Okay before I write about the great start to my first TET holiday IN HANOI (usually my TET holidays are spent outside Vietnam but this year I had to stay in the country during this time), I just have to write about my unfortunate experience with “opportunists”.
This is the great view of Truch Bach lake on the view deck of Nguyen Son Bakery on Tran Vu steet. No problem sitting for the great part of the day here, as long as you're not caught during TET holidays!
I mean REAL, MEAN OPPORTUNISTS! The ones who prey on foreigners like me who can’t speak the local language, are thought to be walking dollar signs, and stick out like a sore thumb because of the color of our skin, our lack of suaveness with the local language, or just look different from the local population.
So yes, if you get charged for a bowl of Bun Oc, a slightly spicy noodle soup with little or big snails and a few pieces of meat, you’re not supposed to pay more than VND 20,000 for that. But this lady in front of my house charged me VND 35,000 for that thing. And I can’t argue with that because the damn snails are in my gullet already. And she charged VND 20,000 for a similar bowl to a fellow diner which I happen to overhear.
Now you might be saying that “hey, that’s only over 2 US$ man!”. Think! We’re in a 3rd world country – and I’m not referring to that in a derogatory term becoz I come from one too! In Bangkok, for US$2, you get a complete meal of rice, 1 meat-dish viand and a coke for that matter. In Vientiane, Laos, among the restaurants overlooking the Mekong River, for just US$1, you get a whole plateful of fresh vegetable salad good for 3 persons with real mayonnaise dressing as well!
And since I’ve been around long enough to know the difference in prices, it’s really irritating to have to go through this again. Before, I used to argue quite a lot with the seller in the little Vietnamese I know. But now, I just shrug and add them up to the list of vendors I don’t patronize – which makes me somehow sad because my list is unfortunately growing.
Here are the placid waters of Truch Bach lake with the swan boats. In the far distance is Sofitel Hanoi Plaza. Taken from the view deck of Nguyen Son bakery.
And these opportunists are not confined to the lowly street seller. I can name at least 1 more food retailer – the famous Nguyen Son Bakery that has a floating restaurant and bakery at the end of Tran Vu street.
Now it just so happened that the management of this bakery decided to operate the restaurant during the TET holidays – to the delight of foreign residents who opt to eat out always like me, and the consternation of its employees who have to work through their TET holidays.
But there is one hitch: they created a “special menu” of dine-in food items that was priced higher by 25-30% than the regular menu and sold only that for the TET holidays. Moreover, they imposed a 30% service charge on the dine-in menu.
So on the first day of this weirdly arranged menu, wherein they placed the 30% service charge along with the list of food items I bought like it was an item for sale in the receipt, I just wagged my head and told myself, “Well, it only happens once a year”. But then when I came back the following day to buy take-out cakes and other food items, they insisted on imposing the 30% service charge on the take-out items as well!
And that was when I had to put down my foot and say, “Your manager yesterday specifically told me that take-out items do not have this 30% service charge.” To myself, I really wonder why I have to pay a service charge for take-out items. It is totally ridiculous!
So the on-duty manager talks to the girl who was present with the manager I talked to the previous day, and who tried to avoid looking at me because she knew what I said was true. After a brief talk, they finally relented and let the matter go.
My point is, I am not against imposing an instant service charge on a special holiday like this. What I don’t agree to is the utter “whimsicalness” and “incredibility” of the sudden change of policy. If you really and honestly want to reward your employees for working extra time on what is supposed to be during their hard-earned holiday, then get the reward from your profit cache, not pass on the responsibility of giving that reward to your long-time customers. Pleez!!
I am not saying that the general population of Vietnam are like these. But yes, these opportunists do exist in the population. To tackle them, you must be a) informed and quick to learn the local quirks and ways of connecting with the locals, and b) stand your ground, even though they start shouting at you! You will realize sooner or later, if you intend to stay and work in Vietnam, that what we call “rude shouting” in certain cultures seem to be just normal behavior in several parts of the population. Again, it is a matter of perception, so do not be offended by it.
Tags: blogging in hanoi, Bun Oc, Fabulous in Hanoi, Hanoi, hanoi lifestyle, hanoi resident, living in hanoi, Nguyen Son Bakery, oppportunists, shopping in Hanoi, TET holidays, things to do in hanoi, travel and leisure, travel and lifestyle, Vietnam
