Penny Antics, Revisited By Reporter

After last week's revelation that a Bronx Chinese restaurant allegedly refused a diner's payment of $2.75 when it included 10 pennies and the ensuing media spectacle, the Daily News decided to send one of its reporters to test the penny tolerance of various fast food establishments. Reporter Ethan Rouen traveled to five eateries, including Jesus Taco and McDonald's.

Rouen details the "dirty metallic reek" emanating from his hands and pitying stares from employees. But the best is when he goes to the Great Wall restaurant where the original penny meltdown occurred.

I went back to the Great Wall, where co-owner Juan Lin happily counted my 400 pennies for pork dumplings with the efficiency of a bank teller.

As she took the change, City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) happened to show up, saying that I wasn't the first wiseguy to dump his change on Lin after the story broke.

"This is harassment," he said.

Ha! And how is John Liu always around when there's media? How?

Unfortunately, his article doesn't tackle the legalities of whether businesses can decide what kind of money to accept. But at any rate, Rouen found most establishments in poorer neighborhoods accepting of loose change. The only problem was at McDonald's, where, after Rouen spent five minutes of counting the coins for a $6.36 meal, an employee had to say, "We can't accept that, sir. We don't have the time to count it."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on May 9, 2007 11:54 AM

Comments [rss]

Andrew J. Lederer

nobody asked the guy to take my word for it.

just as he was duty-bound to take the kerns, so was i duty-bound to wait 'til they was counted. (still, marvelously, a lot of lazy-ass booth clerks will let you in free rather than have to count.)

btw, i had a job at the time. don't have one now, though. (i wonder if any station agent positions are available.)

Dude

#19, I agree then the booth clerk has to accept the payment, then he can also take as long as he wants to count the coins to make sure that you have the correct amount, since he CERTAINLY can't take your words for it, even if three trains go by as he counts.

Anyway, getting a job usually solves the problem of dealing with coins.

Stevennnn

is taking 20 #1 bills going to be not okay now?

Coins are money and should be accepted. If you don't have the patience to count the money then find a new job.

Andrew J. Lederer

it's money and it should be accepted.

i had a booth clerk in the broadway-lafayette subway station refuse a fare i needed to pay with a change including a large number of pennies. he pointed to the machine.

i pointed out that the machine didn't take pennies and that this was one of those rare occasions that justified his job -- there were few other forms of payment that couldn't be taken by the machine, so he had plenty of time to handle mine and maybe, for a second wouldn't be so lazy and useless while collecting public funds as if he were actually doing a job.

he was a dick and continued to refuse, since he had productive sitting on his duff to do.

i left the change in front of his window and hopped the turnstile. (nowadays, of course, that's against the rules -- even if you've paid the fare in one way or another you can't jump the 'stile.)

Still Not Amused

Penny for your thoughts ?

GeeBra

I agree with the posts that we should leave these little restaurants alone. If the Daily News Reporter wants a real story, he should walk into the a fancy resturant or store and try to pay a $200 bill with his pennies -- let's see how far he gets then.

Also, remember -- JOHN LIU IS EVERYWHERE!

fuck the restaurant

There's a big difference between turning down 10 pennies and turning down 600. What's next, no credit cards unless they're gold or platinum? Give me a fucking break.

Reality Czech

I thought it was illegal for a business in the USA to refuse legal US currency?

I guess it's just another law which is not enforced.

Pennyless

If you have a lot of coins, take them over to commerce bank. They have a counting machine called "penny arcade" and they don't charge a vig.

dkim

i rather put my pennies in a sock and whirl it around my head. leave that poor woman alone.

shimmyshammy

If someone was in front of me paying with a handful of pennies, they would be going down.

adam

businesses can choose to accept (or not accept) any form of payment that they want.

They aren't even required to serve you at all, it's a private business

adam

people are assholes

leave the restaurant alone!

Anonymous

That poor woman. I hope you're happy, Diaz and Jones!

BigJ

On behalf of most of the apathetic asians on gothamist,

Thank you John Liu for your persistence and endurance.

I am behind you all the way. Keep up the good work.

Toby

John Liu is getting his face out there because he either wants to run for mayor or is suffering from Al Sharpton's Disease.

Irritated

Hmmm....McDonald's employees don't have the TIME to count change, or don't have the ABILITY?

Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

If most restaurants were to implement a policy where they would accept coins as payment, but only when paper-rolled and counted already (when that would be possible due to quantity), then would everyone stop screeching already?

Other than Penny Arcade at Commerce Bank, I don't know of a single retail bank nowadays that will take a pile of loose change for deposit. Using that benchmark, I would never expect a retail business to accept loose change in mass quantities (especially during busy hours). Anyone who attempts such a thing is at least a bit rude, or a bit retarded, or probably a lot of both. "Antics" is a good word for this situation.

Roll up your loose change and it should be accepted anywhere.

eye heart liu

This is why I love Councilman John Liu.

God Bless you, Sir. Keep up the good work.

We need you.

whatever

It's because John Liu feels it in his balls. He is a media whore, and can sense journalists and live microphones from miles away. It's like a 6th sense.