A belated post. After this happened in Canada a few months ago, I wrote it up and threatened to put it on the blog, and Gary refused. (However, he didn't say I couldn't email my friends. Because I didn't ask. But still.) I asked again a few weeks ago and he has a completely different memory of the story. He wants you to know this tale is "complete fiction." Below is the tale I sent out via email.
Every word is true.
====================================================
Anyway, last Saturday (in late September) Gary and I decided to take a road trip up into Canada to visit our favorite Wild Animal Park. I had been told the best way to convert currency in Canada was just to use the debit or credit card. On the way to the park - about 50 miles into Canada - We decided to try Tim Horton's coffee and maybe have a snack of poutine at this Fast Food Court.
We got in, ordered the coffee, and Gary handed this woman his Visa card.
"I'm sorry sir, we don't take Visa. Only Mastercard."
Of course, Gary's Bank of AMERICA card had changed from Mastercard to Visa about five years back.
So then we tromped across the street to an ATM at a McDonalds. I went to the bathroom while Gary used the ATM, and when I emerged I heard, "ELLEN WE MUST GO BACK TO THE US THEY DON'T TAKE VISA ANYWHERE IN CANADA."
"Who told you that?"
"I'VE TRIED THIS CARD IN TWO PLACES AND IT DOESN'T WORK." (More subdued) "It says I can't withdraw money at this ATM."
I looked on the ATM and it only had Mastercard symbols. And Maestro, which is Europe's MasterCard.
"Well, Gary, that just means this ATM doesn't, and the coffee place, not All Of Canada."
'NO IT'S ALL OF CANADA! WE MUST GO BACK."
"No, let's just find a bank and use my Visa card - "
"NO! WE MUST GO BACK TO AMERICA! HURRY!"
After driving / arguing 15 minutes back to the US my logic had begun to make some inroads.
First, I proved to him he was wrong at times. "Gary, that ATM said it used the Cirrus network. Is you card on the Cirrus network?"
"YES!" [long back and forth deleted] "FINE! IF YOU WANT ME TO PROVE IT TO YOU, HERE IT IS. MY CARD. YOU ARE SO STUPID. IT MUST BE ON THE BACK. FINE. IT ISN'T."
"So, mine is a Cirrus card …"
"It doesn't matter" (see how the yelling stops when he has been proven slightly wrong) "Your card is still a Visa, and they don't take Visa in Canada. I read about this! Don't you remember the Olympic commercials 4 years ago - "
"No, they take Visa, they don't take American Express -"
"NO! I know I read an article on this! Canada doesn't take Visa anymore."
"Maybe it's just your Visa. It is Bank of AMERICA, not Bank of NORTH AMERICA. Or maybe BoA folded, we haven't heard the news in a few hours."
"ARE YOU NOT LISTENING TO ME?! I KNOW CANADA DOESN'T TAKE VISA!" (I had squandered my window of reason. The yelling was back.)
"Gary, I am driving this car. I am driving it to a bank. I am using my Visa card."
I'm going to skip the constant unbroken stream of hollering that continued as I pulled into an ABM ("THIS ISN'T EVEN AN ATM!" "Automatic Banking machine?" "IT WILL EAT YOUR CARD! IT WILL NOT WORK! WE ARE WASTING TIME") and plugged in my card and waited a few heart-stopping moments, because he almost had me convinced that Canada was at war with Visa. And then it spat out 200 happy little colorful Canadian dollars and I threw them in his face.
The End.
Well, he said, "Oh" and then on demand, "I was wrong."
Timmy Ho's is one of those places that didn't take anything but cash for a long time to "improve service times". It was very annoying. Now they take mastercard, which works for me, but not a lot of my visa carrying Canadian friends.
Posted by: a Toronto dot | November 09, 2008 at 09:29 PM
We used our Visa all over Toronto without problem. We even used it at Word on the Street book fair. Since credit card companies charge retailers a fee when they accept your card, especially if the retailer doesn't meet a certain quota of charges. Sometimes credit card networks offer discounts or deals to retailers to get their card used more, and these deals can be area specific. (When we were selling jewelry, we took Visa and Mastercard, but not AMEX or Discover because we could not afford their fees).
Of course, the Canadians could just be out to gaslight Gary. I wouldn't put it past them. All that smiling -- they are up to something.
Posted by: Sherri | November 10, 2008 at 08:13 AM
I think I've heard the story already. So it's definitely true.
Posted by: #0.75 | November 10, 2008 at 08:25 AM
Toronto Dot (Hi, TD!) - Yeah, we did wonder later what latte-drinking Visa-carrying Canadians did for coffee. For some time Steak-n-Shake was a cash-only establishment too. I never noticed any speedy "service time" either.
Sherri - I've only found one place that wouldn't take credit cards - the now-defunct guitar store by my house.
.75 - True and NOT exaggerated.
Posted by: TheQueen | November 10, 2008 at 09:48 PM
I love to read posts about your relationship with your husband. It's always so heartwarming. ;-)
Posted by: KC | November 11, 2008 at 03:14 PM
KC - Yes, you too can be married 20+ years someday and yell at each other as we do! Whee!
Posted by: TheQueen | November 11, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Actually, we have been married 20+ years, but we don't yell at each other. We do the opposite: we stop speaking and go to our own corner of the room to mope.
Posted by: KC | November 12, 2008 at 12:07 AM
Yes. Odd how the admission of being wrong is so unsatisfying, isn't it?
Posted by: Big Dot | November 12, 2008 at 05:50 PM
KC - Oh, I'm all done with that. Thats how I grew up. Really doesn't work well with kids, either.
Big Dot - But it's a requirement. It must be said.
Posted by: TheQueen | November 12, 2008 at 09:08 PM