Two years into this journey as a restaurant owner and I keep encountering things which I never even considered when starting out. We recently accepted a counterfeit U.S. $100 bill (pictured above).

When I found it in the cash envelopes the next morning I thought it looked and felt off. I took it to the bank and the experienced teller, with no prompting from me, announced, “That’s counterfeit,” as I took it out of my pocket.

Grrr…

I don’t blame the staff for accepting it. I am lucky to have handled lots of American money (I have played the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas four times). I was pretty sure that this bill was counterfeit but even then, I am not sure what I would have done if it had been presented to me at the cashier. Despite my doubts, I might have accepted it. Some of my staff have never handled American money.

So now we have a policy. We do not accept U.S. $100 bills without the authorization of myself of my Assistant General Manager. Sigh…