Jun 7, 2010

Little love for the loonie over hereBy Stephen T. WatsonBuffaloNews.com

NY — Buffalo Niagara region retailers and restaurateurs want Canadian customers. They just don’t always want their currency.

While Ontario shops and restaurants usually accept greenbacks, it can be hard to find places on this side of the border where Canadian money is taken.

The loonie, it seems, doesn’t get a lot of respect here.

“It’s not good customer service,” Russ Jasulevich, chief operating officer of Mighty Taco, said of the cold shoulder some businesses give to Canadian money.

The Canadian and U.S. dollars have traded at close to par for much of the past few years, with occasional periods when the Canadian version was worth more.

Yet many American stores and restaurants don’t accept Canadian money, or if they do, it’s at an exchange rate worse than the market rate.

“In the long run, that kind of behavior really hurts us from an economic point of view,” said Gary D. Praetzel, dean of Niagara University’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

On the other side of the Niagara River, a survey found more businesses take American money, and it’s often accepted at a more favorable exchange rate.

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