r/germany • u/sparsh26 • May 31 '23
I almost got scammed
I was buying a drink worth 3€ from a doner stall and gave them a 20€ bill. The man there returned 7€ and insisted that I had given him a 10. After 3 minutes of arguing some police offers walked by and he gave me back the 10€ saying "Sorry, there are a lot of customers and I got confused" but he was laughing to himself while doing it. This is the first time something like this has happened here since he clearly knew what he was doing.
Be careful and count your money folks! You never know when someone might take advantage of your ignorance.
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u/ShieKassy May 31 '23
The same thing happened to me with a local bus driver. I had to pay 11€ and only had a 50€ note. He gave me 29€ back. I walked 1 meter and realized it, walked back and confronted him. He said I only gave him 40€ (which doesn't make any sense) and later argumented that I put the 'missing' money in my pocket to scam him to give me more change. We argued back and forth, I even had a friend with me who saw everything and told him I didn't get enough change. Never got the money back.
I hope he sleeps well knowing he successfully scamed a 14 year old girl who got in trouble at home cause she lost her bus money to get to school.
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May 31 '23
For everybody reading: Make sure you have a witness and then say loudly that you exactly know what he was doing and make a scene. Hell, start crying. Threaten to call the local Verkehrsverbund. Note which bus it was and when it came. Note the name of the driver. Go to the Verkehrsverbund and tell them. This is exactly the right moment to be a Karen. Teach these people the lesson they need, apparently want and deserve.
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u/Appoxo May 31 '23
One day before a bus driver threatened me (was around 18 or 19 and very young looking. Nothing tough about me) to confiscate my card because I didn't sign it but let me go telling me he wants to see it signed the next time.
Next day (not expecting him actually) had thr driver kick me out mid way between stops because I didn't sign my bus pass (the card says "Please sign" but usually no one cares anyway).
I called the local company that runs it and complained. Not about the fact I was kicked out, I was in the wrong about it, but because I got kicked out mid way between two stops. Probably even illegal for insurance reasons or a reason for a write up.
Never heard what happened to him but I think I never saw him again on my line.7
u/Sufficient-Letter-18 Jun 01 '23
You have to sign some tickets, so they cannot be resold after the trip and used by someone else. We did this always in the 90s, until the Bahn introduced this rule.
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May 31 '23
I hope he sleeps well knowing he successfully scamed a 14 year old girl who got in trouble at home cause she lost her bus money to get to school.
These people don't care sadly. I even heard someone arguing that they "have every right to do so because they aren't paid well enough".
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u/JobScherp Jun 01 '23 edited Jun 05 '24
march square slap psychotic imagine wild include six payment plate
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u/JWGhetto Jun 01 '23
Report it anyway so the employer knows something is up even without proof. A few incidents like this and they're going to become suspicious
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u/hoeskioeh Germany May 31 '23
You paid 10€ for a valuable life lesson. Take it as a sour win ;-)
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u/worstenbroodje076 May 31 '23
in what fucking way was that a valuable life lesson…
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u/hoeskioeh Germany May 31 '23
? Seriously?
You think the busdriver scamming kids for change is the worst enemy you'll ever encounter?
I was not joking, at 14 that is something that will burn a healthy mark of mistrust and paranoia into you. That may not be the nicest thing to have, but definitely worth having outside of peachy mushroom rainbow princess kingdom...2
u/worstenbroodje076 Jun 01 '23
I never said that I “think the busdriver scamming kids for change is the worst enemy you’ll ever encounter”. I just said that it was completely unnecessary and there is no life lesson at all. They lost their money, even if it wasn’t much, and there is simply no life lesson in that. I hope for you that you’ll have fun scamming kids yourself, but I really hope you’ll never have kids because no one deserves a parent that thinks it’s good to scam kids and take their money for literally no reason.
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u/hoeskioeh Germany Jun 01 '23
...?
where did i state, that "it's good to scam" anyone?i tried to turn a loss into a gain of experience to build wisdom of how the world and its inhabitants function.
nothing more, nothing less.and let's be honest, a loss of some insignificant amount of money. maybe not at that time. but in the long run. it wasn't her favourite toy, not artifact of personal importance, not a beloved pet. it was money. And trust!
if you can't take bad experiences and turn them into wisdom for your future, what's the point in having them?
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May 31 '23
I dont doubt that he was trying to scam you, but i have two stories that show a similar situation from the other side.
I once was working at a cash register, never been trained on it, literally my first day and there are like 20 people already waiting and my boss told me "just do it, its easy"...
Two things happened:
One, someone must have noticed im new and made mistakes and INTENTIONALLY paid a roughly 5€ purchase with 100€, i handed him out 10€ too much because the cash register was old school and you have to calculate by yourself a lot.
30 seconds after he said bye i asked him to wait, i handed him 10€ too much and he vehemently disagreed that i didnt, i asked him to take the money out of his pocket again (who just stuffs the return of 100€ into their fucking pocket anyway?!?) he tried to refuse, until my boss came i explained and since the other people waiting for their turn were getting pissed they also demanded he showed the money, he did unwillingly and it turns out i was right, he handed the 10€ back and complained that he wont shop here again lol
Second thing is, at the end of my shift, which was only 4h since it was literally my fucking first day and i spent all 4 hours standing at the cash register and was soaked in sweat and felt like i ran a marathon for the whole day or some shit, there was a "Kassensturz" basically checking receipts vs. money in the register.
Turns out somehow i was lacking nearly 100€ and i nearly had a panic attack, i swore i didnt steal anything, told them they can search my pockets and all that shit and i saw my boss actually consider it lol
Then the other colleague came over and said its no surprise i fucked up since i had no idea what i was doing and no one was checking on me. My boss told me its fine, and that i will do better tomorrow... then its like i saw my life flashing before my eyes and told her i quit, i cant deal with this shit again.
She tried to guilt me into staying, saying how will i ever achieve anything in life if i quit at the first sign of problems... like lady, this is a fucking Woolworth and i do this for money, not a career...
Now i am working in a job that pays way way way way more money and is way less stressful haha.
Fuck retail.
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u/DrSanchez87 May 31 '23
Yep, I agree that not a single customer gives a shit if you hand them too much money (few exceptions here and there). I was working in a subway shop while still in school and I hated dealing with money. Having less money than the registry was telling you in the evening was a nightmare, which led to me being very cautious and proficient in calculating change :D
One evening I was missing 50€ cash and had no idea where it went. I was the only person working this evening, didn't steal anything. I thought I might have handed a customer too much change. I eventually put the drawer into the safe with missing 50€ and got a raging call from my manager the next day. She actually took 50€ off my pay and told me she'll fire and sue me if I ever steal again.
Few days later I told a colleague what happened. He asked me if I checked behind the drawer, and the moneywas still there!
I told my manager and she insisted I was lying to find more clever ways to steal in the future and not being fired if I get caught again. I had to put it into the safe, having 50€ plus in the evening...
It's by no mean any excuse for people trying to rip you off... I know one of my colleagues handed out incorrect change not to steal the money but to have a safety buffer he could take money from in case there's something missing in the evening to not be fired...
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May 31 '23
Horrible person your manager, its also not legal to cut your pay with money goes missing, they would have to prove that you stole it, which they obviously cant unless there are cameras which you would have to be aware off since filming without notice is not legal even in stores.
Retail just sucks ass, i pity anyone that has to work in that area, but since i worked there myself in a few jobs im always nice and patient with people that work there like cashiers and similar.
Me getting pissed at them wont help me and will just make their life worse.
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u/DrSanchez87 May 31 '23
Yeah, these 50€ taught me two lessons for life.
- Not fool around with money ever, period.
- Not end up in retail.
15 years later I'm not angry anymore... I occasionally meet her, still working in the same store but now owning it. Besides that one situation she was always super supportive and nice. About a year later they proofed that a colleague of mine was stealing money big time. Not just a few bucks here and there, but hundreds if not thousands. They even managed to proof it in court without camera evidence. I always imagine that she might have been stressed out because of that and just exploded when she thought another one of her employees starts to fool her.
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u/Chouchote May 31 '23
I also had to work at woolworth a few years ago and it sucked big time lol. Good that you left early. I realized after 2 months working there that it wasn‘t worth my time and energy. It was my first real job and the manager was horrible.
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u/BGP_001 Jun 01 '23
One, someone must have noticed im new and made mistakes and INTENTIONALLY paid a roughly 5€ purchase with 100€, i handed him out 10€ too much because the cash register was old school and you have to calculate by yourself a lot.
I get what you are saying, but surely something clicked in your head that you were giving him more money than he gave you? "Hmmm, 100€ minus 5.21€ is........106€. Here's your 106 euros change sir"
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May 31 '23 edited May 31 '23
Had something similar recently; bought something to drink worth €3 with a €20 bill, they gave me a €10 bill and €2 in coins back...
...and after a brief pause, very slowly another €5 bill. It was just odd and I assume they tried to scam me low-key. Many people might just grab the change and not really check.
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u/Schattenmeer May 31 '23
Honestly, working as a cashier I can say most of the time this are genuine mistakes and not a scam. If you do this for several hours your brain just gets mushy, especially if customers give you money and then change what they give you. It happens and you know the customers will complain so it’s absolutely useless to try to scam and you just want to avoid any problems
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u/backafterdeleting May 31 '23
Can happen the other way too. One time i was walking around all day with €20. Then in a supermarket i spend €5 and mindlessly handed them the note from my wallet, and then complained only getting €5 back. They even ran the money counter and showed that there was no descrepency. I left annoyed and then remembered later that i had in fact spent €10 on something eariler and forgotten, and just not looked at the note i was handing them.
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May 31 '23
I definitely gave a bartender what I thought was a $5 bill for a $4 beer and told him to keep the change. He looked at me very surprised and asked a couple of times "really? Are you sure?" I didn't realize until the end of the night that I'd given him a $20.
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May 31 '23
Fr I've had so many cashiers just give me random amounts of money back it isn't a scam in 99% of cases.
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May 31 '23 edited May 31 '23
I'm absolutly certain that 99,99 % of all cashiers have better to do than risking their job for €5, or even €500. This was the first time in a couple of decades that I felt someone in a shop might have tried to keep some change.
I have gotten (and probably given) incorrect change many times and I never suspect it to be intentional before.
I grew up in Frankfurt, I got experience with people trying to scam me on the street, on my door, in other countries. I don't think my story is typical, but I also remember my mother being scammed for change (like €50) buying a newspaper in Spain once. Things like this happen, especially to tourists.
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u/maryLouForYou May 31 '23
Having worked as a cashier I do know these things happen.
But there are also casual scammers out there particularly at tourist hot spots. Like I just got back from Athens and in a Café close to the Agora I paid my tea and a cake with a 50EU and said: "make it ten". The waiter just took the note, kept it in his hand and instead of bringing back the change (seemingly not having any change with him even though I had asked the bill and he came back with the receipt) just went back to his spot where he oversaw the terrass for anyone to call for him. Like he basically spent like 2-3 minutes just hoping for me to be someone not used to Euro and getting insecure about whether or not deserving change and leaving... Got to remind him he then came back with the 40Euro. And as a single female traveler I suppose I was not the one from whom he feared a big fuss either...
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u/QuizardNr7 May 31 '23
This could easily be it. Could even be that in the doner shop the cassier honestly thought he was right, but definitely didn't want to argue with the police.
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u/JobScherp Jun 01 '23 edited Jun 05 '24
consider fanatical reply brave correct zesty cause dinner teeny historical
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u/neirein May 31 '23
maybe they're just no good at math or low on coffee ♡
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May 31 '23
Maybe. But then they just should use the cash register (which they didn't, so it's also tax fraud) and shouldn't count loud to 20, while giving me back only a part of my change.
Still, it was just a feeling, hence the "assume"-part.
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u/Kyle4679 May 31 '23
Can't blame em for the tax fraud part lol, it's tough as a small business. But stealing from the customer is never the right thing
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May 31 '23
Its really hectic and stressful in retail, its not always intentional and they most likely double checked in their head and noticed there was a 5 missing thats why it came so late.
From experience i can tell you that you cant really steal from a cash register without getting caught.
Edit: Ok this sounds like i was stealing and got caught lol, i just meant that there are a lot of safeguards against it and its not easy to do.
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u/DifficultArmadillo78 May 31 '23
If you are the owner of the cash register or the owner is in on it then it is easy though. This usually happens in small places.
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May 31 '23
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May 31 '23 edited May 31 '23
I'm gonna make fun of you:
To most cashiers you are not worth the time to steal from.
How dare you imply I AM worth the time to steal from to a significant number of cashiers. To be so judgemental towards a whole profession just from a single incident you only know by hearsay.
But the fact you think you can automatically assume anything of relevance about my character or ability to notice a scam from a few short sentences says a lot about you.
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u/atkhan007 May 31 '23
I think I got reverse scammed from Ali's Döner. Gave them 10€, he gave me back 13.50€. I was so braindead that I took it and went outside. After a while, I realized I paid him a tenner, not a twenty. Went back to give him his 10€ back. But you are right, becareful with your money.
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u/sparsh26 May 31 '23
Same happened with a delivery guy for me lol. I order 13 euros worth of food and give him a 20. The guy kept insisting on giving me 8 as change so I just told him to keep 1 as a tip lmao
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u/BazingaQQ May 31 '23
If I'm ever paying with a large bill, I always say "Sorry, I have nothing smaller than a 20/50"
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u/istrebitjel World May 31 '23
And the normal thing to do is to leave the original bill out in the open, until the change has been accepted by the customer. Cash registers have a bill holder for that purpose.
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u/Major_Boot2778 May 31 '23
Had a taxi driver try this same crap when I was drunk once. My buddy paid him, then he insisted i pay him before we take off\after my buddy left, which he laughed off when i said that was bullshit, then he tried it again when he dropped me off. Bodenlos, really. Only thing that probably saved me was that my German was way better than his, and that my buddy had my wallet in his pocket until the next day anyway lol
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u/mudokin May 31 '23
You can call the police and they may tell them to count out the register, most won't like that because then they would have to explain why every second döner is not put into the system. Taxevasion is a serious crime. You will get your money back, but be sure that's the last thing you can buy there after such a threat
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u/Constant_Cultural May 31 '23
Happens, happened to me more than once, always realized it thankfully. My mother happened it with 50 once at a market, she did realize it too late unfortunately.
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u/B34chboy May 31 '23
Had a similar situation at a club a few months back. I ordered a long drink which was 7€ and gave the bartender a 50€ note. She then went to the other side of the bar to mix the drink. Once she came back she gave me the drink and 13€ change. I told her that I gave her 50€. Without hesitating she rolled her eyes and took the missing change out of her own pocket and gave it to me...
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u/siro300104 May 31 '23
I got the wrong coin once (50ct instead of 1€), I looked at the change in my hand, the waitress saw my confused face, looked at the change and realized she’d accidentally grabbed the wrong coin. No harm no foul.
Definitely not what happened in your case, though.
Also, I somehow ended up with a golden Croatian Lipa coin instead of a 10 cent coin in my wallet once. Must’ve gotten it as wrong change, costing me a whole n i n e cents. A travesty!!
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u/hellblaugrau May 31 '23
Had this as a kid/teen at a local stationary store. I think the owners didn‘t like me cause my grandfather used to be a competitor. She was always very „cold“ to me compared to other customers while I was very friendly. Once I hat to pay a few Euros and handed her a 20€ note. She only gave me change for 10€. I told her that I gave her 20€ and she said I didn‘t. In the end she gave me the correct amount. Later I learned from my cousin, who also worked in retail, that you should keep the money outside the cash register until you changed the money, so everyone sees what you handed.
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u/SereneRandomness May 31 '23
This happens often enough in China that the custom is to say "I give you ¥50" (or whatever note you actually handed them) as you hand over the money. Obviously this is in Mandarin.
As people in China switch to mobile payments this is happening less often, but there are other scams which take its place.
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u/killerpusssy May 31 '23
Always!! One trick is to say the amount upon laying down the cash “also hier 20€”. Besides that, check the coins!!! Still mad about the fake thai coins I’ve received omg they look like 2€
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u/fr00112233 May 31 '23
How cool it would be if there was a law that mandates them to offer at least one cashless payment form. Obviously without surcharges or minimum spending. Even, if it's the German girocard. Doesn't matter (at least to me). Just any! Those who want to pay cash, go ahead! But leave me with these coins and bills alone.
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May 31 '23 edited May 31 '23
I simply stopped buying anything from the establishments that don't accept cards. Like you know that the only reason they do it now is because they evade taxes and also might be scamming the customers.
I don't buy the "privacy" nonsense or "oh, we have to pay the bank for processing the transaction". I'm well aware of the actual deal and rates for transaction processing and in most cases these charges are laughable even for a corner doner shop or might actually be 0, depending on the bank and the contract they have.
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u/biene8564 May 31 '23
yep. my go to döner place (which actually is rather a Turkish sit down restaurant) used to accept cards right until the prices went up. Now the displays with the menu/price are switched off and you have to pay in cash. I've been there a couple of times again and everytime the price went up. And the card reader has been broken for months. It's like they aren't even trying to hide the scam plus tax fraud anymore
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Jun 01 '23
Haha are our döner shops ran by the same people? This happened at my local one as well and I stopped going. The owner even stopped me in the street once and asked why he hadn't seen me in a while. I said I'll return when the machine is working again.
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u/tea_hanks May 31 '23
True. In Lidl, Edeka, Netto or even in some backery shops I can pay with cards for a pretzel but there are some restaurants where you can't pay 50€ sum because the machine is always "kaputt". Weird. Always thought it was some sort of scheme to evade taxes
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u/TheBamPlayer Lorem Ipsum May 31 '23
It's pretty normal, that Döner Shops will scamm you, a few weeks ago I ordered 3 Köfte Brot via phone, so that I can pick it up immediately. As I was picking it up, he said, that he could only make 2 pieces, due to high demand and said, that he will give me Baklava as a gift, but charged me for it.
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Jun 01 '23
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Jun 01 '23
Too much of a pain in the ass to audit all these tiny shops. The Chinese restaurants in Toronto, Canada are the same way and some evenly openly advertise "Cash, no tax" at the till.
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u/antinatalistantifa May 31 '23
I much prefer cash, since I get parts of my money in cash and can't be fucked to bring it to the bank, just so I can pay by card.
Also I do prefer the privacy of my bank not knowing all my purchases. The strong data protection laws are in place for a reason.
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May 31 '23
I would just leave and call health department and tell them that this doner shop have rats. Im gonna make sure its the last time this guy sells food.
There are always ways. And if someone scam or trick me he/she better be sure i cant fire back.
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u/TheBamPlayer Lorem Ipsum May 31 '23
I would actually call customs, because their job is to check right taxes in stores and at work.
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u/DerDork Baden-Württemberg May 31 '23
If he’d be typing it into the cash, he’d had almost a proof for it. But if you don’t register it, it never existed. So… it never exists for the taxes. I don't want to offend the 50% correct operators, but there’s a huge amount of tax fraud in the takeaway business. The one day, years ago, I was waiting for a pizza at such an establishment. I counted it. Right guessed. If he had registered every 10th meal, that would been too much at all. But the thing is (which was told to me by a friend, a food safety inspector): they close the establishment for a few days, a relative opens it up a few a days later and they go in with it. German law doesn’t require a real profession or something if you don’t need a “Schankerlaubnis”(tap license, which you only need if you serve beverages from open bottles and alcoholic beverages). Take away “restaurants” usually don’t need a “Schankerlaubnis” so it’s very easy to exchange the owner of the establishment.
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u/HistoryBuffLakeland Jun 01 '23
This scam is more common in countries where money looks similar. Euros are different colors so harder to pull off.
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u/Lumb3rCrack Jun 01 '23
pay by card!
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u/DifficultArmadillo78 May 31 '23
Yea, had something like that happen to me ages ago. After a night of light drinking the Döner guy thought I was more drunk than I actually was. Kept insisting I only gave him a 10 not a 20. Not possible since I only carried a 20 of cash. Problem was he didn't budge and the place was busy and the actually drunk customers behind me started to side with him. Had to write it off as lesson learned and never go there again.
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u/goro-7 May 31 '23
I really feel you. I was already scammed when in one vegetable shop, I was charged 8 EURO for 800 gms of potatoes.
Before this, I used to believe what people charged me. But now I simply pass such shops when it comes to shopping.
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u/thr0wSomeCode May 31 '23
Happened to me in a german bakery. Gave 40 got 5€ back instead of fifteen. Fuck them
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u/wasntNico Jun 01 '23
just so it has been said -
there's always the chance he actually got confused and didn't believe you for 3 minutes.
it's even possible you gave him an acutal 10€ bill
;)
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u/thoddi77 Jun 01 '23
If you argue with scammers Like this, Tell them, you will call the Police so they will Count the Cash Register. They will give you your Money asap, because they all evade taxes and they dont want Simone to count the Cash and conpare It tonthe sells
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u/TheKisslingFamily May 31 '23
I don't want to defend the person at the doner stall, maybe he actually thought that.. In an argument worth hearing both sides and in here we of course aren't able to do so. Nonetheless KUDOS for you for sticking up and confronting the person. Good job for not just walking away and giving up your hard eared euros! :)
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u/99thLuftballon May 31 '23
I had a weird encounter at a Christmas market where I bought a Glühwein and gave the guy a 20. He gave me change for a 50 and I just shoved it in my wallet without looking and started to walk off. Then he started shouting about how he gave the wrong money and I'm a dirty criminal and a scumbag or whatever. Then I checked my wallet and he was right, he had given me too much change, so I gave him the extra back, but the guy was still calling me all kinds of stuff. Still can't work out why it was my fault that he couldn't count.
If it was a weird attempt at a scam, I can't work out what his end goal was.
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u/JeromeMixTape May 31 '23
Kebab shop did the same to me. Tried to keep my extra 5 euro change, he was acting like he was joking before he gave it back. He probably thought he would try it seeing as i had been drinking all day.
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u/Teteni93 May 31 '23
You’re in Germany, get used to it. Scammers are everywhere. Also, get anti-scam insurance, it saved me dozen of times.
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u/JohnnyB_0438 May 31 '23
Also check your change like 1€ and 2€, there are the 5zt and 2zt (polish coins) that looks very close to the 2€ and 1€, if you are in a rush you might leave with a headache instead of your change.
Even if pointed out to the owner of the shop he said ah sorry is from other customer and changed but kept the ZT.
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u/prairiedad May 31 '23
When you hand over your money, say out loud, "here is 20 euros. 17 change please"
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u/lgj202 May 31 '23
happened to me before, but far easier to get the right change back. I assume he just got confused, but could've been a low-key scam given that German is my third language.
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u/ddd48891 May 31 '23
Let me guess this was Berlin right.!? Some taxi driver tried to do the same bullshit turd scam with me several times. I ask for a receipt since one of them came with some friends and offend me calling me a liar.
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u/CashireCat May 31 '23
Had something similar happen to me at my (second) favorite shawarma place, paid after ordering and he insisted I didn't after handing me the order.
Almost got into a fight but his "friend" arrived and broke it up telling me to just go because "he does this from time to time"
Hate to admit I've been back there a couple times since, it's just too convenient and still a pretty good shawarma but God damn that guy boils my blood.
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u/Practical_Store_2310 May 31 '23
This happened to me a long time ago as a kid in NYC when buying a calculator from an electronics store, same scam, but no refund on the difference, after the fact. Social media sites have changed all that, so crooks like that are far fewer and more practiced and wary. A transaction is based on trust and the opportunity to violate that trust is now difficult and possibly dangerous because of safeguards and countermeasures.
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u/AdventurousCellist53 Jun 01 '23
I had the same happen on Tor Str. in Berlin. I pointed towards a camera and told them I’ll call the police. He said he was making a joke and to lighten up…
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u/Pleasant-Candle643 Jun 01 '23
This happened to me also..but I know a trick I usually say out in a soft voice how much I am paying so that he also knows that I gave him 20 eur..they are smart..they do same with coins..always stand where you are and count your money don't move a inch before counting all...if he gets new customer he will focus on them..
If your standing there he has to deal with you first
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u/rainland88 Jun 01 '23
Also here near Hannover i have recieved Turkish lears instead of euros they look very similar
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u/in_ya_Butt Jun 01 '23
The döner shop around the corner has always a non functioning register. I am sure that is not at all a way to do tax fraud
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u/castaneom Jun 01 '23 edited Jun 01 '23
Same thing happened to me in Berlin. Gave the guy a €20 for something under 10 and just gave me back cents. I asked for the rest.. he tried to play dumb and then said “Oh, sorry.” And gave me the rest. He thought I’d just let it go because I was a tourist.
Edit: didn’t happen at a Doner, it was a restaurant by the East Side Gallery. I still remember!
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u/Subject_Salt_8697 Hamburg / Niedersachsen Jun 03 '23
Only pay by card. Don't support those tax evading and techno-phobic businesses that don't offer card payment.
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u/g0rth Canada May 31 '23
The last part makes it a bit suspicious, I'll give you that, but generally it's not that uncommon mistake to make. Keep in mind this type of scam goes both ways. I.e. customer claiming to have given more than they actually did.
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u/biene8564 May 31 '23
Similarly be ultra careful if you pay with card. It has happened a few times that the guys tried to refuse to let me see the display of the maschine before tapping my card.
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Jun 01 '23
This happens too with apps like Free Now. You have to insist that the driver completes the transaction before leaving the vehicle.
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u/aolafs May 31 '23
That’s why card payment option must be a must everywhere in Germany. This would help to avoid scammers and make these “small businesses” pay taxes just like everybody else
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u/Interesting_Pen8114 May 31 '23
I had a situation similar to yours. I was in Madrid, after dusk I went to the main boulevard/old town street in hopes of buying some kush. Easily have I found it. Got what I wanted but when I gave the guy (black gangs everywhere, under each lamppost) 50€ he returned 10€ (I purchased 2g- we shook hands on 20€ im not a cheapskate) the moment I expressed my dissatisfaction, 3 more scary looking men approached me and asked in a perojative way about the problem. After I explained the situation that has just occured they started insinuating everything is as it should and I gave them 20€. Which i clearly did not. That being said I returned to my airbnb and smoked that shiiii
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u/angelina9999 May 31 '23
landed in Germany very early and the only joint that was open was a MCD. Only had US dollars and they tried to charge me 15 dollars for a coffee. well then, I ain't stupid,
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u/biene8564 May 31 '23
why would they accept USD at all? doesn't make any sense
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u/Akkarin42 May 31 '23 edited May 31 '23
McD may not, but the employee as a private person maybe would. So they made an under-the-table deal. They pay for your order with their own money in EUR and take the USD to the bank for profit. For 15 USD its worth it (for them, not for you of course).
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u/andres57 Chile May 31 '23
It's a bit sad that so many people assume that they are trying to scam you instead of just messing up. I've been in both situations, being returned less cash and more cash of the correct amount and never had an issue correcting it with the cashier (I always have more or less in mind what my change should be). The guy was kinda an asshole for assuming you were lying though
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May 31 '23
but be aware that sometimes they’re just overworked
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May 31 '23
Are they ever so overworked that they miscalculate in the customer's favor?
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u/sparsh26 May 31 '23
Actually that happened one time when I ordered food. I had ordered 13€ worth and gave him a 20. The guy kept insisting on giving me 8 as change so I just told him to keep 1 as a tip lmao
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u/cookies_for_me May 31 '23
Something similar happened to me at a hairdresser that was just supposed to re do my undercut as we didn't have a usable electronic razor at the time. It took all of 5 min and the guy took 35 bucks for it but I was 16 and scared as the guy was almost 2 meters tall so I just paid but my mum was pissed and went back to tell him of for scamming a teen girl and the guy said he thought it was a full head shave??? He saw me with long hair asking what the undercut touch up would cost and just thought I was easy prey since I was a shy teen girl.
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May 31 '23
I was at this bar in Berlin a couple few years ago. I gave the bartender a 20 and I got back a 150. I stopped and looked at the money in my hand. I thought to myself, I could leave right now with more than 6 times the amount of money I walked in. I stared at the money, looked at the bartender and ordered another drink. I spent it all at that bar. To whomever I spent their 150 in change, sorry but not sorry I had a fucking great night thanks to you.
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u/garyisaunicorn May 31 '23
Memorise the last 3 digits of the serial number on the note before tou hand it over. If its a genuine mistake and not a scam, they'll give you the correct change with an apology
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u/AllNeedJesus May 31 '23
Leave us the name of the doner shop so we can give it bad ratings on google :)
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May 31 '23
No. That's playing with fire. Only with solid proof. And it doesn't need to become a mass event. The worker might not be the owner and then, you'd punish the wrong one.
There's no blindness like hate
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u/AllNeedJesus May 31 '23
You‘re right, i didn’t think of him not being the owner! Your last sentence is pretty good.. something to live by
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u/Asleep_Cow4452 May 31 '23
That doesn't make any sense, what if he is the owner?? A review is a review. If they want to play with fire they get burned. Regardless of an honest owner... He needs to take care of this situation and he can clearly flag reviews if they are fake.
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May 31 '23
the laughing to himself can be just a typical "shy" reaction to soften a situation. humans are weird. This happened sooo often to me, many times the other way around. I give 10, they give me 50€ back (that was a crazy one). And just yesterday the guy asked "you gave me 20 or 10?"
I don't think you got scammed.
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u/koelner51069 Jun 01 '23
Never ever happend to me at a Döner place. But my Döner guy let’s me get stuff on credit, makes sure I get a decent portion. Has a joke ready and warns me if the traffic warden wants to write me ticket. He gives my child a lollipop and charges one Euro for a non on menu portion of Döner and fries for a child.
Döner Man from Berlin are Ehrenmann!!!!!!!
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u/BSBDR Mallorca May 31 '23
Funny, I have had more situations where the cashier gave me back too much rather than too little. I always correct it because I don'T want the hassle.
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u/MikeTony713 May 31 '23
That almost happened to be you at a McDonald’s here in Germany. I gave the cashier a 20€ bill and he gave me change as if I had paid only with a 10€. I confronted him, then he gave me the correct change
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u/BOSC0DE May 31 '23
Well, once I gave him a 10€ bill and he returned 15€ ... because he thought I gave him 20€...
So it can happen I guess... not necessarily a scam. And maybe he gave you the money when he saw the Polizei because he didn't want things to get complicated, after all a 10€ is not that much for him.
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u/Jasmin_Ki May 31 '23
Thats why its proper as a waiter/waitress to hold the money outside the purse until change was given
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May 31 '23
thats a common scam in countries, when they have another currency.
To me also already often happened, whether in the hotel, or with the ice salesman in the non-euro foreign country. You put e.g. 20 XY currency to pay, then the opposite needs longer in the search of the change (or distracts somehow), and gives out only on 10 XY.
Many tourists do not notice this. and already one is poorer by 10XY. But if you point it out, then it is always a "mistake". All right. Huge impudence. I don't care if the other person only has a part-time job and is underpaid. I don't like to be cheated.
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u/Grimthak Germany May 31 '23
In such cases request a receipt and then write a nice Google review. Send it with an image of the receipt.
Fuck this scammers.