Ran into the DCC scam this evening at an established restaurant in Malta. A bit surprised because everything else that I have charged in Malta, there has not been a currency choice - just Euros.

Charged dinner - X Euros. Waiter returns receipt for me to sign. Shows Euros and USD and the fine print that I have chosen USD. I told the waiter that this action just took the enjoyment out the of a very good local meal and I had not chosen USD. I refused to sign the slip and that it needed to be charged in Euros. I got the 'I just do what the machine tells me'. I told him that I'd dispute the transaction with VISA (Chase) and the restaurant would likely receive $0. (Not sure whether or not that is accurate.)

He sent the manager over. The manager did a good job back peddling - the waiter made a mistake, I'll train him better, and how can I fix it? I suggested that we use xe.com and he pay me the difference in Euros - cash - and I wouldn't dispute the charge. He agreed and all is good. But the difference was significant. That adds up when you do that to all of your customers.

It was funny that the manager quickly agreed to using xe.com...maybe he has run into this in the past...and the demeanor of the up to then friendly waiter changed for the worse.