“Things can be worse,” is something everyone tells you when they are trying to make you feel better.  Unfortunately, this does not make me feel better because it is the bloody principle of things and not necessarily an emotional reaction to being scammed.

I went to Walmart and bought some hot pot treats because I wanted to make another professor feel better.   The professor was having a bad week dealing with the bureaucracy in China.  We were going to commiserate and try to problem solve over a good meal.  I personally feel everyone does a better job brain storming when happily full.

So we blissfully ate wonderful hot pot, had great conversations all night, and then I went to Beijing for a week.  In Beijing, I went to a very interesting environmental meeting where I discovered that environmental law theory is still very fractured.  Came home with Peking Duck.  All was happy until I went to the bank to trade in some currency.

One of the 10 yuan bills I had ripped and I wanted to replace it.  I gave the money to the teller and she informs me that it is a fake.  At first they did not want to give me the bill back, probably because they are afraid that it would recirculate.  However, after I promised to bring the bill back after I go and have a show and tell session with Walmart customer service, they relented.  They were also nice enough to show me how to tell a real from a fake 10 yuan bill for future reference.  Mao’s collar should have ridges.  The flower watermark should not be visible until you flash it up towards the light.  The series of blue lines should be raised when you run your fingers against them.  There should be a metallic strip off center in the bill.  Mine was all correct minus the ridges.  See the fake 10 yuan bill below.

While the tellers at the bank were nice and seemed sympathetic to my fake 10 yuan, they also seemed to think that I was making a big deal over nothing.  My uncle seemed to think that 10 yuan is not worth making a fuss about after all he got two fake 100 bills in Shen Zheng.  My friend thought Walmart would not give me back the money even if I complained so why bother.  But there is such a thing as principle.  So am I going to make a stink about the fake bill?  Yes.  Is Walmart going to replace my bill?  Probably not.  Will informing Walmart customer service about the fake 10 yuan make me feel better?   Yes.  Seriously, Walmart is an American Brand, the least they could do is give me a 10 yuan coupon for something.

Current Mood:  Feeling blue about the fake 10 yuan.  Feeling happy that I have a plan of action.  If nothing else, I am going to complain to Walmart corporate headquarters.  You cannot be circulating fake bills and think that customers are going to be happy about it.