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May 25, 2006
Japanese Lady
This is a cashier's tale.
I always check credit/debit cards for a signature. If there is no signature, I ask for ID. So here comes an Asian woman, and I tell her the total, and she gives me the card. The back was signed in Japanese.
I wouldn't be able to tell if a Japanese signature was forged. So I asked for her ID. She handed me her Japanese passport.
I couldn't find her photo (because the photo page was covered with another slip she had tucked into her passport--it was in Japanese too, so I couldn't tell what purpose it was fulfilling in the woman's passport).
The name on her passport matched the name on her card. So I swiped it through. When I sat her signature slip down with my pen, she looked a little surprised (but I could be wrong) and picked up the pen. She then had to look for the signature line.
It made me wonder: How do Japanese people sign for their credit purchases in Japan? Is the signature line vertical? And what subtle body language cues signal annoyance among Japanese people?
Stories from Behind the Counter | By The Newest Worker | 11:12 AM
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Comments
Good observation on the vertical credit card signing line. Wow. I had never thought of that one. Glad to read more from "life at the store." It's so fascinating to just "see" you there interacting with these people. You paint such a vivid picture!
Posted by: Heather at May 25, 2006 05:18 PM
I've never wondered about that before, but now, well...I might just be losing sleep over this.
Fascinating story.
:)
Posted by: funke at May 30, 2006 01:45 AM