Squeaky
Well-Known Member
Good morning
Some people dislike hearing phrases or sentences which are bigoted, racist or discriminatory but the one that I really dislike hearing is “Oh, that’s much cheaper than I would pay at home”. This sentence is usually uttered by someone who has not bothered to find out anything about the local economy or what a local would pay for the same service he wants. I am never sure if this indicates the person has too much money or is just naturally stupid.
Why do I dislike this sentence? Because it almost guarantees that I will charged more than the normal rate for future items or work from the shop owner or workman to whom the sentence has been directed. Why? Because the shop owner or worker will think to himself “Darn, I could have asked more than I did and taken more money from this idiot – next time I will remember this and ask more”. This does not indicate to me that he is dishonest or a cheat but that he is simply doing what he can to increase his income and bank account balance which seems a pretty normal way of doing business. I think it is my responsibility to know what the service I am requesting should cost in the local economy and do everything I can to make sure I don’t embarrass myself by being overcharged or thought a fool by the local people/tradesmen.
My Autohelm 1000 recently failed and I took it to a local shop which was recommended on a local blog and got the impression that the owner was an honest man who could be trusted to open the unit, repair it and charge a reasonable amount. That assumption was a serious mistake. I should have asked him to look at the unit, determine the repairs needed and advise me what the cost would be before doing anything. I didn’t do this but four hours later someone speaking very good English phoned to tell me that the unit has been repaired and could be picked up at any time. I asked what the cost would be and after consulting someone the speaker advised that the cost would be 200 lira (£62). I blurted out several loud expletives and said that hell would freeze over before I would pay that amount however I would drop in the following day.
On arrival at the shop, after the normal pleasantries, I asked the owner to see the pieces that had been removed or replaced and he could only point to a small inexpensive buzzer and tried to indicate something about a pulley. After a few minutes he left and returned with someone who spoke good English. After listening to my request he spoke to the owner and informed me that the buzzer had been replaced and a plastic pulley had been repaired with superglue. I informed the translator that there was no way that I would pay the 200 lira (£62) I had been quoted earlier for such minor repairs or time involved (maximum four hours) especially that this was a country where a policemen with five years’ service are paid 45 lira (£14) a day and restaurant and bar staff are paid under 1,000 lira (£310) a month.
There was a further discussion when the owner indicated that I had been misinformed on the telephone and the cost was only 100 TL (£31). I asked if his time and effort was equivalent to two days’ work by a policeman. After a bit of “toing and froing” the owner attempted to return my 100 TL (£31) which I had passed him. From previous experience I recognized this action to indicate that he was embarrassed and wanted the conversation to end. I insisted he keep the 100 lira as this is about what I would have expected to pay had not many other yachtsmen screwed up this man’s sense of value by uttering the sentence I strongly dislike.
I will return to this shop should I have any further electrical or electronic problems because he will recognize me and know that I am not a “newbie” who is prepared to pay over the top for work.
So if you are one of those with too much money or suffer from a lack of intelligence, please do me a favour and stop warping the locals sense of value by making reference to what you would pay at home for any work you have done in Turkey. You are not impressing the locals but only making yourself an object of ridicule in their eyes plus increasing the cost for those of us who don't have money to waste.
Cheers
Squeaky
Some people dislike hearing phrases or sentences which are bigoted, racist or discriminatory but the one that I really dislike hearing is “Oh, that’s much cheaper than I would pay at home”. This sentence is usually uttered by someone who has not bothered to find out anything about the local economy or what a local would pay for the same service he wants. I am never sure if this indicates the person has too much money or is just naturally stupid.
Why do I dislike this sentence? Because it almost guarantees that I will charged more than the normal rate for future items or work from the shop owner or workman to whom the sentence has been directed. Why? Because the shop owner or worker will think to himself “Darn, I could have asked more than I did and taken more money from this idiot – next time I will remember this and ask more”. This does not indicate to me that he is dishonest or a cheat but that he is simply doing what he can to increase his income and bank account balance which seems a pretty normal way of doing business. I think it is my responsibility to know what the service I am requesting should cost in the local economy and do everything I can to make sure I don’t embarrass myself by being overcharged or thought a fool by the local people/tradesmen.
My Autohelm 1000 recently failed and I took it to a local shop which was recommended on a local blog and got the impression that the owner was an honest man who could be trusted to open the unit, repair it and charge a reasonable amount. That assumption was a serious mistake. I should have asked him to look at the unit, determine the repairs needed and advise me what the cost would be before doing anything. I didn’t do this but four hours later someone speaking very good English phoned to tell me that the unit has been repaired and could be picked up at any time. I asked what the cost would be and after consulting someone the speaker advised that the cost would be 200 lira (£62). I blurted out several loud expletives and said that hell would freeze over before I would pay that amount however I would drop in the following day.
On arrival at the shop, after the normal pleasantries, I asked the owner to see the pieces that had been removed or replaced and he could only point to a small inexpensive buzzer and tried to indicate something about a pulley. After a few minutes he left and returned with someone who spoke good English. After listening to my request he spoke to the owner and informed me that the buzzer had been replaced and a plastic pulley had been repaired with superglue. I informed the translator that there was no way that I would pay the 200 lira (£62) I had been quoted earlier for such minor repairs or time involved (maximum four hours) especially that this was a country where a policemen with five years’ service are paid 45 lira (£14) a day and restaurant and bar staff are paid under 1,000 lira (£310) a month.
There was a further discussion when the owner indicated that I had been misinformed on the telephone and the cost was only 100 TL (£31). I asked if his time and effort was equivalent to two days’ work by a policeman. After a bit of “toing and froing” the owner attempted to return my 100 TL (£31) which I had passed him. From previous experience I recognized this action to indicate that he was embarrassed and wanted the conversation to end. I insisted he keep the 100 lira as this is about what I would have expected to pay had not many other yachtsmen screwed up this man’s sense of value by uttering the sentence I strongly dislike.
I will return to this shop should I have any further electrical or electronic problems because he will recognize me and know that I am not a “newbie” who is prepared to pay over the top for work.
So if you are one of those with too much money or suffer from a lack of intelligence, please do me a favour and stop warping the locals sense of value by making reference to what you would pay at home for any work you have done in Turkey. You are not impressing the locals but only making yourself an object of ridicule in their eyes plus increasing the cost for those of us who don't have money to waste.
Cheers
Squeaky
