A New Brunswick shopper’s complaint that she was unable to use her Canadian currency in four Bangor stores has prompted the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce to question whether area businesses are making enough effort to welcome Canadian shoppers.

Earlier this month, Judy Robinson, 47, traveled to Bangor from her home in Fredericton for a weekend of shopping. Nearing the end of her trip, she used up all of her U.S. dollars and tried to purchase items at A.C. Moore, Linens ‘n Things, Bed Bath & Beyond and Quirk Chevrolet’s pro shop, she said.

When her money was refused at each place, Robinson chose not to purchase the items with other means, such as her credit card, she said. She returned home and e-mailed the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

“When I questioned why they would not accept my money, the cashiers couldn’t tell me in any of the stores. They didn’t even try to find out from the manager,” Robinson said in a telephone interview Friday. “I wasn’t treated badly, I just wanted to know why.”

Robinson said the store clerks expressed “an attitude and indifference.” Robinson owns a motel in Fredericton and said she accepts U.S. dollars.

Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce President Candy Guerette said she was surprised to hear Robinson’s story. Guerette said she had thought that most if not all Bangor-area stores accept Canadian currency.

“I find this very unsettling as this region has a strong, loyal customer base to our north. And right now, their dollar is stronger than ours so they should be getting a premium,” Guerette said Wednesday. “As a Chamber, we’re wondering what we can do behind the scenes.”

Guerette said national chains generally do not allow their stores to take foreign currency.

Linens ‘n Things’ corporate office in Clifton, N.J., confirmed that it is the company’s nationwide policy not to accept any foreign money. Bed Bath & Beyond said it does not have a “currency conversion system” in place at any of its stores nationwide. A.C. Moore and Quirk did not return calls for comment.

No store is obligated to accept foreign currency, but James Gerety, general manager of the Bangor Mall, believes it is good customer service for storeowners to direct Canadian shoppers to the nearest place where they may exchange their cash.

“While we don’t want to have to send those customers off property, sometimes we do,” Gerety said Thursday. At the Bangor Mall, each store sets its own policy on accepting foreign currency.

Brad Ryder, owner of Epic Sports in downtown Bangor, said he accepts Canadian dollars and has a hard time imagining why any store would not do the same.

“We try to follow our bank’s discounting. In this case, it’s 10 percent in favor of Canadian money,” Ryder said. That means that if a Canadian customer purchases a jacket with a $100 price tag, that customer pays $90 in Canadian currency.

Ryder said he loses a “minimal” amount of revenue when he goes to deposit Canadian money at his bank, but not enough to change his policy.

Bangor Savings Bank said Thursday that it does not charge a fee to customers when they deposit Canadian dollars or checks. The money is simply converted at the bank’s current exchange rate, which on Thursday was 92 Canadian cents to one U.S. dollar, according to spokeswoman Carol Colson.

Ryder does not keep track of how much of his revenue comes from Canadian customers, but he said he rarely sees their currency in his store. He estimates that about 95 percent of Canadian shoppers use their credit cards.

Marden’s in Brewer has long accepted Canadian dollars and posts a sign near its registers advertising the store’s daily exchange rate. On Thursday, the rate was 96 Canadian cents to one U.S. dollar.

Hotels and other lodging facilities seem to be more inclined to accept Canadian currency. The Ramada Inn in Bangor has always accepted Canadian cash and now takes it at par, according to manager Free Martin.

The Stucco Lodge in Veazie has a sign on U.S. Route 2 advertising “Canadian dollar at par” and has kept the promise since 1994, according to owner Najam “Andy” Hashmi.

“My repeat customers aren’t going to go anywhere else,” Hashmi said. He estimates that 70 percent of his customers are Canadian, and he said many of them bring him gifts when they come to stay with him.

Canadian customers complain to him when area stores refuse to accept their currency, Hashmi said.

Guerette recommends that Canadian shoppers use a credit or debit card in stores that do not accept Canadian dollars. She said the Chamber will urge all of its members to accept the currency and is thinking of reinstating the Canadian Appreciation Days that took place in the 1990s.

“They were very successful,” Guerette said.

On Friday afternoon, two Canadian shoppers, Bernie and Nicolle Chavarie of Grand Barachois, New Brunswick, were in Bangor for a weekend of shopping and stopped at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Odlin Road in Bangor. They said that for years they have assumed that their cash will not be accepted at any Maine businesses outside Calais.

“It’s frustrating,” said Bernie Chavarie. “We’re supposed to be good neighbors.”

aravana@bangordailynews.net

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