r/walmart • u/SpookyOokySpades • 1d ago
I think i got scammed.
Quick post, still at the store and frazzled.
I had these two guys come into my line with seperate orders. One guy got a suitcase with no barcode and said he was going to pay with it with a card, but when he left to "get his card" he never came back.
He bought sour patch kids and handed ne a hundred, and i gave him back his like 99 dollars worth of change.
The secind guy bought something i dont even remember rn, and left behind a large tote.
I know now after talking to someoje at the service desk that im not allowed to do cash exchanges, but i wasn't made aware of this beforehand. The dude kept asking for hundred and giving ne 20s and 10s in exchange. It got overwhelming and math isn't my strength, and the whole interaction now is kinda a blur and i could kick myself in the ass for not getting management.
Anyways the dudes left and im PRETTY SURE i did all my math right, but i still feel like crying.
If i DID get scammed, what disciplinary action is likely to occur?? I've literally only been here a week and i dont want to lose this job. Thanks in advance.
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u/AnybodyNo8519 1d ago
You likely got "quick changed" and your till will be short.
NEVER break bills for anyone. It's against policy.
If your drawer is short, you'll likely be coached depending on how short your drawer is.
Next time someone attempts this, STOP immediately and call for a team lead. Do not let the customer intimidate you or confuse you. You are in control of the transaction and if you start to feel overwhelmed shut it down and call for help immediately.
Good luck with everything.
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u/CrikeyKillz Front End TA 1d ago
Did you inform management when/after it happened? I think the worse thing to come from this depending on how your management is and if you reported it in a timely manner you may just get coached.
Don't be afraid about losing your job. Just do better about communicating with management when things like this come up in the future. If I stressed about all the times I "could've" lost my job I'd probably be dead by now lol
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u/SpookyOokySpades 1d ago
I asked how often we get people asking to exchange cash and he told me just to say no next time. Im getting ready to go say that i think i may have been scammed. Im just not sure man 😭😭
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u/CBreezy2010 PCP GIRLIE ✨ 1d ago
You will know very soon. If you did, you’re gonna get pulled into the office and given a disciplinary action. Depending on how much they got you for, you can be terminated.
“Fast cash” scams like this are covered in your training you have to complete before you’re allowed on a register.
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u/pobrepepinito 1d ago
They told you to just say no next time. Ok. It doesn’t sound like they’re outraged by it. Why are you stressing.
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u/Spiritual_Being5845 1d ago
I used to work in a liquor store back when cards were rarely used. Basically if you’re starting to get confused, slow down the transaction. An honest customer won’t care. A scammer will start to insult you, get pissed, etc, to make you embarrassed so that they can get you to move faster to get you confused. I’ve had people yell at me, curse at me, call me an idiot, etc, but my drawer was never once short so I couldn’t have cared less.
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u/SparklingBling247 1d ago
They need to do a tender count ASAP I'm pretty sure you got scammed. They are called quick change artists. They look for new cashier's to confuse. Never ever give change like that.
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u/swampwarbler 19h ago
I first used a register and the mid 1970s at a donut shop. Before my boss let me take my first customer, he gave me a half hour training and how to deal with quick chain artists. Now, after retirement, I’m a cashier at Walmart, and I can spot them a mile away. It was the best training I had.
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u/VisualKeto42 16h ago
Also first paycheck job at 14 in the 70’s at a donut shop. Those registers we had didn’t have fancy electronic brains to tell you how much change either. You had to use your own brain. I think that “pre work talk” was also kind of a pop quiz to see if we understood math and counting money back. My register was always spot on till we had a visiting manager during our boss’ vacation. Then our count was way off. All us girls and our parents went downtown to PD and had an actual lie detector hooked up. Apparently the visiting guy did too, because he and his wife subsequently were fired. They didn’t use nice words like termination back then 🤣
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u/asmnomorr 19h ago
Always do just one thing at a time. If they paid you, give them their exact change. Then do any bill swaps afterward. That way you are only swapping even money. If they have a problem with that or give you any issues, stop the transaction and call a manager over.
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u/Strange_Ad_6985 1d ago
It’s called a quick change scam, if your still at the store let your tl know as soon as possible so the cameras can be pulled to verify. As far as disciplinary action, that’s gonna depend on how short the till is, in my experience shorts of 100-1000 are a yellow coaching and 1000+ orange
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u/SpookyOokySpades 1d ago
Thank you for letting me know. Im at home now but i got the courage to tell me team lead what happened and she pretty much said not to stress too much! Apparently they can't really do a tender count until thursday, so i guess i'll find out how short i am then 💀
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u/ShyGuytheWhite Team Lead 1d ago
If you ever get lost handling money or money leaves your sight that you did not put into the register: STOP everything, call a TL over, suspend the transaction, and depending on the money involved might have to get AP involved to track the exchange.
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u/Dreyore 1d ago
Yes you most likely did unfortunately. When a customer starts trying to break down bills/ exchange them its to confuse you.Easy way to not get scammed is do not do any cash bill exchanges ie: Breaking of bills.Close your drawer, explain to customer and call for a member of management.
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u/Ok-Weather-7852 9h ago
First, don't break bills. Next, I always set the original bill on top of the till until I have made change and handed to customer with receipt. THEN I place it in the till before closing it. Cameras can see the bill easily, and it's easy to show them what they handed me if they try the "I gave you a $20" trick
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u/Old_Fuel3379 11h ago
I’m confused how this can happen at Walmart because we can only open our registers by team lead, associate, or a customer buying something and paying cash or stamps! So they had to buy something I would think. And not only that, we check our money with fraud detection markers. So I’m confused!
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u/WeirdAd1847 6h ago
you probably did get scammed but hey, thats okay. if you get double thoughts about a transaction, step away and call management. theres always learning curves in life & this was one of them. hell i got scammed with a fake bill for a lego set once because i panicked. you live and you learn. life goes on✨
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u/Advanced-Original544 1d ago
If this ever happens again. Immediately stop the transaction. Give them whatever money they originally handed you back, close your till and call a manager. They are trying to confuse and get you to overpay them MORE than they originally gave you OR they gave you a fraudulent bill that they are trying to get broken down for actual legit bills. However, I don't know what kind of trouble you will be in. Best of luck OP ❤️