On Feb 24, 12:28*pm, Stephen Sprunk wrote:

In the US (and Canada, IIRC), sales tax is not included in the posted
price, so a customer doesn't know how much cash to hand over until the
total is computed by the cash register. *Then, either the customer has
to count out the correct payment or the cashier has to count out the
correct change for a large bill.

Most customers have some idea of the expected total and have a large
bill (eg $20) ready, very few pay by exact amount.

Experienced cashiers can count out change very quickly.

Of course, there are some customers who have to go rummaging through
their wallet or purse for money, but then there are likewise people
who must search out a credit card.


Swiping a card is faster--much faster if the transaction total is under
the merchant's "floor", i.e. doesn't require a signature/PIN.

That really depends on the merchant's verification and charge
machine. _Some_ machines validate very quickly, but often others do
not, even for small amounts. Some credit card validators are
independent of the cash register and they print a receipt slowly.

Returning to trains, NJT's new TVMs are fast, much faster than the old
ones.