Poland

Today I’ve been to the shop round the corner.
My purchase amounted to 18,86 zl.
I handle the cashier a 20 zl banknote.
The change is 1,14 zl.
Does the cashier round it up in my favour and return to me 1,15 zl?
Of course not. The idea probably doesn’t even cross his mind. The change is just 1,14 zl.
But for small change he only has 10 cent and 5 cent coins, and just ONE 2 cent coin. He can’t make 1,14 zl.
He asks me if I have a 1 cent coin.
I haven’t.
Under these circumstances, does he reconsider the change, think of losing 1 cent, and give me 1,15 zl?
Nope. The change is just 1,14 zl. He can’t lose 1 cent. So, what does he do?
Poker-faced, he gives me 1,12 zl and pretends the thing is settled.
That’s Poland.
So, poker-faced, I tell him I want my other 2 cents.
He has to stop his work, go to another cashier and ask for the 2 cents he owes me.
I take my change and, on my way out, I throw the 4 cents to the litter bin outside the shop. Don’t want misery weighing on my pocket.
That’s Pablo.
(1 zl cent amounts to 1/4th euro cent, and it’s worth approximately 6 seconds of a cashier’s time. He took around one minute in returning me the money. Therefore, the loss for the shop is almost ten times bigger than the 1 cent they wanted to save.)