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Japanese Change Trays
- ingsoc79 11y agoPro tip: if you want to review the correct pronunciation of the word "gai-jin," skip the tray and hand your cash directly to the clerk.
- Someone1234 11y agoThis comment only makes sense if you know what "gaijin" means, it appears to mean roughly "foreigner" (or more literally "outside person").
- bryanlarsen 11y ago"alien" more correctly captures the connotation. "gaijin" is very much a derogatory word. "gaikokujin" (person from a different country) is more neutral.
- derefr 11y ago"Outsider" is my favored translation. It's natural for the sentences where it gets used—"outsiders wouldn't understand [this custom]", etc.
- eloisant 11y agoGaikokujin is indeed the correct word for foreigner. Gaijin is slang. It's not necessarily used with a derogatory meaning. Also it's important to note that it's mostly used for white people, they'll never call a Chinese or Korean "gaijin" for example.
- themodelplumber 11y agoI was called hakujin once, by a very angry man--"iranai, hakujin ga kirai" was the exact greeting. Granted, I was a Mormon missionary knocking on his door to talk spirituality, but out of the thousands of doors I knocked, that one still stands out as pretty spicy. In comparison, gaijin never seemed that bad.
- littlepooghish 11y agoWhat makes people like you think it's a good idea to go and bother people in their home about your religious beliefs? Many people must find it frightening or just very annoying. Why subject people to that? It doesn't seem nice, let alone Christian.
- ohitsdom 11y ago> Why subject people to that? If Christians truly believe nonbelievers are going to hell, it's the only loving response. The magician (and atheist) Penn has a great story about this [0]. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZc3Xq8obk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZc3Xq8obk
- dragonwriter 11y agoIt can only be viewed as a loving response if you think its effective, rather than alienating. If you believe unbelievers are going to hell, and believe (or observe) that that approach to evangelization is alienating, then its more than just rude...
- HCIdivision17 11y agoMy two cents on this off-topic discussion... I've never been a part of the goin't'hell group, but in my fairly extensive experience as a young adult in an evangelical religious group, I certainly got the impression that the high touch personal approach was taken as more effective. Most people don't really like doing the door-to-door salesperson routine[0]. But they do it because it seems to work - assuming anyone actually answers the door (which is the real rarity). Or at least is effective enough; conversion rates are, shall we say, low. It doesn't need to be high, though, since the risk and reward is so high (failure means more lost, success is a life). [0] For introverts it can be extremely stressful - practice is the only thing that seems to make the terror go away for them. If the person at the door preachin' the word looks awkward and is stammering, be kind - they're more afraid of you than you are of them :) EDIT: slight grammar/clarification. EDIT EDIT: This is off-topic enough I'm going to just truncate part of my comment to gist: https://gist.github.com/anonymous/dead25324e4f74ccc183 https://gist.github.com/anonymous/dead25324e4f74ccc183
- mentat 11y agoWhen I was in Japan in 2000 my host family made it very clear to me after talking to some Koreans that they were not Japanese.
- mahranch 11y ago> Gaijin is slang. It's not necessarily used with a derogatory meaning. I think this is incredibly important here. People watch movies like Fast and the Furious and think it's always a bad, derogatory word when that isn't the case at all. As with many words in our own language, context is incredibly important. Take for example, the English word 'foreigner'. If I see a guy struggling to read a menu at a restaurant, I may say "Oh, he's probably a foreigner. I'm going to go see if he needs help". That's not a negative or derogatory usage. If I say "I wish those dirty foreigners would just go back to their home country", I've now turned the word into a derogatory one. This is exactly how the word gaijin is handled. It can be used in a derogatory manner, but it's not inherently derogatory. It can be used in a non-derogatory way. It's a shame so many people get their cultural knowledge from Hollywood movies.
- nandemo 11y ago> they'll never call a Chinese or Korean "gaijin" for example. Not true, "gaijin" can be used to refer to any foreigner/non-Japanese. It's just that there are many Chinese and Koreans in Japan, and the countries are neighbors, so it's common to use the more specific words "Chinese" and "Korean" when the nationality is known. In the same sense that I might say "Eastern European" but a Hungarian would say "Romanian" or "Czech" etc. Also, though gaijin used to mean "outsider", and that usage is still listed in dictionaires, it's basically obsolete. Nobody (in Japan) calls a Japanese "gaijin".
- sparkzilla 11y agoI lived in Japan for 20 years. The problem is that gaikokujin is too polite. Only dicks like Arudo Debito want to force everyone to use it, for reasons of political correctness, when in most cases the word gaijin is much more natural, and is not meant offensively. When Japanese people get to know you better they use your nationality as an identifier. Of course, the word gaijin is also used by gaijin to identify themselves.
- fenomas 11y agoHear hear. The worst part is I occasionally see Japanese people self-consciously using "gaikokujin" because they heard somewhere that foreigners will take offense if they say gaijin. It's manufactured and it's damned silly.
- fenomas 11y agoYep, it's simply the informal word for "foreigner". In theory there's a sense of "outsider", and that meaning is listed in the dictionary, but in practice one never hears the word used in reference to a Japanese person who's an outsider in some other context.
- FfejL 11y agoCan verify, have done. The clerk looked horrified and shook her head vigorously while pointing at the coin tray.
- fenomas 11y agoI've been here 15+ years and never seen or heard of such a thing. Japanese people ignore the change tray all the time, or they don't, without issue.
- sparkzilla 11y agoAgreed. Expect perhaps in banks.
- unsignedint 11y agoThey may call you gaijin, but you get perks for being one. I look completely like Japanese (well, I was born there; but I lived in the States long enough, and I am gaijin by my definition, but it's not by theirs) -- so when I travel to Japan, I'd naturally hand money to clerk, either he/she would either give me this funny looks, or told politely (occasionally frustrated) to place that money on the tray. So sometimes I get the worst of the both status there...
- pyre 11y agoI knew of a couple that went to Japan where the gaijin (her white husband) spoke more Japanese than she did (100% Japanese Canadian). It apparently confused quite a number of people, because they all expect her to start speaking Japanese.
- timr 11y agoI've experienced the opposite -- if I go to Europe, I look like everyone else, and the most likely outcome when they discover that I don't speak their language is irritation. Whenever I go to Asia, I'm treated like a novelty if I speak even a few words.
- unsignedint 11y agoThe way I feel it works is, if their perception is that you are not one of them you basically get extra credit for that, but if they don't see you that way, then you basically get your points deducted for each of "mistakes" you make. This really hurts me sometimes, because I know this and put so much effort try to fit in, but I basically get no praise for that, instead, I get nitpicked for noncompliances. In a case of some individuals like hotel clerks, that I actually spent some time talking, seeing multiple times a day, they totally understand my situation and didn't give me hard time. (And it was tiny hotel, that didn't really caters to foreigner, so it not that the they were used to it -- funny side story is a few year after that -- perhaps when their son took over the business, they've completely changed to cater to foreigners instead :-) )
- jambor3 11y agoI'd be very surprised if anyone actually said this in front of you, unless you are also being obnoxious in other ways.
- fenomas 11y agoThis is crazy talk. To a rough approximation Japanese shop clerks are the politest organisms on earth. On top of which, these change trays are a simple nicety, not some kind of social obligation.
- peterwwillis 11y agoRestaurants in the US use small trays to confer bills and money all the time. What makes this Japan-specific?
- AshFurrow 11y agoYeah, it's common in German shops and take-away places, too.
- joezydeco 11y agoI like the elevated trays in a lot of the German supermarkets and department stores that have the built-in scoop for holding change. Wish I could find a picture of it.
- ZanderEarth32 11y agoThese are used everywhere in Japan, not just restaurants. At a convenience store, department store, the museum, train station, etc. I've never seen them outside of a restaurant in the states.
- Yizahi 11y agoBut what is the point of using a movable tray in a shop or museum and so on, where employee has a cash or cash machine right next to it? And if the tray is just a place to put cash before other person takes it - such trays are used everywhere in the world.
- ZanderEarth32 11y agoWas just in Japan and encountered these everywhere. We knew to use them from our research prior to the trip. Initially I was under the impression it was to prevent the spread of germs, but that didn't really line up because the money comes into contact with the cashier's hand regardless if the tray is used or not. I guess it could help reduce the amount of small hand-to-hand contact that is sometimes experienced when you place money in someones hand directly. It was easier for the cashier to glance at the amount we had placed in the tray and help us count out the correct amount of money for our first few days there while trying to get accustomed to the types of currency.
- twblalock 11y agoIt also prevents coins being dropped while passed from hand to hand. In a county with coins up to about the $5 equivalent, that's pretty useful.
- gergles 11y agoJust FYI there's been a huge devaluation of the yen/strengthening of the dollar. ¥500=$4.
- lemonad 11y agoAlso, it's visual in the sense that both parties can easily verify that it is the correct amount and avoids any "…but I thought I gave you five quarters…".
- ChrisArchitect 11y agocome on, this is common in EU..Germany etc, too
- TillE 11y agoWhere have you seen this? I've lived in Berlin for six years and I have literally never encountered anything like it.
- pouetpouet 11y agoI confirm that it's common in bakeries and many takeout places in Germany and many western european countries.
- Symbiote 11y agoI've seen them everywhere I've visited in Germany. An image search came up with this¹, which says they're called "Zahlteller" (counting plates). 1: http://www.schnitzelbahn.com/homepage/2010/11/25/the-evil-zahlteller.html http://www.schnitzelbahn.com/homepage/2010/11/25/the-evil-za... (scroll down a bit)
- TillE 11y agoOh ok. Yes, some places put your change in a tray (which I've seen in the US too), but you still hand money directly to them. It's really not the same thing that's discussed in the article.
- concerned_user 11y agoYes in EU they are used for coins mostly.
- ChrisArchitect 11y agoright, I guess it's a bit more 'both ways' in Japan, maybe because of the aversion to phyiscal contact and love of politeness....but same thing basically. I recall seeing them in Berlin/DE most often at train station cafes/Bäckerei etc
- devindotcom 11y agoIs it possible that it could be related to change needing to be weighed to be determined legitimate, or simply as a way of measuring the amount? (like paying with gold dust in the Yukon or what have you) Beyond that I can see it being a result of extreme cultural stratification, as the article touches on - that it would be seen as demeaning for a higher-class person to put money directly into the lower-class person's hand. It's quite interesting that no one has any clear idea! I love little mysteries like this.
- ZanderEarth32 11y agoWeighed as in with a scale? Possibly historically this might have been a concern or a mechanism to check for counterfeits, but currently the change and bills are placed in the same, non-measured, tray. It's just a generic plastic tray, and it varies from shop to shop.
- digi_owl 11y agoCustoms have this odd thing about living on way beyond its practical use.
- azernik 11y agoMost books I've read that talk about this custom (and, despite the claims of the article that it's not talked about, in Western literature it's talked about A LOT) attribute it instead to the idea that money is "impure", and handing money directly to another person (whatever the class relation) is a bit improper.
- iNate2000 11y agoThe article says that during 1600-1870 most businesses operated on credit with semiannual account settlement. I'd think this would make quick-weigh gold-dust transactions pretty uncommon. :)
- jccooper 11y agoBut it would support the idea that handling money is improper.
- mml 11y agoDepartment stores in the U.S. (At least in Minneapolis) used to ferry payment via baskets on wires from the clerk up to an accounting room where the money was counted, change made, and delivered back to the customer via the same contraption.
- ripter 11y agoInteresting, do you have a source so I could learn more?
- digi_owl 11y agoVarious other places has used pneumatic tube systems.
- mjlee 11y agoI've recently encountered a similar system in bars in Africa.
- spanktar 11y agoI tried to implement a system like this once, with the goal being to reduce the amount of equipment and clutter on the service counter, but ran into issues of trust. I learned very quickly that if you remove the cash from sight of the customer (even by turning around or having a cash register under the counter) you invite potential fraud from the cashier or the customer. The cashier is able to skim, or the customer to claim they gave a different amount if the money disappears, even briefly. I gave up on it and kept the standard "customer-facing register" setup.
- vacri 11y ago
- patja 11y agoThis makes me think I should pick one of these up for my daughter to carry around. She can't rotate her hands to a palm-up position, which causes no end of hassle and confusion when getting change from retail transactions.
- tomjakubowski 11y agoPhillipe the Original in downtown Los Angeles has used these as long as I can remember. Phillipe is an old school sandwich place (they claim to have invented the "French dip"), not a Japanese establishment. I wonder now why they're using them: I had mistakenly assumed it was some pre-WWII Western custom that they kept alive for that authentic vintage feel.
- fit2rule 11y agoLove that place. Nothing like a round at Phillipe's after a 2600 meeting at Union Station ..
- joyeuse6701 11y agoCrazy enough I went there for the first time last weekend and noted the tray as peculiar. The counter is somewhat high so placing money on it is somewhat awkward. It is much easier to place money on the tray and the tray on the counter for both customer and cashier, and I think that is why it is in common usage there.
- pyvpx 11y agoif you watch closely (or really, at all...) the person serving you food doesn't touch the money. the tray is to take your payment and change between you and the central cashier.
- donatj 11y agoI was with my friend at a bar in Osaka, and we'd had a few. The waiter came over and set down a circular change tray. I being a little intoxicated assumed he wanted me to use a coaster, so I picked up my glass and set it on it. He was not amused by this and shot me a VERY stern look - and then it clicked. We left soon after, quite embarrassed.
- andoofthewoods 11y agohah, no need to be embarrassed, that was probably the ONLY way you'd learn about the custom.
- donatj 11y agoWe'd been in Japan for almost a week at this point, so we'd seen it all over the place and knew full well about the practice. The tray was just usually a rectangle as is the one in the article.
- VLM 11y agoThink about the protocol in CS terms... Hand to hand western style is 1:1 blocking I/O, both the payer and recipient must be simultaneously active at the same moment. At a restaurant/bar this tray is the worlds smallest FIFO and you put a packet into the packet buffer at your convenience and the service worker clears the buffer at their convenience, and this protocol is considered so polite that even at convenience stores when you're in a line you still use the FIFO buffer and pretend you're both not in a hurry and have plenty of time for proper, measured, unhurried service, even when you don't actually have the time. Its impolite to force a two concurrent processes to deadlock waiting a simple packet buffer transfer, and even if they do, they like to pretend its not happening. If the trays looked nicer it would have been an obvious conspicuous consumption opportunity. The cheap store has injection molded plastic; we have marble trays; they have antique engraved ebony. I wonder how or if they handle what CS would call transaction locks, to make sure the other process doesn't grab the buffer to empty it while the filler is still shoveling in small change. Not having been to Japan yet, I'm guessing the tray moves and at least subtly you somehow indicate you're done filling the bucket before the service worker starts emptying it. I had another model based on traditional innumeracy, if traditionally payers were innumerate you shovel coins onto the bucket until the service worker sees enough and takes away the bucket. I find this model theoretically possible to implement although highly unlikely in practice.
- ohitsdom 11y agoEh, that's a stretch. You can call the tray asynchronous if you want, but you still have to wait for it to return.
- VLM 11y agoI love to stretch... good for the brain. Its a concurrency design pattern, never, never ever, create an opportunity for complicated deadlocks at the protocol or implementation layer when you can just toss down a boring simple well understood and easy to debug FIFO/buffer. There are times and places where complication is needed in programming, but paying your sushi bill isn't it. Or the meta design pattern of always make it as simple as possible and not a bit too simple. Even if this is total space cadet time, I like thinking about concurrency issues. (edited to fix horrible phrasing: I like to look at Japanese currency trays thru concurrency tinted sunglasses, just because its fun, even if the Japanese themselves don't like those sunglasses, also its funny to talk about currency and concurrency at the same time)
- hasenj 11y agoWhen I was in Japan, I would always put the money in the tray, but the cashier would always return directly to my hand. I didn't understand why.
- obel1x 11y agoIn the bar I used to work in we used to give the change to customers on a tray to prompt the customer to give us a tip. So I always assume that's why they are being used.
- TorKlingberg 11y agoJapan though, has almost no tipping culture.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoBut, every sushi bar has a tip jar? Or only in America
- Flammy 11y agoTipping, in various situations, is definitely a cultural thing which easily changes - even from the US to Europe. Guidebooks almost universally will tell you about what is expected. Different places handle different situations differently as well, such as tipping in a restaurant, to a bellhop, or to a taxi. Similarly bargaining is diverse as well. You may not think of it, but in the US you bargain back and forth for big ticket items (cars, houses) but not little things. In many east Asian countries it is the opposite, you bargain with street salesmen but not for a motorcycle or car.
- TorKlingberg 11y agoI cannot say I ever saw a tip jar at a sushi bar in Japan. Restaurants tend to adopt practices from the country they are in, even when the food is authentic. For example China does not have the concept of separate starters, main courses and desserts, but Chinese restaurants in the west often do.
- tlear 11y agoNot in Japan, you can buy chef a sake or beer if you want though. I am not sure when is it appropriate however
- vmlinuz 11y ago
- jambor3 11y agoThere is a much older custom that seems so similar it is hard to imagine that it is not related. When passing an item to someone - say a cup to a house guest - one is traditionally never supposed to hand the item directly to the other person - i.e. never directly from hand to hand. Typically this meant placing the item on a tray (お盆) and offering the item on the tray to the person (or at least placing the item in front of the person for them to pick up). You can see examples of this today in, for example, formal Shinto ceremonies a ceremonial square tray is often used (折敷) or frankly at any fancy kaiseki restaurant. I'm not sure about the origin of the custom, but perhaps the action of taking something out of someone's hand feels too close to taking it forcefully from them - i.e. for the same reason it is considered impolite for two people to hold the same piece of food by chopstick (for example, if passing food between people from chopstick to chopstick).
- DanBC 11y ago> I'm not sure about the origin of the custom, but perhaps the action of taking something out of someone's hand feels too close to taking it forcefully from them - i.e. for the same reason it is considered impolite for two people to hold the same piece of food by chopstick (for example, if passing food between people from chopstick to chopstick). Isn't the chopstick thing related to funeral rituals? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_funeral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_funeral > The relatives pick the bones out of the ashes and transfer them to the urn using large chopsticks or metal picks, two relatives sometimes holding the same bone at the same time with their chopsticks (or, according to some sources, passing the bones from chopsticks to chopsticks). Known as kotsuage (骨揚げ?), this is the only time in Japan when it is proper for two people to hold the same item at the same time with chopsticks. At all other times, holding anything with chopsticks by two people at the same time, or passing an item from chopsticks to chopsticks, will remind all bystanders of the funeral of a close relative and is considered to be a major social faux pas.
- byuu 11y agoGenuinely curious now ... if the trays are meant to avoid hand contact, how do things work in drive-thrus there? Fairly common to get some level of hand-contact there when passing around money, credit cards or food bags.
- hudibras 11y agoHmm, good question. Part of the answer is that drive-thrus are very rare in Japan. But there's at least one MacDonald's in the city where I live that has a drive-thru, but I've never noticed what they do. Pizza delivery guys will just pull out your change from a coin purse, though. Edit: Just remembered that sometimes toll collectors on the highways use them, but not 100% of them, so there's that.
- svachalek 11y agoI've only been to Tokyo (not smaller cities) but I've never seen a drive-through there. People take the train and walk, not drive. It reminds me though, in fast food places they often have you order by kiosk and then take your receipt to exchange for the food. So there's no (other) human involved in the transaction.
- danbruc 11y agoThey are also in use in Germany and it never occurred to me that they may not be used all over the world. They are called [Zahl|Wechselgeld][teller|schale] [1] which translates to [paying|change] [plate|bowl]. They can not be found in every shop but probably in the majority. Some people use them, some don't. And it is more common to present the change in them than the payment. The obvious purpose is of course to easily be able to see that the amount is correct while avoiding escaping coins. They also often show ads, nowadays on displays. And nobody moves them around in Germany, they just sit on top of the counter. [1] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahlteller http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahlteller
- facepalm 11y agoI always assumed their purpose is to minimize touching of the hands between vendor and customer.
- danbruc 11y agoThat may of course also play a role especially when handling unpackaged food but then again the money goes through both hands anyway. Most of the time I see people counting the money when they place it there coin by coin. And it makes putting the change back into the wallet easier because you don't end up with a hand full of bills and coins.
- kaybe 11y agoIt is also a lot easier to swipe a couple of coins out and not drop any compared to the flat table.
- dbbolton 11y agoInteresting. I studied in Hesse for a semester and don't recall seeing these, at least not extensively.
- chli 11y agoPretty common in Switzerland as well.
- paulsutter 11y agoIn Japan, anytime you hand someone cash in personal life it's rude not to put it in an envelope. Examples includes gifts or paying your Japanese teacher. The tray avoids passing cash hand to hand. 20 years ago, clerks (or taxi drivers) would be visibly surprised and slightly shocked if you tried to hand them cash. But that's relaxed a lot now. Tourists hand cash to clerks and the reaction is slight if at all. Taxi drivers often exchange cash hand to hand. It's still more polite to use the tray but less strict.
- ojbyrne 11y agoI remember these being common in Canada at least as late as the mid-1980s. Usually branded with a credit card logo.
- err4nt 11y agoI think I know what youre speaking of, my recollection growing up in the 90s was that the bill at a restaurant would always arrive on a tray, and then any change, mints, customer receipt, change would be returned on the same tray after payment was made. Now with debit cards (interac, not mastercard) being the norm its standard to get the bill and then have them bring over a wireless debit machine (and has been that way for at least 10+ years)
- smegel 11y ago> “It’s an interesting question,” the curator I spoke to allowed I wonder if non native English speakers find this expression (or the use of "allowed") confusing.
- beloch 11y agoQuestion: Is money considered "dirty" in Japan? In North America, women keep bills and coins in their purses next to used tissues, and studies have shown that men's wallets have an even higher concentration of bacteria than women's purses. We sit on and, on hot days, sweat on our money all day. Let's face it, the stuff is pretty disgusting. However, if somebody hands you a twenty, your first reaction is usually not, "Oh gross, now I need to wash my hands". In terms of hygiene, it makes sense for waiters to collect currency on trays so they don't have to wash their hands after every bill is settled (assuming it's a different person's job to take the cash off the tray and put it in the till). Could this be the reason the practice started? The connection between disease and microbes would have existed around the time these trays appeared, so it's possible a crusading doctor or someone similar convinced vendors to use these trays.
- kijin 11y agoIn most cases, the cachier or teller just grabs your money from the tray with their bare hands, and places change on the tray with the same bare hands. In terms of hygiene, it's no different from handling money directly.
- fenomas 11y agoFurther, these trays are also common in banks, convenience stores and so on. No particular connection to hygiene.
- shinymark 11y agoI'm not sure. One thing I can say from experience though is that bills in Japan are newer and cleaner than they are in the US. My impression is that it would be unthinkable in Japan to write on a bill with a pen or to crumple it up. Also, I'd guess bills that start to get worn are taken out of circulation much earlier. Compare that to the US where I've seen a supermarket teller draw a line with a pen across a bill after accepting it (why?) or people pulling wadded cash balls out of their pockets to pay for a soda at a convenience store. I don't know what accounts for the difference but I did like the typically crisp and new bills in Japan.
- minikomi 11y agoLived in Japan for 8 years and have worked part time in cafes .. The training I got was to leave the money in the tray until you confer the change to the customer. It prevents things like "hang on! I gave you 5000 not 1000!" - the money paid stays in plain sight until the transaction is complete. Shop staff almost never put the money away before you get your change.
- mml 11y agoA common analog in the U.S. Is to place the tender across the till dividers until the change is counted out, to prevent just such a scenario.
- fenomas 11y agoI always assumed this was the main reason the trays are used. This, and the fact that either party can easily tip the tray into their hand to gather change, rather than picking up coins one by one or scooping them off the edge of the table. Whenever Japan comes up people assume some matter of politeness is involved, but a lot of times the explanation is much simpler.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoI believe the penalties for stealing are severe in Japan. So anything that disambiguates who's money is whos is very important.
- mml 11y agoUnrelated, but interesting custom: Koreans (possibly others of the Asian persuasion) generally will hand you change with both hands (possibly with a small bow), it's considered rude to hand cash with only one hand. No idea why.
- ernie_ 11y agoWait, what countries don't use these? At least in Canada every restaurant that isn't fast-food is going to give you the receipt and change on a tray or in a leather booklet.
- deciplex 11y agoHow about at the counter of a 7-11?
- lovemenot 11y agoFunnily enough I was just at a 7-11 in Tokyo about 30 minutes ago, just as you were writing this comment, and before I had read this thread. I happened to notice that such a tray was not in use there, which felt more efficient. Of course 7-11 is mostly a franchise business, so it may the store owner's decision.
- deciplex 11y agoWhich one? I think it is more likely you just missed it. I've never noticed a convenience store without one, though now I guess I will be looking out for it.
- lovemenot 11y agoJust north from Suidobashi station, Mita line, North exit. The till nearest the door. It was a male Japanese cashier (unusual at that store) who seemed particularly dynamic. Possibly a management trainee.
- gburt 11y agoThis was my thought too, but I am also from Canada (west coast) so it is plausible that it is just us and the Japanese? Interesting. Edit: and Germany, according to the poster below...
- vidarh 11y agoYou're right trays are quite common a lot of countries in restaurants or other places where the change is being carried to you. But at least in my experience they are not very common for giving change in shops.
- microcolonel 11y agoWe have these in Canada, I'm pretty sure I've used these in Pennsylvania and Michigan as well, not sure where these aren't used actually.
- ImprovedSilence 11y agoYeah, when I was a kid I remember them being pretty common in restaurant/diner type places. (I suppose more rural type places as well) Now that credit cards are a pretty prevalent payment method, and a lot of the older establishments have gone by the wayside, I don't see them as much. Interesting you should mention Pennsylvania, that's where I'm grew up. I wonder if they weren't as ubiquitous as I had assumed...
- seanccox 11y agoThese are common in Turkey and generally used in both sides of a transaction. I saw them in Syria as well (10 years ago). There, it seemed that part of the purpose was to mitigate "accidental" physical contact between men and women. Several women I knew there complained about guys getting fresh (touching their fingers or hands) during transactions. The tray prevented this. In Turkey though, I think it is more for transparency in the transaction.
- tragomaskhalos 11y agoMy favourite part of this article was the description of an entirely trust-based retail economy that has now - sadly but inevitably - vanished.
- Yizahi 11y ago"Instead of handing your payment to the clerk, or setting it on the counter by the cash register, here you are generally expected to put your payment into a tray that is presented expressly for the purpose. The clerk takes it away and returns it with your change." Either I'm missing something from the context or author is mistaken. Trays and boxes in multiple forms and sizes are used everywhere in restaurants in Europe and ex-USSR countries. In banks and similar facilities people usually hand over cash via some special trays built in the counter because of the glass separating customer and clerk. In fact I don't remember a single restaurant in 20 or so countries where I could go to the counter pay there directly or leave cash on the counter. In every case when I tried this (I wanted to speed up things) I was told to go and wait for the waiter, who will bring a tray where I will put cash or card (in cases when card terminal in not wireless).
- drostie 11y agoI think you're confusing things a little: we're not talking about restaurants per se here. I don't know whereabouts in Europe you are, but you have to imagine a store like H&M where you generally place goods on a countertop to purchase them. In Japan, those countertops usually have a nondescript tray also lying on them, and it is considered impolite to hand your payment directly to the cashier--instead, while putting down all of your goods for purchase, you simultaneously put your payment into the tray. There are of course restaurants where they'll hand you a bill and you bring it up to the counter -- at least in the US. For example, in the Kansas City, Missouri region you'll see this both in the sit-down tex-mex chain-restaurant El Maguey as well as smaller sit-down cafes (the one that's coming to mind is City Diner, which is by the River Market). But that's not quite what we're talking about here.
- timboisvert 11y agoThe difference between the west and Japan in regard to change trays is that in the west (US, Canada, Europe, etc.) they're often available in a small subset of cash payment scenarios, but in Japan they're always available in every cash payment scenario. Not to mention that even when they are available in the west, they're rarely used, but in Japan they're always used. I've lived in the US, Spain, and Japan for considerable periods of time, and the level to which they're available and customarily used in Japan is what makes them such a noteworthy use case.
- _mgr 11y agoCurrently travelling through Japan for the first time. They ask if you have now finished placing the cash that you wish to pay with. This means I have been able to put notes in the tray and then shuffle through my coins attempting to get rid of as many 5Y and 1Y coins as I can. Cash in such a modern technology forward country is still weird. I have already broken my wallet due to the over use of the coin pouch. Prior to coming here it had never been used. New Zealand, where I am from adopted Eftpos over 25 years ago. We are already chip and pin, and pay wave has found its way into most POS areas. Japan is behind here but in a way I find to be very enjoyable.
- waynedrops 11y agoAny chance you will be in Sendai? Ill buy you a beer :)
- kbart 11y agoI thought money trays were ubiquitous all over the world. Any examples where they are not widely used?
- tonylemesmer 11y agonot common in the UK
- adolph 11y agoAnd as one shopkeeper explained it, offering change in a tray feels more polite than simply placing money in a customer’s hand. See also English Victorian change packets: http://boingboing.net/2012/04/30/victorian-change-packets-litt.html http://boingboing.net/2012/04/30/victorian-change-packets-li...