I am old enough to remember when bar codes did not exist. Grocery clerks memorized the prices of each individual item that was sold in the whole store.
Further, they memorized the sale price weekly for all the advertised specials. A really good clerk might only have to check the price for just one or two items for the whole purchase.
The price was individually marked on each item with a price tag.
Many clerks had the keys of the cash register memorized and did not have to look at the register to ring up each individual item. Their hands were just awhir as they promptly and accurately added up your purchase.
The printout given to you was a paper tape of the individual prices entered without a description of the item purchased. Many times, my mother checked the tape against what she purchased as she unpacked it at home. I cannot remember her ever finding an error.
When the customer paid, the clerk always counted back change, starting with the amount of the purchase and counting up to the amount received. As I go through checkouts in retail stores now, I marvel at how many clerks cannot count back money.
The current cash registers tell the clerk what amount of money to give back to the customer in change. Not infrequently, the clerk just dumps the change into my hand, without counting the amount given back. I cannot be sure I received the correct change. It is likely most clerks now have never heard of a "counter check."
I will cover counter checks in a later column.
These true stories are a weekly column written by Floyd Fenix, a local Texarkana educator and businessman.