I got on a bus on Mona Road early Sunday afternoon. As the bus passed through Liguanea a white American man got up to have a word with the conductor of the bus. My understanding was that the man owed the conductor a small sum of money, perhaps about $5. He attempted to pay her with his two $1 coins and his unwanted collection of $0.25 and $0.10 coins. However the conductor refused to take them.
I'm not sure if JUTC has a policy on small change as they apparently do on large denominations ($500, $1,000). But if they did have a policy, the conductor didn't express it. Instead, she said "Only in supermarkets do they take red money", in a less than pleasant tone. The man argued the point, and rightly so in my eyes, saying quite eloquently while in his irked state, "Everybody's willing to give them out but nobody wants to take them back." True words.
I had several problems with this scenario. One of them is simply that I'm sure incidents like these are common here, and leave tourists with a bad Jamaican taste in their mouths. I mean, were it not bad enough that the lady refused to take his 'red money', she proceeded to, as Jamaicans like to do, rally for support from passengers. And of course, a few of the... the people... agreed. I wanted to make a case for the man, but that would've been futile and dangerous, or so I felt. So I shut my mouth and looked straight ahead.
Goes back to my last post. People have a sad and silly way of thinking sometimes. Sure, money isn't worth alot these days, but don't we still have it for a reason? When the BOJ starts issuing 'supermarket money', then the conductor would have a point.
4 comments:
I once gave a man begging my coins from my car tray which was a combination of 10c 25c $1 and $5 and would you believe the stupid man opened his hand, saw the red and threw everything back in my lap.
Rae should tell you about her lunch hour incident when she was at UWI.
It's gotten worse. While i was with Simone and Mark in New Kgn some months back a guy asked me for $20. I found $10 in my pocket and gave him. He complained, "A twenty mi ask yuh fa!"
Soon $500 will be small change, apparently.
4 yrs ago a guy asked me for change at the Devon house stop light. I told him I had ostly red money and he indicated that he wanted it. I took all of them out to maximise his profits. When he saw that it was indeed red money he flung it on the ground. I parked crossed the road and picked them all back up.
I use them in the supermarkets and sometimes in other stores. I give exact change. If they don't want to take it then they will be short.
The next thing is that stores will short you your change but if you try to short them the same amount they get upset. So I say give them the red money and if they won't accept them, then they will be worse off for it.
This situation is one of my very serious peeves - it ain't no pet.
The lunch hour incident alluded to by Nix: I went to purchase lunch from one of the cook food kiosks right next to NatSci, across from SoSci (forget what we call it). I gave the lady exact change including $2 in 25c (or maybe $4 in 50c - I forget, but it was red). She refused to take it (as I knew she would b/c I see her do this foolishness already), I got irrate and told her that is her business but I paid her for my food and I want it. She asked me to remove from the line, I refused. She shouted 'NEXT!', but the next person was Jason and he refused to order. Thus, stalemate, line stop. I asked for the manager, she refused to get him/her. I shouted to anyone else working back there, and the manager came, asked me what the problem was, I told him, he said 'there is no problem here, give the girl her food'. The woman not getting paid in 'red money', so what the heck is her problem - Lord knows. People just stupid.
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