A restaurant server on TikTok says she's concerned about the math skills of today's youth after an encounter with a teenager who struggled to count change for a $10.75 order.
TikToker @jorlala, who works as a restaurant server, shared the experience in a video that received nearly 220,000 views and more than 2,600 comments. She described how a teenage customer appeared confused while trying to pay for her order, prompting the server to question whether students are learning how to count money in school.
Jordan explained that a girl she estimated to be 15 or 16 years old had made a purchase at the restaurant where she works. After telling the customer that her total was $10.75, Jordan watched as she pulled out a $10 bill and two quarters, totaling $10.50, and handed over the money.
Realizing the payment was 25 cents short, Jordan repeated the total. "Oh, it's $10.75," she told the teenager.
"Yeah?" the customer reportedly replied.
Jordan then explained that the girl had given her only $10.50, even though the order cost $10.75.
In response, the teenager pulled two nickels from her pocket and handed them to Jordan, bringing the payment to $10.60. She then asked, "Is that enough now?" Jordan said she couldn't believe what was happening. The additional 10 cents still left the customer 15 cents short, and the exchange made her realize that the teenager was struggling to count small change.
The Teenager Was Confused When the Server Returned Her Nickels
Jordan explained that she told the customer the payment still wasn't enough. The girl then asked, "Well then, how much do I need?" Frustrated and disappointed, Jordan repeated the total slowly: "It's $10.75."
Still seemingly unable to work out the amount, the teenager placed another quarter on the table.
Jordan was finally relieved that the customer had provided enough money to cover the bill. She took the $10 bill and three quarters, totaling $10.75, and returned the two nickels to the girl.
However, the exchange wasn't over.
According to Jordan, the teenager stared at her, then looked back at the nickels on the table and asked, "You don't need those?"
Jordan was at a loss for words. She had to explain that she didn't need the nickels because the additional quarter had brought the payment to the correct total.
The server ended her video by questioning whether students are being taught how to count change in school. "Are they teaching counting change in school? I'm genuinely concerned!" she asked.
Reacting to the video, many of the commenters agreed that many teenagers and young adults can't count or read a clock properly. Others said that the school system doesn't seem to be teaching them these fundamentals anymore.
One commenter said that they had a similar problem while training an employee to be a cashier. They wrote, "Try having to teach them as a cashier. I had one kid I was training that thought nickels were quarters, wtf?"
Another commenter said that they encounter both young people and grown adults who can't do basic math at their job. They wrote, "I work in retail and yeah there are actually kids AND grown adults who seriously cannot count or do basic math and it scares me."
A separate commenter said that they have a learning disability called dyscalculia and experience moments where they simply can't process numbers correctly. They wrote, "I have discalculia so I've absolutely had moments like this where my brain just refuses to process numbers correctly and I always feel so bad for the cashier."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the author's account of the incident, including the details and circumstances described in the post. @jorlala's official TikTok account did not provide independent confirmation of the claims.
