September 28, 2026 at 3:25 pm

Customer Made An Impossible Request, But The Cashier Explained Why She Couldn’t Accommodate It

by Jayne Elliott

two British two pound coins

Shutterstock

When you work in retail, every day and every customer interaction will be a little bit different. Many of them may be similar, but there are sure to be some transactions that really stand out.

In this story, we hear about a customer who asked for the impossible. But first, we hear about the customers before her, which I’m sure caused both the cashier and next customer in line to be a little frustrated before they even exchanged words.

Keep reading for the whole story.

No, I cannot give you your £4 change in notes

Small background – I work in a clothing store in the UK.

This clothing store is known for being pretty cheap, not high end at all.

It’s a busy Saturday and suddenly a group of 10 young girls (9-13 age range, I’m bad with ages) join the queue, with one older woman at the end.

Serving them itself was frustrating as they had no idea how the card machines worked and wouldnt stop chatting to listen to me try and explain.

On to the next customer.

So, I’m already a bit frustrated when I serve the older woman.

She asks for a bag, I tell her the are 5p, she gets annoyed and says she doesnt want the change.

She asks if we have any tissue she could wrap her purchase in, and I say sorry no, just the bags. As I said earlier, we are a fast fashion cheap clothing shop.

She makes a snide comment about how we she have tissue, I jsut keep scanning.

But the end of the transaction was just as frustrating.

In the end, her purchase comes to £6. She hands me £10. I hand her 2 £2 coins (the smallest amount of coins possible).

She looks at me, sneers, and asks can she have it in notes as she doesnt want change.

I pause to process, then tell her her change is £4 so I cannot give it to her in notes.

She looks at me like I’m stupid, then takes her change and walks away.

Some customers really dont understand they can be wrong!

I’m not familiar with money in the UK, so I had to Google this. Apparently, notes are for £5 and higher, so there was no way she could give the customer £4 in notes, only coins. Perhaps the customer wasn’t from the UK and didn’t know.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person thinks there are only two options.

2026 09 24 at 9.44.35 AM Customer Made An Impossible Request, But The Cashier Explained Why She Couldnt Accommodate It

Another person shares a similar experience.

2026 09 24 at 9.44.52 AM Customer Made An Impossible Request, But The Cashier Explained Why She Couldnt Accommodate It

I hadn’t gotten the memo either.

2026 09 24 at 9.45.00 AM Customer Made An Impossible Request, But The Cashier Explained Why She Couldnt Accommodate It

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who was passed over for a promotion, so got a job with the competition and quit immediately.

This is what I’m thinking.

2026 09 24 at 9.45.20 AM Customer Made An Impossible Request, But The Cashier Explained Why She Couldnt Accommodate It

I assume the lady didn’t live there and didn’t know that it was impossible to give her the change in notes. Otherwise, why would she ask? I’ve never been to the UK, so I wouldn’t know immediately either unless I researched it before traveling. Actually, I guess I would know after researching it for this story.

Regardless, it’s not a big deal. The lady asked a question, but she didn’t make a fuss about it when she was told “no.”

Enjoyed this story?

Readers who liked this also read this story about an employee who cleverly shuts down customer arguments about closing time.
Read Story→

Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

Follow Jayne's adventures and connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.