Perche

No, it's not OT, it's great.

The answer is because Italian banks don't have any change either. Everywhere in Italy, they are short on change, including the banks.

The only places that seems to have change are large hotels, provided you are staying there. Go to any bar and order a panino and a caffe' and hand them a 20, you will get the evil look. If you look like you can speak Italian they will always ask if you have a ten. Otherwise, they'll be out of change. Even cashiers at the supermarket do this. It's one of the hardest things to get used to, but they don't seem to have any change. Not even the banks. The Roman taxi driver is not trying to rob you. They just don't have any change.

It's as Italian as hanging the laundry outside the window, because they don't have clothes dryers in Italy either. They have washing machines, but no clothes dryers. I mean, there are some, but in general, even in an expensive apartment you have to hang your clothes outside the window because they don't have any clothes dryers, or at least, clothes dryers are pretty unusual. This is a real problem in Venice where with all the water, the air is so moist. The moisture prevents your skin from developing wrinkles, but if you wash a pair of jeans and hang them out to dry, it can take as long as five days before you can wear them again.

It's just one of those things. If you want to go into a bank wanting to get change, in many places to get into the bank you have to step into a metal cylinder that scans your body, that is much more claustrophobic than one of those airport TSA screeners where you have to put your hands up, put your feet in a certain place, and be scanned. Upon getting in, if you walk up to a teller and tell them you just want change, you'll get a strange look, because the bank is running out of change too.

No clothes dryers, no change. It's one of the mysteries of life.

I hate when I'm carrying a 100 euro bill on me in Italy, or even a 50. I'm always worried about how I'm going to find a place to change it. I don't want to insult the local bartenders and get a bad reputation by handing them a 100 or a 50. I feel guilty if I hand them a 20 for a 4 EUR glass of wine, because I know they are always going to ask for something smaller, and if not, I know I'm going aggravate because I know I'm going to make them run out of change.

I've heard that other countries in Europe are running out of change too, but I'm no expert in that. It's strange, because Italians generally don't use cards either. I remember reading that the average Italian only uses a card about 25 times per year. Although there is a law requiring businesses to accept a credit card for any transaction over 5 euros, in Italy credit cards for small transactions are despised. I would only think of using one in a restaurant where I'm spending a lot. Despite the law, many places give you an even crazier look if you hand over a card than if you hand over a big bill for a small snack. I think it's because the credit card companies charge huge fees, so the merchant gets much less. Because of this, there was a fairly recent EU/UE law that capped the fees that credit cards can charge.

For big bills, there was even a book called, "The Curse of Cash," on why Italy doesn't have change. The cost of processing a credit card or changing a big bill is fine at Zara or Ferragamo, but small businesses have to spend a lot of money because big bills need to be counted, bundled, transported, checked for forgery, and guarded, and raise questions about tax evasion.

If you are visiting Italy try to get rid of your big bills as fast as you can, and pay as close to the actual price as possible. They usually have change at the stores in the airport. The clerks, bartenders, taxi drivers, and others will like you, because you understand that they don't have any change. And in Venice, if you wash your jeans and want to wear them in the next five days, take them to the laundromat where they have clothes dryers, because otherwise you have to hang them out the window, and 5 days later you will return to the USA or wherever, with them still feeling wet.

mmack

Maybe that IS a reason to use credit cards.

Perche

That is fine in a nice restaurant for sit-down lunch or dinner, but I can't imagine going into the neighborhood bar for a coffee and brioche at breakfast time, or a glass of wine and a few cicchetti, and handing over a credit card for a 3.5 EUR breakfast, or 6 EUR snack or lunch. It would be like giving them a 50 EUR note. When you're in the right type of place, get rid of those 50's and 100's.

rwm818

Just saw this thread...

I also was definitely the victim of the "bill switch" back in 2006. The guy was so good, that for ~30 min afterwards, I was convinced that the exchange counter was the one that made the mistake.
Because I got 80 Euro, and I said to the person traveling with me - that I was sure they gave me a 50, 20 & 10. But sure enough - after I gave the driver the 50 + 10, and turned away (stupid)...he says "excusi signor" and shows me a 10 & 5.
Very smooth...oh well, 1 time only...and yeah, never go into the place with the "barkers" - same everywhere...

JMN57

That's why you have to be very conscious of what bills you hand over. In Istanbul a few years ago I had someone try that (I handed over a 100 + 20 lira bills for a 108 lira ride) He deftly substituted a 10 for the 100 but I knew what I had handed over. It was odd as he made up a reason he had to drop us close to the hotel not at it. I just told him if he wanted to debate it to come to the hotel and walked away.

slawecki

for over 20 years,i had business connections in italy. that required twice yearly trips of a week or two to venice. we ate in every restaurant we could find(about 5-6 hundred)) most of them 2x3 times. i think we were overcharged once. the waiter attempted to add a(00) to our bill, which was in lira.

Up In The Air

Over the past 35 years or so I've noted that Italians are slow and deliberate when handing back change – but I've never thought that this was a ruse to rip you off.

In the UK, if you purchase an item for say Ł15 and hand over a Ł50 bill, you'll typically be given your change of one Ł5, one Ł10 and one Ł20 bill in a single handful. In Italy, for a similar transaction, you'd typically be given a €5 bill, then the assistant would go back to the till and give you a €10 bill, then do the same with a €20 bill.

Just last week in Italy I handed over a €20 bill for a €4.50 purchase. I was handed a €0.50 coin and then a €5 bill. I said thanks you and turned around to leave, before the assistant called me back to hand me the remaining €10 that she'd just taken from the till.

Like Perche I really don't think that Italy is worse than anywhere else when it comes to ripping off tourists. You have to take reasonable care wherever you are – and you'll find 'bad apple' rip-off merchants in most, but not all places.

Perche

Perche

Boraxo

Kudos to Venice and the Mayor. A few years ago I was ripped off in Kiev in a similar fashion (600 Euro for a fish dinner) but we simply paid it (expensed). My boss did not complain as I'm usually pretty frugal and chalked it up to experience. This can happen anywhere as there are dishonest people around the world. Interestingly I find some of the most honest people at the lower end, i.e. a bbq restaurant in the cook's backyard in rural Thailand, or near Hana, Maui) and the worst at high end restaurants.

rickg523

+1
The old saying is "Hunters go where the deer are."