In a message dated 1/26/2007 3:30:24 AM Central Standard Time,
relay@THECARTOGRAPHERS.NET writes:
> one of my two jobs
> involves taking money from customers at Ikea and giving them change
> for purchases. There seems to be some sort of cultural difference
> here. I get a fair number of tourists, and one thing about them,
> regardless of what country they come from really annoys me: The way
> they hand me their money. Most Australians will pay by handing the
> cashier the money; if the cashier is not ready, the customer will wait
> until the cashier puts out their hand and hand it to them. The cashier
> will give them change in exactly the same manner. If the customer
> needs to count out their money on the counter, the customer will
> usually pick it up and hand it to the cashier. Parents teaching their
> children to buy things will say "now give the man the money". Aside
> from in a rare set of circumstances when this isn't possible, most
> Australians who *don't* do it like this are generally otherwise pretty
> rude.
>
> Now, a lot of tourists, from just about anywhere, and regardless of
> how well-mannered they are, will put the money down on the counter,
> and leave it there. The first few times this happened I left it
> there—I thought they were just counting it out, or going to grab some
> more money or something. If I try and put my hand for where they're
> aiming, they will often change where they're aiming for, so it reaches
> the counter. Then, they expect me to hand their change back to them in
> their hands (and get offended if I don't—but surely what's good for
> the goose is good for the gander). This strikes me, and the others who
> work with me, as both a rude and annoying habit. Picking up money all
> day long from a metal counter is *not* fun. Being expected to pick up
> after someone, and then being expected to treat them otherwise strikes
> me as both rude and degrading.
>
> So really, what I want to know is: Is my assessment of the situation
> accurate? Is the correct way to pay for something in most other
> countries to put the money on the counter? or is it just something
> about being in a foreign country or having been shopping at Ikea that
> makes them do that?
>
I'm always the customer in such transactions, but I put my money in the other
person's hand rather than put it on the counter. I get my change back in my
hand, too.
stevo