Casinos attract all kinds of people, so there’s no surprise that some will try anything to cheat the system.

What would you do if a customer kept interrupting and rushing you while cashing in their chips, hoping to throw you off and walk away with extra money? Would you let them get under your skin? Or would you find a way to turn their tactics against them?

In the following story, one casino manager finds himself dealing with these types of players and opts for the latter. Here’s what he does.

Counting Chips At a Casino

Several years ago, I worked in a casino’s Cage (the place where you cash out) as a cashier and a manager.

We had people trying to get things over on us all the time, from invalid coupons ( comps ), fake chips, chips from other casinos, short-change artists, and others.

The folks I always enjoyed dealing with were the ones who would bring a large amount of lower denomination chips; usually, the total would be around 150-300 US.

There was a well-known con to watch for.

Now, as a cashier, these people never fazed me, and they did not get anything over on me.

As a manager, I would back up my people.

The short change chip con works like this. The customer puts down a handful or two of chips and starts immediately complaining about how long it is taking. They will interrupt the cashier, constantly telling them how much is there and demanding their money.

Also, people with fake chips use the same tactic. If the cashiers get rattled, they will miscount and payout wrong.

The plan would backfire.

So here is where the malicious compliance comes in. Since the customer is complaining that it is taking too long and the cashier is counting wrong, I would go over and help.

I would instruct the cashier to make sure they count it correctly by verifying every chip. That is asking for someone to come over and check it. I would also tell my cashier that anytime the customer interrupted to stop mix the chips up and start recounting and tell the customer they need to start over for accuracy.

Basically, doing the. the exact thing to them except the speed. Well, this resulted in the payout being super correct, taking a long time, and the customer basically having to keep quiet.

He saved cashiers jobs doing this.

Also, it gave me plenty of time to get a picture of the person sent to every Cage so they would be aware we had a chip shorter on board. I also got to recognize a few of these folks and would greet them as they came up to the window. Which they usually responded with just being quiet.

I kept several of my cashier’s from losing their jobs die their drawers being off.

In a Nut Shell. Customers try to con cashiers by distracting them but preventing the bad payout by overcomplicating the payout.

Wow! Those kinds of people are the worst!

Let’s check out how the folks over at Reddit relate to this story.

This person loves managers like him.

Yep! It’s all about organization and patience.

Interesting comment.

This is true.

Nice way to turn the situation around!

He must’ve been one of the more popular managers because working under someone who watches out for you is always great.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.