Your Egypt

Harrison · Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 901

This is for those of you visiting Hurghada.

When you get into a taxi in Hurghada, make sure the meter is on! If he tries to say it doesn't work, get out again.

Be aware that the meter is in Egyptian Pounds NOT Euro's or any other currency.

By law Taxis are supposed to turn on their meters.

4 people got a taxi from Hotel to Airport. This is at most 7 kms. They were charged 270 LE when it should only have been 20-25! They were then charged 250 LE EACH to enter the Airport grounds. This has just recently risen from 2.50 to 5 LE.

Another couple asked the Taxi driver to turn on the meter. He did but when getting out of the taxi he then said 25 Euros instead of 25 LE.

ALL taxis are in Egyptian Pounds.

If anyone has similar tales, please post them so that those visiting Hurghada can be warned.

I am sick to death of tourists being ripped off. Don't these wise guys know that the more they are ripped off the less will visit? I suppose it is the 'can't see past the end of the nose' syndrome at work again.

moll · Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 7683

Harrison wrote:

I am sick to death of tourists being ripped off. Don't these wise guys know that the more they are ripped off the less will visit? I suppose it is the 'can't see past the end of the nose' syndrome at work again.

I know what you mean, Harrison........I could never get over that either :cry:

I don't mean taxi drivers in Hurghada (I've never been there) I mean shopkeepers in Luxor. We've been there I think it's nearly 30 times now and there was one shop in particular we used to visit each time, got to know them quite well and used to sit around drinking gallons of shay and talking...

The first few times, we were so flippin' naive I think we paid about 20 times the value of the stuff we bought :roll: then we got a bit more clued up about haggling and weren't willing to pay daft prices, but we still bought a few things each time and were happy to pay a BIT over what we knew they were worth, because a) I'm crap at haggling, too soft and b) we knew that they had families to feed.

So anyway, over the years we thought we'd got to a sort of mutual respect and understanding with them and they knew that we hadn't just stepped off the latest cruise boat.......then my daughter came to stay and we took her there because she wanted to buy a few little presents to take home to people and we thought, OK, they'll give her a decent price, they know she's just a student and hasn't much money...

Did they **** :twisted:

For a couple of little bits of tourist tat, they asked her for something RIDICULOUS like 150LE, it still makes me mad when I think about it :twisted: In fact, it just totally scunnered my husband (good Scottish word for you there :wink: ) that they still thought we were such idiots after all the time we'd spent there, and he hasn't felt the same about going back to Egypt since.

This is turning into a ramble now :oops:

WHY can't they see beyond the immediate profit, why can't they see that getting ripped off just alienates people? I know that times are hard, but if they built up a business where people would go back because they knew they WOULDN'T get ripped off, they'd make so much more in the long term...

Ricky · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 1430 Location: OVERSEAS ;)

typical third-world mentality and lack of rationality to say the least

Ricky · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 1430 Location: OVERSEAS ;)

In Moscow it is funny...Egypt seems to be very much civilized :lol: :lol: taxis have NO meters in Moscow 8). You either flag a taxi on a street or call in a cab. often when you stop, they tell you how much it would cost - some exegerated amount saying it is the "min". I tell them how they know if it is the min :wink: if they have no meters and what city poster tells them to charge this price? I will tell you the min I would accept. :lol: :lol: :lol: which could be still above his min and :wink: walking away works...they agree to your price

Otherwise, you call in a cab and they tell you the fare in advance...Total rip off everywhere...it is very typical to flag any car pretty much. for some cash anyone would give you a lift.

On New Years, min price for riding 3 blocks was $50 :shock:

moll · Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 7683

Ricky wrote: In Moscow it is funny...Egypt seems to be very much civilized :lol: :lol: taxis have NO meters in Moscow 8).

I don't remember EVER seeing a taxi with a meter that works in Luxor :P

When we go to Luxor we have a driver that we've got to know, he's more or less on call for the time we're there and we just give him a kind of lump sum 'retainer' rather than paying him per trip.

When we've been in Cairo, it's a bit more difficult and this is when it's handy to know from someone who lives there what the going rates are, so I think Harrison's post will be useful for anyone visiting Hurghada.

Harrison · Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 901

We call the syndrome - can't see past the end of the nose. As you quite rightly say Moll, if they play fair not only would you keep going back but you spread the word. No they would rather get the profit today and with a bit of luck another muggins will visit them tomorrow.
I will never forget going to my same vegetable man in Luxor and asking for a cauliflower. He wanted 35 LE for it. I thought he was offering to sell his entire stall!
A taxi with a meter in Luxor? Blimey they had traffic lights that didn't work for about 10 years, you are dreaming woman. Mind you they have installed traffic lights here and every week they are out! As the drivers are manic it makes for interesting driving. Not that I need any help, but I have aged considerably since driving here. :)

Ricky · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 1430 Location: OVERSEAS ;)

Harrison wrote:

if they play fair not only would you keep going back but you spread the word. No they would rather get the profit today and with a bit of luck another muggins will visit them tomorrow.

I do not think they are sophisticated to know about marketing by reference and "viral marketing" :lol: :lol: let alone basic logic

moll · Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 7683

Harrison wrote:

I will never forget going to my same vegetable man in Luxor and asking for a cauliflower. He wanted 35 LE for it. I thought he was offering to sell his entire stall!

My God........a cauliflower wouldn't even cost that much here :shock: that's daylight robbery...

It makes you want to shake them, do they really, REALLY think we're that stupid? I can just about understand the tourist tat ripoffs, I mean how many times in your life are you going to buy a stuffed camel or something, and people DO tend to lose their common sense when they're on holiday...but a cauliflower for a regular customer? that's just so stupid..

RoughShod · Joined: 02 Sep 2004 Posts: 2109 Location: South Africa

Anyone trying to get the greatest price for their product is quite likely greedy and not able to understand the term 'value for money'

So you may say to me....we always try to realize the best price for our product....this is true. but.................

Do we do this because we value our product, or rather the money our product may bring in?...big difference there.

If we have pride in what we do, and know the criteria it takes for us to do a good job, then I would say we deserve to make money out of our expertise. A workman is worth his wages.

But when somebody takes on a job with scant regard for its ramifications, just because he can do the basics of it, without getting himself killed, he does it for money...not for the sake that whatever he does he values as an exstension of himself to other people.....then maybe you will get these taxi driver types you speak about

moll · Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 7683

Roughshod, I think that taking pride in what you do, whatever it is, and having the decency to ask for a fair price is maybe a luxury that many Egyptians don't have......it's all about survival for them, it's about putting food on the table for their families for that day.

I understand the struggle it must be for some egyptians, especially if they're in the tourist trade and there is no guarantee that tomorrow, they'll get ANY customers at all, the temptation to milk people for what you can get today must be very hard to resist.....but if only they'd try and see the longer term picture, I'm sure it would make them more money in the long run. I mean the longer term picture not only regarding regular visitors like me, or residents like Harrison...I mean the bigger picture of how Egyptian shopkeepers or taxi drivers are perceived in general.