Night Owls

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 31 Dec 2001 at 23:36 GMT

OffByOne wrote:

There was no queue, no delay, and certainly no technical malfunction.

Glad you got your cash without any trouble, OffByOne, but pulling eighty euros from an empty machine in the middle of a celebration is a whole different kettle of fish from a Monday morning rush... An automated box dispensing four bills does not solve what happens when the high street opens up for real. When folks who hoarded three times the normal cash in places like Italy start turning up at corner shops to spend it, telling a customer to find smaller change only works if the bank down the road is actually open to break it for them. We will see what happens when the queues start forming.

kookaburra99 · kookaburra99, as of 31 Dec 2001 at 23:43 GMT

TheyKnow wrote:

telling a customer to find smaller change only works if the bank down the road is actually open to break it for them.

people don't suddenly forget how to buy bread just because the banks have a strike on. if someone doesn't have the right coins, they'll just pop to another shop or use up their smaller old notes first. people have plenty of normal coins in their pockets anyway, so it's not like every single person is going to rock up with a giant note. it'll just be people taking a few extra seconds at the counter to check their change, nothing crazy.

OffByOne · OffByOne, as of 31 Dec 2001 at 23:49 GMT

One must remember that commercial trade relies upon bilateral agreement rather than compulsory service. A customer who presents an excessive denomination cannot compel a merchant to deplete an entire cash float, strike or no strike. In such routine circumstances, the buyer simply provides an alternative payment method, retrieves smaller coins from home, or departs without the item. It is a completely standard retail contingency. Furthermore, with hundreds of millions of euro starter kits already in private circulation across the continent, households possess substantial quantities of small coinage ready for daily transactions. The commercial mechanisms are thoroughly prepared to absorb ordinary customer friction.

Punchcard · Punchcard, as of 31 Dec 2001 at 23:50 GMT

That is the long and short of it. Retail trade is built upon mutual cooperation, not an unyielding contest of wills. If a customer happens to lack the right amount, they simply step aside, check their pockets, or come back later.

We ought to remember as well that cash drawers are not sealed off from the world. As the morning progresses, other shoppers will be paying with smaller coins and notes, continuously replenishing the till. A shopkeeper does not depend solely upon morning visits to a bank branch to keep trade flowing; money circulates naturally through the till with every transaction.

The authorities have also noted that billions of these new notes and tens of billions of coins were shipped out well beforehand. When you combine that vast volume of currency with the simple good sense of ordinary shopkeepers, the dire predictions of paralysis quickly evaporate. A bit of patience on both sides of the counter is all that is ever required.

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 00:49 GMT

Starter kits only put a handful of pocket change into people's hands, folks... A small bag of shiny coins does not keep a busy grocer afloat once customers start showing up to clear out their mattresses. Having coins shipped out to regional vaults is one thing, but official reports already admitted only sixty percent of small retailers actually stocked up on advance cash. When four out of ten shopkeepers did not even order floats, and cashiers are faced with totally unfamiliar paper while trying to spot fakes on the fly, relying on natural circulation to sort it out is asking for trouble. We will see how cooperative those lines stay by Wednesday noon.

PintOfMild · PintOfMild, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 00:56 GMT

Honestly, that still leaves the vast majority of shops perfectly well prepared, and the rest will just make do like they always do. Nobody is clearing out mattresses on a quiet Wednesday morning! You get your milk, you take whatever mixed change the bloke has behind the counter, and you get on with your day.

kookaburra99 · kookaburra99, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 01:02 GMT

sorry if this sounds dumb, but why would anyone panic?? sixty percent of shops having stock is heaps, and the rest still have normal old cash to give out anyway! people just want their groceries, they aren't going to start fights in the queue lol. everyone will just muddle through fine

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 01:41 GMT

It is not about folks starting fights, my friends, it is about basic math at the register... If an unprepared clerk has to give out old change because he lacks euros, that old money gets spent right back at the next shop down the street. It only delays the bottleneck until folks run clean out of options.

kookaburra99 · kookaburra99, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 01:47 GMT

TheyKnow wrote:

If an unprepared clerk has to give out old change because he lacks euros, that old money gets spent right back at the next shop down the street.

getting old change back isn't a bottleneck, it's just normal shopping while everyone sorts it out.

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 02:11 GMT

It sounds simple enough on paper, but running two separate currencies out of one small till is a real headache for any working person... When folks have to juggle conversion rates in their head just to buy groceries, mistakes happen fast. Add in the fact that central bank and commercial bank staff in France and Italy are walking out on strike Wednesday morning, and those small shops have nowhere to turn when the drawers run dry or when someone tries passing off funny money that nobody has ever laid eyes on before. Things might look calm in the middle of a holiday, but once regular trade starts back up, folks will see how messy it gets.

Punchcard · Punchcard, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 02:53 GMT

Back in '71, when our branch migrated ledger accounting systems over a holiday weekend, management fretted endlessly about clerks confusing debit and credit slips under the new format. When Tuesday morning arrived, the tellers simply kept a pencil and a conversion card handy beside the counter. People are remarkably good at adapting to the work right in front of them.

Running two currencies out of a till for a brief spell is not a fatal trap, nor is it beyond the wit of an ordinary cashier. A merchant who takes a few extra seconds to count the pennies or check a watermarked bill is merely doing their job. One expects a modest line at the corner grocer on Wednesday, but commerce will find its rhythm soon enough.

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 02:55 GMT

A branch ledger from thirty years ago is a very different animal than hundreds of millions of people swapping physical paper across twelve borders, my friend... In an office you have trained clerks working off the same internal ledger sheet, but out on the street on Wednesday you have millions of ordinary people carrying banknotes they have never handled before in their lives. When a busy line stretches out the door and a weary clerk has to eyeball completely strange paper under pressure, that is precisely when bad bills slip right past the counter. A quiet holiday evening with fireworks and coffee does not change what happens when the real trade begins.

kookaburra99 · kookaburra99, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 03:55 GMT

TheyKnow wrote:

When a busy line stretches out the door and a weary clerk has to eyeball completely strange paper under pressure, that is precisely when bad bills slip right past the counter.

People aren't completely helpless just because a note looks new. Punchcard is spot on about conversion cards and people adapting to what's right in front of them. Most shops already have dual pricing everywhere, and modern notes have raised print and shiny holograms you can check in half a second anyway. If a line gets a bit long because the cashier takes an extra breath to feel the foil strip, big deal. Everyone expects a quiet queue on day one, and people will just chat and muddle through while everyone gets used to the new paper.

TheyKnow · TheyKnow, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 05:40 GMT

kookaburra99 wrote:

If a line gets a bit long because the cashier takes an extra breath to feel the foil strip, big deal.

Checking a shiny foil strip in half a second sounds fine in theory, folks... but feeling raised print does not do much good when nobody in that line has ever handled a real one before. If a clerk does not have the feel memorized into his fingers yet, a good copy slips right past him while he is trying to rush folks through. Waiting in a cheerful little queue sounds nice on a holiday, but once regular workdays begin and people are in a hurry to buy lunch or catch a train, those extra seconds add up fast. We will see how patient everyone feels by Wednesday afternoon.

kookaburra99 · kookaburra99, as of 1 Jan 2002 at 05:42 GMT

sorry if this is a dumb question, but why would anyone need to rush so much anyway?? catching a train or buying lunch doesn't mean cashiers just fall to pieces lol. they've had training leaflets and posters showing what the watermarks look like for weeks! even if a line takes an extra minute because someone wants to check the shiny bits, people understand it's brand new. it's just normal life, not a huge crisis !!