I just don’t geddit

This was going to be a long, rambling post but I decided to cut it short.

Jack would be appalled.

Having had a dreadful time that evening already and being much later than normal, I pay for the supermarket items I have bought with a card.  The total cost is €40.02.  I hand over my debit card.

‘Have you got the 2 cents?’

I stand there incredulously for a few moments.

The girl on the till asks me again, thinking that, maybe, I didn’t understand.  She’s right, of course, I don’t.  I’m paying by card.

I fumble through my pockets and come out with a handful of change that I search through.  I find a 2 cent coin.  I hand it over.  So far we have taken up an extra few minutes.

She takes the 2 cent coin.  She enters in the 2 cents as paid and then swipes the card.  I sign the slip.

The woman behind me looks annoyed.  Can’t say I blame her.

I go home and ponder on the wonderfulness that is Italy and the strangeness that is found in the Italians and try to imagine this happening in the UK.

I can’t.

I try to understand the point of paying by card but making it an even number of Euros by paying the cents in cash.

I can’t.

If anyone can enlighten me I would be very grateful.

4 thoughts on “I just don’t geddit

  1. Hi GB.

    I know her and, normally, she’s very good but that particular evening she was in a strange, almost playful mood. I think she was playing some sort of game. Maybe, as it was towards the end of the evening, she was just bored. It is normal, here, to ask for the change when people pay by cash but this is the first time they’ve ever asked for the loose change when paying by card.

  2. I’m not appalled, just astounded. This said, I can think of one really random reason why she *might* have asked for the 2 cents. I forget if you have a 2 cent coin there or just the 1 cent, but perhaps she was running low on them.

  3. Hi Jack.

    We have both 1 and 2 cent coins. In this particular supermarket they often ask for the small change which is fine. It’s just never happened when I’ve paid by card before – but at least you’ve given a possible reason. Thanks

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