I go to the neighborhood supermarket & plunk down 3 cartons of yogurt at the register. She rings them up at $1.34 each. $4.02, she says.
They're 3 for $4, I point out.
She agrees. The rest is tax, she tells me.
There's no tax on food, I say.
It's $4.02, she says again.
3 for 4, I say again.
Mike! She calls to the manager.
Correct, no tax on food, he says. But this is how the computer rings them up separately.
Note that they weren't scanned—she keyed in each carton: $1.34, $1.34, $1.34.
Yes, but together they are $4, I say again.
This continues, to their utter bafflement. I can't get through to them! The guy in line behind me is snorting. Finally, I say, give me my money back, & I walk out without my yogurt. How is it possible that they cannot comprehend where they are wrong?
It's not the first time there, either. The last time I tried to explain the very same thing, the cashier finally gave me 2 pennies, but without understanding my point at all. IT'S VERY SIMPLE MATH! It's not the computer's doing!