Beware!!!

mountaingirl

Ok another YOU CAN AVOID THING....

I have been frequenting the coffee shops (cafe Coffee day and Barista) in Connaught place. I have never failed to see touts operating there.......they just pretend to be bored (they don't even buy anything there!) and start chatting with foreigners who come there and lure them to god knows where...........

I have complained to the Manager & asked them to put up a warning poster etc but I am not sure what else they can do.

So, if you are lonely....beware of talking with very 'helpful' people!

Cheerio everybody!

Alan D

OR

For a tout free cup of coffee you could try the United Coffee House in CP.

And no, I'm not on a commission basis I just like the place!

beach

Probably the touts start patenting their modus operandi as intellectual property (IP), is not too far.

IVAN

Touts are interesting. You can learn a lot about human psychology from touts and the psychologicall tricks they have developped.
And if you yourself are not the suggestionable type, it is also interesting to observe how toot's tricks affect others. Sometimes it's hilarious.

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Merchant

You can always just say no. Touting is hardly a crime or an affront. Why should be people be warned? Why should there be a sign?

LuAnnandJawahar

Hello, its CONNAUGHT PLACE, the home of the most complicated tout rings in the universe.

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mdchachi

The same reason why some places have signs saying that you can't use the loo, you can't walk in and ask for directions, can't use the premises if you're not a paying customer, etc.

I saw a funny picture of such a sign the other day. It was for a coffee shop or restaurant and had a list of about 20 rules. I'll see if I can find it again...

Hey, I found it!
http://www.bu.edu/abroad/ihp/cities9...lides/is25.htm
Fortunately you can gamble, as long as you don't actually discuss it. :)

Photography_Freak

Very True
Cafe coffee day in the inner circle there this group of kashmiri touts sitting there everyday.

Haylo

That is the trouble, some people cannot seem to say no without feeling guilty about it.

Learning that you do actually have the right to say "No", or even to ignore someone who is trying to pester you, that is a lesson that India might help a lot of people with.

That link's broken, can you have another go?

brownboy66

hmmmmmm........probably changed since 2004 when it was posted?

sorry....you get the typo/best post award at the next Delhi meetup - and the prize is that you get to shout a round for the other meetup members....

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Haylo

FOUR years!

Erm... Would you believe that I am new to forums? Thought not.

karuna

Got cornered by a Kashmiri in Banana Leaf. We were on a prepaid tour and needed nothing whatsoever from him, but that didn't stop him talking. He spent ages going on about how terrible the commission system is and how he would never pay tuktuk drivers who brought customers to his shop, and how he was recommended in Footprint guides.

When our driver arrived to pick us up, the guy handed us his card and left.

When I got home and checked, he was indeed listed in Footprint as a recommended agent. How much of the rest of it was true, I just don't know. But since we needed nothing from him at all and have no desire to go to Kashmir, it was all a bit of a wasted effort. And he'll be back in there every night trying the same schtick....he has more patience than me

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Haylo

Since he did not inspire you to leave your plans behind and whizz off to Kasmir, it was not a wasted effort for him - he was obviously getting in some much needed practice!

But seriously, are touts really that much of a problem? I have not ventured into CP, but generally I don't feel obliged to respond when people make demands of me, and if I want some help I approach someone who look as if they are on their way to doing something. Touts have not been a problem for me so far, but maybe that approach would not work in CP?

Then again, if CP is such a pain, I doubt I'd make an effort to go there - apart from a rather large bookshop that's been recommended to me.

hal2004

I'm with IVAN. Sometimes the most memorable part of a trip can be interacting with one of these characters. If you're really sadistic, try Morocco for the full-on aggressive tout experience.

karuna

Oh hell, typed long reply to Haylo, then lost it.

Short version:

Touts not that bad. Maybe up to 5 or 6 attempted conversations during perambulation around CP, depending on time of day and, if caucasian, paleness (very white? Ahh, fresh off the plane!). Perfectly possible to go to cafe/restaurant and be left completely alone.

I assume anyone talking to me in CP is a tout. Not the place to try to "interact with the locals". They have some sophisticated set ups as well; sometimes people report seeing the same faces in different Rajasthani towns. It's not just local boys. They pass on info about who's going where etc. Bit scary really.