h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My meal: ~$6.00, give or take.

I don't pay with a mealplan card, however, I paid with cash.

So the girl at the register gives it for two?

Not that I mind having an extra four dollars in my pocket, but it was weird.

Not the first time that someone at these registers has given a "discount" when they hear that I'm paying with cash, but it always feels a bit odd.

Affy, there was a company years ago - probably 35 or more - called Cash is Best. They were trying to secure discounts for people who pay with cash rather than credit cards or checks. The reasoning was that it costs the merchants less to handle a cash transaction, so the people paying cash are ripped off by having to pay for someone else's paperwork. The movement went down in flames, I believe, but I've always thought it made sense. They sold you a membership card that was used for discounts at the merchants who agreed to participate.

Nifty. I'll have to look into that.