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Stupid Americans being stupid Americans. They should've been arrested and charged with mischief for wasting police time. Do I think the price is outrageous? YES. But those morons did make the choice to eat there!
I'm embarrassed for them, lol
No wonder Europe hates U.S. tourists
I have several very good friends from when I worked in Europe that are innkeepers or have restaurants and they always ask me when will the Americans return???
They said business was never so good as when bus loads of Americans would fill their establishments and Americans are the only ones that leave real tips...
I've traveled through all of Western Europe and to some of the former Eastern Block... almost without exception I find the locals very warm and welcoming...
In fact, only twice was there ever a problem... once in Rome and once in Paris.
In Rome, I was meeting friends that live there and a few words from them and the matter was totally resolved.
Not quite the case in Paris... oh well... I'm sure it could happen here too.
That said... there is often a learning curve when experiencing a new culture...
My sister in law wanted water in Vienna and the waiter asked small or large and she said large... that liter bottle of mineral water was $18...
A friend was in Salzburg with a rental and I told them exactly where to park for exploring the old city... they found a underground garage right in city center with lots of parking... so they decided to park there... very surprised to learn it was $12 and hour... then again... try parking in San Francisco or Manhattan...
One little twist I always find amusing... sometimes I will have a group with me and for convenience choose a restaurant that displays Euro Master or Visa Welcome...
Can't tell how many times when it comes time to pay the bill... the waiter tells me the machine is broken and cash only... I start to write down my hotel address and tell them I will send them payment since I have no cash... EVERYTIME... the credit card machine mysteriously works when they try it one more time... we all smile at our "Good Fortune" and leave it at that.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 08-11-2014 at 12:44 AM..
$50 for ice cream is highway robbery. Rather than call the cops, they should have just pretended they don't speak Italian, smiled and paid whatever they felt the gelato was worth. Why waste time arguing with a foreign shyster? What goes around comes around, after all.
$50 for ice cream is highway robbery. Rather than call the cops, they should have just pretended they don't speak Italian, smiled and paid whatever they felt the gelato was worth. Why waste time arguing with a foreign shyster? What goes around comes around, after all.
acting like this you give to the owner the opportunity to call the police, and you risk the arrest. if you want to eat a gelato (or anything else) for an honest price just AVOID THE TOURISTIC AREAS.
I've also read that there is some confusion about the "coperto". In practice, every time you go to a restaurant, a bar, a pizzeria... and you sit at a table the coperto is added to the bill. with the coperto you don't pay just for the bread or the water, but for the table, the towels, eating utensils and the service (remember that in italy you don't have to tip the waiters). The coperto's prices changes a lot according to the kind of local.
The same thing happened to me at the Vatican. It was a small mom and pop place. We were charged exorbitant unrealistic prices for water, a coke we never ordered, and tiny slices of bread that they just dropped off at our table pretending it was 'courtesy bread.' It ended up being like $40 US extra on top of our food bill.....
I really like Italians, but Rome has a unfortunate reputation as the rip-off capital.
However, I live in Portugal and it is the custom here to bring a basket of bread, some butter and a couple of fish spreads to the table unasked for in many cases. The customer is expected to say "No, thank you," and the stuff is taken away, otherwise you will be charged for it. This has slowly changed over the past few years (around here, at least) as now the waiter or waitress will ask you oftentimes.
But if you haven't read a guide book or know the custom, you think you are being had.
The same thing happened to me at the Vatican. It was a small mom and pop place. We were charged exorbitant unrealistic prices for water, a coke we never ordered, and tiny slices of bread that they just dropped off at our table pretending it was 'courtesy bread.' It ended up being like $40 US extra on top of our food bill.
Completely ridiculous and unacceptable. When we complained, they showed us on the back of the menu all the way at the bottom in tiny letters the prices. Supposedly we had been informed.
Also the taxis like going around in circles to charge you more.
I had such a bad experience in Rome, I was not impressed and never want to go back. People were rude, arrogant, and the rip-offs didn't help any.
Did you not notice the prices when you ordered? I would naturally assume that any food or beverages ordered in a tourist destination, such as the Vatican, would be overpriced. Much like places here in the U.S. like museums & such. You really shouldn't be surprised. I look forward to visiting Rome some day.
$50 for ice cream is highway robbery. Rather than call the cops, they should have just pretended they don't speak Italian, smiled and paid whatever they felt the gelato was worth. Why waste time arguing with a foreign shyster? What goes around comes around, after all.
Why would they order & eat the ice cream then? Like they didn't know the prices ahead of time? Come on. They could've gone somewhere else, somewhere NOT in a tourist area. The same applies to tourist areas in the U.S. It's like they left their brains back here when they went there.
Seriously though, how naive do you have to be to purchase something without checking the price? ESPECIALLY something in a tourist area of a foreign country where this sort of thing is much more likely to occur?
They paid around $50 for 3 Gelatos and a bottled water in Rome.
That's about $15 per Gelato and $5 for the water.
Sorry, but welcome to Rome, New York City, London, Paris, Disneyland, professional sports stadiums, etc where that's what people pay!
These people were just naive. Its one thing if the prices were posted and the proprietor tried to charge them more, lets call it equally guilty if the prices weren't posted, they were too dumb to ask and the proprietor tried to scalp them but if the prices were posted, you're on the hook. I hope the Polizia di Stato arrived and beat them for filing a frivolous police claim.
Seriously though, how naive do you have to be to purchase something without checking the price? ESPECIALLY something in a tourist area of a foreign country where this sort of thing is much more likely to occur?
They paid around $50 for 3 Gelatos and a bottled water in Rome.
That's about $15 per Gelato and $5 for the water.
Sorry, but welcome to Rome, New York City, London, Paris, Disneyland, professional sports stadiums, etc where that's what people pay!
These people were just naive. Its one thing if the prices were posted and the proprietor tried to charge them more, lets call it equally guilty if the prices weren't posted, they were too dumb to ask and the proprietor tried to scalp them but if the prices were posted, you're on the hook. I hope the Polizia di Stato arrived and beat them for filing a frivolous police claim.
I was just at a NIN concert at Tinley Park, IL & they were selling this WOP type drink, you know like fruit punch w/alcohol. I was going to get one even though they were I think $14. each until I asked the guy what the size was. It was the size of your typical clear plastic cup seen at picnics. Smaller than a red SOLO cup. No thanks. I stuck w/my $11. giant can o'beer.
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