Usage of coins as currency

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The usage of credit cards is so prevalent in the United States that people do not hesitate to swipe them to make purchases of even a few cents. Due to the absence of a minimum purchase value to use credit cards, and social stigma of using coins to make payments at points of sale, the usage of coins has been hit in the US. The vending machines in the US do not accept coins of value lesser than 10c, making all the smaller coins useless. As such, the people have huge stockpiles of  "change" at home that they cannot or do not want to use.

This was a cultural difference I noticed in France - French people used coins a LOT more than Americans. Even the smallest denomination of the Euro was happily accepted as payment in most establishments, without any frowns or condescending looks by passers by. The Metro tickets and public transports required coins to buy tickets and only a few machines accepted paper bills. 

French Customer Service

Courtesy: Reuters

When my flight from JFK New York landed in Lyon, I did not know that fate had a surprise in store for me. Excited to finally arrive in France for my study trip, I reached the baggage retrieval place and waited for my bag to arrive. Alas, after waiting for 30 minutes, it dawned upon me that my bags are misplaced/missing. I experienced a sinking feeling in my heart when I remembered that I had checked in all my business clothing and other essentials and had not carried a spare set of clothes in my carry on bag. This meant I could not be a part of the company visits and B-school sessions that I was supposed to attend.

That is when the Air France customer service came into picture. After looking up the advanced software for baggage tracing, the French lady at the desk, who spoke fluent English reassured me that my bag was safe and  told me where exactly it was at that point of time. They promised me that they would deliver my bag to my hotel within the next 24 hrs in urgent priority. This was a great relief. 

I went back to my hotel and went to sleep to recover from my jet-lag. The next morning, the concierge had a big surprise waiting for me! No prizes for guessing what it was. They also sent me an apology note and promised to reimburse any out of the pocket expenses I had borne in the last 24 hrs. I experienced first rate customer service. Thank you Air France :)