This is a topic which you will almost certainly hear a foreign person complain about after they've spent a short time in Japan. Men in particular seem to be put out by it, but it's an issue for everyone. When you purchase something in Japan, most of the time you are given your receipt and then your change is dumped on top of the receipt. Since you already have your wallet in your other hand, this method makes it very hard to handle your money and sometimes results in dropping it. For contrast, I'll tell you that, in the U.S., the receipt is usually put in the bag with whatever you buy so that you don't have to handle both it and your change.
I won't miss this awkward method of change handling.
Posts
I've never been to Japan (or anywhere outside my country) but here in Mexico they do the exact same thing and is infuriating.
ReplyDeleteMost times when I'm in a rush I end up awkwardly crushing the receipt so it wraps the change and then I toss it in my pocket; when I do have the time, I grab the receipt with my index and middle finger and move my hand so the cashier has no choice but to drop the change on my empy palm; when I'm not feeling kind I make a point of grabbing the change first and then the receipt to bother them, I know is not nice but that receipt thing really gets on my nerves.They seem a bit put off by this but I like to think that it'll change things someday.
Here in New York, it's the same thing about 75% of the time or more. I usually end up pulling over in the quietest corner I can find after checking out to sort out my problems.
ReplyDeleteIt's about 50/50 in the UK - chain shops tend to bag receipts, smaller ones hand you cash and then the receipt (which is a little easier to manage).
ReplyDeleteI actually hate receipt bagging, because if you actually want the receipt for some reason (like checking your accounts, or returns), you need to remember to fish it out of the bag, and it's more likely to get lost. So the fact that this happens most with expensive items you might return bugs me. If you get it in hand, you stow it in your purse with the others and sort it all out later.
I just slide coins off into my purse and then put the notes away, but maybe your purse is different.