Companies like Home Depot are addressing the penny shortage by rounding on cash transactions, and some customers refuse to get short-changed.
In a viral TikTok video, one man told the tale of a Home Depot cashier trying to round down on his order, leaving his change a penny short.
He demanded to see the manager and advised others to do the same.
Is Home Depot rounding down change?
The U.S. Treasury minted the last batch of pennies in November, leading many retailers to warn of an upcoming penny shortage. Signs soon appeared in stores across the nation asking customers to try and provide exact change and signaling that they may have to round your change to the nearest nickel.
While policies on whether or when to round up or down may vary, one Home Depot customer says he stood up to a cashier who tried to short him one cent. His video has already gained over 2.3 million views.
“My change was $10.51,” claimed Paw Paw (@paw.paw33) on Sunday. “They rounded it down. The girl tried to give me $10.50.”
“I asked where my penny was, because that’s my money. She said, ‘We don’t have pennies. We round it down.’”
Paw Paw said he would either see a manager or refuse the transaction altogether. After hearing the same line from said manager and demanding a nickel if they really had no pennies, he got an extra four cents out of the deal.
He went on to suggest that Home Depot and other big corporate shops aren’t really out of pennies—they just want another excuse to squeeze more cash from customers.
“There are hundreds of millions of pennies still out on the market,” he said. “There’s no excuse for this.”
“People, don’t let them keep your money. It’s yours.”
@paw.paw33 No Penny Bullshit!! Home Depot is stealing money from their customers!! Do not allow this!! Stand up people!! #awpawpaw ♬ original sound – Paw Paw
“It’s not about the penny”
According to the American Bankers Association, there are around 250 billion pennies still out there. However, the Federal Reserve started phasing out pennies at coin terminals—where banks go to deposit or withdraw coins—months ago. The majority of these sites have no pennies left to give.
The penny shortage may therefore indeed be here already. One person on the Home Depot sub on Reddit claiming to be a worker asked for advice on the situation in November.
“I was told we’ll have to manually round up or down for now until HD gives official instructions,” said u/Realistic4What.
Meanwhile, other TikTokers have started posting video footage of the warning signs inside various stores. Footwear retailer Calares advised customers that they will round down on all cash totals, giving shoppers the extra change.
@smile_today82 Is this every Walmart or just this one? I’ve never seen this before but the cashier said they’re out of penny’s so they are rounding. #fyp #rounding #walmart ♬ original sound – Smiletoday
In October, @smile_today82 showed a receipt demonstrating that Walmart was also rounding this way, netting her an extra four cents on a recent trip.
Home Depot may want to adjust its policies to avoid public outrage. For a lot of folks, it’s not about the money so much as the insult of being nickel-and-dimed (or pennied) yet again.
“Some people will think that’s petty, but I’m on your side, it’s not the penny it’s the principle,” @rkgsmith told Paw Paw on TikTok.
“THANK YOU FOR STANDING ON PRINCIPLE,” wrote @wickedwitch_ofthe_west. “It’s not about the penny folks.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Home Depot for comment via email.
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