Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 8

I work retail in a Canadian city that sees a lot of tourists from the USA during the summer months. We take American money, but we have to give them Canadian money back as change. Since a lot of tourists don’t know this, I’ve made a habit of informing customers of this before taking their money as payment.

I do this especially when their total is significantly less than the bill they hand me, as the exchange rate is so high that they can end up getting quite a lot of change back. When I let people know this, they quite often change their minds about how they will be paying.

Me: “Your total is $3.84. How will you be paying today?”

Customer: “Cash.”

The customer pulls out a $20 American bill. He would be getting about $20 in Canadian money back.

Me: “Sir, we take American money at the exchange rate, but you’ll be getting quite a lot of Canadian change back.”

The customer gets a sneer on his face like I just told him he would be receiving a handful of turds. It’s common for people from the USA to joke about our money, because it’s plastic and colourful, which is quite different from theirs. But this guy looks genuinely offended.

Customer: “I don’t want your fake money! I want real money back!”

I’m typically a soft-spoken person, but I put on my “mom voice” at this point, because I am having NONE of that s***.

Me: “THIS IS CANADA!”

The customer gets a little embarrassed, hangs his head, and says in a much quieter voice:

Customer: “I know.”

Me: “Is the change all right, then? Or will you be using another form of payment?”

The customer said something so quiet that I couldn’t hear what he said, but he handed me the bill. I gave him the change in Canadian cash and he went on his way.

Most of us are polite by default but will not tolerate rudeness!

Related:
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 7
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 6
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 5
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 4
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 3