s reminding me to be aware and vigilant. I do use drive-thrus often and I am often distracted, so it’s a good reminder to stop, show the employee you are paying attention, etc.
When I worked retail as a teenager, there was a scam that worked the opposite way – the customer was the scammer and asking for change for a larger bill. This old guy was really good at it, and got me and at least 1 other person to give him too much change. He would talk around and around and confuse us. The next time he tried it, I told him told hold on, and I’d give him correct change first, then we could work on changing his twenty. He stopped coming around after that.
I learned from co-workers to avoid some errors by making sure that every time a customer handed me a bill, I rested it on the register as I counted out the change with the drawer open. That way, the customer could never say, “Oh, I gave you a twenty, not a ten” because the bill was sitting there until the change was given.
I just wanted to say that I have had trouble getting a response from Dunkin Donuts customer service as well. I was treated very rudely and overcharged for my order – I even had receipts – but no one from customer service ever got back to me. It wasn’t a huge sum of money, so I dropped it since it is not worth my time. However, I also don’t go to Dunkin Donuts anymore!! I will go out of my way to find a Honeydew or Starbucks instead of going there – they’ve just left me with a bad impression!
Good luck trying to resolve your situation – I hope it all works out for you!
Our local DD has a sign at the drive thru window that if you do not receive a receipt with your transaction, you should ask to see a manager. Your boyfriend did this, looks like another policy they are not following. I am very sorry this happened to you!
as a previous manager in customer svc…when this would happen in my store I would count out the register…at night they would have known if they were over… if I wasnt busy I would have closed it right then and there and counted my drawer or my cashiers drawer… So there are 2 situations he pd with a smaller bill or that person pocketed the money
I’m not sure if this has been mentioned, but I have a recommendation that has worked quite well for me in the past. Call the store (or one in the same area) and find out the name of the district and regional managers and ask for either their direct email address or mailing address (you may need to call a corporate service number for this information). Send a copy of your detailed complaint to them as well. As Vicki has said, document all of the information, but focus on the timing, process, and the way the manager treated you. Sometimes, the money isn’t as important as the gratification that you get from voicing your feelings (to the right people) about being treated unfairly.
I haven’t read through all of the comments so this may have already been stated… did they count up the drawer to see if it was $40 over? I know when I worked at a store and there was a complaint we checked the amount in the drawer and compared it to the master register receipt (there is one if they used a cash register to do the transaction).
Hope this helps!
In this case, it was more than likely the employee pocketed the extra change. Often, though, people just don’t want to admit they made a mistake. I once paid cash for gas and the cashier gave me change as if I’d given her a $100 bill. (I know I didn’t because I didn’t even have one!) I walked out with more $ than I even owed. When I realized and took it back to her, her response was “Oh, I couldn’t have done that! You must’ve had more money in your wallet than you thought!”. She finally accepted the extra money, but she really didn’t want to believe she’d made such a mistake. It even left me wondering if I really WAS mistaken- but I only go to the ATM once a month, and take the same amount of $, all in twenties – so I almost always know within a dollar how much is in my wallet. (I don’t keep track of change, but when it gets too heavy, I do try to spend my change if I can).
I know hindsight is 20/20, but it’s probably best to keep small bills in your wallet and to pay as close to your total as you can. Sometimes, fast food places can’t even make change for large bills, as managers pull cash often from the drawers. And some places won’t even take large bills anymore. I was behind a lady at a Fred’s store once and she was paying with a $100 bill. The cashier told her they weren’t allowed to taked them. The lady was buying about $80 of stuff, so it wasn’t like she was getting back $98 cash – an indication of trying to pass a counterfeit. Luckily, I had just made my own ATM withdrawal and I made change for her…..and yes, I did hold the bill up to the light to make sure it was real! Everbody laughed, but hey- I wasn’t going to risk MY $100 to help a stranger, lol!
something similar to this happened to me at a KFC I gave them a $20 and they said I gave them a $10 and I knew I had given them a twenty because I had just left the atm machine and did not even have a ten. They were very rude and nasty to me but I parked my car and I would not back down. They reluctantly counted the drawer and gave me the correct change but I was treated like a criminal. The drawer was over but not by the amount of my change but they still gave me my change. Originally I was going to write the owner but I just let it go but I did not go back to that KFC for years.
They lost a good customer before this incident I would go to that KFC a least a couple of times a month on Sunday after church to get dinner.
I would not leave the situation unless I am willing to let the money be lost. I do think that there is a time to walk away and know that a man shall reap what he sows.
I just wanted to say “Thank You” to this website for posts like this. I remember being a young married woman, making my own money and shopping for my family. Things do happen- get the wrong change, item rings up at a higher price, etc. and I would say nothing because I wanted to be polite. I felt very powerless and victimized in the retail setting. So I think it’s wonderful that you are giving advice to people out there who might feel like I did; that you can still be polite AND recieve good service! It’s not wrong to complain, just present yourself in a positive way.
I have notice that many folks today are using the “game tactics” of the manager–they throw out an accusation which is a character accusation(you are trying to rip us off–accusation that you are dishonest). Most people would be embarrassed or upset and let it go. Smoke screen tactic. The fact is that you are honest and that it was their error. Their goal–to not deal with the problem and get you to go away. Or, for the manager to pocket the money and that’s that. I’ve seen a lot in my life, can you tell?
Now, they should have KNOWN that their drawer had extra money in it that night. There should be a record of that.
What can be done? I’d call corporate. I’d also call the regional manager. Also, document, document. Keep records of all contact including who you talked with, the date, and what was said. If you don’t get anywhere with the corporation, try your BBB. If that doesn’t work, try your state corporation commission that governs businesses or your attorney general’s office which should have a unit that oversees businesses.
I had a similar situation occur at the local busch’s in the self check-out lane. My total came to $30.27 I paid with a $50 bill and the correct change and the machine gave me $10 back. I left it in the slot, called for the attendant and explained the situation. She called for the manager who opened the machine, checked the $1, $5 and then saw a $10 bill sticking out the its money slot; however, told me I’d have to wait until the next day when the machine was audited. I asked for him to review the security tape over the machine if he was insinuating that I had stolen the other $10, to no avail. I was quite upset and refused to leave. I told him he should call the police as I felt that I had been robbed, he just looked at me. I was polite; albeit, insistent to the point that he gave me $10 out of his pocket until the machine was audited the next day. Turns out the machine was over by $10 and I received a voicemail advising me of such and he hoped that the resolution offered was suitable. My husband told me to not escalate the situation as I received my money, but…it could have turned out differently!
I just want to give a shout out to Sonic where employees did the right thing when I got distracted and made a mistake in the drive-thru. Yes, I’m one of those mothers-distracted-by-children!
I paid for a 75-cent drink with a $20 bill and then I just drove off after being handed my drink. I didn’t realize what I had done until about ten minutes later when I was parked at the post office looking for my money. I became very upset to the point of tears and drove back to the Sonic. I parked and walked inside, ready to plead my case, and the drive-thru cashier had my change neatly stacked next to the register, waiting for me to return!
@Caroline, So grateful there are still honest people out there!
If I were in a situation like this and getting no response from their customer service line, I would write an actual paper letter to the highest-level manager I could find a mailing address for–vice pres., CEO, whatever. I’ve heard that people have good results from contacting these people directly, and for such a small dollar amt., they should be willing to help you just for the good publicity. What a ridiculous situation!
I agree never pay with a bill that large when you cannot see the cashier’s hands making change. Let’s say you give a cashier $20.89 for a $10.89 purchase so you can get a $10 bill back. Always say out loud to the cashier, “here is $20.89” so she can’t say you gave her a $10 instead. I make sure they acknowledge my statement in someway before handing it to them. Then of course ALWAYS count change before you walk or drive away!!
Wow.
My husband takes our two older kiddos to DD every Saturday morning as a special treat and a chance to spend time with just Daddy…. I definitely will alert him to this. We’re a cash-only family and I know he usually carries bigger bills – so I’ll be sure to tell him to always insist on a receipt and never leave the counter w/o counting his change. Or better yet, I’ll tell him to go down the street to Carribou Coffee instead! What awful business practices DD seems to have.
I worked as a cashier for many years and I distinctly remember a time where a customer swore up and down that they gave me a 20 dollar bill when I know that they gave me a 10 dollar bill. This person wanted to argue all day, but I finally just told him that when I cashed out at the end of the day and counted my till, I would be over by $10 if he really did give me a 20. Well, I wasn’t over… but the guy was still a jerk and swore he was right. Sometimes humans make mistakes…. on both sides of the register. 🙂
@Dsperin, So true! When I worked in retail I used to lay the bill the customer gave me horizontally across the drawer until I’d counted back the customer’s change and they were happy. That way, if they tried to tell me they gave me a bigget bill than they really did, it was hard to argue with the fact that I’d never mixed their money into what was already in the drawer!
I’ve filed two complaints on two seperate occasions and with two seperate businesses with the Better Business Bureau and heard nothing back from either one. No follow up, no nothing!
Sent them a tweet – http://twitter.com/dunkindonuts. If only because no one has responded to your complaint, it’s bound to get someone’s attention.
Thats tough. I actually had something similar happen to me this summer. We were at an amusement park and as we were leaving for the day I bought a couple of cookies from a snack stand. My bill was just over $2 and I paid with a $20. I didn’t realize until we got home that I never got my change or receipt (I was distracted by a crabby, overly tired toddler :-). I called the next day and got transfered and had to explain to abot 10 different people what happened. A nice manager checked the register counts and saw that one had an overage and they actually sent me a check. I was shocked!! I would def. keep calling DD customer service.
OK maybe I didn’t read through this whole thread but #1 I cannot believe that a fast food chain had no manager on the premises or a manager-assigned person. I’m sure if somebody from Corporate showed up unannounced they would find a manager ! #2 They didn’t have to wait for a manager to open the drawer — didn’t they have other paying customers which the drawer would have had to be opened. #3 When the person went into DD to explain his discrepancy, and the drawer opened from the next customer, if the fifty wasn’t in the drawer, you’ve only had one person handling the drawer in that amount of time so perhaps its time to check this employee out more closely. Sounds like somebody is scamming somebody and I’d keep on corporate — they might have outside cameras too that could see the transaction happening at the window! Banks do
My young daughter purchased some school supplies at Office Max. It only came to .19 (nineteen cents). She handed the cashier one dollar, but she didn’t get any change back. Then my older daughter made her puchase, but did receive her change. When I confronted the cashier, she claimed to have given my younger daughter her change. No money was found on her – no pockets on her outfit and no purse. She carried her dollar in her hand. By now, my daughter is in tears because she didn’t get her change. I talked to the girls and realized that she really had been shorted. (We hadn’t left the counter yet)
Long story short, I made the clerk count her money in the till. She was INDEED over. She sheepishly gave my daughter her change. I don’t remember her apologizing, but I just wanted to be known for being right.
They’ve been very good to me ever since. 🙂
Stand your ground. NO AMOUNT OF MONEY IS TOO SMALL TO GIVE UP!!!!!!!
I hate to stereotype all locations based on one location…but my friend always pays with correct change at DD because she has had them give her incorrect change more than once.
Did he not realize he’d been shorted until he’d pulled forward? I would not have left the drive thru window without the proper change. I’m guessing though that he realized it after the fact. The “I am handing you a fifty.” tip is an excellent one.
NEVER LEAVE THE STORE!!!!!! AND NEVER GIVE A LARGE BILL TO SOMEONE WHEN YOU ARE NOT FACE TO FACE. My husband worked for a bank and they found out a local business had an employee switching out large bills in the drive through for smaller bills in their pocket.
I’ve been short changed on the other end 🙁
I have had people insist that I short changed them, and so I gave them the additional change they requested, only to find out at the end of the shift that they were lying! There was really no recourse for me, as I’m a server who carries a cash bank in my pocket. It gets really hectic during a busy shift, so I don’t have time to “slow down” and investigate as to if someone is lying or not. Also, I can’t exactly fight with a customer in the middle of a dining room! I’ve also given people too much change, and not been corrected. Where do people think the extra money is going to come from? My pocket, unfortunately! I seriously can’t believe there are people out here who do things like this. I’m shocked every time! I must be really naive or something. Oh, BTW, I’m not a total ditz, I’ve just been serving for 8 years, and mistakes happen once in a while.
What a frustrating thing to be experiencing. There has been such good advice and encouragement so far, and I just want to add my two cents.
It is great that you have had this posted on a high profile website like MoneySavingMom.com and I encourage you to use social media to your advantage at this point, especially when you may not be getting the response from corporate you desire in a timely or professional manner. Corporations “search” their companies online and are very much aware of complaints on the internet. Further, I would encourage you to contact Consumerist.com about this as well. I have been helped so much by that site, they really get down to the nitty gritty on contacting the right people on corporate levels and handling complaints properly.
There have been many success stories of slighted customers who, at the end of their rope, turned to Twitter, Facebook, and consumer-rights websites to seek help. Personally, calling the 1-800 for Dish Network never resolved any problems I had and sometimes created new ones. Once I began contacting them on Twitter, my problems were resolved immediately and perpetually. Why the difference? Because it’s out in the open for everyone to see and no company wants to be publicly complained about.
I hope that helps! Good luck, and definitely let us know how it all turns out!
p.s. Personally, I don’t think your $47 is a lost cause. I think the appropriate thing for corporate to do would be not only to refund your money, but provide courtesy gift cards as well.
My question is why was there no manager on duty to open the drawer? I worked in retail and there was always a manger on duty weather it be the manager or an assistant manager. Where I worked the managers were only allowed to count the drawers and eventually I worked my way up to assistant manager and never had a problem with money shortage or anything from anyone. There should have been a manager there and they should have counted the drawer. Keep on it. Contact corporate everyday until you have an answer or your money back. Always get a receipt and count your money before you pull away from the window because there are people that aren’t honest and pocket the money for themselves and take advantage of others. The person at the window obviously was one of these if the manager didn’t notice a $40 overage in the drawer. Sorry that this happened. I hope Dunkin Donuts fixes it for you. If not start talking about it and get the word out that it happened to you and I bet they will lose business.
I read a story like this and the first thing I think is, “What can I learn from this so I can greatly reduce the chances of it happening to me?” One thing I always try to do is say, “I’m paying with a 20.” for instance. I read that somewhere. It establishes to the cashier that you are paying full attention to what is happening. On the rare occasion that I am paying with a larger bill, I will ask if they are able to break a 50? Again, I really do think that making it clear to everyone involved that you know what you are paying with can help keep these “mistakes” to a minimum. If they are actually planning on short changing you, you are reducing your attraction as a potential target. I also stand right there and count my money or insist that they count it out to me if they didn’t when they handed it to me. And, I hate to say this, but I try to use small denominations in the first place. When I get cash from the bank, I want 5’s and 10’s for this very reason. I’m so sorry to hear that these people were treated this way….hopefully it will never happen to them again.
I personally don’t understand how difficult it would have been to get the problem straightened out. All they would have needed to do was count out the drawer (either immediately or at the end of the shift). The total dollar amount for purchases should add up with the amount of money that is in the drawer. Any business that I have ever worked for where money is involved does end of shift counts at the end of the night. Most registers are so detailed, that they break it down by cash purchases, credit card purchases, and check purchases. It really is not rocket science, unless you are now looking at a dishonest employee!!
How about trying to contact the franchise owner? I know that some stores have the franchise owner’s name on a window or you could ask the manager for that info. I agree with the other comments that keeping a cool head will be your best strategy to get this resolved.
I would be leary of Dunkin Donuts. They don’t give receipts. A friend in Pa. had the exact same situation happen to her. She was in the drivethrough and given the wrong change. She parked, got her twins out and went inside and was told they couldn’t do anything without a manager. They told her to call later, which she did. The manager said they would count the till at the end of the night. Of course there was no overage. They were not helpful and she persisted. Called corporate and the store again. Eventually they did give her her change but it was a HUGE hassle and they left her feeling like she was the one taking advantage of them.
I would say never walk away, drive away without counting your change. I’m that person who holds up the drive-thru line counting my change but when you do it that way you are are camera counting your change.
Honestly I’m going to say you are out the $40 now. It’s your word against their word now which doesn’t get to far in any sort of legal arena.
For every person who is truly shorted change there are probably 10 who “claim” they are. I’ve been at a fast food place where someone was trying to run a scam so unfortunately I got to see it all up close and personal and it made an impression on me (and made me never what to work a retail register). The person was trying to confuse the cashier and make them give her more change back then she paid with and made a huge, huge scene (but funny when someone did call the cops she made a bee-line for the door).
It really sucks but I would probably suggest not using such a large bill for such a small purchase and making sure the change is correct before you leave the station (register or drive thru). I really try not to make it so there is more then $5 in change needed at a drive in.
Wish I could be more positive for you but honestly the best I think you will get is that Dunkin Donuts reviewing their cash register policy with all their employee’s and maybe a closer watch on that particular employee (if you know his/her name).
This would be the best suggestion to keep the situation from happening again. Think I will incorporate it into my life;)
@Michelle M,
I’ve had a few times where the customer has claimed that they gave me more money then they really did. I work at panda express, and we always counted my till and proved that they gave me the lower amount.
But, there have been times where I was wrong. It happens sometimes!
Well DD didn’t rip me off the other day but they did really mess up my order. I went to the drive-thru and ordered a Ham and Egg on a PLAIN bagel toasted, they were out of PLAIN, so I asked them what they had, yada yada yada I chose the Multi-Grain with egg and ham, NO CHEESE. I also ordered 2 maple frosted doughnuts for my kiddos, she sayd let me see if we have anymore so I waited and yes they did, SCORE. So she repeated my order back to me which was Ham and Egg on a Multi-Grain bagel NO CHEESE and 2 maple frosted doughnuts. Cool I was on my way now. I get to the window and I hear the car behind me order an XL coffee, and surprise they were out of XL cups. Anyway when I got up to the window I paid and I asked them if I could get a Mountain Dew she said yes and I paid for that as well, in the meantime she hands me a bag and I good thing I opened it cause there was only ONE doughnut in there that wsn’t even the right kind so I gave it back to her and she finally brought me the 2 I ordered, in the meantime she comes back and says they are out of Mountain Dew, so she has to get the Manager to come do a refund on the soda. Well I finally get my bagel sandwich and doughnuts after sitting there for 7 minutes and I head home. Now the reason I went through the drive-thru to begin with was because it was down pouring and my 2 year old was sleeping in the back seat. I get home and give the kids their doughnuts and I open my sandwich and much to my not-so-surprise there’s CHEESE on my sandwich. Ugh, Iwas so unhappy with DD that day. I did write them an email to let them know what exactly happened and I have not heard anything back from them but I know it takes a while. Now I am a Monday through Friday loyal DD customer but that right there was it for me. Needless to say I haven’t been there in over 2 weeks. I am sure I will go back eventually but something has got to change with that store.
I’m so sorry, but why did he pay for a $2 coffee with a $50? When paying with large bills ($50 and up) for such a small purchase, the customer should ask if the clerk has the appropriate change for them – prior to handing over the $50 bill. Taking the time to have this conversation with them will allow for both clerk and customer’s expectations to be voiced.
I’m sorry that this happened to you and I hope it is resolved soon.
@Suzanne,
The DD in our area will not accept bills over $20.
@Suzanne,
Taking the time to have this conversation with them will allow for both clerk and customer’s expectations to be voiced.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean – I think it is beyond reasonable to expect to be given correct change without having to voice that expectation! It is the job of the clerk to correctly input payment and provide change. If correct change is unavailable for a large bill, there should either be a posted store policy, or the clerk should alert the customer.
@MOR,
But it’s your money…and many times you will run into a cashier that is not the most reliable change maker.
I always say, “Can you make change for a $50 or Do you have change for a $50 or Out of $50—-
I do that to let them verbally hear what I am handing them. And I always recount the money I am handed back—
I use to be a cashier at a grocery store and if a customer came back and claimed we did not give the correct change, the manager removed our cash draws and they reconciled it immediately. If they did not give back the $40, that drawer at the end of the night should have been $40 over. This is very disappointing that the manager would not even give you the benefit of the doubt and further investigate it!
You will need to provide an update on this one!
In addition to contacting the 800 number and emailing, I would send a certified letter to the location. I would advise (again) exactly what happened and inform them that you are contacting headquarters and BBB.
A certified letter usually gets a company’s attention because they know that this is usually the first step in a law suit. Even if you do not pursue it further, this will make them think that you are and hopefully respond accordingly.
I used to be a manager at a theme park. On occasion, we would have a customer get concerned of being given incorrect change. If needed, I would open another register or even count it there on the spot (just in case the employee knew and wanted to “correct” it on his own). Most of the time it was only $5 or $10, but if that were my money, that is “only” another lunch or package of diapers these days!!
If you feel you have been given improper change, insist on a drawer count then. If the cashier makes “mistakes” often, he can correct his own drawer given the time.
As for what to do now. Well, at this point, it is probably the principle of it more than the money. You are done at the store manager level. You need to start up the chain of command. try to contact the regional manager, the district manager, so on and so forth. But keep your cool and don’t give up. SOMEONE needs to take care of the issue. It is poor customer service otherwise. Regardless of getting your money back, there should be some follow through.
$40 is very bold – My mom had the same thing happen, only it was $5 – and with a toll collector. Another situation where most people just stuff the change in their pocket without looking.
Because of that – I make an effort to pay attention to what I’m being charged and what change I’m getting back.
I agree it makes sense to write a letter to the franchise owner – they should know that someone dishonest is working the cash register.
However, this may end up being one of those ‘fool-you-once’ situations.
I would insist to see the video surveillance myself with the manager. Of course I would ask nicely. 🙂
Never pay with a $50 bill! I’m suprised they even took it- that makes me really suspect the cashier. I doubt you will get your money back unless you can speak to the local owner of the franchise. You will not get help from Corporate since Dunkin Donuts are independently owned franchises.
@Jan, Actually, you’d be surprised how many people will buy a coffee with a $100 bill. I know my father-in-law usually carries the larger bills and doesn’t use plastic. I usually carry less than $20… and use the plastic – but pay it off each month! (o;
I learned years ago to be cautious about paying with cash, in that there is no “trail” of what you paid. I would recomend using a credit/debit card for purchases or insist on a reciept. Also, never leave the check-out/drive-thru until you know you got the right change! I used to work in a fast food place during college and there were some employees who would pocket “mistakes” like that when someone paid for cash. I had noticed most customers didn’t count the change back until after they left. In cases where they do not do a reciept it’s your word against theirs and usually the manager will take their side.
After my personal experience and working there I always pay for stuff with credit/debit cards-that way I can have a trail if there is a question.
Also, like someone above said ALWAYS fill in the tip line on reciepts, I have a friend that works as a server and he has strongly cautioned us that a lot of the servers he works with will try to give themself a higher tip!
@Beth,
I do use cash a lot but am very careful when I do… (I use debit more)
I found someone’s grocery money envelope on the floor at walmart one time. It had over $200 cash in it.
I am sorry this happen, and I am sure it happens alot.
Like a PP said our DD will not take a bill larger then a 20.00.
I think I would have stuck to my guns and had the manager called, and them pull the draw and count it..
Just another heads up about scams young workers (or sometimes not so young) will pull —
When I worked as a waitress 20 or so years ago, some servers were known to either fill out the charge slip with another tip (when the tip was left on the table, say), add a 1 or sometimes even a 2 to a charge slip (so that a 1.50 tip became 11.50 or even 21.50), or add a 15 or 20% to a bill for a large party (which is OK) but not tell the person paying the bill in hopes of getting an additional tip.
Always, always fill in the tip line on a charge slip, even if it’s with a line across, adn do not leave spaces between your dollar sign and the first number of the tip. And of course, ALWAYS review your bill!
@Susannah, I have had a chinese place do that, so I always fill out the tip spot and draw a straight line from side to side in ALL the empty space(I write fairly small), therefore stopping any chance of them doing that to me again!(them or any other place I could conceivably tip)
@LoveToShop, Oh and I also use an odd colored pen, like a bright purple or green(that can obviously be seen, but is unlikely to be used by someone there also) and write in that same color on my receipt to keep what the tip was.
@LoveToShop, I can’t believe that a waitress would do something like that! I’ve been in the industry for quite some time, and it has never even occurred to me to change someone’s tip amount.
BTW, if someone were brazen enough to do that, they could always just enter the wrong amount into the computer (a different amount than what’s written on the slip of paper). It wouldn’t be caught unless the customer caught it on their charge card and contacted the restaurant. This has happened a few times at my restaurant, but I’ve always assumed (or hoped) it was just an accident on the server’s part 🙂
@Susannah, I’ve actually drawn a line through the tip area and it’s been adjusted by the waiter. Now I write the word “TABLE” on the tip line in bold letters.
A similar thing happened to my husband at a gas station once… he couldn’t remember for sure if he paid with a $20, and neither could the clerk. The manager, who was quite nice about all of it, called at the end of the shift after the drawer had been counted. The drawer was over by the amount they would have owed my husband had he paid with a $20, so he stopped by later that evening to pick up his change.
The manager at Dunkin Donuts has got to have some sort of record as to whether the drawer was over or not. The frustrating part is that no one will talk to you!
Posting on Wednesday……can you guess what kind of day yesterday was?????
I worked at a very large company as a professional line (their designation) which was where the difficult/challenging calls were sent from the front line customer service reps. Although we were not a retail outlet, here are my suggestions:
1) He should have never driven away from that window until he said something to the employee. Once you drive away, they don’t know if you pocketed the money or what.
2) Regarding calling the 800 number. Definitely do that. Remember that the person on the other end of the line is an ALLY. They want to help resolve your problem. Try something like this: Hi “Sarah”. I hope you can help me. (give brief details politely…..”Sarah” will ask particular questions that are relevant to her ability to help you) Where do we go from here? If you are so angry that it shows tell “Sarah”, I know this is n’t your fault. I’m just so frustrated at the situation. “Sarah” may or may not be able to help you but she is on your side. She may be able to give you coupons for free product (not cash but at least equivalent), advice as how to proceed, or give you to a more experienced customer service rep. “Sarahs” often have some discretion as to how and how much to help you (monetarily). Nasty cusotmers usually get the minimum required. Polite customers who treats “Sarahs” like advocates usually get all the help “Sarah” has at her disposal. If Sarah is unable to help you to your satisfaction, ask if there is someone there that has more authority to rectify the situation. Do not get angry if she is unable to resolve herself, remember, she will be briefing the next person you speak with so be sure she can say “I’d really like to help this person. She has been so nice.” NOT “Dialing for dollars call here. Nasty person.” It will color the response you get from Sarah #2. Before you conclude your call, have the name and direct line/extension of the most senior person you spoke with.
3) The other responses from folks who have retail experience are great. Try at both the store and the 800#.
4) Don’t repeatedly call the 800#. Get the name of a person and call that person back. Otherwise, you will be a pain and that doesn’t get you anywhere. Going back to the same person will keep you at the forefront and you are developing a relationship. And we all like to help our friends!
5) If all else fails, consider it an expensive lesson. Sometimes no matter how right we are, something like this may not be rectified. Don’t let it bruise your soul.
Call the cops right away.
When i was a teen i worked for Dunkin Donuts for a short time. during that time i probably put in about 40 hours and was so excited to be earning my first paycheck. I got nothing. The store owner refused to pay me because he said I wasn’t “doing a good enough job”. In addition, he made me and the other teen split our tips everyday with him and the baker. Worst of all, during that time, my wallet went missing (very little money and an ID) out of my jacket in the back that few people had access to.
Needless to say, I quit and called corporate. Corporate told me that my dunkin donuts is privately owned and they could not help me. Aren’t they even affiliated?
I explained that I was not paid and of his poor business practices. (I was even once told to charge someone for a few ice cubes.) Nothing was done by corporate.
Since I was a minor, my mom went to speak with the store owner and he said they had to leave because it was his property. My mom said okay and he chased my mom outside and tried to attack her until he noticed my father was in the car.
It was a completely ridiculous situation and I’m just going to say don’t expect Dunkin Donuts to help you out much or admit they are wrong.
Since my situation a few years ago, the ‘Help Wanted’ sign was in our Dunkin Donuts window weekly and finally corporate did take it over, remodeled and it’s under corporate management now. I never went back even for a coffee.
@sarah,
Your parents should have sued him in small claims court.
And be comforted by the fact that karma is a b@#!h.
Julie – I think the local news stations in all cities now have a consumer complaint section, and that is a great idea for her to utilize that. I did threaten to contact ours one time over something similar, and the situation was corrected VERY quickly. They do not want the bad press on the airwaves. And as they are probably discovering, blogs like this are very effective at reducing their profits as well.
Around here- many places like Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds will not accept bills larger than 20s- maybe because we have a lot of problems. They put up signs saying that-also maybe because we have more counterfeiting of 50s and 100s. Of course, you can be shortchanged from a 20 as well. It hasn’t happened to me for a very long time- I generally have change or use a store card that I reload. I would complain to Corporate because there is likely a pattern of theft at the store- and the manager could be involved.
@Andrea, Twenties are the most counterfeited bill of all! Years and years of managing the teller line of a bank means I know that very well. 🙂 But I completely agree that you’re better off using a smaller bill in a fast food establishment.
Does your local newspaper or even local TV station have a consumer help feature? Many outlets, especially in smaller markets, have a feature where the reporter tries to help someone who’s seemingly been ripped off to get her money back. If you don’t get a timely or satisfactory response from Dunkin Donuts, you might want to try that avenue.
I would highly suggest not using large bills at fast food establishments in the first place, especially if your spending such a small amount. Counterfeiters most often spend fake $20s at such places because there is little or no effort on the cashiers’ part to check the bills so you are very likely to get the fake money back in your change.
I agree, keep your cool. Do what Crystal suggested and remember it’s only money! I would be mad, but don’t let this steal your joy. We have a heavenly Father who could put money in a fish’s mouth, when Jesus needed it. He will provide for you! And I would suggest never using a $50 bill again. I won’t take large bills from anyone for that very reason!
I haven’t read through all the comments but just wanted to say that a good business would have stopped all transactions on that register and counted the register against the receipt tape right away to find any descrepancies. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. How frustrating!!
No advice here since such great advice was given already. Please let us know what happens!
I agree with keeping your cool but the person needs to speak more with the manager of the store first. The letter states that he talked to them once about watching security tapes and then a phone call. Oh this just isn’t enough! First I wouldn’t have left the store without my money. Leaving and coming back the next day after watching security tapes just lost them 40 dollars. Does dunkin doughnuts have a security system that could tell what he paid with, I doubt it. We have had this happen to us many times. Here’s what we do and it works every time:
I paid with a 50 and you gave me change for a 10. I would like my change back. If you get some problems from the employees and manager say, I’m not leaving without my correct change. I need that to live. Literally, don’t leave and you’ll get your change.
Suggestions to have the drawer counted immediately are good, of course, but one problem I see with that is that if you are in a hurry to get to work, that sort of thing takes time. Not everyone can afford to be a few minutes late for work.
When I was 16, just started working at McD’s, I accidentally shorted a customer $20. I didn’t think I had, but the owner pulled the drawer right then and counted it. I was wrong, and oh, so embarrassed!
Hey, unless they pocketed that money there should have been an overage in the till. I know of no stores where a manager does not have to be there at all times. If nothing else this should flag at corporate as a store that needs an audit. I’m a former retail manager and I would have counted that till down right away.
As someone who handled BBB complaints for a company, they are definitely the way to go when you have an issue like this. BBB complaints do not disappear and others can see if it was resolved favorably or not, and if there are similar complaints. Yelp, Twitter and FB complaints will also get results…no company wants widespread damage from stuff like this.
Sadly, I am finding that in many retail and restaurant establishments there is such a lack of customer service. Having worked in retail for many years in the past, I see the changes in the industry which leads to employees being required to be available for work anytime, especially nights and weekends, and even holidays. Pay is low, and hours are kept to below 40 to prevent paying benefits or overtime. Disgruntled employees will often retaliate by taking money, stealing merchandise, and completely disrespecting customers. Store Managers are often young and inexperienced, and, not wanting to look bad in their new job, will usually blame the customer, or promise to follow up, then do nothing, hoping the problem will go away. Twice in the past month, I have had customer service issues that needed Manager involvement. In both cases, I asked the Management to “put it in writing” . In one case I was given their business card with their response, and in the second, they simply wrote it out on a sheet of copy paper. We’ll see how it works, but at least when I go back to the store, I will have proof to “remind” the Manager that we had spoken about the issue and he was going to take care of it, or if there is a now a new Manager, at least I have a record to show them.
This won’t help any with the current situation, but to help prevent it from happening again. Make a tiny mark that only you would make (like your initials) on all of your larger bills 20+….then, when a situation like this arises, tell them to pull the money back out and look for the initials. They will then know which bill you gave them.
Silly question but why didnt he tell them while he was still in the drive through? Ive had this sort of thing happen a few times (where the change isnt the amount it should be) and Ive always told them right away. It doesnt really make a difference either way, Im just curious.
Was he able to get a copy of a reciept? I wonder if his items were ever actually even rung up. Hopefully they will fix this situation soon!
i worked at a dunkin donuts and they had a tip jar at the drive thrue window and we had a problem with one(just one) not all taking customers change and putting it in there. Now occasionally someone would say to do that but not that much. Anyway after a couple of complaints the cashier was written up and fired. But be polite. I know the dunkin donuts that I worked at they pulled the drawers after every shift not every cashier(that was also problematic) but every shift. Anyway, keep your chin up and post it to their complaint form.
When you hand money to the cashier say “out of $20” or “$40 on pump 6 please” so there is confirmation of the amount. Don’t hand over $50 without making sure THEY know its a $50 bill, and that YOU know it is one as well. It keeps honest people honest and less than honest people know to scam someone else…
I wouldn’t leave the drive thru till a manager came to the window and heard my complaint. I would demand a drawer count on the spot and not take my car out of their drive thru till someone was listening. I would then ask to speak to the owner and be very clear and calm but assertive. If the cash wasn’t found in the drawer I would, in front of the cashier, call the police and report a theft and make sure the cashier knew the cops would be on their way to watch the tapes and make a report. This hopefully would rattle the kid enough that they cough up the cash, but if not I would persue it anyway. A report won’t look good for the business and they wouldn’t be able to ignore you.
@Tara,
EXACTLY! I always confirm the amount I’m handing over when paying with cash— Say it outloud!
Especially if your bill is really big and you are paying for something small— you need to say something like… “Can you break a $50?” or Out of $50 if that’s ok or Do you have change for a $50 — especially at a place like Dunkin Donuts that doesn’t have an overabundance of people using $50 bills on a donut and coffee.
I agree that the drawer should’ve been counted immediately. In the absence of a manager, whoever was in charge should’ve seen there was a 50 dollar bill in the cashiers drawer. Even if the cashier pocketed the change, I doubt he/she would’ve had time to put $7 of their own money in the till so that they could pocket the 50 without making their drawer short. This would’ve confirmed the customers story, or at least given enough merit to it for the customer to be taken seriously and the drawer counted. Sounds fishy to me.
@Lorri,
There are drop boxes for bills $20.00 and above. It should have been in the drop box not the drawer. This is done because it makes it even more clear on the tape that stealing is occurring and if they get robbed the robbers don’t get a lot of money. Drawers have regular safe drops so they never really have much money in the drawer at any one time. This prevents theft from staff as well.
while i am all for paying for everything in cash, i would like to suggest it might not be wise not paying for a $7 item with a $50 bill.
I agree. I have learned over the years that I feel much more secure if I try to pay for everything with exact change. While it may seem like a pain to have lots of $5s and $1s (especially the $1s) in your wallet, it is nice to know that the only change due back to you is coins.
@amandasuzanne,
While I usually pay most things in credit card (for the paper trail and I pay off my monthly balance in full), there are occasions when I do use cash. I found helpful if I’m using a large bill ($20 and above), sometimes I fold it in half lengthwise (or some other distinct way) and say to the cashier as I hand over my bill, “Here is a $20 bill.”
I had a bad experience paying for train fare in Atlanta, GA when I used a $20 bill to pay for $5 in train fare (or something close to that amount). I had just gone to the ATM and had ONLY 20’s in my wallet and they didn’t take credit card at the turnstiles. Anyway, I got change for a $10 bill and I politely asked for a drawer pull.
It was during rush hour and I said, “I’ll wait” and wait I did. I even told them the $20 bill I handed to them was brand new and I could even given them the serial number (the bills from the ATM were new and in sequence). I DID eventually get my correct change back but I had to wait, the manager did come to see what was going on, and I never got an apology for the error.
I could have avoided this by perhaps saying “I’m paying with a $20 bill” from the get-go.
@WestByEast, Just a note of advice here, that I’m sure you already know…..don’t EVER use a credit card at a drive-in where you can’t see what the employee does with your card. If you use a card (credit OR debit), always go inside to order. I, too, almost always use my card. Ironicallly, though, I normallt pay cash for fast food. But my husband and I took his parents out one night to Burger King and the total was more cash than we had. The card reader was not working and the cashier asked to see my card. I didn’t think much of it, but I was very distracted by the fact that she was playing around with a razor blade! Needless to say, a couple of months later I had a fraudulent charge of $400….I called the credit card company immediately and they reversed the charge and reissued a new card number, but I definately consider it a lesson learned. My eyes never leave my card when I use it….and I will never use it at a fast food place again! My guess is the cashier used a cell phone to take a picture of my card so she’d have the number.
@Lynette,
A note here — all transactions by major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, ect.) and debit cards w/these logos are protected by a zero liability policy. Meaning if you the customer are incorrectly charged, you are not liable. However, it can be a pain to go through the process of filing a complaint.
If I were you, I’d focus on the “I didn’t get a receipt” part. Being shorted change is one thing. Being shorted change AND not given a receipt is something else. To me, that indicates premeditated fraud on the part of the cashier, and shows a lack of honesty.
Corporate WILL take the lack of receipt seriously, since this is a requirement of all franchises.
I went to the corporate website and posted a comment via email stating that I belong to this blog, read this incident and have decided not to frequent my Dunkin Donuts unless and until I hear that this situation was more favorably resolved for my fellow member! I figure, there is power in numbers and perhaps someone far enough up will see the negative affect this can have! Hope this helps!
@Amy Schulze,
I did the same thing!
I have had to deal with Duncan Donuts Corporate office before, and they have not been very helpful. They told me they would pass along my letter back to the store management. The problem is in that these are individually owned franchises so if the individual store is the problem passing the letter back to the store does nothing.
I agree that counting down the drawer immediately, reviewing the tapes if needed after the countdown & if the store absolutely refuses to do these things right away that is when the police should be called. I wouldn’t feel bad calling the police if it got to that point as long as I tried to handle it with the manager first. Writing to the newspaper isn’t a bad idea either.
I tried to post this a few minutes ago & it wouldn’t “take” so i hope it doesn’t show up as a duplicate -my apology if it does
I read review sites like yelp.com, and while I do take them with a grain of salt, they do influence my thinking about places. Sometimes just saying “I am going to write about this experience on yelp” will get them to be more reasonable with you. And as a consumer, I would like to know how customers are treated.
Sad to think people would intentionally rip off people! Especially moms of young children (as I am!). I am in the habit of getting a receipt and looking at it, just another reminder to do that!
I know this is of no help now, but for the future you may want to start saying to the cashier as you hand them the money, “I’m handing you a fifty.”
@Heather,
THAT is a terrific idea. Brilliant in it’s simplicity.
And, count your change. And, don’t leave the drive-up window until a problem is acknowledged.
@BeThisWay, I agree on the “count your change” part. I’m not sure I would ever hand a cashier a $50 bill on a $2 order and NOT make sure I got every bit of my change correctly.
I have had to deal with Duncan Donuts Corporate office before, and they have not been very helpful. They told me they would pass along my letter back to the store management. The problem is in that these are individually owned franchises so if the individual store is the problem passing the letter back to the store does nothing.
I agree that counting down the drawer immediately, reviewing the tapes if needed after the countdown & if the store absolutely refuses to do these things right away that is when the police should be called. I wouldn’t feel bad calling the police if it got to that point as long as I tried to handle it with the manager first. Writing to the newspaper isn’t a bad idea either.
@Kristen Lowery, I have also heard that many companies take very seriously the comments made about them on Twitter.
Yeah, my first thought, too, was to have them count the drawer. As was noted, the cashier could have easily skimmed the difference (“$50? Lotto!”), but in most cases, I’m sure, it’s an honest mistake. However, the store manager’s non-response over the next few days really makes me suspicious that she may have been on the take, too.
Hopefully Dunkin’ Donuts will make this right very quickly; I’d hate for a good chain to get a black eye over the bad behavior at one of its franchises.
@Christina,
I agree Christina they were all in on it even the Manager. If the protocol had been followed then it would have come out that the whole staff on that shift was on the take and they whole shift would be fired. The fact the the protocol was not followed proves that they were all in on it. A call to the District Manager should fix this problem.
I was on the other end of this when I worked the drive through at a fast food place in high school. Some customers came through and claimed I gave them change for a ten when they paid with a fifty. The manager immediately pulled my drawer, counted it, and watched the tapes. My drawer was exactly on and nothing fishy was on the tape. They had me empty my pockets. I had given the correct change and my manager never doubted this, but the protocol is straight forward in these situations. Either Dunkin Donuts needs a new protocol, or this location needs better management. There is always someone in charge, so the manager not being there makes no sense. I am so sorry you are having to go through this. I will certainly think twice about going to Dunkin Donuts after hearing about this experience.
Without any doubt that Vicki’s story is completely truthful, I will add that counting a drawer does not resolve anything. I am a bank teller and was once accused of stealing money from a customer. The cash she sent me in the drive-thru did not match the deposit slip. It was short by $5. My manager counted my drawer (which balanced to the penny), and asked the customer to see if the money had slipped between her seat and the car door. I knew I didn’t steal her money just as much as the customer knew she originally had an extra $5 in that deposit. The customer then blatantly accused me of stealing and got angry. I am not willing to lose my job over $5, but a formal complaint from that customer could have done just that.
I agree with contacting the BBB. I did that one time when I had some books sent to me that I never ordered. I had to pay to ship them back or pay the $50 for the books. I paid the $6 to ship them back and then filed a complaint online with the BBB. I had a check for $6 mailed back to me within weeks.
Having been in retail management and retail accounting for many years I can say this. There are several correct procedures mentioned above that you really should take note of and ask why it wasn’t done and to see the records from that day.
A.) The drawer should have been counted down right that second no matter if you had a receipt or not. I’ve never worked at a retail establishment that didn’t require a complete count if there was ANY misunderstanding about change, be it from the customer or from an employee that felt they had made an error.
As that was not done (and I can only conclude that it wasn’t because they knew they had made an error and didn’t want to give up the funds or because the employee pocketed the difference and made his/her superiors believe that it was the customer who was mistaken – which I’m sad to say is usually the case if the accounting at the end of the day doesn’t show and overage/shortage of this nature).
B.) EVERY retail establishment requires an end of day count of every till and those counts are kept in record in the store a long with digital transmissions to their corporate offices. Most states require them to keep those records on file and on site for no less than 2 years. In those records you’ll find the count of every till in the store, if any till was over/short, if the total day’s takes were over/short, if the overage in a drawer conflicts with the whole day’s take, and what was done about said overage/shortage. Failing to be able to provide this will usually result in an audit by the company’s loss prevention team at the very least, potential loss of job, and perhaps prosecution if it can be show in some way that a customer was knowingly wronged.
Do not let them believe that you’re ignorant on the matter. Call the 1-800 number from their site daily as suggested above. If there is an email, contact via that as well. Request loss prevention (it’s a little known fact outside of retail employees that LP is not just for internal loss but for losses that effect the customer as well). If there was ever a company’s internal offices that more capable of being able to help you with this problem I would be shocked. Plain and simple it’s LP’s job to find ‘losses’ of every kind which does include YOUR loss.
Also most stores of this nature will have a district or regional manager or both that oversees each store, make every effort to find a contact number for this person (unless it’s franchised, in which case it will be the franchise owner you’re seeking to contact). Note the store will have this information and are in most cases required to give it to you if you ask, if they hedge you, demand it repeatedly in a calm voice. Their honestly shouldn’t be any reason they could come up with that would be a valid reason not to give you the information (covering their own rear-ends is not a valid excuse). At the very least the DM/RM/Owner should me made aware of how you were treated. Every company believes that customer service is the key to their sales. To treat one customer that way will result in exactly what this has resulted in, dozens or even hundreds of people hearing about how you were treated and either consciously decided not to spend their money there anymore or subconsciously doing so. People don’t wish to go places where they know others have been harmed in some way and any business manager/owner/etc knows this. They should be bending over backwards to keep from having just this happen. So go over their heads. Explain to that next person up the food chain exactly what happened in a calm collected voice and ask for their help in correcting the matter in as quick a way as possible.
AWAYS stay calm. There was nothing I wanted to deal with less than an irrational customer making a fuss, even when I knew they were correct. The anger, and what spawned from it, would put me in the clear mood to do nothing for them. Granted I never actually said no to a person because of their demeanor towards me because I knew the easiest way to deal with that anger was solve the problem but that’s not to say that others won’t.
Last but certainly not least, pray about the matter. Pray for those involved and that God will help you remain calm and logical as you work through it. In today’s economy it’s hard to deal with the loss of even a few dollars much less something most of us would consider more than a little bit of money. Asking for a bit of guidance and control is certainly worth your time spent asking for it.
@christina A, So much word, especially on the point about keeping calm. When a customer is pleasant and polite you want to do everything to help them, even if you are sure you’re right. When someone is rude and insulting, even to the point of being demeaning (and sadly, there are so many people out there like this) your interest in helping them hits rock bottom.
There are many, many dishonest people out there trying to scam businesses. When you are rude it immediately puts up the employee’s “scam radar” and they will be looking at everything you do and say with a critical eye. When you are polite (pleasant tone of voice, not just words) we will do anything to help you!
The only additional comment I can make that hasn’t been made,after being in the service industry for the majority of my 30 + working years is that when the employee was first told, and replied with, “there is no manager there to open the drawer” they could have asked to have the employee call the manger to make a 1st physical contact with them ( all stores no matter the size have someone to contact in case of an emergency, from major chains to small privately owned) and then ask to be present the next day to watch with the manager /owner, the video of the transaction… by willing to make yourself known and apparent to be face to face with during the viewing they could not call you a liar and thief, nor could they deny you … so therefore neither could be mistaken by viewing the video together… And I will agree with Dana… they will no longer be getting my business…
@Lisa Bell, If I ever went to Dunkin Donuts, this situation would not deter me from going there again. Obviously, this is an issue with a single store in a particular city, and has not proven to be a corporate problem (until/unless Vicky’s boyfriend contacts those up the ladder and gets blown off). If my local establishment is honest and gives good service, why should I punish them for someone else’s misdeeds?
Unfortunately, by driving away from the drive-thru window and then not demanding a drawer count immediately, Vicky’s boyfriend pretty much shot his chances of getting the correct amount of money back. The best any manager could do at this point would be to offer a gift card, since the loss cannot be proven (assuming he watched the video and found no evidence of stealing).
I managed a fast food restaurant many years ago and we had procedures for situations like this. We were required to immediately count the drawer and usually, if it truly was an oversight on the cashier’s part, it would be remedied right there. I’m sure most other fast food type restaurants have similar procedures. Regardless, a review of that day’s accounting report should show an overage of that $40.
However, there is a possibility that the money would never be discovered because the cashier could be dishonest.
None of this should in any way discount how poorly the manager treated your husband or how the company has handled your inquiries.
I don’t get it, why didn’t they just count the till at the end of the day? It would be easy to see if a customer was telling the truth!
I recently has a similar experience with a local carpet cleaning company. They overcharged me by $20. I instantly called and spoke to the manger minutes after the service was completed to tell them the addition on the bill was incorrect. We went in circles for days on the issue. I finally ended up filling a complaint with the BBB. We went in circles again after that because the BBB asks them to attempt to resolve the issue. I never got my $20 back. But I am happy that I filed the report to the BBB so other customers out there can see that the company has poor customer service. And hopefully not choose to use them for their services.
I also just posted a complaint on their website.
sorry I meant to say “what another poster said their college dorm mate” did
I’ve noticed a practice some cashiers (and me myself have done when working retail sometime ago) and that is anytime a customer pays with a 20 or larger, leave the bill on top of the register until you’ve given the customer the change and count it for them so they know exactly what you’re giving them. I’ve seen this practice prevent many mistakes. But my husband has had an issue before with a fast food place giving him change for a smaller bill and luckily noticed right away, the cashier in that instance did what another poster did and apologized for the mistake, but for some reason my husband got the impression it was something they were doing on purpose, so I guess that’s possible too. :/
They could have counted the drawer, but maybe the employee was “skimming” the extra cash? Maybe he or she entered $10 in the register or something like that. If not, it should have been easy to see if they received a $50 bill; they probably don’t get too many of them.
I was just going to say they should have counted the drawer.
I just emailed them with a link to this post, hopefully that will open their eyes.
In the future immediately ask for a count down of the drawer. They will pull the cash register drawer, count it down, find that it is over and refund your money. It is not possible that no one was “in charge,” or had keys to the drawer. They just wanted to pick up a few extra bucks. Point out to corporate that you feel the employees scammed you; that should expedite the situation.
I too would suggest in the future to have them pull and count the drawer. That is how this type of situation was handled when I was a manager of a fast food restaurant. It does not take long and there was a procedure for this. I can only assume that all business have a procedure for this type of issue.
@Kathy,
I agree, when I managed an assistant manager if for some reason there was not a manager on the premises we fully expected to get phone calls from the employees for one reason or another and had to be ready to go right to the store if needed. If the cashier was claiming the manager wasn’t there I would insist that they called them and have them come to the store to resolve the issue.
@Lisa, Great idea! Although it is possible that maybe the employee pocketed the extra cash since nobody wants to fess up to what happened.
@Aubrey,
If the money was not in the drawer the next step in the Restaurant Industry is the manager would watch the tape and see the employee pocket the cash. The Manager would be very thankful to the customer for helping them catch an employee that was stealing. Then normally the Manager would thank the customer with a gift card.
@Lisa, She said in her story that they refused to pull the drawer because there was no manager on duty. 🙁
@Lisa, I think that this is wonderful advice. I worked as a teller and supervisor for 8 years in a credit union and that was our policy. If someone claimed they did not get the right amount of money back we instantly closed that teller down and balanced the drawer.
I was a bookkeeper for Vons for a while. Any store keeps track over their overages/shortages for each day. If you know exactly what day it was (which I’m sure you do), they will be able to go back into the books and see that they were over, and that that particular drawer was over $43. I would go in and make that clear and wait while the manager pulls the books for that day. There is absolutely no reason they cannot at least check for you.
And on top of the complaint about the shortage, complain about not getting a receipt.
@Jessi,
Jessi and others who mentioned pulling the drawer for a re-count — you’re right, but my first thought was that an employee pocketed the $40 in cash, so the register logs wouldn’t have shown an overage.
Years ago, when I was in college, I had a number of dorm-mates who worked in fast food. Most were honest, but there was one guy who openly bragged about how much money he stole by giving incorrect change back to customers who came through the drive-thru. For example, if they paid with a $20 bill, he’d give them change for a $10. If they noticed, he apologized as if it was an honest mistake and immediately gave them the correct change. But more often than not, the customer drove off without even noticing. One thing he told me that has remained in my memory all these years is that the easiest targets were women with young kids in their cars. Apparently they’re the most easily distracted. Sadly, a few other fellow dorm-mates started stealing like this too once this one guy convinced them how easy it is. I haven’t had contact with any of these people in years, but as long as I knew them, none of them ever got caught.
Not to say that the employees at the Dunkin Donuts in question stole the $40 intentionally because of course I do not know that, but it could happen. I’m sure most employees are ethical, but unfortunately not everyone is.
@Susan, I agree, in this situation it is pretty clear the person working the drive thru would have pocketed the difference. This would explain why the manager was so adamant that no incorrect change was given… I am sure he checked the drawer and saw that it was not over and therefore assumed your husband was lying instead of admitting he had a dishonest employee, therefore making him liable. Please continue to contact Dunkin Donut’s Corporate office… my husband is the GM of a Domino’s and we know first hand that complaints taken to corporate head quarters are always taken very seriously by the store owner… who will then make sure that manager addresses the issue. At the very least they should send you Dunkin Donut gift certificates in the amount you were shorted! Good luck, please let us know if this is resolved!
@Susan, I agree, in this situation it is pretty clear the person working the drive thru would have pocketed the difference. It would have been very easy for him to push the $10 button so records would not show a fifty was even given. This would explain why the manager was so adamant that no incorrect change was given… I am sure he checked the drawer and saw that it was not over and therefore assumed your husband was lying instead of admitting he had a dishonest employee, therefore making him liable. I also saw that someone else posted that they could have checked the video and saw him stealing it, but I am sure if the employee was that dishonest, he was also aware of where the cameras were and took the necessary steps to not be ‘caught’. Please continue to contact Dunkin Donut’s Corporate office… my husband is the GM of a Domino’s and we know first hand that complaints taken to corporate head quarters are always taken very seriously by the store owner… who will then make sure that manager addresses the issue. At the very least they should send you Dunkin Donut gift certificates in the amount you were shorted! Good luck, please let us know if this is resolved!
@Amanda Hagler, One way that I have recently heard about where employees get away with stealing without getting caught on camera…they have a friend come through their line and give them the extra money in their ‘change’.
I don’t go to Dunkin Donuts but my sister does…she loves their coffee. We were out shopping together this past Friday and she had me go through their drive thru so she could get a coffee. She paid using her debit card, and they didn’t give her a receipt. The lady just handed her card back to me and walked off. My sister told me to just go…that they never give her a receipt. So I am thinking this ‘no receipt’ thing must be common practice for them. I was shocked that my sister just brushed it off…especially when it was her debit card!!! They could have easily overcharged her and it would have come out of her checking account and she would have nothing to prove it. I never would leave without a receipt for a debit card purchase…if I used cash and it was only a few dollars, then fine, but not a debit card.
I had this happen at Dairy Queen awhile back! I bought a blizzard at the drive-up window and paid cash. The cashier took my money, put it in the till, and then asked “Did you give me a $10 or a $20 bill?” I honestly couldn’t remember. She said “I’m sure it was a $10 bill” and gave me change for $10. When I got home, I double-checked the money in my purse. I had been to the ATM machine earlier, and I had only shopped at 2 stores prior to going to DQ, so it was easy for me to figure out that I had actually given her a $20 bill. By that time the DQ was closed for the night, and I figured if I went back the next day there would be no way to prove that I had received the wrong change. Several weeks later, I went to the same DQ and happened to get the same cashier at the drive-up. This time I paid attention and I knew I gave her a $20 bill. She did the same thing again! I corrected her and reported my experience to DQ headquarters.
@Susan, and the reason why were they not caught and even bred in their numbers? …if you’d say something! It was a crime, and for you to keep your mouth shut, like it was just some dorm gossip, made you an accomplice.
@Jessi,
As another person suggested the 40 was very likely pocketed. I have worked as a manager in retail for over a decade. I’m now going to school to become a teacher as I’m tired of retail 🙂
There is a common scam with giving back incorrect change. They will typically put the money in their drawer, at first so it doesn’t draw any attention to them. They will then keep a tally of how much they have stole from people.. sometimes its paperclips, or pennies, or virtually anything that will go unnoticed. then when they end their shift and pull their drawer, they will see what their tally is, and when they get to a spot that isn’t in view of a camera or people, they will pocket their money. It’s hard to catch a person if you don’t pay attention to their work station extremely carefully.
On a side note. I had this happen to me when I bought something at Meijers. The cashier handed me my money in a lump amount instead of counting it. I went across the street to get some dinner from Taco Bell. When I went to pay for my meal I was rather surprised to discover I didn’t have enough cash. I apologized to taco bell, informed them I would be back after I cleared things up at meijer and got my money back. I drove back to meijer and demanded a draw pull. The manager informed me “it was too busy” to pull her draw at that point. I decided to be polite and accepted their decision to pull it after the line slowed down. That was a mistake on my part. I got home, called inquiring about it. They had another excuse. I stayed up half the night waiting for their phone call. At 6am I finally called them again, only to get another excuse, and informing me to come in later that afternoon. I did.. it was a half hour drive, but I was expecting to get about 30 dollars back, so it was worth the drive to me. When I got there, they informed me the draw came back perfect. Of course it did. They left teh cashier pull her own draw at the end of her shift. Being polite is proper, but the only thing it got me was a “we’re sorry, you must have been mistaken”, missed sleep, and an extra tank of gas for my trouble. My best advice.. stay there until they pull the draw so they know you are serious.
@Melissa, I had the same thing happen at a Mcdonalds. I had kids with me. The drawer pull the next day showed nothing. ..
Next time I will ask automatically for an immediate drawer pull.
Most of the time, I also count my money cashiers normally when I hand it to them. Saying outloud “out of 20”. We had to do that in retail. And maybe that marks me as a more aware customer.
@Mommieof4,
I had a couple of thoughts:
1–When I hand over a bill larger than 20…I always say…”out of 50…out of 100″.
2– Larger bills are almost always checked by the cashier to make sure they are real— held up to the light or marked on?
3– Don’t leave the store until you have the right amount of change!!
I had a cashier at Walmart short me on $100 cash back. She counted it out in my hand to $100 but was $40 short. I caught it because I was counting with her. I counted it again showing her I needed $40 more. She took it back and recounted getting a different total again and became confused.
It finally worked out…but you really have to watch out especially if you are being given back smaller bills as in my case. I could have easily walked out of the store and not recieved the right amount of cash.
@Mommieof4, I do this, too. Whenever I hand over cash at a register I always say, “Here’s twenty,” or whatever the amount. Having worked in fast food, retail and as a bank teller, this practice helps everyone. The cashier is more aware of the denomination (even when you’re honest, it can be easy to become distracted in a fast food line) and you can be certain you are giving them the bill you think you are. I’ve had customers who I believed were being honest who thought they’d given me different bills than they did. That’s why when I worked I would say out loud the amount they were handing me if they didn’t do so first.
@Melissa,
That very well could be the case, but as stated in the email, the only thing the manager said she was willing to do was watch the security cameras. We don’t even know if the drawer was counted. Before employees get blamed for stealing, DD at least owes it to this customer to check the over/under for the day (not just for that drawer but for the entire day). I know it can be a hassle to go back and pull the books, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the manager just doesn’t want to do it.
And as a bookkeeper, I saw ALL kinds of scams going on in our store. We had to fire several people for stealing. I’ve seen every trick in the book.
@Jessi, so why wouldn’t you make a story out of it and ask to post it here? 🙂 we are all customers here, most of us don’t know how we can be scammed.. i wanna know! plz!
@Jessi,
I agree! I have worked retail and as a bank teller in my younger years. You count your till at the end of a shift. It’ll be pretty obvious if you are over/under $48! Plus, Dunkin has a policy that they MUST give you a receipt. I would NOT have left the drive-thru without either 1) counting my change or 2) at least having a receipt in hand. Personally, I think I would notice the difference between $7 and $48, but if I didn’t, at least I’d have a receipt w/the relevant transaction info to further pursue the matter. In this case, I don’t think you can expect to get $40 back, but maybe some coupons or GCs for the inconvenience. I would keep after them and we’ve had great luck with escalating matters directly to Senior VPs when really horrible service has been an issue (like the TV that died 31 days after we bought it – just 1 day after the 30 day return policy!)
@Jessi, I think the employee that gave him his change back pocketed the extra cash for himself! We should all start counting our change right there in front of them from now on. I know I’m guilty of just taking what they give me back.
@Jessi,
Unless they stole it (meaning the Dunkin Donuts pocketed it) then there would be no record
@Kate,
All I’m suggesting is that they check to make sure there is no overage before immediately assuming that an employee stole the money. Cashiers make mistakes all the time.
@Jessi, a $50 bill is unusual. Rather than check for $40 overage – sad that it may have been stolen – check for a $50 bill.
@Jessi, I agree that the register would have had an overrage and the manager should have caught the mistake. As others have said, the cashier could have pocketed the cash difference, however if they did in fact have cameras that they were going to review they should have caught the cashier taking the money. I would definately contact the Better Business Bureau after calling and emailing didn’t work. My husband has used the Better Business Bureau to file complaints when companies didn’t respond to his concerns about unfair issues/practices and he has had good results after doing so.
I always ask for receipts and very rarely use cash. I think bank cards or credit cards are a better way to keep track of spending and can also be disputed when something is charged incorrectly. Dishonest cashiers wouldn’t be able to stiff you either. I know a lot of people on this site prefer cash, but these days I think using a check card is safer.
Crystal, I couldn’t agree more with you. The most important thing is to keep a cool head and not let fly. Irregardless of who is in the wrong, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. ie there is no need to yell.
What I’m quite tired of is the old saying “the customer is always right” mentality. And whilst I am in no way accusing Vicki (because she is in the right), I think too often the customer feels it is their right to treat the shop assistant or retailer like they are second class. Ok, the retailer is in the wrong but the best “revenge” is to be polite and escalate the problem through the right channels and not to blast some poor youngster and embarrass them.
If we treated everyone with respect as Crystal has suggested our world would be a better place and instances like this would be resolved more often.
Keep up the great posts!
Of course, hind sight is always 20/20, but I would have been tempted to call the police and say they were stealing from me. Imagine if you had come into their business and attempted to rob them. They sure would have called the police. All I can say is, this post on this website will lose Dunkin Donuts more than $48 worth of business. We don’t have one here, but if we did I would not go just on principle! Good Luck!
@Dana, I would call the police if a store stole $40 from me. Period. Dana also makes a good point that word of mouth will do more harm for a company that condones this behavior of its employees than handing over the change and a new receipt would.
@Ash, I may be incorrect on this, but I believe for police involvement there has to be a bigger money value involved. At least in my area I think it’s $500. or more. For smaller amounts residents are usually asked to contact BBB or their local attorney general’s office. Also, in our area the paper has a section to say a happy thing or a not-so-happy thing about a business experience in the area. If you have something like that or maybe with your local news station utilize that!
@Beth, In SC there is NO amount that is too small. If you steal $1 out of my car it is petty theft. 🙂
@Beth, I don’t believe this is true. At least not in any case I’ve heard of. If someone steals $40 from you, it is definitely a good idea to call the local non-emergency police number. Here, (Orlando, FL) they will come out over any amount. I know this because I’ve had to call them before. They actually worked very hard to retrieve my stolen $70 cell phone. Anything under $300 is a misdemeanor, anything over $300 is a felony.
@Beth, I formelrly was on a law firm staff and there is indeed a difference between someone stealing and a company giving improper change. If someone steals money off of you, no matter the amount, yes call the police. However, very few police stations will respond to a complaint of a company giving the wrong amount in change. The situation changed when the man drove away from the drive-thru. In that case he should have stayed at the drive-thru window and made them aware of the change issue then, not walk back in the store after he drove away from the window. That now changes the situation from something the police would handle to something the attorney general’s office would now handle as well as the local BBB.
@Beth, by the man driving off it is looked at as legally him affirming the ransaction was complete and accurate. When he came back into the store and made them aware of the change issue it became a business complaint in which very few police stations will handle. Only after AG and BBB have been involved can police involvement happen on that level. Had it been several thousand police involvement may have happened immidiately. But usually $500. or less in what is assumed accidental misscharge must be investigated by AG and/or BBB.
@Beth, I know this may be time consuming or a little bit silly but, something similar happened to me so from now on, I stamp my money with a tiny hello kitty stamp and anytime that I needed proof with the cashier or manager…I simply say look for the hello kitty stamp and the jaws drop that they have been wronged!