Regardless what the posted sign says, complaining about paying in pesos in Mexico is just plain silly.
Everybody's got a solution for T.J.: nobody's offered a solution for Walmart's inability to implement its own policy. Frankly, I find suggestions like, "Just pay in pesos", to be condescending, as if one is saying, "Heh, don't you get it? They're way too stupid to run the store/country/(you fill in the blank) any better than that, so why get into it with them?" The fact is that cashiers in Walmart and low level employees in many other businesses here are borderline competent: they are chosen for their willingness to work for 20 pesos an hour. They by no means represent the best Mexico has to offer. Mexico is not the only country where service is suffering from the, "Let's squeeze all the money out of this business we can, by paying as little as we find we have to, to fill the slots". When was the last time you called to get some service on the phone, and were answered by someone from perhaps as far away as India, who thought you had a bad accent?
Maw9779 - Not sure with TJ, but my US debit card charges me $5 - $10 dollars whenever I do a transaction in Mexico. It's not a great option if you're looking to save money with currency rates. V - Sorry, I'm confused by your comment. You say we're being condescending by saying they're not competent enough to run the store, but it seems like you're agreeing with us in paragraph 3? Maybe I'm misreading. My personal experience here (after arguments with Costco, Telhell, taxis, and several Oxxos) is that most employees are great... but when you find one or two that aren't, arguing is useless. If they don't agree with/understand you the first time around, you just have to let it go sometimes. Before I came to Mexico for the first time I had a crash course on Latin American culture, and the first thing they mentioned is that in Latin America, they will do whatever it takes NOT to admit they're wrong in public. If you prove them wrong, they will often just keep repeating themselves. (Personally I've seen that's not true with everyone here, but I admit it does happen more than in the US.) Honestly I still fight it like TJ does because I'm stubborn, but I also recognize that it gets me nowhere. The way I see it, TJ has 3 options if he wants a happier Walmart shopping experience: 1. Pay in pesos (the easiest option, which is why I recommended it) 2. Continue trying to pay in dollars under the posted rules, but always be prepared to pay in pesos just in case. If he points out an error once and they still won't accept his dollars, it's time to let it go. 3. Shop at another Walmart, as he mentioned above. If he continues the way he's going, he's just going to be mad all the time and nothing will get fixed.
Not misreading, just confusing too issues: that low competence individuals are hired for these jobs is a given, because the employers don't want to pay wages high enough to get better. It's when the comment goes something like, "Well, what do you expect, this is Mexico!," that I object, because it implies Mexico can't do anything right, or that competent people can't be found, because they don't exist that becomes condescending. Had T.J. taken his issue to the general manager, as I suggested he probably needed to, he might have had the pleasure of meeting one of them.
Gotcha, thanks V I agree with you that lower paid employees are often less competent in any country for various reasons. That being said, I think "this is Mexico" is a valid argument here not because the entire country is incompetent, but because at least in the States speaking with a supervisor will often fix the situation because there's a "the customer is always right" attitude. (In the US they'll do whatever it takes to get you to just go away haha.) Not always the case here.
This pertains somewhat to this fiasco.... Today, I received an email from my US bank that not only are they upping my ATM rebate each month from $4 usd to $8usd, but I have no more International penalties to pay. So, if need be, I can use the ATM when need be to pull out a good chunk of money at a better rate then Walmart and not have to pay extra. YAY!!! Glad I'm saving a lot of my commissions in dollars to deposit in two weeks
