‘First time in my life’: Alabama man picks up $65 Domino’s order with $100 bill, gets told they won’t accept it

Jeremy Harbin (@harbins_outdoors), a small business owner in Alabama, had a frustrating experience when he tried to pay for a $65 pizza order with a $100 bill. The restaurant refused to accept it. Harbin shared his disappointment on social media and said the situation showed a bigger problem with customer service today.

Harbin posted a TikTok video captioned “Customer service is a dying skill! But the first time in my life I’ve been denied food for using cash!” He held up the paper money for the camera and said, “This is American currency. Produced by the Federal Reserve. It’s $100.” He was trying to get food for a group of men watching the college football National Championship.

According to BroBible, he had ordered three pizzas, some wings, and extra ranch for a total of $65. When he arrived at the pickup window, the worker told him, “Excuse me, sir. We don’t take large bills.” Harbin said he had never had problems paying with cash before, and nobody mentioned this policy when he placed his phone order.

The restaurant’s policy left customers without good options

Harbin noticed there was a sign on the window saying they don’t accept bills larger than $20, but that didn’t help since he had forgotten his wallet and only had the $100 bill. He tried to find a solution by suggesting the store could give him the $35 change later or offer him credit since he would likely order from them again that week.

For Harbin, the problem wasn’t just the policy itself. It was that the staff showed no willingness to help or find a way to make both sides happy. He later spoke with a manager who explained the location didn’t keep much cash on hand because corporate inspectors were visiting.

While this explained the situation, it didn’t make up for the poor customer service. The pizza chain has been working on updating its brand image recently, but customer experience issues like this still happen. The incident started a big debate online about whether customer service is dead. 

Many people questioned why simple solutions weren’t offered, with one person asking, “What’s wrong with them giving you a gift card for 34 dollars and some change.” Another user blamed the lack of problem-solving, saying “people are robots now. no critical thinking.”

However, not everyone agreed with Harbin. Some people defended the worker and pointed to company rules as the real issue. One commenter noted, “It wasn’t customer service, it was policy of the restaurant. It wasn’t the guys fault. Just following policy. However, I do agree customer service is nowhere to be seen.”

Restaurant billing problems have become more common, and customers need to watch for sneaky charges when paying for meals. Some people think businesses must accept all U.S. currency because bills say, “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” This isn’t true. That phrase means the note is backed by the U.S. Treasury.

While the government cannot refuse these bills, private businesses can choose not to accept cash or large bills. Harbin’s main point was clear: customer service has gotten much worse, and no one tried to “make the customer happy.”