Rant: The time a customer tried to pay with a jar of pennies for a car loan

I was working the teller line in Phoenix about two years ago when a guy walks up with a huge glass jar, like a gallon size, full of pennies. He slams it on the counter and says, 'I need to make my car payment, this should cover it.' I had to count it all by hand, which took almost three hours. The total came to $18.37, and his payment was $322. He just stared at me and asked if we could do a payment plan for the rest. Has anyone else had a payment attempt that just broke your brain for a minute?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_nelson1mo ago

Okay, the "almost three hours" part is what gets me. A gallon jar holds about 50,000 pennies if it's packed, which is $500. Even loose, it's way more than $18.37 in volume. That math doesn't add up at all, unless it was a tiny jar and mostly empty. Counting that few coins by hand should take minutes, not hours. The story feels off because of that detail.

the_elizabeth1mo ago

You're really doing the math on this?

dakota_singh391mo ago

the_elizabeth is right to call it out. That math is wild. A gallon jar holds way more than eighteen bucks in pennies even if it's half empty. Counting that few coins should take like ten minutes tops, not half your day. The whole story falls apart right there.