Tricky employees in Legian Bali
Bali’s economy has been hit by the 2005 bombing. Things are on the mend and there is a tremendous amount construction work and new places opening all the time. Long term predictions are fine, its just the short term that people have to get through.
Locals re-tool fast and have to out of necessity. Our pembantu Ana’s husband works for a hotel, but now works only 1 week in every 2. He’s a great guy and does our garden.
People who have a job also sometimes re-tool the way they do things, to crank out a bit more money per month to feed the family. I’ve noticed the old ‘not giving the change back’ routine is more prevalent now. That works when my bill at a convenience store is 3,600rp and I pay with a 5,000rp note. My change will be 1,000rp. I have to ask for the rest.
Yesterday I saw a new scam. Sitting in an internet cafe in Legian, the young staff member came over to help me get started. There was the usual login panel, but he quickly clicked open a master panel and got me online. ‘Okay’ I thought ‘I will just have to remember how many minutes I’m online by looking at the clock’. After several minutes he came back and said “Okay sorry, I must start the clock because you’ve been here for a while.” When it was time to pay, my bill was 4,000rp. I handed him a 10,000rp note and got 4,000rp back. “The clock said 4,000rp.” I said. “Yes but this is for the time before too.” he said. This is how he skims his boss, who only sees a list of people who have logged in under the customer profile. In this country, these kind of things going on everywhere and you have to have your wits about you.
By Nick | Permalink
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Comments
Most expats and tourists either don’t care about the extra few rupiah, or can’t be bothered to call someone who is obviously cheating.
Its a war of attrition. Most people who come to Bali want to relax and enjoy, not fight over 5 cents. Plenty of leeway for the crafty staff to work an angle. Its funny over here, you ask them to to sometihng simple and they get it all backwards, working a scam is no problem.
There’s one down at Circle K where they worked out how to total a couple of previous customers items onto your bill. Don’t worry the previous guy payed for his stuff. At least when you pull them up on it they don’t even try and pretend it was a mistake, and just hand back the difference.
Nick, how much is RP400 in any western currency? Why not just let it go fercrisakes? You live in a Sanur villa and you are crying about about a FOUR HUNDRED RUPIAH “scam”? Shame!!
Radar, How much the scam is does not matter. 400rp is 4 cents US.
If I do a transaction of 3,600rp and get skimmed for another 400rp that’s a sizeable percentage. If you let people get away with this on a daily basis, they’ll assume we have so much money we don’t give a damn. They’ll do it with car rental, villa rental, you name it.
Its actually a lazy man’s excuse, not to call them on it. Its like saying ‘I have a brain in my head, but I’m just to lazy to plug it in for my own benefit.’
Nick, with respect, it’s more like saying, “I was born with far more advantages than you will ever have, and no way I’m sharing the wealth, even though by my own admission all I do is write and travel all day, making my living off your little island. Now give me my 0.0362 Euro please.”
Brits: cheapest SOBs on the planet! I don’t even know what RP400 means!
Nick, by the way, RP400 = GBP 0.024; what does that mean in pence? Just curious…a penny saved is a penny earned, after all….
G’Day Nick,
What a rort!. Crikey, you would think these people would scam the locals and not the expats and tourists. Any way to make a quid eh.
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