Rich American, Poor American

[Steve & Myrlita]

My example may be extreme, but in fact happened to me and it was actually 1000 times above the quoted price... I was in Ermita and wanted to do the tourist thing, so I asked a carriage driver on Roxas what the price was for once around the loop... For you 20P was the answer... After the loop I tried to get out of the carriage and was blocked by the driver's son... He then tells me that the price was 20 hundred pesos, or 2000P... I told him that if he did not get out of my way he would be picking himself up off the ground. I gave the driver 200P and told him to call the police as I walked away...

Interesting situation. You did the right thing. Once you gave the driver money and he accepted it, end of story.

Also lucky you didn't end up in jail & deported for threatening a local. Edited February 21, 2012 by Steve & Myrlita

[KanoJoe]

My example may be extreme, but in fact happened to me and it was actually 1000 times above the quoted price... I was in Ermita and wanted to do the tourist thing, so I asked a carriage driver on Roxas what the price was for once around the loop... For you 20P was the answer... After the loop I tried to get out of the carriage and was blocked by the driver's son... He then tells me that the price was 20 hundred pesos, or 2000P... I told him that if he did not get out of my way he would be picking himself up off the ground. I gave the driver 200P and told him to call the police as I walked away...

Interesting situation. You did the right thing. Once you gave the driver money and he accepted it, end of story.

Also lucky you didn't end up in jail & deported for threatening a local.

So, you would have smiled and paid the extorted price?The man's son was physically blocking my exit from the carriage, giving me a threatening look. I reacted accordingly and no one lost face. He tested me and I backed him down. He still got 10 times the original quoted price. So if that would warrant me being arrested and deported, so be it as I do not allow anyone to intimidate me. Edited February 21, 2012 by KanoJoe

[Tatoosh]

JJR's comment that Filipinos can't tell the difference between rich Americans and poor Americans is not true. Perhaps in parts of the province where 5000 pesos is living good, it might be. But where I live there are lots of "middle class" Filipinos knocking down twenty, thirty, or forty thousand pesos a month. And I know one taxi driver that thought a poor American in the Philippines was making 1000 bucks a month. Maybe good a good number for the driver, but one he didn't hold in esteem for a "kano". And a fairly accurate assessment of someone living on SSA or whatever (not regular SS) payments. Teachers are making fifteen to twenty thousand starting now, and many families are using the two income approach (husband and wife) working instead of the older traditional husband works and wife takes care of the home. I am not an economist but while poverty is a huge problem here, there is a substantial middle class that aspires to do better, that fill the shops like Starbucks, branded clothing stores, and so forth. Not every single one of them are on a boat to work overseas.Concerning two tier pricing, a recent episode of "Outsourced" (TV show) had an American talking to one of his Indian workers, who was at a stall buying candy for a party. The vendor quoted the Indian purchaser 7000 rupees and the Indian turned to the American and told him to pay for it since it was for his party. The vendor didn't miss a beat, turned to the American, proffered the candies a second time and asked for 8000 rupees without blinking an eye.

[MikeB]

Also lucky you didn't end up in jail & deported for threatening a local.

Do you have any first hand example or source of that ever happening?

[Steve & Myrlita]

Also lucky you didn't end up in jail & deported for threatening a local.

Do you have any first hand example or source of that ever happening?

Told to a foreigner standing right next to me by a BOI officer at the BOI office in Mandaue, Cebu. Remember, you have absolutely no rights here and your only legal remedy to any situation is to get on a plane or boat and leave.

[MikeB]

Also lucky you didn't end up in jail & deported for threatening a local.

Do you have any first hand example or source of that ever happening?

Told to a foreigner standing right next to me by a BOI officer at the BOI office in Mandaue, Cebu. Remember, you have absolutely no rights here and your only legal remedy to any situation is to get on a plane or boat and leave.

Anyone can say anything, the BI's jurisdiction is immigration issues, they cannot deport you unless you are in violation of immigration laws or they have an adjudicated case against you. As for "your only legal remedy", if I am in a situation that requires legal advice I'll spring for a lawyer.

[Tatoosh]

LOL, love the attitude MikeB and you may technically correct. But as a friend of mine learned the hard way, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Not a BoI issue but indicative of what can happen, my friend was an owner of a restaurant with band and entertainment. Local son of a politician gets way too frisky with the waitresses and the owner tosses him and his friends out of restaurant. Result, restaurant gets raided, owner and wife get arrested and spend a week and a half in jail until they get charges dismissed. But it was one unpleasant ten days of lodging for both of them. And it depends upon the attitude of the official you are dealing with. Some are reasonable and have good standards of professional conduct. Others are easily angered and retaliatory. Depends on which one you run into.

[ekimswish]

JJR's comment that Filipinos can't tell the difference between rich Americans and poor Americans is not true. Perhaps in parts of the province where 5000 pesos is living good, it might be. But where I live there are lots of "middle class" Filipinos knocking down twenty, thirty, or forty thousand pesos a month. And I know one taxi driver that thought a poor American in the Philippines was making 1000 bucks a month. Maybe good a good number for the driver, but one he didn't hold in esteem for a "kano". And a fairly accurate assessment of someone living on SSA or whatever (not regular SS) payments.Teachers are making fifteen to twenty thousand starting now, and many families are using the two income approach (husband and wife) working instead of the older traditional husband works and wife takes care of the home. I am not an economist but while poverty is a huge problem here, there is a substantial middle class that aspires to do better, that fill the shops like Starbucks, branded clothing stores, and so forth. Not every single one of them are on a boat to work overseas.Concerning two tier pricing, a recent episode of "Outsourced" (TV show) had an American talking to one of his Indian workers, who was at a stall buying candy for a party. The vendor quoted the Indian purchaser 7000 rupees and the Indian turned to the American and told him to pay for it since it was for his party. The vendor didn't miss a beat, turned to the American, proffered the candies a second time and asked for 8000 rupees without blinking an eye.

This is exactly right. There are a lot of people all over the Philippines making decent coin, whether it's from running small~medium sized businesses, government jobs, dual-income families, or climbing their way up the white collar ladder. Nothing humbles you quite as much as seeing loads of Filipinos living a better life than you. I don't say that because I look down on Filipinos or anything. I say that because we're used to focusing on the poor people, and comparing our lives to theirs, completely ignoring the educated class who, over the course of 10~30 years, actually establish and a high and comfortable standard of living. It makes me feel bad to see them because it reminds me that I've set the bar for myself far too low, and with a little elbow-grease, dedication, and consistency, maybe I could turn it around.After all, if they're living that kind of life in the Philippines, where it's not supposed to exist, why can't I have the same life in Canada?

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Regarding the attitude that I should pay more than the person making very little money and has 6 kids... No. The price is the price. When i had my air conditioning company the price of freon did not increase depending on the car in the driveway. (most companies it does). With that being said I know that it is just the way it is over there (and many places) so I don't worry about or really complain about it.And Tatoosh you bring up a good point. That gravity thing is really starting to piss me off!

[Dzighnman]

Being quoted a price and accepting it are two different things. As someone previously suggested, just walk away.

In a situation that I don't think has been covered, even a 'rich American' usually needs to budget. So on a recent project I sent a man around to all the hardware stores to price out the material. That was in the morning. In the afternoon I went back with him to look at what he had chosen and approve the purchase. In one store, the price he was quoted in the morning was 1,850 pesos and the same item, the same afternoon, was 2020 pesos (after they saw he was working for me). He raised a bit of fuss to explain that he needed the price he had budgeted for and lots of employees got involved, but the lowest price they would give after seeing me was 1975 pesos. My best solution was to go with a store down the street who had quoted 1900 and stuck with it, even after seeing me. But can you see how that can cause budgeting problems? PS. If you think that is peanuts, because you live in a rich country, picture this: The man saved me enough money by price shopping to pay his wages that day.

I run into this all the time and have followed the same process D-HD laid out... one interesting aspect is that when this occurs, I mention that I will take my potentially millions of pesos and never return because I feel unfairly discriminated against, only to again be reminded that I am dealing in a culture that does not typically look farther ahead than the here and now and the concept of millions of pesos over months means nothing compared the the 50 pesos they are trying to get from me today. Edited February 25, 2012 by Dzighnman