Quote: (06-07-2018 05:08 PM)Tail Gunner Wrote:
My point, and I may not have been clear, is that you always check the written drink menu (or at least ask about the prices), even when you visit a bar of your choice (because you are in a foreign land and do not know the lay of the land). If you are new in town, simply going to a random bar of your choice will not necessarily prevent a scam. All it really takes is a holistic approach of exercising basic common sense to avoid these scams.
Let's face it, a scam bar will not have great TripAdvisor reviews, so choosing the place yourself is a great first step. But also check the drink menu because a lizard may still order a $200 bottle of wine in a legitimate bar without consulting you.
It doesn't matter if you check the menu or not. Let's assume: you ask the the price of mojito, since they're not native English speaker, they will say 13 euro to you. When bill comes up, you'll see 30 euro. If you ask them, why they charged 30 instead of 13, they usually say: I said thirty, not thirteen.
What are you going to do especially if it's late hour like 11 pm or 1 am? Going to cops? Don't forget, you're in some foreign country like in Russia or in Ukraine. This bar is there forever, they're local, you're not the first one they scammed. So, police get their cut every month and they're well aware of their scam. There's nothing you can do, really.
As a restaurant owner in Rome, I know a lot of people in Venice, doing this kind of tricks to tourists.
Only way to not fooled into this trick is that if 2 girls approach you anywhere and suggest to grab a drink with you, you should tell them you know a place, not go with their suggestion. If girls come with you to place where you want to go, they're honest girls, if they make excuse when you suggest a place, that means they're in the fishing game.