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yonitabonita -

I ride just about everywhere and have never paid more than 2 mao. I think 3 kuai is way too much.

I always check my bill because by some funny coincidence, whenever the bill has been tallied
incorrectly, it's always to my disadvantage. And always, when it happens, I'm with someone white
and we've been speaking English at the table.

I'm not cool with the laowai tax. Mainly because I don't like being singled out disadvantageously
for characteristics I can do nothing to change. This applies across the board, whether at a
restaurant, paying for my bike parking, or getting a bottle of water.

A restaurant I tried recently was pretty good so I decided to return with my white husband. When I
went the first time, I was given the usual chopsticks - I was with someone Chinese. When I
appeared with white boy the second time, the restaurant staff wheeled out the 'special chopsticks'
that come pre-wrapped and incur an additional charge. This would be ok if they asked me first, and
pointed out that for an additional miniscule charge, I could purchase this extra hygenic service.
But they didn't. I don't like the presumption that I have hoards of money and I willingly spend
without caring. I don't like others deciding how to spend my money on my behalf.

I think that whenever a foreigner thinks "I won't check, it's just a couple of kuai", it
contributes towards the false 'laowai economy' which is responsible for the disgruntlement of the
OP. It also perpetuates the "laowais have money to burn" sort of mentality which is of course bad
for the sucker that has to pay more. At a larger scale, the mentality is bad for the reputations
of Chinese people, and bad for relationships with Chinese people. People who are already prone to
over-generalisations will have all the more cause to accuse the Chinese of being terrible rip off
merchants that can't be trusted etc.

I think that places where we find "I won't check it's just a couple of kuai' en masse are
generally horrid places to be. Think - a good proportion of touristy places. I know that one of
the main reasons I avoid lots of touristy places is because far too many laowais before me were
relaxed with their money. They drove prices up, and before too long, you have tourist traps.

Anyway, getting back to the point, I've learnt to ask for the free chopsticks that everyone else
uses. It's only a 2 kuai difference. And while others might not have time to argue about 2 kuai, I
have quite a bit of time to argue about matters of principle.

yonita



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heifeng -



Quote:

Anyway, getting back to the point, I've learnt to ask for the free chopsticks that everyone else
uses. It's only a 2 kuai difference. And while others might not have time to argue about 2 kuai, I
have quite a bit of time to argue about matters of principle.

HEY! I wrote this in the Chinese Scam sections a few months ago, then people said it doesn't
constitute a scam, but I still think it does since I'm pretty sure it's just a scam to make more
money, rather than hygienic purposes (cuz in China hygiene's such a huge concern right....).

Travel with your own chopsticks (keep pens in your purse, why not chopsticks too)! Sometimes they
claim they don't have 'other' chopsticks......which makes me want to drive those 1 yuan chopsticks
through their........

ok, once again picking battles.......










HashiriKata -



Quote:

Sure we understand why you are near insane, but the Chinese bystanders will probably just be
amused by your frustration....

Wise words, heifeng!




Quote:

I shouted at the guy, gave him three and left. He didn't argue.

I can visualize the scene and it isn't untypical. Here in the West, Chinese guys get cheated too
but I dread to think of the consequences to them if they react the way billiardsmike does !!!










gougou -



Quote:

are you sure they didn't add a extra automatic charge for a TIP which places tend to do where
there are many a foreigners....

If they did, I'd have appreciated them mentioning it somewhere. But the staff corrected the sum,
so I guess it was a mistake (not wanting to imply intent...)










billiardsmike -

You're right on the button Yonita. I avoid large tourist joints like the plague. I tend to
frequent the same 6-7 mom/pop joints. The food is better, cheaper and I'm treated like a regular.
I don't mean to imply that I don't care if I get ripped off. It's just that with these people, I
will believe it's a mistake, so my mind is at ease checking the bill infrequently. When I have,
it's always been right. A couple of them actually ran after me when I left too much money, before
I understood numbers well.

Until today, that was pretty much my outlook here in general, until the blatant white tax. I
wouldn't have caught on then, except the guy was a stand-in and not sure how to rip me off
smoothly. It took me out of my happy place and put me right back in the real world. Sigh!










billiardsmike -

Yeah, maybe I over-reacted a little. I was already having a bad-China day, frustrated with the
Eastern-style teaching methods, and some guy rips me off, bursting the one little happy bubble I
had left. It happens rarely, and I know I'm not helping matters, but I'm certainly not going to
apologize either.












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