how to handle touts?

gus

In hindi speaking parts of india i usally just say 'jii nahi' (no! sir/madam), smile and walk away. Twisting your wrist at the same time usally gives it an edge as it means no.
If that does not work a polite but firm 'Hamko nahi chahiye' (i/we dont need anything) does the trick. Inthe end, if they really anoy me or are directly impolite i might end up saying 'challo!' (go!) or 'challe jao!' (go away), but after my opinion it is best not to loose ones temper. as someone else said in this thread: it is a game...

shere

Ignore them and dont even look at them.

If they still persist shout out something stupid to them like "The Teletubbies like custard".

If they still carry on call them "bhen chord" and run away quickly.

amogasiddhi

My experience of people with whom I do not wish to communicate further with is to either follow local customs and 'act' like a local which includes making an effort to understand how to not only say 'no' but to be 'no'. I tend to find out where I need to go and just go. If someone decides that standing in my way is a good idea then I keep going until they either choose to move or I move them. Not good if you're a delicate lady in which case you need to wear earphones and sunglasses if possible.

Calling a tout a 'Banchoth' is the equivalent of calling an English speaking tout a bastard. The more elaborate the insult, the more understanding you will show of their culture, though there is a limit. If your blood pressure rises because of a tout then they have you making irrational decisions. If you're very 'yeah whatever' they don't have control.

I have a confession. I have said 'no', pushed away, walked through, sworn at, shouted at, spat at, and I even punched one guy so hard he didn't get up again; at least not while I was there and when his mate tried to show me how bad I had been, I went into 'Full Bruce' mode. He swam back to shore after an unexpected night dip in La Garonne, France. You have never seen anything like it. The thing is, on all these occasions, I never got angry. Not really angry though I acted as if I was. If you can switch it on and off, you'll throw them. The other thing is that, in the words of Mr.Anderson in The Matrix "I know Kung-Fu". (never though I'd hear myself say that)

The first thing is, as many have said, not to involve yourself in their 'game' in the first place. Avoiding eye contact or non-verbal signals is your key to success. If you don't 'see' them, they cannot 'enter' your space. If YOU ALLOW THEM TO (sunglasses, earphones?) by making eye contact with them or by reacting to being touched then you must take another position. Be very aloof. Be very 'who do you think you are?' and if they then persist, as they now have your attention, then talking utter rubbish non-stop to them may work, though I would recommend not trying to beat them at their own, well rehearsed blaggery. It's all about attention and you are the owner of your attention. I'd reccommend practising before you go by trying to ignore people on the street.
In the words of Ms Geri Halliwell 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail'.

cyberhippie

Walk tall, be confident and alway remember you owe these guys nothing, you don't have to give them any of your time. The trick with most touts is playing on our western politeness, We feel the need to answer even when being harrassed.
Ignoring works for some, for others just tell them straight "look man you can talk all day and you still ain't gonna sell me anything it's up to you"
If you decide to talk to them, be single minded there's no point in facing up to the guy if your going to crumble at the first bit of phsycological blackmail that's thrown at you.
Say your piece and mean it, use humour, talk like you know!!! Remember though a harrasment these touts aren't dangerous it's all a game to try and find your weak spots, tell them nothing, whatever their selling you've already got, if their making a play to sell you travel tickets you've no intention of going there and anyway your already booked to go to Agra (lie if need be)
Show weakness to these guys and their on you like shoal of Pirhanas.
Be resolute and they might drop their act long enough to wish you a pleasant day, perhaps even exchange a smile!!
They're not monsters, just guys looking for an easy buck and occasionally they even have their uses.
I've only told someone to "f-ck off" twice, the rest I've handled using the methods above. These days even the Kashmiri touts in Paharganj just say "welcome back" they've learned the true meaning of the tight Scot abroad
Stick to your guns or ignore them whichever works best for you!!

Happy Traveling

SHIMLA

Persisent and irritating touts deserve to be manhandled, not handled !!

Just joking, of course !! The best way is to ignore them. If they are shameless enough to pursue you, then join your hands and say "Maaf karo", which is the term usually used to shoo away a beggar.

The tout will be made to feel like a beggar and if that dosen't make him slink away, then he is really thick skinned and deserves a place among the rhinos of Assam !!

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Baldy

What does this mean Shimla? Will they get upset or aggressive?

Nick-H

Like living normally in London!

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Rob_The_Pom

I just normally give a shake of the head and keep walking. If this doesn't work a few polite 'No thank yous' and so on. The good old 'Chalo' (did I spell that right?) is next line.
I then move on to the 'hard, you're going to get a beating' stare' - which is probably not for everyone, but I look like a complete nutter (like a Millwall fan circa 1978) - just take a look at my picture if you don't believe me. This normally works for me. In a few extreme circumstances a good blast of everyone's favourite Anglo-Saxon vernacular usually does the trick.
The worst it's ever got for me I threatened to deck the bloke and he soon disappeared.
(Don't like doing that though, I really hate violence.)

I suppose I try to keep in mind that people are just looking at ways of making a living.

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mr pastry

On our recent trip we found the best policy was just to totally ignore them and keep walking. However, one guy in Madurai was so persistent that he followed us for about 1 hour, after the initial pestering he kept himself about 25 metres away but still followed us. In the end we went in to a Coffee House to see what he would do. Sure enough he breezed past looking to see where we were. I'd had enough by then, so I went out into the street and called him over. I told him politely but in a very loud voice that if he didn't stop following us we would call the police (there was a traffic officer standing nearby). We didn't see him again.

torryquine

Thanks Gus, this is what I was looking for.

"I then move on to the 'hard, you're going to get a beating' stare' - which is probably not for everyone, but I look like a complete nutter (like a Millwall fan circa 1978)" I like to see this demonstrated Rob, but I'm not sure I could carry it off!

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SHIMLA

Baldy,

"Maaf Karo" literally means "Forgive me". In this context, this means "Excuse Me", or "Leave me alone, I'm not interested".

The touts will not get upset or aggressive.

Shiver me Timbers

Hmmmm, what are you like when you're angry amogasiddhi?

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amogasiddhi

I'm a very calm and considerate person but I do have my moments. There's more chance of me battering my keyboard or slapping my very evil iMac than a person. Bloody inanimate objects!
When I punched that guy and gave his mate a swimming lesson it wasn't me 'snapping' because they were trying to carry my luggage or sell me something, it was because I was being ambushed while walking along the riverside with my girlfriend on a summer's evening and the 'swimmer' pulled a knife. We didn't know we were in the shit until we were.
When I get angry I tend to be very deliberate and clear about what I mean or intend. If you're in any doubt about your abilities, run like hell. There is no point to prove and you don't know the other person's limits, so leave the bugger standing.
The key to dealing with confrontational situations is to remember that, in the instance of touts, it isn't a personal thing, it's because you're a tourist.
It's a sweeping generalisation on behalf of the tout, which works almost every time, no matter how experienced a traveller you are. It's the very same sweeping generalisations which 'westerners' are told to avoid as it is contradictory to the 'accepting western culture' which many people actually think exists. It does, some of the time but most people accept it without trying to understand it, because they are told to accept it. Touts are told that they can extort money for the same reasons that we are told that we cannot. A perfect balance.

04274108

Here are my observations after returning from my first trip:

Taxi and autorickshaws: My wife made the observation that if you say "No thank you sir", then 99 times out of 100, they would leave us alone. Don't know why this works. Just make sure to include the "sir" part. "No thank you" is not good enough.

Children: The children trying to sell you stuff you don't want are the worst. You can joke with them, scream at them, go through the entire spectrum of emotions and they will keep on asking until they can latch onto another tourist. However, I found a very effective technique that worked every time with salespeople, children, taxi wallahs, beggars etc. who wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

What you do is stop and turn and look them right in the eyes. Don't say a word. Look intensively right through their eyes and let them exhaust themselves out with their pitch until they stop. Once they stop, wait a few seconds so that they can "hear" the silence and let their minds start to think that "I'm in trouble" as you stare at them. Then, calmy, but firmly, say "Naheen" (no). Never failed.

Someone mentioned being polite. Well, I'm polite too. However, in India, there are going to be times when you will have to be rude. Very quickly, you are going to find out what your limits are and you are going to push past them in order to get on with things.

Many times, a sense of humor works very well too. Use your judgement. In Chandi Chowk market in Delhi, we were walking down an alley and a fellow jumped out and was quite animated and excited to try and get us into his shop. His trap was moving a mile a minute and his arms were waving so vigorously that I thought he'd get airborne. So I began immitating him and explained to him why I didn't want to go into his shop; talking loudly so the whole alley could hear and waving my arms and legs all around. His mates were rolling in the aisles and he shrunk to his chair, smiling.

Shiver me Timbers

Morocco was my first experience with touts. Day 1, I was a sitting duck, nothing had prepared me for it, as I had no guidebook or advice.

After 3 weeks, I kind of enjoyed it in a weird way. One day, I made eye contact with a guy in Marrakesh, and could see him slipping into the routine. I went straight over to him, told him I was a student who wanted to practice my English, and if he wanted to see my uncle's carpet shop. I gave him every line I had heard the previous 3 weeks.

He got the joke straight away, and immediately started playing the hapless tourist, then broke down laughing, and we both moved on.

Just to show, you can have fun with these guys.