We’ve been suffering from an economic crisis in Egypt this past year. Not a single store or product hasn’t increased their prices by at least the double. Even everyone’s favorite retail store, H&M, that once used to be affordable is now ridiculously expensive. Add to that, the fact that employees simply assume you don’t want your change and you end up feeling disrespected and ripped off.
This happened to all of us. You buy something, you pay for it, the cashier is supposed to give you back EGP 8 but he/she only gives you 5 EGP. He/She doesn’t say anything, he/she doesn’t address the fact that he/she is out of coins, he/she simply assumes that you will either not notice or you’re okay with it because c’mon it’s only EGP 3, which is nothing to you.
I’m sorry dear employee, but if money isn’t that big of a deal for me because I’m oh-so-rich, why would I be shopping at H&M in the first place? This isn’t about the pound or two, this is about you not doing your job right. This is about you assuming I don’t care about my money. This is about you leaving me questioning your integrity and wondering whether you take this money for yourself or not. This is about you knowing that I will be embarrassed to ask for a pound so I’ll ignore it. This is about you knowing that there is AlShaya card where you can add my change, but you’re too lazy to mention it.
This doesn’t just happen at H&M, Starbucks and Centerpoint employees are quite known for doing the same behavior. Last year, someone wrote a status that went viral last year about Starbucks and the management took action immediately, and now they always ask you if you want your change to be added on AlShaya card.
A year ago, someone told me don’t be embarrassed to ask for your change. Teach them a lesson in how to properly and respectfully handle clients using AlShaya card. You just get a card for free and every time the store doesn’t have change, ask them to add it for you on the card. I’ve been doing that for months, and recently bought an EGP 200 shirt for FREE by those little coins that employees thought wouldn’t matter to me.