I purchased my fresh baked bread from the "padaria" (bakery) yesterday. I gave the cashier a R$ 1.00 note and expected 17 cents back. What I got back from him were two small pieces of candy. I stuffed the candy in my pocket and headed back home. I am totally used to this by now, and receiving two pieces of candy is sometimes better than getting stuck with no change at all. In Brazil there is a coin shortage. The banks never coin enough change. So, a way that some merchants deal with the problem is by giving you back something of equal value thus the two pieces of candy, each cost 10 cents.
The one cent coin is the most scarce and the government stopped production of them and so most retailers just round up the price to the nearest .5 or .10.
Now, I don't know what you get if you are a diabetic, but something tells me, you don't get special treatment. It is generally accepted that you will get short changed at the market. It adds up though. My friend's father saved up all the pieces of candy he got from the padaria for 3 months and took them all back to the padaria and told the manager, ok, now here is your candy there is 15 bucks worth of candy here, I want my cash. The owner didn't accept them back, but ever since then, they have been very good about not giving him candy for change.
So, if you happen to be in Brazil and get a hand full of candy back as change, you know why.
1 comment:
This is so funny to me! Candy for change is a dream for me! I actually have a few Brazilian coins at home too. Yeah, so next time we're in Brazil, I'll be sure to bring them with me!
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