What is the protocol? I was in a cab earlier from TST to Jordan and the fare came to 21.5. I had 21 exactly. I also had two 500 notes for the punt. I gave the taxi driver 21 but he insisted on getting the extra 0.5. I tried in vain to request he let me off but he was not having it. I gave him 500. He gave me back 478 change therefore rounding up the fare to 22. I normally would just leave but told him I wanted the 0.5 he still owed me. He pretended not to have it but I insisted! He amazingly found a 0.5 coin and sadly gave it to me! Quite a comical moment!

[ Last edited by  vc09 at 1-4-2013 03:30 ]

sounds like an episode from The Clash Of the Titanic Egos!!

honestly bro when you insist on him giving you 0.5 change you descend to his level ...

and you're lucky he had change for the 500, (I'm pretty sure) he's only legally required to carry change for 100 ...

Yes, it is normal protocol in Hong Kong to round up the fare.  May seem strange, but it is HK Chinese culture.  Just as there are no tips, remember, it is also normal to leave some small change on the table at a restaurant, and to round up the fare in a taxi.  

Taxi drivers all over the world are in the job for the money not for the good company.  And given that HK taxi drivers are mostly excellent - I've had very few situations that raised my blood pressure.  I have had many situations where the driver rounded down - but I have to say they were not the minimum fare.

At the end of the day, the meter is there to protect you
and to protect him!  

It's interesting: hand him 0.5 too little and you look like a cheapskate. Hand him 0.5 too much and he'd have been perfectly happy. Difference in money: 1HKD. Difference in karma: a lot more than that. In your case, it was just getting caught with not much change -- I'm sure you wouldn't have cared at all if you had a $1 laying around in your pocket.

Perhaps the moral of the story is to keep a little extra cash around. Many people do an "emergency $20" (in the US, for HK it would have to be more) in their wallets. Over the years, I've learned to keep a few small denomination bills handy in my wallet. It's amazing, the smile-generating power of gifting a penny or a dollar to someone struggling to make change at a checkout counter, for example (almost as good as holding the door open for someone in HK, and then watching them try to figure out what planet you're from). Same for tips, in countries where that is the custom. A few small bills go a long way.

Gherk

Ok thanks for the tips (pun intended).
Actually, normally I adopt a 'keep the change' with taxis as I actually hate carrying coins but on this occasion I wanted some slack. Agree that HK taxi drivers are very good mostly and as fares are so low compared to other big cities, are deserving of that little bit extra.

[ Last edited by  vc09 at 1-4-2013 09:20 ]