Was this fair?

noflylist

Recently on my trip to Himachal in March, I eneded up in Shimla. Well walked up the lift and arranged a tour through travel agent. I asked him to buy me a bus ticket to Delhi.

Next day he called me and told me bus leaves at 10 PM, pick up 3 tickets by 8 PM and yes the cost is 685Rs per person. After tour, I picked up and paid him Rs 2055 exact. He told me 50/person service charge. I told him I had no problem with service charge, only thing is, he should have told me earlier when we talked about it over phone 3 to 4 times. He told me, It was a HPTDC bus, he does not get commission and why should he work for free. I again told him, no problems about service charge, but you should inform the client beforehand and not surprise at the end. Finally I paid him.

Left a bad taste in my mouth!

Also taxi driver he had arranged for tour was not friendly atall!

PeakXV

It's a pi$$ off - its not right - its not fair .... but the onus is on you to make absolutely sure of any baksheesh, taxes or charges that can/will be added to the total. All these service wallahs are not created equally in intelligence and integrity ..... so chalk it up to experience and be ready to interrogate thoroughly the next chap who you do business with.

****Not only in India by the way - Yesterday I posted a parcel to Toronto and for air service the counter lady quoted me $20.00 - thinking this was border line expensive I hummed&hawed before saying okay .... which upon she said "fine - $22.80 please". I got very angry because she forgot to quote me the taxed total - some clerks do, some do not and therefore you really should ask for the "total payable".

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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?

noflylist

Also HPTDC hotel wallah in Shimla, knocked 3 times in the evening to invite us to eat in their restaurant, I guess the business was slow!

I politely told them, each time we had eaten at mall!

ddevadatta

What's fair about India and money???

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Ayurvedic cure for an Indian headache

Lugubert

First two similar cases:

I had to mail a parcel in Varanasi. After the usual hunting for a box and somebody who could sew it up in cloth, I found the post office. A guy offered to help me through the routines. He did a good job, brought me to the man outside who looked like any oldish beggar but seemed to be the official sealer. After he pockmarked the package, the first fellow took the box behind the counters and had it weighed and what not. On the ordinary counter side, there were lots of local people waiting for normal PO things. Everything arranged, I was leaving. My helper followed me, "What about my baksheesh?". I was in a good mood, so I apologized and told him that I thought he was an employee, and gave him probably slightly more than he had expected, judging from his reactions.

When leaving from Chennai for Delhi by air, I was fairly early to be on the safe side. A man approaches, welcoming me, and tells me that he will help me through the routines. By that time, I should have known better, for example because of my going by one of the really cheap companies, but I just thought that they were courteous to a whitey who knows nothing about their procedures. Well, he didn't do very much that I couldn't have managed myself, BUT he saw to that my things were cleared even before checking in queues had formed. Then he of course asked for money, but I just didn't listen but walked on. Now, I'm slightly ashamed when comparing the smooth luggage clearance and checking in to other lines (read: queues and airlines) I've had to suffer.

While I'm at it, a memory that still haunts me and on which I can't decide is from my first week on my first trip to India. I was walking in NW Delhi, not too close to the central parts. A young woman or rather girl, far from ugly, carrying an infant approaches me and signs that the baby needs food. I signed and used some poor Hindi to tell her that I had all my cash at the guest house. I still can't guess if it was a legit cry for help, or if she had rented the child from someone who would grab perhaps 80% of her takes.

Nick-H

One learns, and sometimes forgets, to make sure of asking the [i]final /I] price, inclusive of all taxes, etc, etc.

By the way... do people really still do this sewing up parcels in cloth and sealing them thing? I thought it was something that existed only in the guide books, having never seen it here, and sent stuff off by post in an ordinary paper package.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

edwardseco

Rented babies 100%. But, I liked the idea that it isn't so simple in all situations..

Lugubert

November 2006.

In Mussoorie, April 2003, I was told that the one person who was authorized for this kind of sewing was the Master Tailor. (BTW, he and his brother made some nice clothes for me and some others on our Hindi course, but they were slooow.) That time and there, no seals were needed.

A funny thing with the two Mussoorie packages was that I, testing, sent one as surface mail and one by air. The airmailed package had all of the ca. 50 stamps still glued on. On the surface parcel, five (out of 30?) remained. I should add that the packages in themselves were unharmed, and reached Sweden in expected time or better. (The Varanasi box had a computer printed label instead of stamps. Progress in three years, ot just a bigger city?)

katysays

They sure do.. I sent, I think, 5 parcels home on this trip..from all over, Goa, Rishikesh, Cochin, Dehli.. and all were stitched and sealed!

Nick-H

Amazing.

Certainly doesn't seem to be required here. As I said, we have sent several packages to UK, just paper-wrapped and taped.

noflylist

You can seal cloth wrapped packages it yourself with a candle.