'I gave her 25c': Aussie's simple request that left Maccas cashier baffled

The mum shared her frustrating encounter and it's a simple act we all do. 

A recent encounter at a McDonald's drive-thru has revealed that basic maths skills might be slipping through the cracks with the younger generations. 

A mum took to the Meanwhile in Australia page to share a frustrating encounter where she tried to simplify a $4.25 transaction with a $5 note and an extra 25 cents but it left both the cashier and their manager completely stumped.

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"Do not confuse the people at Maccas"

"Children and adults can’t count change in 2024," the post began.

"My daughter and I went through the McDonald's drive-thru window and I gave the cashier a $5 note," the customer continued.

"Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her 25c. She said, 'You gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes, I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar coin back.'

The cashier allegedly sighed and went to get the manager, who came to the window and asked her to repeat her request.

"I did so, and he handed me back the 25c, and said, 'We're sorry but we don’t do that kind of thing.'

"The cashier then proceeded to give me back 75 cents in change."

The woman ended her post with a message to others - "Do not confuse the people at Maccas. 🫠"

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"Basic maths is a thing of the past"

The post has since gone viral, racking up nearly 10k likes, over 2000 comments and sparked many discussions... and a few eye rolls.

"I had the exact same thing happen to me. It's so ridiculous," one person shared.

"Kids these days are not taught to count money or taught to think. It's getting sad," another lamented.

And a third echoed: "Basic maths seems to be a thing of the past."

Someone else theorised, "This is because we're using less cash than ever," while another user replied, "Counting it is still an essential tool to have, though."

"I worked in Woolies (a million years ago), and people used to do that kind of thing all the time. I don’t know how people don’t understand that anymore," a different person chimed in.

However, a few people stood up for the cashier, pointing out that there could be other reasons behind their confused response.

"Maybe they aren't allowed to do that or don't think to do so," one woman suggested.

"The same people that complain about the younger generations' cash handling skills are often the same kind that fall for the obvious scams online, can’t even log into their online banking etc.," said someone else. "Growing up in different environments generally has different strengths and weaknesses that come with it."

"To be fair, a lot of people have not had the experience of handling cash the way many of us did as children," a different person mentioned.

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Originally published as 'I gave her 25c': Aussie's simple request that left Maccas cashier baffled