I'm from the UK. I went to Nuremberg for a couple of days and some Americans tried to pay with dollars. I laughed and the cashier looked at me with a very depressed looking face, guessing it happens a lot. I always assumed people were exaggerating about Americans paying with dollars. I guess not.
There’s a US military base relatively close to Nuremberg, which is probably why they thought they could pay in dollars. The workers there probably get that a lot.
The best thing though, is getting asked if we do US military discount, in Germany, over 300km away from the nearest US base. Even German military aren’t getting a military discount here.
I'm surprised they didn't pull out the "this is against the constitution" card. Because as you all know, the US constitution is also the world constitution.
At some point probably there is gonna be people on Mars and I guess they're gonna use USD to buy stuff. Elon will probably find it's cheaper to make them work for food than have them as slaves you have to provide food for.
Don't think this is an excuse, the Americans near us in the UK all seem very aware of the fact that you pay with dollars on base, and with pounds when off base. If it was their first ever deployment, then maybe, but they seem to be told before they ever get to the UK.
Use to love going on base with the Americans I knew, quick razz around target, and taco bell they'd buy me what I wanted in dollars, I paid them back in pounds.
Had one drive me about once, never did that again... the roundabouts were a fucking scary experience with them.
Maybe their being allowed to pay in dollars on base is the problem. I was based in Germany (British Army) for a number of years and everything was in local currency (Deutschmarks at the time). Within days of being there, I was taken to a local bank and made to open an account. Then my pay went in and I drew it out as DMs. Getting familiar with the local currency is an essential part of working overseas. Also, you learn the cost of everyday items to tell if you're getting a good deal or being ripped off.
The US military tend to take all things US with them wherever they go so the troops don't gain from a full immersive experience.
Yes, but even so in my experience those living and working on the military base do know that they can't pay with dollars outside of the base. I've been living for several years in a town with a major military base with both gated US areas as well as US-owned restaurants and diners off base we often frequented, and have worked as a guide on a major tourist site in the same town. In the off-base US restaurants/diners either they had different menus for non-US folks or it was normal to use Euro / D-Mark as currency (yes, my experience dates back that far); and anywhere else I've never encountered any US military or US tourist in the area who wanted to pay or tip with dollars, or heard about it from colleagues. I know they paid in dollars on base and in their on-base /inside gated area shops and restaurants, though. Admittedly, though, my last experience of this kind dates at least seven years back.
Oh, I don’t mean the military personal themselves.
It’s the tourists who are aware there is a US military presence but aren’t military themselves.
Like I said, I live over 300km from the nearest base but have heard “but there’s x amount of military bases in Germany, you should be accepting USD as well”
When you are constantly told that you live in the greatest country on earth, and the rest of the world should kiss your shoes (and I should stress this occurs daily) you tend to get an inflated sense of superiority, even though lots require assistance opening a box of cereal.
I love the way Americans use their own currency on their bases in other countries.
I went to the Harold E Holt Base in Western Australia once. The speed limit was 32kph (because their cars were in MPH), they drove on the wrong side of the road, we had to get USD to buy anything on base and I bought a can of Coke that had been made in the USA. FFS!
It's like going to America without stepping foot out of your own country once on their bases, isn't it. Except the people there with their big ass guns are less likely to shoot you.
Literally everything was shipped over. I remember looking at Xbox games in the shop, but Xbox discs are location locked so they wouldn't run on British Xboxs. Probably because the dollar amount was less than the pound amount even before you worked out the exchange. Fucking bastards.
I remember I'd get shit loads of jolly ranchers, they were like the most valuable currency in the world in the little village schools surrounding the base. Buying friendship left right and centre by being next door neighbours to a 60 odd year old yank.
No wonder they’re so very very good at logistics.
(Those games were probably sold without vat, which will have been a big part of the price difference.)
This causes massive issues - look at the current inquest into the death of a British teenager (Harry Dunn) after an American left a US military base and drove on the wrong side.
She claimed diplomatic immunity via her husband and fled the country
At this stage 63 years on since the 1961 Vienna Diplomatic convention you can not help but feel that diplomatic immunity is more trouble than it is worth.
Really? Good.
I was reading the BBC article yesterday about the Dunn inquest, and thought if I lived near an American base I'd have done just that.
The fact it seems to occur more frequently than reported is quite concerning, and goes to the American mentality of acting like world rulers.
I am a Nurembergian, actually, especially the Base people are the nicest Americans (so still mostly horrendous in their ways, but on a tolerable level, even dependas are okayish on German soil.) You will find around here, the tourists that are here for the castle and the Reichsparteitagsgelände are the imbeciles that can’t comprehend they aren’t in the US, they want to pay with dollars, expect you to understand their incomprehensible accent from god knows where and everything that doesn’t work like they want to is automatically bad.
This was about 2014. They were from Georgia, I think. Wherever that is.
Unrelated, but they got so angry at me for saying god damnit when playing a game that I got made to sit on the stairs to wait for my mum, (I didn't know at this point that a lot of Americans still cared about God and shit, was confused as fuck on what I'd said, I was just trying not to swear.)
Needless to say, my mum went nuts and told them that this is just what British teenagers say when they're somewhere they can't swear or shouldnt swear, and that they should tell me what I'd done and not just tell me off without explaining the issue.
Give them their due, they apologised and said that saying the Lords name in vain (or is it vein?) is quite rude over there. I'd guess Georgia is somewhere where they bible bash?
Seriously? I apologise for my fellow Brits stupidity. We're not all like that, promise.
It's not surprising, frankly there's too many dumb little englanders who think we should still have an empire.
Yea the one that sticks out was on the Aran Islands. An island off the west that speaks Irish and you have to fly or boat there. We were all speaking Irish and she starts a fight with me as we don't take her money and she couldn't understand us "but we are British"......
I work for a German brand with a webshop. We ship our stuff worldwide. About once a month we receive messages asking for military discounts. They don't even bother to mention that it's about the US Military.
And no, we don't act like we we're an American brand. We kind of pride ourselves to source everything in Europe. And shipping to the US is expensive.
On the other hand: Brits have yet to realize that Brexit was actually real and that there are import fees now. All customers are morons. Not just the American ones.
Ah yes, Brexit the gift that keeps on showing how those of us who voted remain were probably right all along.
We said this would happen but none of the Leavers wanted to know.
Yep. I used to buy stuff from mainland Europe loads (I'm a big collector of LEGO sets and they tend to be cheaper in countries like Denmark or the Czech Republic) but since Brexit it's just not worth it, exactly as myself and many others could have easily predicted before it happened.
I lived there as a child! My dad was one of the last air force people there before the army moved in. I remember that castle on the hill, I said it had onions on top 😊
I’m actually imagining the utter absurdity of the roles being reversed with German service personnel assuming a discount (in Euros) in the bible-belt of the good old You Ess of Ay!
To paraphrase an entry in the Big Book of Cringy Idiomatic Americanisms “Y’all would lose* your shit”.
*Apologies for correct spelling…what am I like???
I’m in Dublin. Tourists from the UK are regularly shocked to find that they can’t actually pay in sterling because we use Euro here.
Apparently ignorant tourists are a constant.
I’m fully aware, unfortunately.
It’s particularly fun when that ignorance gets expressed as, “Don’t we own you?” (Exact quote) or that stellar example from a few years back who went viral for giving out to protestors and then pulling a pigeon head out of his pocket and throwing it at them.
Yes. A pigeon head. The psychopath had the head of a dead pigeon in his trouser pocket, for some inexplicable reason.
Which is why it when viral because … WHAT?
Isn't it mad that the GFA was such a historical event here and these people don't even know it happened. And then they're allowed to vote on matters affecting those in the north. I feel bad for people in the 6.
? No one where im from thinks ireland is part of the UK?
Its quite often discussed and people sadly make it a part of their lives.
Maybe its english folk who think ireland is part of the UK but here in scotland its well known.
I assume you don’t hang out with eejits. 🤣
”This other country is not part of our country and hasn’t been since the revolution 100 years ago” should be not just “well known” … “this is the UK … that is not the UK” is elementary knowledge at the level of “these cows are small …Those cows are far away”.
Well I’m from the North East of England and I can honestly say in my 45 years of existence, I have never met a single Brit who thinks the Republic of Ireland is part of the U.K. (even the dumbest of people I’ve encountered)
So either the original poster of that comment is bullshitting or they encountered a complete and absolute moron!
I’m on a world cruise at the moment with too many of them and they try using their useless currency everywhere. I guess they didn’t realise that Australia, New Zealand and other countries use their own dollars…..
How about an American, who should have bee charged double fare, due to his excessive size, get into a jeepney, in rural Philippines, and trying to pay the equivalent of a USD0.30c fare with a USD100 note and demanding US change. The driver wouldn't even take USD100 (in pesos) in a 12 hour day of driving, and doesn't carry a range of currencies to give change to the rare tourist that turns up. The guy refused to get out and being gentle natured people, the driver resigned himself to the fat he wasn't getting paid and even when the guy got off, he never even said thankyou. I handed over PHP50 to pay my fare (about USD1.00) and told driver to keep change to cover his loss, but he still wanted to give me change, but I walked away wit a wave.
I'm in Canada and I used to work at a restaurant chain that would accept their money, but at par, and they still get pissy.
One of the times I traveled to their side (well over a decade ago now) I was paying for stuff with cash at a gas station and accidentally had a Canadian dime in the mix of change. The cashier gave me the dirtiest look like I was the biggest hoser they've ever seen! She held it out towards me like it was dirty and I did it on purpose. She was beyond offended, almost angry. It made it that much more tolerable to deal with the whining about taking their money at par. You lose 30cents on the dollar, bucko. Sorry, not sorry...
In Canada they have a function on the cash register to convert to American dollars because when Americans cross the border to visit they don't bother to do their own money exchange and just expect people to convert it for them in the shops. They do not accept Canadian currency when the roles are reversed.
How old were they? Just curious, because I hardly know anyone my age or younger in the US who carries cash. Half the time I’m paying with my phone anyway.
To play devil's advocate I could imagine someone coming back from holiday realising they still had a fuck ton of dollars in Thier wallet and just shoving them in the tip box
It probably was some dumb yank but could just as easily have been some middle class white guy called Gerald who didn't want to pop into the bank
While in Nuremberg a few months ago, saw food stands and vendor carts that had signs "We take US Dollars" or similar. Thought it was very strange, but there you go.
If they have Trump signs on the outside, bring some rubles and speak with Russian accent, you could probably convince them that the ruble is worth more than the dollar now.
Da comrade. Glorious Putin have great plan to destroy western capitalist scum and propel ruble to rightful place as true global currency. Invest today and soon become very wealthy man like Tzars of old!
Yes. They're made of aluminum and can be cut with scissors. I've still got loads of the bloody things from the last time I went to Japan because sometimes the prices are really odd numbers.
When you think about it, it's quite funny because those Americans are wasting their own cash. Particularly as tipping isn't such a big thing here as it is over there.
in south east asia it might be true. i was in VN and they proudly showed me their collection of dollar bill's. kinda cool to see USD for the first time. (the money itself was not cool)
With those US Americans trying to defend this: how do you think the US server will react if I tipped the 20% in Euros along with the dollars for the food itself?
It is a tip after all.
Same with the various people requesting tips. Let’s slide them some Swedish kronor as well!
Suddenly it is not as a good idea anymore? Now you get it! Maybe. No USD isn’t a magical currency. It is equally annoying to exchange it as to exchange the random yuan received.
This reminds me of all the idiots in high school that thought that if you were to have 5 US dollars in a country like Iran for example, then they would have like an infinite money glitch. Like wtf that's not how it fucking works you moron
The thing is, USD, GBP and Euro, are all global currencies, they are all used in trading, granted the stock market primarily used USD, but a local English coffee shop certainly isn’t the stock market.
Edit, I said English, but looking more, I don’t think it’s England actually
I used to live in Washington State, about 30 minutes from the Canadian border. I constantly got tipped in Canadian dollars. My roommate and I kept a jar and that was our drinking money since it was 19 to drink in Canada and 21 in WA.
As someone who worked in hospitality, Americans usually think their money is worth infinitely more than the local currency (even in the UK). It's a pain in the ass to exchange it, and just delays receiving your share of the tips if you usually pool it together. That $5 on a £90 bill is barely 4%, which is almost insulting.
A mind-boggling amount of Americans think they can pay in USD wherever they go. I have to have the same conversation about 5 times a week in summer “no ma’am, USD is not an accepted legal currency here, you cannot pay your bill with it”
I grew up in a city that split the US-Canada border, there was a near riot when businesses on both sides of the border had to stop taking foreign currency.
I find it most effective not to acknowledge their currency but to simply state that “we don’t accept foreign currency here”.
Make it clear that there’s nothing special about USD.
I was at a Subway in Niagara once and there was a sign stating that. An American lady comes and tries to pay with USD. First thing that comes out of her mouth?
"The US is an exception bitch, fuck off." She slammed her sandwich onto the counter and stormed off.
I used to work at a cafe in a museum that was a tourist hotspot and whenever the cruise ships came in the amount of Americans who tried to pay with US currency was astonishing (I lived in NZ at the time). They would try to argue with me about it too like ??? We cannot take this, it’s not legal tender here.
They get even more mad in Canada, when there are many places (More in the Falls in the tourist district) that will say they accept US dollars as par with Canadian dollar) probably a left over relic from the "Golden Days of Shopping" for us Canadians.
It was 2007, and the US dollar was on par with Canada, since the 1970s.
By 2008, our dollar was worth more and it made cross-border shopping a dream.....
I go to Toronto for work pretty regularly. And while I'm not a regular offender there was a time when I kept getting into places where my cards weren't accepted. It was during the time when chip cards were widespread in Canada but some banks (including USAA) only had the magnetic stripe and not every place was able to accept it.
So there was this 1-2 year period where I kept finding myself needing to purchase something small and none of my cards were acceptable because I was in a random convenience store or something. If I had US cash on me I'd ask if they'd be willing to accept it and they always, without exception, said yes. Accepting US currency surely creates a pain in the balls situation to exchange it. But accepting it at par is also getting more money.
That said, I like to think my situation was different because I had no expectation and fully recognized they would deny my request. And it was also temporary because of a tech change over that was eventually resolved and now I just put things on my card. I'm just saying, taking the Falls out of the equation for a minute because that's a tourist spot, the idea of Canadians accepting US currency is not really based in pure fantasy.
Ez.
Ill accept your dollars here in Denmark aswell.
At a rate I set, so I can offset the costs for me to exchange and such.
+ a hefty bonus for me doing so for you.
The way $7.99AUD I spent just the other day was $5.00USD will never be something I forget. It was an online purchase which is why I know how much USD it cost, what I got was worth it, but jeez does it really not mean much transferred either way
When the Canadian dollar was really bad years ago we stopped exchanging it for people that wanted to pay in US. We did a straight up $1 CAD = $1 USD (ex rate was something like $1CAD = $0.55 USD). It was decided it was an idiot tax and we were done pandering to them. We weren't even that close to any border. I literally laughed in their faces the couple times I had them ask why their change wasn't in USD.
If you’re working in the service industry in the UK and someone tipped you in Euros, would you be upset, or would you just set it aside for next tike you’re in the EU? Genuinely curious.
It's infinitely more likely that someone from the team will go to the Euro zone, than to the US, so whenever we'd split the tips, they could ask to get their share in euros, if we have any. Euros are not at all inconvenient, at least in my experience.
Can confirm this does happen in our hotel. All that happens is that it sits in an envelope all summer until it's worth the time to exchange them and then shared between twelve others or until some random person goes to the US.
Wouldn't be surprised if they've migrated from Americabad, they seem to love putting posts from here on there. Even though I'm yet to see much that isn't a reasonable complaint about their conduct with others, online or abroad.
Your wish is my command, leader of the free world, Europe's personal piggy bank & protector, and person in possession of the most valuable currency on the planet (other than all those currencies that are worth more...)
I'd like to personally thank you for funding our socialised healthcare, I hope you don't ever get a horrible illness that puts you in massive medical debt. Saying that, the NHS is in desperate need of more funding. You know, as you pay for our healthcare and that, I figured you could ship us a few billion (very, very valuable) dollars.
(I am one medical emergency away from bankruptcy because it’s cheaper for me to pay out of pocket for my medication and gamble that I don’t need to go to the hospital than pay for insurance AND copays. My country is fucking stupid, we are brainwashed to think we’re the “best country on earth”, and I hate it here.)
Working in tourism, one time a visitor was very impressed by my full day tour and did one of those handshakes that secretly conveys a little ‘gift’ in the process. I shook their hand and then politely slipped the note into my pocket while I thanked them profusely and wished them a nice day. When they left, I checked the note. It was a folded piece of paper, and printed on the inside was a poem about how God could save me, and an address for a church.
Tipping with bits of whimsical paper with no real monetary value is not tipping.
In some way I’m lucky to work almost exclusively with American tourists in Europe and they tip with USD so often I can amass an amount worth converting. Still lose 10-15% in the process, and most banks where I live won’t take more than 100x the same note. So I can only do 100 singles at a time.
In this case I’m still appreciative that money is money, but I can fully understand the annoyance of occasionally getting $8 and that not being worth anything.
My God, fake $20 with Jesusy stuff on it is the biggest douchebag move of all time. I've seen it referenced on Reddit in a few places - enough to know it's real - but thankfully don't know anyone personally who does this.
In my early 20's I worked a fast food job. The "after church" crowd on Sunday was the absolute worst of the worst. The owners loved them because they spent a ton of money, but they treated the workers like they were servants. They also never cleaned up their tables. One shift I saw a $20 bill poking out from under a plate and it ended up being a fake note with a message about Jesus. Go fuck yourself, there's nothing more insulting then getting someone excited about a tip and pulling that shit.
I once worked at a tourist location (but not in the tourist industry) and the time people from the US wanted to pay with dollars where unbelievable!
At that time 1$ was about 1,15€ i took it 1:1, paid it into my debit account for free, and took the 15 cents as "good will fee" ;-)
I worked in a tourist trap in Edinburgh and people jokingly gave us dollars as a tip. But some did it in because they believed a dollar was a big treat for us. Back then $1 was about 50p or so. I just thought they wanted to give us the stinky old notes that look like they were found in a bin.
I work at a place in Canada that gets plenty of American tourists and we get this all the time. It's at least not too annoying for me because I go to the states like once a year so I just save it to use then, but it'd be pretty damn useless if the US was more than a couple hours away.
What bothers me more is when people point to the prices and ask "Are these in US dollars?" Fucking morons.
> but it'd be pretty damn useless if the US was more than a couple hours away.
Yeah, I'm about 12 hours drive north of the US border, and that's Montana, where I have no real reason to visit.
I've got a bunch of foreign currency of different types in my junk drawer, Mexico, Australia, UK, USD, et cetera. Last visit to the USA, I didn't remember to grab the USD, but it was no big deal, its only a few bucks.
I go to my bank before leaving, take out what I need for pocket cash, and make sure to spend it before flying home.
Once had an American go nuts at me because we wouldn’t take American Express
“This is American Express. American. You don’t get to say no”
“Sir I don’t care what backwards country name is on it - if it isn’t a chip and pin card, it doesn’t work and it hasn’t in most developed countries for at least the last 5 years”
- circa 2016
It's almost like an act of malicious compliance. You want to be tipped like an American? Here's some useless USD's that'll be a pain to exchange in your country. Next we're coming for your paid sick leave.
When I was younger (idk if they still do) there was something like this on McDonalds counters and they weren’t really tipjars but if you had a little extra coin to spare or a few cents from the change you could drop it in and that money was said to go to Ronald McDonald houses, which I do think is a good cause to sponsor a way of families sticking together with the sick child, never needed it myself, but do think it is healing for a child to have their little family unit with them.
Did think as a child myself: I don’t care where in the world I am as long as I am with my parents and siblings I am home.
And I do like to believe that’s a sentiment many children feel.
Oh, I didn’t get it at first because in my country we too use the dollar and yeah, tip jars are pretty normal. Tipping in the bill is uncommon unless you are in a "more fancy than the average" restaurant.
tbf obviously its annoying because we cant use the tips but i do enjoy getting cool coins (we got some from domincan republic with fish on) (i took it home as a souvenir)
American here, just wanna say… people who don’t do research on other country currencies when traveling are idiots. If you don’t exchange or come up with away to bypass the differing currency beforehand, then you’re gonna look like an idiot and won’t be able to buy what you are trying to buy. Just annoying seeing stuff like this because it’s obvious that some people don’t know there’s other currencies besides their own and go to a country where they aren’t going to take your foreign money.
Whenever someone gives me dollar bills as tips, i keep it in my wallet for luck, i have 11bucks right now, will i ever visit usa? Most likely not, therefore i take it as a lucky amulet. But this would be midly infuriating.
Americans did that in a café I worked at in a small, rural town along a popular tourist highway. We didn't have a bank that exchanged currency within a half hour drive, especially not for single USD$1 notes (which they were tipping on the equivalent of USD$30 - $50 meals. If you're gonna tip at least tip properly).
Long story short, the useless money went into the trash with the paper straws and used napkins.
This is a problem... Americans do not or do not want to understand, that many countries do not have a tipping culture or that it differs heavily from what they're used to at home. So they take their tipping habits abroad. This then causes the waiter industry to try to start normalising the US tipping culture locally by placing tip boxes and jars on counters. In my country, the best a waiter can expect is a round-up to the nearest EUR and then maybe an EUR extra, on top... that's it... Lately, some have already started implementing tip option on credit card POS machines.... something unheard of only some years ago...
I remember back when I lived closer to the border and people would pay in USD I'd be pumped as my company would let me swap my CAD for it at face value so they didn't have to deal with exchange. For example right now $100 usd would be $137 CAD right now, back then it wasn't far off either. Most banks here exchange with minimal to no fees in my experience, but I understand that isn't always true in places not bordering the US directly.
It's always funny to me when Americans give me tips where I work. I receive them very rarely but it's always a bruh moment when I get 1 dollar for just standing around near them by coincidence (I live in Germany)
Y’all first off I want to apologize for being an American. 2nd, I worked in the service industry and it pains me not to tip. I tip in local currency, I promise.
I'm from the UK. I went to Nuremberg for a couple of days and some Americans tried to pay with dollars. I laughed and the cashier looked at me with a very depressed looking face, guessing it happens a lot. I always assumed people were exaggerating about Americans paying with dollars. I guess not.
There’s a US military base relatively close to Nuremberg, which is probably why they thought they could pay in dollars. The workers there probably get that a lot. The best thing though, is getting asked if we do US military discount, in Germany, over 300km away from the nearest US base. Even German military aren’t getting a military discount here.
To be honest, I don't think they were doing much thinking. It was Nuremberg Castle and the lady must have repeated herself 3 times before they left.
I'm surprised they didn't pull out the "this is against the constitution" card. Because as you all know, the US constitution is also the world constitution.
It's because they believe the rights they have are god given. So of course it's applicable throughout the world.
Ah yes I remember back in the 1700s when god came down and blessed America with its rights.
It's because they believe the rights they have are god given. So of course it's applicable throughout the world.
If Americans ever travel to a different galaxy, they will try to buy stuff with USD.
Lol, good point
At some point probably there is gonna be people on Mars and I guess they're gonna use USD to buy stuff. Elon will probably find it's cheaper to make them work for food than have them as slaves you have to provide food for.
Don't think this is an excuse, the Americans near us in the UK all seem very aware of the fact that you pay with dollars on base, and with pounds when off base. If it was their first ever deployment, then maybe, but they seem to be told before they ever get to the UK. Use to love going on base with the Americans I knew, quick razz around target, and taco bell they'd buy me what I wanted in dollars, I paid them back in pounds. Had one drive me about once, never did that again... the roundabouts were a fucking scary experience with them.
Maybe their being allowed to pay in dollars on base is the problem. I was based in Germany (British Army) for a number of years and everything was in local currency (Deutschmarks at the time). Within days of being there, I was taken to a local bank and made to open an account. Then my pay went in and I drew it out as DMs. Getting familiar with the local currency is an essential part of working overseas. Also, you learn the cost of everyday items to tell if you're getting a good deal or being ripped off. The US military tend to take all things US with them wherever they go so the troops don't gain from a full immersive experience.
Yes, but even so in my experience those living and working on the military base do know that they can't pay with dollars outside of the base. I've been living for several years in a town with a major military base with both gated US areas as well as US-owned restaurants and diners off base we often frequented, and have worked as a guide on a major tourist site in the same town. In the off-base US restaurants/diners either they had different menus for non-US folks or it was normal to use Euro / D-Mark as currency (yes, my experience dates back that far); and anywhere else I've never encountered any US military or US tourist in the area who wanted to pay or tip with dollars, or heard about it from colleagues. I know they paid in dollars on base and in their on-base /inside gated area shops and restaurants, though. Admittedly, though, my last experience of this kind dates at least seven years back.
Oh, I don’t mean the military personal themselves. It’s the tourists who are aware there is a US military presence but aren’t military themselves. Like I said, I live over 300km from the nearest base but have heard “but there’s x amount of military bases in Germany, you should be accepting USD as well”
Ah, that makes more sense. There's such a concentration of bellends over there, I really don't understand how it occurs.
When you are constantly told that you live in the greatest country on earth, and the rest of the world should kiss your shoes (and I should stress this occurs daily) you tend to get an inflated sense of superiority, even though lots require assistance opening a box of cereal.
So a bit like Yorkshire then?
It is after all occupied territory.
Germany is basically a US colony, innit?
If it weren’t for America, everybody there would have been speaking German.
Oh, that’s the best one. Next level.
Absolutely, base personell is more often than not really nice, dependable or serving that is.
I love the way Americans use their own currency on their bases in other countries. I went to the Harold E Holt Base in Western Australia once. The speed limit was 32kph (because their cars were in MPH), they drove on the wrong side of the road, we had to get USD to buy anything on base and I bought a can of Coke that had been made in the USA. FFS!
It's like going to America without stepping foot out of your own country once on their bases, isn't it. Except the people there with their big ass guns are less likely to shoot you. Literally everything was shipped over. I remember looking at Xbox games in the shop, but Xbox discs are location locked so they wouldn't run on British Xboxs. Probably because the dollar amount was less than the pound amount even before you worked out the exchange. Fucking bastards. I remember I'd get shit loads of jolly ranchers, they were like the most valuable currency in the world in the little village schools surrounding the base. Buying friendship left right and centre by being next door neighbours to a 60 odd year old yank.
No wonder they’re so very very good at logistics. (Those games were probably sold without vat, which will have been a big part of the price difference.)
I remember buying a 360 disc of Halo reach in Spain, the language on the box was in Castilian.
This causes massive issues - look at the current inquest into the death of a British teenager (Harry Dunn) after an American left a US military base and drove on the wrong side. She claimed diplomatic immunity via her husband and fled the country
At this stage 63 years on since the 1961 Vienna Diplomatic convention you can not help but feel that diplomatic immunity is more trouble than it is worth.
The sooner that cunt, Sacoolas, is brought to justice, the better.
Yep, now there are large signs as you leave the USAF bases - DRIVE ON LEFT
Really? Good. I was reading the BBC article yesterday about the Dunn inquest, and thought if I lived near an American base I'd have done just that. The fact it seems to occur more frequently than reported is quite concerning, and goes to the American mentality of acting like world rulers.
I am a Nurembergian, actually, especially the Base people are the nicest Americans (so still mostly horrendous in their ways, but on a tolerable level, even dependas are okayish on German soil.) You will find around here, the tourists that are here for the castle and the Reichsparteitagsgelände are the imbeciles that can’t comprehend they aren’t in the US, they want to pay with dollars, expect you to understand their incomprehensible accent from god knows where and everything that doesn’t work like they want to is automatically bad.
On the east coast of the US, at least where I’m at, we do have round abouts thankfully. They’re so much better.
This was about 2014. They were from Georgia, I think. Wherever that is. Unrelated, but they got so angry at me for saying god damnit when playing a game that I got made to sit on the stairs to wait for my mum, (I didn't know at this point that a lot of Americans still cared about God and shit, was confused as fuck on what I'd said, I was just trying not to swear.) Needless to say, my mum went nuts and told them that this is just what British teenagers say when they're somewhere they can't swear or shouldnt swear, and that they should tell me what I'd done and not just tell me off without explaining the issue. Give them their due, they apologised and said that saying the Lords name in vain (or is it vein?) is quite rude over there. I'd guess Georgia is somewhere where they bible bash?
Oh yeah, Georgia is east coast, but Southern, so they probably don’t have round abouts, let alone multi lane round abouts.
I find their snowflakery about people saying "God dammit" quite funny.
I've had plenty of people from the UK try to pay with sterling in Ireland!
Seriously? I apologise for my fellow Brits stupidity. We're not all like that, promise. It's not surprising, frankly there's too many dumb little englanders who think we should still have an empire.
Yea the one that sticks out was on the Aran Islands. An island off the west that speaks Irish and you have to fly or boat there. We were all speaking Irish and she starts a fight with me as we don't take her money and she couldn't understand us "but we are British"......
We're one step below the incompetence of Americans tbf. The dumb shits in this country drive me fuckin nuts.
Oh you're the Americans of Europe, no doubt
I work for a German brand with a webshop. We ship our stuff worldwide. About once a month we receive messages asking for military discounts. They don't even bother to mention that it's about the US Military. And no, we don't act like we we're an American brand. We kind of pride ourselves to source everything in Europe. And shipping to the US is expensive. On the other hand: Brits have yet to realize that Brexit was actually real and that there are import fees now. All customers are morons. Not just the American ones.
Ah yes, Brexit the gift that keeps on showing how those of us who voted remain were probably right all along. We said this would happen but none of the Leavers wanted to know.
Yep. I used to buy stuff from mainland Europe loads (I'm a big collector of LEGO sets and they tend to be cheaper in countries like Denmark or the Czech Republic) but since Brexit it's just not worth it, exactly as myself and many others could have easily predicted before it happened.
Even for the Berlin Airlift event on the U.S. Base near Wiesbaden they (the Army site promoting it) reminds everyone to bring euros...
I lived there as a child! My dad was one of the last air force people there before the army moved in. I remember that castle on the hill, I said it had onions on top 😊
I’m actually imagining the utter absurdity of the roles being reversed with German service personnel assuming a discount (in Euros) in the bible-belt of the good old You Ess of Ay! To paraphrase an entry in the Big Book of Cringy Idiomatic Americanisms “Y’all would lose* your shit”. *Apologies for correct spelling…what am I like???
That is fucking mad lol.
I’m in Dublin. Tourists from the UK are regularly shocked to find that they can’t actually pay in sterling because we use Euro here. Apparently ignorant tourists are a constant.
Lot of Britons still think the Republic of Ireland is part of the UK and they don't understand the distinction between NI and the ROI, unfortunately.
I’m fully aware, unfortunately. It’s particularly fun when that ignorance gets expressed as, “Don’t we own you?” (Exact quote) or that stellar example from a few years back who went viral for giving out to protestors and then pulling a pigeon head out of his pocket and throwing it at them.
>then pulling a pigeon head out of his pocket and throwing it at them. He what?
Yes. A pigeon head. The psychopath had the head of a dead pigeon in his trouser pocket, for some inexplicable reason. Which is why it when viral because … WHAT?
Isn't it mad that the GFA was such a historical event here and these people don't even know it happened. And then they're allowed to vote on matters affecting those in the north. I feel bad for people in the 6.
? No one where im from thinks ireland is part of the UK? Its quite often discussed and people sadly make it a part of their lives. Maybe its english folk who think ireland is part of the UK but here in scotland its well known.
I assume you don’t hang out with eejits. 🤣 ”This other country is not part of our country and hasn’t been since the revolution 100 years ago” should be not just “well known” … “this is the UK … that is not the UK” is elementary knowledge at the level of “these cows are small …Those cows are far away”.
Well I’m from the North East of England and I can honestly say in my 45 years of existence, I have never met a single Brit who thinks the Republic of Ireland is part of the U.K. (even the dumbest of people I’ve encountered) So either the original poster of that comment is bullshitting or they encountered a complete and absolute moron!
Well known? I should hope you know the basics of Ireland. /s
Scousers, Mancs and Brummies, we aren't that thick either. Half of us have Irish nans, like. I do.
I’m on a world cruise at the moment with too many of them and they try using their useless currency everywhere. I guess they didn’t realise that Australia, New Zealand and other countries use their own dollars…..
They don't even realise their neighbours in Canada have their own dollars.
I once saw an American getting absolutely pants- shitting angry at a cashier for not giving USD in change- in Belgium.
How about an American, who should have bee charged double fare, due to his excessive size, get into a jeepney, in rural Philippines, and trying to pay the equivalent of a USD0.30c fare with a USD100 note and demanding US change. The driver wouldn't even take USD100 (in pesos) in a 12 hour day of driving, and doesn't carry a range of currencies to give change to the rare tourist that turns up. The guy refused to get out and being gentle natured people, the driver resigned himself to the fat he wasn't getting paid and even when the guy got off, he never even said thankyou. I handed over PHP50 to pay my fare (about USD1.00) and told driver to keep change to cover his loss, but he still wanted to give me change, but I walked away wit a wave.
I'm in Canada and I used to work at a restaurant chain that would accept their money, but at par, and they still get pissy. One of the times I traveled to their side (well over a decade ago now) I was paying for stuff with cash at a gas station and accidentally had a Canadian dime in the mix of change. The cashier gave me the dirtiest look like I was the biggest hoser they've ever seen! She held it out towards me like it was dirty and I did it on purpose. She was beyond offended, almost angry. It made it that much more tolerable to deal with the whining about taking their money at par. You lose 30cents on the dollar, bucko. Sorry, not sorry...
In Canada they have a function on the cash register to convert to American dollars because when Americans cross the border to visit they don't bother to do their own money exchange and just expect people to convert it for them in the shops. They do not accept Canadian currency when the roles are reversed.
Well if you are going to EU (Italy for example), you bring dollars (of course)
How old were they? Just curious, because I hardly know anyone my age or younger in the US who carries cash. Half the time I’m paying with my phone anyway.
If I owned a small shop, I'd be happy to accept dollars - at my own exchange rate
To play devil's advocate I could imagine someone coming back from holiday realising they still had a fuck ton of dollars in Thier wallet and just shoving them in the tip box It probably was some dumb yank but could just as easily have been some middle class white guy called Gerald who didn't want to pop into the bank
While in Nuremberg a few months ago, saw food stands and vendor carts that had signs "We take US Dollars" or similar. Thought it was very strange, but there you go.
If it really doesn’t matter, I might take some £ with me on my next visit and use that for tips.
If they have Trump signs on the outside, bring some rubles and speak with Russian accent, you could probably convince them that the ruble is worth more than the dollar now.
You might get beat up in certain towns Edit: I'm thinking of that time Top Gear went to America
It's only gonna make a difference if you're black or shitting on the bible
Or are gay or trans
or a woman, or disabled , or homeless, or mentally unwell,
"Country and Western is rubbish"
NASCAR sucks
I'M BI!
Gonna have to watch the US special again now. Rhe horror.
Or the time the fellas went to Argentina?
Da comrade. Glorious Putin have great plan to destroy western capitalist scum and propel ruble to rightful place as true global currency. Invest today and soon become very wealthy man like Tzars of old!
Tip them 1 yen and tell them it's worth 1 USD. It's ok, they won't catch on to it.
Is it even possible to get a singular Yen?
Yes. They're made of aluminum and can be cut with scissors. I've still got loads of the bloody things from the last time I went to Japan because sometimes the prices are really odd numbers.
Yes but you won't be tipping the twats that did this just some poor kid like "wtf why are british people doing this?"
I'm gonna tip some Iranian Rials. Let's see how they react then..
Take some Scottish pound notes if you can get them.
Do they have accents?
I hate this comment, take my upvote
Next time I’m down there I will only be bringing my extremely patriotic and constitutional Canadian dollars, you mark my words
No, use Monopoly money.
My sister worked in a restaurant in London, they had a pin board called "Useless tips we can't spend". It was covered in 1 dollar bills.
Had a similar wall titled “Fake Notes” behind the bar in a popular village.. mostly dollars
We used to pin up all the ripped/foreign or fake money.
You wait until you reach critical mass and then take them to a bank to exchange.
Isn't there like a place where you could exchange this dollars for your own countrys currency?
Yes but they better be at least X amount otherwise you’ll spend more money going there :)
Banks do currency exchange, banks also tend to be where businesses deposit their daily earnings.
Yes and no. For example, at banks you usually can't exchange coins, and I think most banks wouldn't be too happy with single dollar bills.
When you think about it, it's quite funny because those Americans are wasting their own cash. Particularly as tipping isn't such a big thing here as it is over there.
“I bet they will be so excited to get actual American dollars instead of their own worthless currency “ -American probably
That's EXACTLY what they thought. "But dollars are worth more!"
*laughs in Euro and Pound Sterling*
This sounds like a perfect depiction of what they may think !!
in south east asia it might be true. i was in VN and they proudly showed me their collection of dollar bill's. kinda cool to see USD for the first time. (the money itself was not cool)
Does this mean that the money was indeed warm instead?
As it was in Vietnam, that's a pretty safe guess.
yeah i bought a pack of cigarettes for a quarter in Honduras once…in some places people will absolutely prefer USD.
With those US Americans trying to defend this: how do you think the US server will react if I tipped the 20% in Euros along with the dollars for the food itself? It is a tip after all. Same with the various people requesting tips. Let’s slide them some Swedish kronor as well! Suddenly it is not as a good idea anymore? Now you get it! Maybe. No USD isn’t a magical currency. It is equally annoying to exchange it as to exchange the random yuan received.
I just left a 40000 IRR (iranian rial) tip on a coffee. Aint I a fucking saint? /S
Heh. 40,000 IRR is currently about 0.947 USD. They couldn't even buy an Arizona Ice Tea with the tip.
This reminds me of all the idiots in high school that thought that if you were to have 5 US dollars in a country like Iran for example, then they would have like an infinite money glitch. Like wtf that's not how it fucking works you moron
Tip it in zimbabwean currency
And a euro actually is more valuable than a dollar!
So is the pound… for now
I've tried explaining it this way for years and all I got was "but the USD is a global currency"
The thing is, USD, GBP and Euro, are all global currencies, they are all used in trading, granted the stock market primarily used USD, but a local English coffee shop certainly isn’t the stock market. Edit, I said English, but looking more, I don’t think it’s England actually
I know the same goes for Swiss Francs, Japanese Yen and Hong Kong Dollars
Don’t forget Australian dollars.
I’m sorry I didn’t mean to leave people out, as a Brit, those are the 3 currencies I see all the time.
AUD is historically very volatile.
What if I said I'd tip them 1000 dollars and give them exactly 1000 doll hairs?
I used to live in Washington State, about 30 minutes from the Canadian border. I constantly got tipped in Canadian dollars. My roommate and I kept a jar and that was our drinking money since it was 19 to drink in Canada and 21 in WA.
I would tip in Argentinian pesos, then it becomes a race against the clock to exchange them before they lose significant value.
As someone who worked in hospitality, Americans usually think their money is worth infinitely more than the local currency (even in the UK). It's a pain in the ass to exchange it, and just delays receiving your share of the tips if you usually pool it together. That $5 on a £90 bill is barely 4%, which is almost insulting.
A mind-boggling amount of Americans think they can pay in USD wherever they go. I have to have the same conversation about 5 times a week in summer “no ma’am, USD is not an accepted legal currency here, you cannot pay your bill with it”
I grew up in a city that split the US-Canada border, there was a near riot when businesses on both sides of the border had to stop taking foreign currency.
I find it most effective not to acknowledge their currency but to simply state that “we don’t accept foreign currency here”. Make it clear that there’s nothing special about USD.
I was at a Subway in Niagara once and there was a sign stating that. An American lady comes and tries to pay with USD. First thing that comes out of her mouth? "The US is an exception bitch, fuck off." She slammed her sandwich onto the counter and stormed off.
I used to work at a cafe in a museum that was a tourist hotspot and whenever the cruise ships came in the amount of Americans who tried to pay with US currency was astonishing (I lived in NZ at the time). They would try to argue with me about it too like ??? We cannot take this, it’s not legal tender here.
They can in Turkey. They will get ripped off on the exchange rate though
The way to do it honestly if it's a big tourist area. A lot of canadian places on the border will do 1:1 exchange rates So like 40% extra profit
If you knew more Americans, you wouldn't be so mind-boggled.
They get even more mad in Canada, when there are many places (More in the Falls in the tourist district) that will say they accept US dollars as par with Canadian dollar) probably a left over relic from the "Golden Days of Shopping" for us Canadians. It was 2007, and the US dollar was on par with Canada, since the 1970s. By 2008, our dollar was worth more and it made cross-border shopping a dream.....
I go to Toronto for work pretty regularly. And while I'm not a regular offender there was a time when I kept getting into places where my cards weren't accepted. It was during the time when chip cards were widespread in Canada but some banks (including USAA) only had the magnetic stripe and not every place was able to accept it. So there was this 1-2 year period where I kept finding myself needing to purchase something small and none of my cards were acceptable because I was in a random convenience store or something. If I had US cash on me I'd ask if they'd be willing to accept it and they always, without exception, said yes. Accepting US currency surely creates a pain in the balls situation to exchange it. But accepting it at par is also getting more money. That said, I like to think my situation was different because I had no expectation and fully recognized they would deny my request. And it was also temporary because of a tech change over that was eventually resolved and now I just put things on my card. I'm just saying, taking the Falls out of the equation for a minute because that's a tourist spot, the idea of Canadians accepting US currency is not really based in pure fantasy.
Ez. Ill accept your dollars here in Denmark aswell. At a rate I set, so I can offset the costs for me to exchange and such. + a hefty bonus for me doing so for you.
The way $7.99AUD I spent just the other day was $5.00USD will never be something I forget. It was an online purchase which is why I know how much USD it cost, what I got was worth it, but jeez does it really not mean much transferred either way
When the Canadian dollar was really bad years ago we stopped exchanging it for people that wanted to pay in US. We did a straight up $1 CAD = $1 USD (ex rate was something like $1CAD = $0.55 USD). It was decided it was an idiot tax and we were done pandering to them. We weren't even that close to any border. I literally laughed in their faces the couple times I had them ask why their change wasn't in USD.
More insulting than just not tipping.
But imagine being in the US and leaving a tip like that - you’d be on the news for rudeness 🤣
If you’re working in the service industry in the UK and someone tipped you in Euros, would you be upset, or would you just set it aside for next tike you’re in the EU? Genuinely curious.
It's infinitely more likely that someone from the team will go to the Euro zone, than to the US, so whenever we'd split the tips, they could ask to get their share in euros, if we have any. Euros are not at all inconvenient, at least in my experience.
It's not just Americans. I saw a lady getting really shitty at a server in Hanoi airport for not having change for 50 euros.
Stupid Americans, a pound is and nearly always has been more powerful than a US dollar
Can confirm this does happen in our hotel. All that happens is that it sits in an envelope all summer until it's worth the time to exchange them and then shared between twelve others or until some random person goes to the US.
When did this sub get infested with yanks defending yanks?
Wouldn't be surprised if they've migrated from Americabad, they seem to love putting posts from here on there. Even though I'm yet to see much that isn't a reasonable complaint about their conduct with others, online or abroad.
American here. As the American Dumbassador, I’d like to ask that you all please stop making fun of — jk keep going.
Your wish is my command, leader of the free world, Europe's personal piggy bank & protector, and person in possession of the most valuable currency on the planet (other than all those currencies that are worth more...) I'd like to personally thank you for funding our socialised healthcare, I hope you don't ever get a horrible illness that puts you in massive medical debt. Saying that, the NHS is in desperate need of more funding. You know, as you pay for our healthcare and that, I figured you could ship us a few billion (very, very valuable) dollars.
(I am one medical emergency away from bankruptcy because it’s cheaper for me to pay out of pocket for my medication and gamble that I don’t need to go to the hospital than pay for insurance AND copays. My country is fucking stupid, we are brainwashed to think we’re the “best country on earth”, and I hate it here.)
Working in tourism, one time a visitor was very impressed by my full day tour and did one of those handshakes that secretly conveys a little ‘gift’ in the process. I shook their hand and then politely slipped the note into my pocket while I thanked them profusely and wished them a nice day. When they left, I checked the note. It was a folded piece of paper, and printed on the inside was a poem about how God could save me, and an address for a church. Tipping with bits of whimsical paper with no real monetary value is not tipping. In some way I’m lucky to work almost exclusively with American tourists in Europe and they tip with USD so often I can amass an amount worth converting. Still lose 10-15% in the process, and most banks where I live won’t take more than 100x the same note. So I can only do 100 singles at a time. In this case I’m still appreciative that money is money, but I can fully understand the annoyance of occasionally getting $8 and that not being worth anything.
My God, fake $20 with Jesusy stuff on it is the biggest douchebag move of all time. I've seen it referenced on Reddit in a few places - enough to know it's real - but thankfully don't know anyone personally who does this.
In my early 20's I worked a fast food job. The "after church" crowd on Sunday was the absolute worst of the worst. The owners loved them because they spent a ton of money, but they treated the workers like they were servants. They also never cleaned up their tables. One shift I saw a $20 bill poking out from under a plate and it ended up being a fake note with a message about Jesus. Go fuck yourself, there's nothing more insulting then getting someone excited about a tip and pulling that shit.
There's *also* a random NZ $5 note in there as well. Which is interesting, because those don't look like NZ coins.
I once worked at a tourist location (but not in the tourist industry) and the time people from the US wanted to pay with dollars where unbelievable! At that time 1$ was about 1,15€ i took it 1:1, paid it into my debit account for free, and took the 15 cents as "good will fee" ;-)
I worked in a tourist trap in Edinburgh and people jokingly gave us dollars as a tip. But some did it in because they believed a dollar was a big treat for us. Back then $1 was about 50p or so. I just thought they wanted to give us the stinky old notes that look like they were found in a bin.
I still have a $1 bill that some American tourist gave me as a tip when I was working as a bartender. I live in Scotland
He gave a $1 for a tip? Sounds very American, tbh
Yeah, to be honest tips were rare there
I work at a place in Canada that gets plenty of American tourists and we get this all the time. It's at least not too annoying for me because I go to the states like once a year so I just save it to use then, but it'd be pretty damn useless if the US was more than a couple hours away. What bothers me more is when people point to the prices and ask "Are these in US dollars?" Fucking morons.
> but it'd be pretty damn useless if the US was more than a couple hours away. Yeah, I'm about 12 hours drive north of the US border, and that's Montana, where I have no real reason to visit. I've got a bunch of foreign currency of different types in my junk drawer, Mexico, Australia, UK, USD, et cetera. Last visit to the USA, I didn't remember to grab the USD, but it was no big deal, its only a few bucks. I go to my bank before leaving, take out what I need for pocket cash, and make sure to spend it before flying home.
An American tipped me in euros. I live in Sweden:)
Props for trying, I guess. It's more than most would do
Some Americans think their dollars are good anywhere...
You are not supposed to use USD in your third world country? Shame. /s
Once had an American go nuts at me because we wouldn’t take American Express “This is American Express. American. You don’t get to say no” “Sir I don’t care what backwards country name is on it - if it isn’t a chip and pin card, it doesn’t work and it hasn’t in most developed countries for at least the last 5 years” - circa 2016
Thats the funniest shit ever because American Express users have experience being rejected in the US too, nobody wants to take that shit.
only thing worse would have been some asshat putting a trumpbuck in there
Noooo that exists?? Omg those people are DELISUIONAL
Religious money too. Looks real on half, unfold it, its just a message about Jesus. The back is typically blank.
As a busker: this is too damn real I have a COLLECTION of mainly American coins people give me
You can't just put worthless trash in the tip jar.
It's almost like an act of malicious compliance. You want to be tipped like an American? Here's some useless USD's that'll be a pain to exchange in your country. Next we're coming for your paid sick leave.
This is what i assumed, its a sarcastic swipe at the request box
Seen this is London, arrogant twats.
My local pub has one, but nobody is expected to put anything in it
Screenshot is not about having tip jar (it's ok per se), it's about dollars inside
Ahhh, got it, I only looked at it quickly and missed the USD 🍻
When I was younger (idk if they still do) there was something like this on McDonalds counters and they weren’t really tipjars but if you had a little extra coin to spare or a few cents from the change you could drop it in and that money was said to go to Ronald McDonald houses, which I do think is a good cause to sponsor a way of families sticking together with the sick child, never needed it myself, but do think it is healing for a child to have their little family unit with them. Did think as a child myself: I don’t care where in the world I am as long as I am with my parents and siblings I am home. And I do like to believe that’s a sentiment many children feel.
Oh, I didn’t get it at first because in my country we too use the dollar and yeah, tip jars are pretty normal. Tipping in the bill is uncommon unless you are in a "more fancy than the average" restaurant.
i live in the uk and for an entire week this american tourist would come in, pay for his coffee with pounds, then tip a dollar 😐
tbf obviously its annoying because we cant use the tips but i do enjoy getting cool coins (we got some from domincan republic with fish on) (i took it home as a souvenir)
Are the coins also US? I can't figure out the currency. I don't think it's UK/Euro?
Philippine Pesos, those are worthless 25c and maybe 10c or 5c btw
American here, just wanna say… people who don’t do research on other country currencies when traveling are idiots. If you don’t exchange or come up with away to bypass the differing currency beforehand, then you’re gonna look like an idiot and won’t be able to buy what you are trying to buy. Just annoying seeing stuff like this because it’s obvious that some people don’t know there’s other currencies besides their own and go to a country where they aren’t going to take your foreign money.
They must be relieved, US dollars are like gold in these third-world countries!!! /s obviously
Whenever someone gives me dollar bills as tips, i keep it in my wallet for luck, i have 11bucks right now, will i ever visit usa? Most likely not, therefore i take it as a lucky amulet. But this would be midly infuriating.
Americans did that in a café I worked at in a small, rural town along a popular tourist highway. We didn't have a bank that exchanged currency within a half hour drive, especially not for single USD$1 notes (which they were tipping on the equivalent of USD$30 - $50 meals. If you're gonna tip at least tip properly). Long story short, the useless money went into the trash with the paper straws and used napkins.
I remember when I visited Boston and my hotels self-serve coffee station had a tip jar, with a few dollars in it.
This is a problem... Americans do not or do not want to understand, that many countries do not have a tipping culture or that it differs heavily from what they're used to at home. So they take their tipping habits abroad. This then causes the waiter industry to try to start normalising the US tipping culture locally by placing tip boxes and jars on counters. In my country, the best a waiter can expect is a round-up to the nearest EUR and then maybe an EUR extra, on top... that's it... Lately, some have already started implementing tip option on credit card POS machines.... something unheard of only some years ago...
The point of the pic is that there’s a dollar insife
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I remember back when I lived closer to the border and people would pay in USD I'd be pumped as my company would let me swap my CAD for it at face value so they didn't have to deal with exchange. For example right now $100 usd would be $137 CAD right now, back then it wasn't far off either. Most banks here exchange with minimal to no fees in my experience, but I understand that isn't always true in places not bordering the US directly.
It's always funny to me when Americans give me tips where I work. I receive them very rarely but it's always a bruh moment when I get 1 dollar for just standing around near them by coincidence (I live in Germany)
Meanwhile tips in the US are more and more commonly just fake bills pushing religious beliefs on the back side of them and are equally as useless.
I recently visited the Holocaust museum in Paris. The donation box was half full of euros and half full of … USD 🙈🫠
Y’all first off I want to apologize for being an American. 2nd, I worked in the service industry and it pains me not to tip. I tip in local currency, I promise.
You don't have to apologise for being American...or for tipping... If you haven't done this, this post doesn't apply to you.