Mobile phones (Cell phones in US speak) and the 'Why don't you use the app?'

[ColinEssex]

Never a week went buy that I didn't accept old, broken stuff for return - with a smile.

I think you mean 'Never a week went by. . . '
In the UK, no returns or refund without the receipt.

 

[Isaac]

Someone mentioned Japan, two of my close family members have been to Japan in the past few months and were quite surprised at how cash-centric the society is. I was very surprised to hear that, since I have an idea in my mind of Japanese people being very high-tech just in general (a bit generalization, I know). Both visitors were surprised to find out that cash was preferred in a majority of stores and most people still paid in cash - i.e. you really need cash to go 'round.

Here almost no one pays in cash except for elderly sometimes and sometimes in very lower economic areas, but your average line at the grocery store is just card - card - tap - card - tap - tap [maybe insert one cash here]

???

 

[Isaac]

I think you mean 'Never a week went by. . . '
In the UK, no returns or refund without the receipt.

Amazon (USA) has very generous return policies, I'm impressed. I hear they are about to tighten that, though

 

[Pat Hartman]

think you mean 'Never a week went by. . . '

Wow, you caught me in a typo. I'll bet you feel reallllllly smart.

 

[KitaYama]

Both visitors were surprised to find out that cash was preferred in a majority of stores and most people still paid in cash

@Isaac I live in Kanto, a district that contains five prefectures. Tokyo and Yokohama are in this area.
During the past 5 years, I've never seen a shop, no matter how small it is, that doesn't accept digital payments. It's mostly because counting money at check-out wastes a lot of time. In each store, on entrance you will see something like this.

This is the available digital money that the shop accepts. Of course depending on shop these are different. But at least they offer more than 10 brands. The only thing that I can think of is, as I explained we have a specific way of paying digital money. And there's a good chance your friends just wanted to insert the card and think it's finished. This doesn't work here. I think it's why the shop has asked for cash.

Can you ask them which city and possibly if they remember which shop refused their card?
Ask them haven't they seen something like this

This may help. We actually have a war here.

The State of Cashless Payment Methods in Japan | Plus Alpha Digital

Cashless payment methods are currently one of the biggest topics in Japan and new contenders into the market are appearing one after another.

plusalphadigital.com

From Above link :

The QR Code Payment Wars​

All potential questions regarding QR payments in Japan aside, as the newest entrant to the cashless payment space, there is no shortage of companies who are eager to take this opportunity to enter the market.

Unlike in China, where there are basically two players for QR code payments—WeChat Pay and Alipay—in Japan there are numerous companies in the mobile payments space, which has created an incredibly fragmented and complex market. Two of the more prominent players in the QR code payment app market in Japan are PayPay and LINE Pay. Recently both services have taken an aggressive approach to gaining new users through high-profile campaigns.

 

[KitaYama]

This used to be the rule in the US also. My first job when I was in high school was for the retail giant of the era, Sears & Roebuck. They gave me a test which years later I realized was a psychological test to see if I was inclined to fight with the customers. At Sears, the customer was ALWAYS right. On Saturday I worked the counter in the catalog department. Never a week went buy that I didn't accept old, broken stuff for return - with a smile.

Is there any reason why it changed to what you have these days?
From what I see in youtube and Instagram, I will not survive a single day there.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I can't see the video. It is age restricted and I'm not creating an account.

We're not as scary as you and Collin seem to think we are

 

[KitaYama]

I can't see the video. It is age restricted and I'm not creating an account.

We're not as scary as you and Collin seem to think we are

No, I didn't meant you're scary. I meant I don't want to go into an argument.

 

[KitaYama]

can't see the video. It is age restricted and I'm not creating an account.

In any app you use for video (Insta, X, FB, youtube, tiktok, duckduck....) search for something like "Fast food Breakout" , or "customer and shop fights" or anything like this.
You'll find thousands and thousands of fights. Watch any of them you like.

 

[Pat Hartman]

As far as I know, Sears never changed its policy of the customer always being right. They went out of business less then 10 years ago after over a hundred years as a premier department store. Some businesses still have similar policies. The problem is that the left has done an excellent job of killing religion and the nuclear family here and that has also led to a decline in morality. When the customer isn't honest, it is hard for companies to continue expensive policies like Sears' policy of simply replacing any Craftsman tool that anyone returned regardless of how old or beat up it was and whether you had a receipt or not. It was great publicity for the Craftsman brand (tools) and Sears in general but when you could pick a Craftsman screwdriver out of a dumpster and bring it to Sears and get a new screwdriver in return, it becomes hard for a company to not change its policies. Medicare, which is the health insurance for senior citizens is rife with fraud and abuse. All of us pay way more for all types of insurance due to the people out there who make a living out of scamming the system. When one of my good friends took a job as a controller for a family owned restaurant and told me what went on behind the scenes, I stopped tipping the waitstaff in cash and if I charged the meal, I added the tip to the charge to ensure that the waiter would have it recorded as income when the business reported his wages.

When we started letting the little "crimes" go unnoticed is when we started loosing our way and I blame that on the Democrats. They're the ones who want to defund the police and who don't want to prosecute crimes because way too many people of color get charged with crimes (maybe they commit more of them) and on top of it, people who are poor don't have the money to pay for proper defense representation to protect their rights. So, in the mind of a Democrat, all black folk are victims and therefore should get a pass. That leaves us with rampant crime in big Democrat cities like San Francisco and NYC where you can walk into a store with a bag, fill it up, and walk out without paying and never be prosecuted as long as you didn't steal more than $1000 worth of merchandise. A friend of my daughter's works at a department store and the staff is instructed to allow thieves to walk out without being stopped.

So, maybe we are as scary as Collin and you think we are. We sure are as stupid as all get out for allowing the Democrats to do this to our country.

 

[KitaYama]

When we started letting the little "crimes" go unnoticed

I'm really interested to hear your digest on why "Flash mob robbery" is allowed and why it's always basketball people. But not here. I will start a thread on this. Let's keep this thread as it is.

maybe we are as scary as Collin and you think we are.

I've never thought you are scary. I'm only a timid, chicken-hearted guy with no self confidence. So a small argument or a quarrel, frightens me. I never meant what you interpreted of my comment. I'm sorry if I gave you a wrong impression.
Sometimes it's hard to find a suitable word. "To Survive" was the only thing that came on me.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I'm sorry if I gave you a wrong impression.

I shouldn't lump you in with Collin. He gets all his "news" from old cowboy movies so he thinks we have shootouts on the streets of every city in the county every day of the week. The reality is the gunfights happen every weekend in Chicago but most other cities are safe enough Although, the criminals that the Biden/Harris administration have been importing are making other cities unsafe with their turf wars.

 

[Cotswold]

Amazon (USA) has very generous return policies, I'm impressed. I hear they are about to tighten that, though

Definitely not my experience in England. I received a PC card reader that was DOA and Amazon point-blank refused to do anything about it.
That was now maybe eight years ago and I haven't dealt with them since and never will. I don't care if I need to pay double buying something at another supplier, I will never deal with Amazon and advise everyone else to do the same. From my experience Amazon totally ignored Sale of Goods act and came across as a bunch of chancers and rip-off merchants. There is nothing more expensive than something that doesn't work. To reiterate, never again as far as Amazon is concerned.
(edit=card was car !)

 

[ColinEssex]

Wow, you caught me in a typo. I'll bet you feel reallllllly smart.

You're welcome. Always happy to help foreigners who struggle with correct English.
Col

 

[ColinEssex]

I shouldn't lump you in with Collin. He gets all his "news" from old cowboy movies. . . .

Plus of course 'Grand Theft Auto' for a more modern take on American day to day life.
Col

 

[Isaac]

@Isaac I live in Kanto, a district that contains five prefectures. Tokyo and Yokohama are in this area.
During the past 5 years, I've never seen a shop, no matter how small it is, that doesn't accept digital payments. It's mostly because counting money at check-out wastes a lot of time. In each store, on entrance you will see something like this.
View attachment 116270
This is the available digital money that the shop accepts. Of course depending on shop these are different. But at least they offer more than 10 brands. The only thing that I can think of is, as I explained we have a specific way of paying digital money. And there's a good chance your friends just wanted to insert the card and think it's finished. This doesn't work here. I think it's why the shop has asked for cash.

Can you ask them which city and possibly if they remember which shop refused their card?
Ask them haven't they seen something like this
View attachment 116271

View attachment 116272

View attachment 116274

This may help. We actually have a war here.

The State of Cashless Payment Methods in Japan | Plus Alpha Digital

Cashless payment methods are currently one of the biggest topics in Japan and new contenders into the market are appearing one after another.

plusalphadigital.com

From Above link :

Interesting, I will ask them more about it. Perhaps it wasn't as much a matter of "absolutely requiring" cash, just that people tended to pay and trust cash much more than they were used to in America where the average person carries no cash