What was your worst TOUT experience?

Please share with us what your worst tout experience was. I must say
that, for myself, my worst experience was at the pyramids in Giza. I
thought that I was already seasoned to deal with them after having
been in India, but it seems to me that the pyramids are the place
where all the very best touts go to after they have graduated from
lesser venues. I can just picture a tout convention where the members
sit around and dream wistfully of the "big show" in Giza.

Bradwell Jackson

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 20:41:19 GMT, Rita wrote:

On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, (Bradwell Jackson)
wrote:

Please share with us what your worst tout experience was. I must say
that, for myself, my worst experience was at the pyramids in Giza. I
thought that I was already seasoned to deal with them after having
been in India, but it seems to me that the pyramids are the place
where all the very best touts go to after they have graduated from
lesser venues. I can just picture a tout convention where the members
sit around and dream wistfully of the "big show" in Giza.

Bradwell Jackson

My best tout experience was at the Rome rail station some years
back. We arrived in the evening, having decided mid trip to go to
Rome rather than Venice. Had no guidebook for Rome, couldn't
find tourist bureau, tired, frustrated, looking at hotels listed on
boards in station. Approached by hotel tout, who showed photos
of luxury hotel rooms. Kept saying, no, too expensive. Finally got
down to our price range and he said hotel was close to station.
Even carried my bag there. Hotel was great. Offered to tip tout
as he had also recommended a great restaurant nearby, but he
said, no, he received commission and did not accept our tip.
As they say, any tout in a storm

Have had good tout experiences in Milan, Athens
and Amsterdam, all for hotel rooms.
Also in Athens trips to places like Delphi can
be cheaper from the touts, still go on the regular
coach tours like the other tourists, for less money.

On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was.

What is a tout? I searched the group with Google, and didn't come up with
anything (except the French word).

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

"BB" skrev i meddelandet
...
On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was.

What is a tout? I searched the group with Google, and didn't come up with
anything (except the French word).
Was in my English dictionary though.
That's agents acting for hotels looking for customers.
Especially around rail-stations ports or places where tourists arrives.
Typical in third world countries or semideveloped countries, more rare in
Western industrialized countries.

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 03:11:20 GMT, "Lennart Petersen"
wrote:


"BB" skrev i meddelandet
...
On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was.

What is a tout? I searched the group with Google, and didn't come up with
anything (except the French word).
Was in my English dictionary though.
That's agents acting for hotels looking for customers.
Especially around rail-stations ports or places where tourists arrives.
Typical in third world countries or semideveloped countries, more rare in
Western industrialized countries.

Also ticket touts, for sporting events,
race touts for winning horses.

"Lennart Petersen" wrote in message
...

"BB" skrev i meddelandet
...

Was in my English dictionary though.
That's agents acting for hotels looking for customers.
Especially around rail-stations ports or places where tourists arrives.
Typical in third world countries or semideveloped countries, more rare in
Western industrialized countries.

Ticket touts are the most common sort, they purchase tickets for big
sporting events and then stand outside the sports ground and sell the
tickets at vastly inflated prices. Often people will arrive without tickets
(because they can often be very hard to secure) in the hope of purchasing
one from a tout. There have been attempts to crack down in it, with ticket
touting being declared illegal in some places, and names being put on
tickets. But sucess has been limited.

Not just sporting events of course, anything like pop concerts for example.

"Bradwell Jackson" wrote in message
om...
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was. I must say
that, for myself, my worst experience was at the pyramids in Giza. I
thought that I was already seasoned to deal with them after having
been in India, but it seems to me that the pyramids are the place
where all the very best touts go to after they have graduated from
lesser venues. I can just picture a tout convention where the members
sit around and dream wistfully of the "big show" in Giza.

The one time I've bought a ticket for a sporting event outside the ground
was when the European Touring Cars were at Silverstone. I was approached in
the car park by someone who said they had been given free tickets to the
event* and had a spare. He offered to give me the ticket, if in return I
bought him a race programme.

The ticket value was £15 and the race programme was £3 so I agreed. He got
his race programme, I got a ticket for £12 cheaper than I was expecting,
everyone was happy!

*Race tracks often give free tickets to nearby residents to keep them happy
and hopefully stop them complaining about the noise.

"BB" wrote in message
...
On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was.

What is a tout? I searched the group with Google, and didn't come up with
anything (except the French word).

'Scalper' is the US term I think.

Alec

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 03:11:20 GMT, "Lennart Petersen"
wrote:


"BB" skrev i meddelandet
...
On 9 Mar 2004 11:24:06 -0800, Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Please share with us what your worst tout experience was.

What is a tout? I searched the group with Google, and didn't come up with
anything (except the French word).
Was in my English dictionary though.
That's agents acting for hotels looking for customers.
Especially around rail-stations ports or places where tourists arrives.
Typical in third world countries or semideveloped countries, more rare in
Western industrialized countries.

Don't know about "rare" in industrialised societies - I live in
Bristol, UK - it seems very difficult to walk more than 100 metres in
the city centre without being stopped. I concedde that under
"President" Blair, the UK might qualify as a semi-developed nation,
however :-)

Anyway:

Homeless people want to sell me a copy of "Big Issue" magazine.

People with clipboards want me to spend my valuable time on "marketing
surveys"

Others with clipboards want me to donate money I simply don't have to
some charity or other.

Yesterday I was stopped four times in approximately 30 minutes. I told
the last one that I was suffering from "being stopped in the street
fatigue".

The worst one of all was a scam at Bristol Temple Meads railway
station last year. I had about 2 minutes 24½ seconds to make my
connection from my local train to a long-distance service, and some
idiot in a suit stepped out in front of me and started some spiel
about credit cards. I managed to hiss at him that a major railway
station with people like me in a hurry was a stupid place to do this,
and he stepped aside otherwise he might be in hospital now and I might
be doing time for grievous bodily harm.

A plague on alll their houses!!!!

Alec wrote:


'Scalper' is the US term I think.


Actually, there's a difference between a tout and a scalper.

A scalper is in possession of a ticket to an in-demand event and he/she
sells it at a premium to someone wishing to go to that event. A tout is
someone who promotes/describes/praises something like a restaurant or
hotel in the hopes that the listener will patronize said restaurant or
hotel. Either the tout is an actual employee of the restaurant or hotel
or get a commission from the business he/she is able to generate. The
scalper is entirely an independent entrepreneur with no connection to
the event or to the venue staging the event.

Karen Selwyn