Negative Experiences/Stories Whilst Travelling…

Trying2SaveABuck on 30/09/2018 - 01:03
Last edited 30/09/2018 - 01:03

First let me say I love travelling, the adventure, the culture and the experience of something very different to the life I know.
However, travelling generally gets a good wrap but there are things everyone hates about travelling share you experiences here…

Some my experiences
- Business that charge you more because they know you are a tourist, this is common practice in non-english speaking countries but I’ve only been able to catch out the businesses twice once in Thailand and once in Paris in which I noticed the locals had a menu where the prices were significantly cheaper then what I was looking out

  • Delayed flights from Sweden to Melbourne I had a stop off in Doha which was meant to be a 3 hour stop which turned into a 14-hour delay nightmare the worst past was I was flying Qatar who are meant to be a great airline but needless to say I was not looked after at all. Defiantly wouldnt flight those pricks again

  • Bad accommodation I probably noticed this the most when traveling Europe some places had reviews of 8s and 9s but where dreadful or simply not what was advertised dont know if there is a way around this in Europe when looking for affordable accommodation but it is worth noting

  • Being pestered, this is common in tourist hot spot locations all around the world but no where was worse then NYC in which from the moment I stepped out of my hotel (near central park) I had people hassling me money selling bus tours, asking for photos of them in costumes (and expecting money for a picture), simply just begging for cash, the worst of all was the bike taxis which were praying mostly on non-English speaking tourist charging up to $20USD a minute I saw 3 Chinese women pay one bloke about $300 for a 15min ride around central park… I think they thought it was like in Asia where you play like $10 an hour….

  • Tipping in USA - despite the BS they feed tourist tipping 15-20% is not mandatory throughout all of the USA you can almost always get away with 10% (maybe even 5%) and for things like Uber, Taxi etc you dont need to tip if you do $1USD would suffice. If you talk to average locals they will tell you if the service isnt PERFECT and in most places it isnt you just need to take ie my table wasnt clean, my glass was dirty etc and you can tip ZERO. - great way to save money in the States!! For the record once i learn this i tipped no more then 10% for 4 weeks throughout the states never had an issue matter of fact id say some of the southern states you can tip 2-3USD and they would be happy with that…

These are some of my experiences I’m sure there are some good stories out there might save other Ozb from falling for rip off tactics of foreign counties

Travel

Comments

  • Clear on 30/09/2018 - 01:31
    +1

    You've got it easy. I've had bad luck going to Thailand. Had a bombing a few blocks away from my hotel, been there in a couple of coup attempts and had a plane emergency land due to severe turbulence on the same day as a plane crash. Oh and got food poisoning two days before my flight back to Australia.

    All in all I still love flying and keep going back :)

  • josetann on 30/09/2018 - 02:05
    +9

    I'm from the US, and you're expected to tip servers at least 15%, though that's creeped up to 18% (so basically 20% at this point). Don't tip less than 10% even for bad service, and certainly not for good service. The system sucks, I'll be the first to admit it. Many servers get a minimum wage of $2.13/hr, tips are depended on. Technically, the employer has to make up any shortage to ensure they get the actual minimum wage. You can guess what'd happen to the one waitress who actually reported that she didn't get enough in tips.

    I remember how freaked out I was when I realized I was supposed to tip the person cutting my hair. Never knew until I paid by credit card and there was a line for a tip. I put one, did research, and yup it's a thing. You don't have to tip the cashier if they bag your stuff, but if there's a separate person bagging your stuff then maybe. Taxi yes, more if they handle your bags. It's really frustrating to figure out how much to tip someone who is simply doing the job they were paid to do.

    Guys, please don't make tipping a thing here. Seriously, I love walking into a place, seeing a price, and knowing that's the price I'll pay. No added tax, tip, do I tip on the pre or post tax amount (consensus varies, but you're always to tip on the before discount price, i.e. Groupon specials), etc.

    • Cletus vandamme on 30/09/2018 - 02:34
      +12

      it still baffles me how employers expect paying customers to directly pay for their employees wages. its such a ludicrous system that somehow has become part of the culture.

      • poboy on 30/09/2018 - 10:29

        You can always rely on America to choose the best process… after they have tried everything else.

    • Ozbargainite on 30/09/2018 - 06:46
      +2

      I think Tap and go type payments are killing tipping in Australia.
      Personally I don't really tip much now as I don't carry cash as a rule.

      • Baghern on 30/09/2018 - 12:41

        yeh, dont see that 'tip' part of the bill anymore on credit card/electric payments for bills… I think most cafes/restaurants have figured that it pisse's customer off to be told to tip.. even if they intended ti

    • Baghern on 30/09/2018 - 12:39

      This ^…

      Maybe op only spoke to other cheapskates… but every time I speak to a yank they basically say this, it has creeped up to 20% being the norm in most places.. basically removing the difference between average service and good service, unless you're really well off, you're not going to tip more than 20%

    • idjces on 30/09/2018 - 15:26

      Confirming the above replies, I had been tipping 15% thinking that was the norm, until i met up with a cousin living there who said 20% was the norm.

      Its absurd trying to figure out your actual out of pocket costs when you have to add a varying sales tax, then having to add a tip (with some unspecified 'social norms' as to whom should receive said tip)

    • try2bhelpful on 30/09/2018 - 19:00

      I get your point but America is insane for working out what you owe for something. I’ll give Americans a few hints. You pay taxes, get over it and build it into the price. Pay your employees a living wage so they don’t have to get a top up by compulsory tips. “Right to work” seems to be shorthand for “right to be exploited”.

      We’ve been to America a number of times, we were in Atlanta when 911 happened, but paying for something was like spinning a wheel and guessing. This became even funnier when you get coupons from the paper. Go into JC Penny, etc - OK that is 70% off and I also have a discount coupon but then I have to add in whatever taxes there are. Just ask the nice lady and hand over the credit card.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2018 - 08:50
    +1

    Re the OP saying they caught the restaurant in Thailand charging you a different price,this is common in Thailand.

    Many Govt places such as the Zoo etc also have 2 prices,one for Thais and one for farangs( foreigners)

    • Clear on 30/09/2018 - 09:58

      Learning a little bit of Thai has helped me get past the tourist fees. I book all my tours through a woman that owns a massage parlour… not suss at all. She's always been significantly cheaper than online, direct and the hotels.

  • Randxyz123 on 30/09/2018 - 12:35

    Tipping in USA - despite the BS they feed tourist tipping 15-20% is not mandatory throughout all of the USA you can almost always get away with 10% (maybe even 5%)

    I've lived in the USA and their tipping system sucks but I honestly hope no one on here would tip less than 20% at restaurants. Servers are paid like $2 an hour. You say telling the restaurant "my glasses were dirty" is a great way to save money.

    I'm sorry but that is just as low as one could go. The server would be fired over $10-15? seriously? Not like the server ends up with all of the tips. The "house" takes a cut.

    Business that charge you more because they know you are a tourist

    I don't mind this in 3rd world countries.

    If they charge a local $5 for the zoo and a foreigner $25 I'm less likely to care because I'm on holidays. Especially where $25 in Thailand would probably cover their weekly shop.

    I'm guessing most will disagree with me but it's just my opinion.

    • try2bhelpful on 01/10/2018 - 17:41

      I agree about the third world country comment. A couple of bucks is, really, nothing to us but could mean a lot to them.

  • MITM on 30/09/2018 - 13:01
    +2

    Credit card expired mid way through backpacking Europe.
    Had to wait for the new card to arrive before continuing which sux when you've got itchy feet and the travel bug bad.
    So when checking your passport expiry, also check your credit card expiry.

    • shadowangel on 30/09/2018 - 14:46
      +1

      You went with just one card ? I lost my wallet in a cab in Bangkok , ordered a beer for me and my partner and noticed my bag was very light.

      No money to pay for the beer great… Luckily they allowed us to pay by bank transfer and I had some backup funds at the hotel with a second wallet.

    • Randxyz123 on 30/09/2018 - 17:05

      Credit card expired mid way through backpacking Europe.

      Sorry but that's on you mate… How did you not notice?

  • retiredfeline on 30/09/2018 - 15:51
    +1

    For me the negative experiences are after traveling, e.g. ow the credit card payment, ow have to eat instant noodles until next payday, etc. etc. 😉😉😉

  • try2bhelpful on 01/10/2018 - 17:39

    Generally we’ve been pretty lucky - just usual charged for excess baggage, etc. the worst we had was being in an underground train station in New York at night, no one else on the platform and we could hear the voices of people running around and yelling echoing around us. We got on the next train out of there.

    My brother came back from Asia once with Hep. A. Another time a cop walking near him in America accidentally discharged his weapon and it ricocheted off the footpath in front of him.

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