I went grocery shopping yesterday, and I realized that I'm one of those people. I bring my own bags, and not just bags, but a rolling cart for big items, and not just a rolling cart, but I also have a rolling, collapsible insulated hot/cold cooler. I get comments all the time about both of them: "Oh, that looks like such a great idea!" and "Where did you get your cart?" Curiously, though, I never see anyone who's actually bought one after I tell them where to get it. And I do my own checkout at the U-scan, even loading my own shopping card. And, yes, I'm smug about it. But I try to be cool, too. I try not to stand and sigh and roll my eyes when someone in front of me can't scan 2 items, or figure out how their debit card works. But yesterday I ran into something I just couldn't take.

I was at the pet store buying cat food that I really needed, because the bag is almost empty. I found my bag, got in line, and then realized that in front of me they had a big problem. It seems that the cashier had entered the wrong amount in the cash register when the customer had paid her. I realized this when I heard the cashier say "oh, you gave me a hundred, didn't you." She then proceeded to wave the bill around, hem and haw, and then ask the customer how much change she should get back. And the worst of it: the customer couldn't tell her anymore than she could figure it out. I walked from the front of the store to the back to put my cat food, that I needed, back on the shelf and left the store, because I just couldn't take it.

First of all: WHY do schools not teach their students how to count change any more? It's not hard to do. And if schools don't do it, why don't business establishments make sure employees know how to do it? I realize that cash registers display change automatically now, but what if the cash register is down? Or the wrong amount it entered (although that clearly never happens)? Or, seriously, what if some con artist comes up and tries to confuse the cashier? If they can't count the change back, they and the store are vulnerable immediately.

Second: if she couldn't hit the right button, and she couldn't count the change back, why couldn't she subtract and get the amount of change from the amount of the transaction? Are schools not teaching subtraction now, either? Or is all they're teaching how to use a calculator? No wonder students are crashing and burning in math and science.

And third: what's may be the saddest thing about this is that the customer, who wasn't a high school kid, but an adult, couldn't figure this out, either.

I don't know how long it took to resolve this, or how many managers had to get involved. I felt the phrase "just count the change back and let's get on with it" coming into my mouth and I left in a hurry. Without my cat food. And I'm afraid to go back. I'm almost afraid to go shopping again. Unless I can check myself out.

So what do you think?