CL wrote:
>
> Maybe I shouldn't have laughed when I realized how clueless they were.
> They tried to keep my money and threatened to call the FBI to report me
> for fraud, which I invited them to go ahead and do.  Eventually this
> red-faced Super Protestant dickhead handed me back the bills and ordered
> me to get out of "his" bank immediately or face the consequences.

This might surprise you, but most businesses have to follow certain
things called 'rules', and it's hardly the fault of the bank manager if
the information he has is incorrect; he's doing his job, so why get mad
at him?

And I'd wager the average US bank is much more friendly and willing to
help than the average Japanese bank, on the whole anyway. The fact that
ATMs are open when most people need them by itself puts US banks ahead
of their Japanese counterparts in terms of convenience.

John W.