Archived 50s and 100s

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So obviously we get a ton of these through our stores every day. But what a joke. I've had two now, of the older ones, with no security strip to be seen....both times, I asked my GSTL/GSA who told both basically told me since we don't have markers to check them, we just take them and let it go and hope it will be fine. Seriously?! Does Spot make that much money that it doesn't matter if the money they do get is legal or not??

What in the world am I missing?
 
If I remember correctly, bills printed before 1989 didn't have the denomination thread (the tiny strip that says USA$100, etc). The face is also smaller & there's no watermark but, as they get sent in for deposit, the banks take them out of circulation.
We've never been allowed to use the counterfeit pens because the latest ploy was 'washing'. Counterfeiters take a $20, run it through a light acid wash. They then reprint it as a $100 because the denom thread is at the same end as a $100 & someone doing a quick glance won't notice that it doesn't match. It also won't show up with a counterfeit pen because the paper is proper cotton rag. The way you might detect a fake is by feel: acid wash makes the paper thicken & stiffen ever so slightly. Then check for the denom thread: on a $100, it's near the end of the serial on the left side. A $20 has it on the same end but near the beginning of the serial. It should say USA$100 or USA$20 in the thread & the watermark should be a clear resemblance to the face.
 
If I remember correctly, bills printed before 1989 didn't have the denomination thread (the tiny strip that says USA$100, etc). The face is also smaller & there's no watermark but, as they get sent in for deposit, the banks take them out of circulation.
We've never been allowed to use the counterfeit pens because the latest ploy was 'washing'. Counterfeiters take a $20, run it through a light acid wash. They then reprint it as a $100 because the denom thread is at the same end as a $100 & someone doing a quick glance won't notice that it doesn't match. It also won't show up with a counterfeit pen because the paper is proper cotton rag. The way you might detect a fake is by feel: acid wash makes the paper thicken & stiffen ever so slightly. Then check for the denom thread: on a $100, it's near the end of the serial on the left side. A $20 has it on the same end but near the beginning of the serial. It should say USA$100 or USA$20 in the thread & the watermark should be a clear resemblance to the face.

This is all true I'm sure, but the bottom line is Target doesn't care, youu shouldn't either. What do you think Target wants you to do if you use your detective skills to track down a counterfeit $50? You aren't allowed to confront the guest under any circumstance. The most you could possibly do is tell AP. What if the guest. You accuse just got the bill at the gas station down the street. How do you think they'll feel being accused like that when they did nothing wrong? They'll be horribly embarrassed. That's what Target is trying to avoid. They don't need their underpaid tls and tms running around playing detective
 
So obviously we get a ton of these through our stores every day. But what a joke. I've had two now, of the older ones, with no security strip to be seen....both times, I asked my GSTL/GSA who told both basically told me since we don't have markers to check them, we just take them and let it go and hope it will be fine. Seriously?! Does Spot make that much money that it doesn't matter if the money they do get is legal or not??

What in the world am I missing?

We don't have the pens at my store either. It would take tons of detective work to track down the true source of a counterfeit. If your store doesn't care, then it's far beyond your scope of responsibility.
 
This is all true I'm sure, but the bottom line is Target doesn't care, youu shouldn't either. What do you think Target wants you to do if you use your detective skills to track down a counterfeit $50? You aren't allowed to confront the guest under any circumstance. The most you could possibly do is tell AP. What if the guest. You accuse just got the bill at the gas station down the street. How do you think they'll feel being accused like that when they did nothing wrong? They'll be horribly embarrassed. That's what Target is trying to avoid. They don't need their underpaid tls and tms running around playing detective

It would take AP a search and couple of minutes to find out who passed the bill. They would pass the info to other stores and the IS.
 
Basically there is nothing a cashier can do about counterfeits. No pens...really you are not even allowed to make an obvious inspection for watermarks and security strips. I remember a story where a Target store rejected a bill and held the guest for trying to passing counterfeit bill. The bill ended up being real or was not the guest's fault. The guest got mad and I think sued Target and won.

However, Target stores have enough insurance to cover counterfeit bills, bounced checks, and robberies to cover any loses.

The only exception is that you can deny the money if it is obviously fake (monopoly money). Photocopy quality, difference in paper weight/thickness, obvious design flaws. Usually AP will alert cashiers to call them if the guest comes to their lane or they will directly confront the guest if a counterfeit bill is passed.

If a counterfeit is passed, AP will collect the bill and either send it off to local authorities or the Target Investigations/Crime Lab.
 
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Then why do I see silly cashiers repeatedly holding the bill up to the light? You look stupid doing that and open yourself up for a guest response like "I just made that bill today." Just make sure you're counting the money correctly and giving correct change.
 
Then why do I see silly cashiers repeatedly holding the bill up to the light? You look stupid doing that and open yourself up for a guest response like "I just made that bill today." Just make sure you're counting the money correctly and giving correct change.

I've seen my ETLs and STL do it. And any place I've ever worked where a customer has said that, I just say, "I'm just checking to be sure it's dry." That usually shuts 'em up.
 
We have counterfeit pens as a pilot program, and if the pen gives us a "bad" result, we are allowed to ask the guest for another form of currency as we cannot accept their bill.
 
The only time I confirmed bills was when AP asked me to (usually after the trans) because I used to work in a bank (long ago in another life). Once or twice I was called to electronics to confirm some bills ($100s) that a guy was using to buy a large flat-screen. AP had the TM accept the bills any way but garnered all the video, trans info to send off to Target investigations. FBI got in on that one.
Interesting note: businesses seldom (if ever) give change in large bills ($50/$100).
The only places that dispense large bills are banks.
 
We have counterfeit pens as a pilot program, and if the pen gives us a "bad" result, we are allowed to ask the guest for another form of currency as we cannot accept their bill.

Pens can give a bad result even if its a legit bill say if it's been through a wash. Always good to look for watermark or security strip. I work at a gas station and use the pen on all 50s and hundreds, except if your an obviously repeat customer then I just look for the strip.

EDIT: the pen also only detects if the paper (and its not really paper) is legit or not, and not if say it is a 5 or 10 that was bleached and reprinted... but everyone and their mother knows that.
 
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Interesting note: businesses seldom (if ever) give change in large bills ($50/$100).
The only places that dispense large bills are banks.

Seldom, yes, but on more than one occasion, I've received large bills from a cashier as change. It has always been for the same reason. The cashiers drawer had been wiped out, so my options were to
1) Wait for someone to get them more money
2) Accept my $75 in $1s and $5s, or
3) Get a $50 back to make it easy
 
I've given out 50s plenty of times at my other job for change. It was what I had, it was what they got.

The Latino population, especially, here tends to have $100 bills because many are paid in cash my their employer. Note, I'm not here to debate the legality or morality of it....it's just a fact of life.
 
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It may be a store to store policy, but the stores I worked, the Execs were too scared to examine large bills closely. They thought it would scare off or insult the guest by checking for watermarks or security strips.
 
That would be a good Retail Comic strip. I don't remember seeing that before.
 
What is Target's policy on accepting counterfeit? First I was coached because I took a counterfeit $100. "You didn't hold up the bill to check for security strip." A week later I was told that we are supposed to check all the bills, but it is Target's BP to accept them without hesitation. If you know it's counterfeit, take it, and then notify AP.

Then when a cashier called me over because of an obviously counterfeit bill (wasn't even the right size!), I was coached by ETL-AP because I looked at the bill, laughed and apparently scared the counterfeiter off. He left without merchandise while I was still holding his $100.

Somewhat confusing to me. So now I check all $100s and $50s but accept them without hesitation. I look as if I give a chit on camera but I'm not offending the counterfeiter. Makes perfect sense, right?
 
What is Target's policy on accepting counterfeit? First I was coached because I took a counterfeit $100. "You didn't hold up the bill to check for security strip." A week later I was told that we are supposed to check all the bills, but it is Target's BP to accept them without hesitation. If you know it's counterfeit, take it, and then notify AP.

Then when a cashier called me over because of an obviously counterfeit bill (wasn't even the right size!), I was coached by ETL-AP because I looked at the bill, laughed and apparently scared the counterfeiter off. He left without merchandise while I was still holding his $100.

Somewhat confusing to me. So now I check all $100s and $50s but accept them without hesitation. I look as if I give a chit on camera but I'm not offending the counterfeiter. Makes perfect sense, right?

Honestly, I would call the hotline as unpopular an opinion as that may be.
 
Honestly, I would call the hotline as unpopular an opinion as that may be.

Call the hotline for what? Contradictory coaching? I don't care. I'm not on CA or Final. I just have really strange coachings. :wacko: If I get termed for something as ridiculous as that, oh well. I do a good job for Target and am well liked by team members, peer TLs, most of the ETLs and the STL.

I was only pointing out that Target BP and store policy as well as interpretation of BP and store policy varies greatly from moment to moment.
 
What is Target's policy on accepting counterfeit? First I was coached because I took a counterfeit $100. "You didn't hold up the bill to check for security strip." A week later I was told that we are supposed to check all the bills, but it is Target's BP to accept them without hesitation. If you know it's counterfeit, take it, and then notify AP.

Then when a cashier called me over because of an obviously counterfeit bill (wasn't even the right size!), I was coached by ETL-AP because I looked at the bill, laughed and apparently scared the counterfeiter off. He left without merchandise while I was still holding his $100.

Somewhat confusing to me. So now I check all $100s and $50s but accept them without hesitation. I look as if I give a chit on camera but I'm not offending the counterfeiter. Makes perfect sense, right?

In the first case, I don't think you were being coached for accepting counterfeit money but only for not following BP. If your store expects you to inspect $50s and $100s you should do so, but the reason they expect you to simply accept counterfeit money without indicating to the party passing it to you that you know its fake is because if you do you are interfering with an AP matter and they don't like that at all. BP at your store would be to inspect the bills, accept them regardless of authenticity and notify AP as soon as possible if you believe you've received a fake.

We have the pens at my store and they have definitely made a big difference for us. We were receiving fake bills quite frequently and I think we've only gotten them once that we knew about since. After I had seen my first couple of fakes I could spot them before the guest had even handed them over to me. Even the really good ones have an "offness" to them that kind of jumps out at you once you know what to look for.
 
In the first case, I don't think you were being coached for accepting counterfeit money but only for not following BP. If your store expects you to inspect $50s and $100s you should do so, but the reason they expect you to simply accept counterfeit money without indicating to the party passing it to you that you know its fake is because if you do you are interfering with an AP matter and they don't like that at all. BP at your store would be to inspect the bills, accept them regardless of authenticity and notify AP as soon as possible if you believe you've received a fake.

We have the pens at my store and they have definitely made a big difference for us. We were receiving fake bills quite frequently and I think we've only gotten them once that we knew about since. After I had seen my first couple of fakes I could spot them before the guest had even handed them over to me. Even the really good ones have an "offness" to them that kind of jumps out at you once you know what to look for.

No, I actually was coached for accepting it. Then the AP ETL coached me for interrupting his investigation by laughing at the laughably bad counterfeit. So I definitely got mixed messages. The HR ETL was puzzled by the contradiction to the point that he called me to his office to discuss them.
 
No, I actually was coached for accepting it. Then the AP ETL coached me for interrupting his investigation by laughing at the laughably bad counterfeit. So I definitely got mixed messages. The HR ETL was puzzled by the contradiction to the point that he called me to his office to discuss them.
Interesting. Sounds like that AP ETL made a boo boo. TMs should not be encouraged to confront guests over AP matters.
Your safety should always be top priority.
 
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