"Pay whatever you like"

tony

Hi

My Indian friends say that sometimes/ someplaces when you ask how much you owe (after you received the service eg taxi ride, meal, night in hotel etc), then the response is "pay whatever you like".

Of course the "scam ?" is that you pay more than the usual rate. Alternatively if you offer a low amount then you are met with a string of abuse, possibly violence.

I expect the "pay whatever you like" attitude before buying something (that's plain bartering), but it does serve to remind us to agree on the price up front before using the service.

Tony

machadinha

Nonsense. Can happen with a taxi ride yes (so agree on price before) or with touts; with a hotel or restaurant, highly unlikely I'd say (you may well have to keep track of what you ordered; every item's costs; the total bill; the supposed lack or miscalculation of change; etc. though. Annoying at times, esp. if it's just about a cup of tea.) Violence in any of this is even more unlikely; I don't know your Indian friends you mentioned on this and other posts, but I'd suggest not letting them scare you so much.

When considering to buy some item in a shop and being met with this proposal, just put it back and walk out I guess; or get the seller to get into decent bargaining manoeuvres. (Walking away will greatly assist this anyway. Having them run after you pleading to up your latest bid will indicate you're getting close to something of a decent price, at least for a tourist. Anyway a first rule is having you name your price first leaves you at the weaker end; you should be responding to what they come up with, not vice versa. Oh and please bear in mind this is ideally something of an art form and should be handled with elegance over plenty a cup of chai -- if it turns out into half a fight over every last half rupee, you're on the wrong track and being silly over what's not really worth it to begin with. Again, walk away and try again a next time. You probably didn't need that item all that hard anyway -- and if you did, there's nothing wrong with settling for something that makes you feel comfortable, whilst keeping the merchant's and your own integrity and ego intact.)

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

PeakXV

It may represent a bit of a gambit to the newbie especially if they have not done any research in the service/product they are requesting.... and merely an invitation for the experienced higgler to offer an opening bid.

__________________
We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

capt_mahajan

Never happened in all my life.

Suspect its a ploy used with foreigners.

PeakXV

"As you like Sir/Madam" is an attempt/chance/dare to allow the dumb gora to literally act out the "a fool and his money soon part" saying in a real-time one act play.

They are betting you will aim higher to over-compensate this unusally kind invitation for a chance at a fair rate. If you do blow you wad(many do) - they'll accept and you'll never know how foolish you've been. If you low-ball them they might offer a sarcastic "in sha allah" or equivalent response that will quickly throw a wrench in your frugal aspirations.

lotus blossom

this happened to me several times, well, at least a few. when i asked "how much?", some wallahs would say "your choice". of course, if i offered what i felt or had heard was a fair rate, they balked, were insulted and acted like i was the worst person on earth. i despise this sort of "haggling".

__________________
Not all who wander are lost

machadinha

I'd venture to say it's happened to anyone going there and to several other places for decades or centuries Lotus. I just doubt if it would happen in a hotel or restaurant, which was part of what the original question was about. Has it to you?

As for shops, that's a different ballgame, where it becomes sort of a match between you and the proprietor. If elegantly handled, can be fun for all parties involved, and otherwise there'll be fixed-price shops nearby (not necessarily cheaper, but saving you from the fear of being "ripped off.") If you don't feel like it, there's no real need to get involved. So you're left with taxis and touts where you need to be a little on your guard yes. Kind of comes with the field right.

I'm interested to hear the Capt. knows none of this btw. Of course they know how to pick out a whitey -- I hear Indian tourists at home don't fare much better though.

PeakXV

I think the OP was using some "loose & uninitiated examples" of the "as you like" line that is part & parcel with the Indian experience. The hotel rate negotiation system can be a higgle/haggle as complex as any Saturday afternoon ramble in a bazaar BUT is never an after-the-fact negotiation.

The "pay whatever you like/ as you like Sir/Madam" line is a real and present wallet loosening tool for many goods & services though - newbies take note!

capt_mahajan

Doesn't usually happen to Indians except in a different context.

Sometimes a odd job workman (electrician, plumber, cobbler etc) will do this, for the same reasons as a hotel guy may do it with a foreigner.

I have been to a resteraunt in UK, though, where there were no prices; you paid what you thought the meal was worth.

But that was above board and known beforehand, no printed prices.. interesting concept, I thought.

machadinha

LOL was this in the hippie/punk/squatter's/or generally "alternative" scene by any chance Capt.? Not an uncommon way to go about it in such circles yes.

Different economic mores though. You pay what you have, kind of thing. (And it's open to abuse yes. So are other systems.)

capt_mahajan

Nah. Was a slightly better class of resteraunt than I am used to

machadinha

Heheh. These things tend to work the other way upwards too yes.



THE DINNER PARTY

shashank.aggarwal

These things happen while haggling and bargaining...they do not happen in service sector..unless you are haggling with a hotel OR taxi driver for price, but it is always before using the services...

This happens a lot in the markets like Palika Bazaar in Delhi, they will a price of Rs.1000 and when you try to haggle they will say pay whatever you like, so obviously a person not used to their tactics would cut out 20-30% or whatever amount that quote that...this way the shopkeepers are able to get the mindframe of the customer...

Some for a resident of Delhi, I am aware of these tactics and am aware how to handle these..

__________________
Travelogue - Around India
Random Reviews

Bex

Pay whatever you like???
Must be free then

PeakXV

As one Kashmiri rug dealer said most seriously and accusingly after I offered $100.00 to him upon being fed the "as you like Sir" line for his Persian "design", marina wool marginal rug ..... "you have just stabbed me in the heart and I'm bleeding to death"

me: .....ok ok ok $105.00


Rug dealer: #%Q#%#%#% @$@$@$@$@$ out of my shop!!!