I had
just finished visiting a friend in the hospital and stopped by a
burger drive-through for lunch to eat on the way back to work. I
ordered the #1 combo (burger, fry, coke) for $4.29. She said "that'll
be $4.83, please drive forward."
"$4.83??
For a $4.29 meal?? That's 54 cents tax!? That can't be right,"
my mind raced. Tax is 8 cents on the dollar in Huntsville, Alabama
and for 4 dollars that would be 32 cents plus 1/3 (29) of 8 cents
would be 35 cents max.
I'd
heard of window workers overcharging drive through customers and
skimming the money for themselves. Someone did just that to me at
a Hardees couple of years ago.
I didn't
have my calculator watch (I lost it a while back) so I got a pen
and paper and did the long division since there were 2 cars ahead
of me. Let's see ... 483/429 ... over 12 percent tax!? When I got
to the window I handed her a 5 and said "what's the sales tax
in Huntsville?" She didn't know. I said "$4.83 for a $4.29
meal is 12 percent tax. That can't be right. Can I talk to the manager?"
She gave me my change and called the manager.
So the
manager comes over. I ask what the sales tax is in Huntsville, and
she says 8 percent. I say that I just paid $4.83 for a $4.29 meal
and that's over 12 percent sales tax.
She
got a funny look on her face and said that maybe the computer had
rung it up wrong or had charged me for the biggie size (biggie upgrade
was 35 cents - which would be 4.64 plus tax which would put it over
$5). She admitted it was supposed to be 4.63, and opened the drawer
to give me my extra change.
"HA!"
I thought to myself. "Six years engineering school has so heightened
my mental mathematical adeptness that I can do percentages in my
head and my superior intellect has foiled a feeble attempt by a
drive-through worker to overcharge me!"
So what
did this mathematical wizard do next? I took the twenty cents she
handed me, proud of my staggering genius, and smugly drove off without
my food.
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