Maybe I'm just picking the really wrong places to buy stuff but I've had problems at 4 places with my US cards in the past 24 hrs. One of them about had a bird when he couldn't figure out how to do a swipe and I said I would go down the street to an ATM and get cash. He wouldn't let me leave and called the cops. Fortunately the cop was level headed and told the guy he'd escort shifty old me down to the ATM and back.

I'd love to find someone that will give me a cash-back w/ chip & PIN that works in Europe.