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They screamed for ice cream, then screamed for the cops.
American tourists James and Marian Luciani and a friend were so surprised to get their £33 (more than $50) bill for just three ice creams and a bottle of water in Rome's Bar Il Caffe, they called the police.
They screamed for ice cream, then screamed for the cops.
American tourists James and Marian Luciani and a friend were so surprised to get their £33 (more than $50) bill for just three ice creams and a bottle of water in Rome's Bar Il Caffe, they called the police.
Yes, almost everywhere in Europe the prices are posted in a plain view. Many restaurants post them at the front door, so no one should be "surprised" or embarrassed. Sales tax is always included in the price, so no guessing game how much is REALLY to pay. Tips are not expected, except rounding the bill, so the waiter does not need to carry small change.
in this case the local was just really expensive, because of the position...
but in Rome (and other touristic places) also happens that prices changes according to the nationality of the costumers (in particular Japanese, Russian and other people that are not used to euros at all have often really bad surprises). italian news sites are full of this kind of articles...
the tourist protested and called the police. in this case the prices were really different from the one printed on the menù and there was a real fraud. later the local was also closed due to hygiene and sanitary problems.
the interesting part is the last one, the interview to the president of the CODACONS (the association for the consumers rights), that says: "i'm not surprised at all. this kind of episodes are really frequent in the capital. The most of times the bills are not so high, but surely the practice of cheating the tourists is frequent in Rome, and in particular in the touristic areas. Also the regular prices in the city center are astronomic: one ice cream sitting on a table can cost to 10€ (note: usually to eat something sitting at the bar tables is much more expensive than the "take away" version), a simple espresso 4€ and so on."
for us (for the littlest size) a reasonable price is less than €2.
instead if you eat the gelato sitting on a table, with a better presentation in a glass, with a waiter that serve you, it is a little more expensive, but usually it is no more than 10€.
a gelato with "better presentation in a glass" http://www.dietagratis.com/wp-conten...ieta_v_gdv.jpg
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.
I think people should get familiar with the price before buying things. Not first buy, then complain...
For the case of the gelato, I agree.
But in the incident I brought up, they brought baskets of bread and cups of water to our table withought informing us that we would be charged for them. We did NOT order these items. This is sneaky and deceitful.
Every single client complained and fought with the poor waiters. Unfortunately we were already eating when we realized something was very wrong at this place. Once we got the bill we realized why!
Even worst, we were students on a very tight budget. We ended up having to leave a day earlier.
Moral of the story- be very cautious in Rome and ask lots of questions.
But in the incident I brought up, they brought baskets of bread and cups of water to our table withought informing us that we would be charged for them. We did NOT order these items. This is sneaky and deceitful.
Was this your first meal in Italy? Because my experience is that it's pretty standard practice almost everywhere in Italy (I've been there about half a dozen times) to have a "cover charge" for bread and stuff.
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