What was your worst TOUT experience?

"Keith Anderson" skrev i meddelandet
...
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 -
But touts looking for hotel guests are rarely seen at British rail stations,
right ?

"Karen Selwyn" wrote in message
news:N4E3c.42240$UU.37733@lakeread01...
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. .... The
scalper is entirely an independent entrepreneur with no connection to
the event or to the venue staging the event.

In that case we call scalpers, touts, or more usually ticket touts, in the
UK at least.

Dans l'article , "Alec"
a écrit :



"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

My Webster's College Dictionary, American, also lists "tout", but primarily
as a verb.

Some of the definitions it gives a

1) To solicit customers, patrons, votes, etc.

2) To solicit or importune, as for business.

3) To give a tip on a racehorse, for a price.

The one definition it gives using "tout" as a noun is: A person who touts,
especially a person who makes a business of selling tips on racehorses.

Donna Evleth

Lennart Petersen wrote:
But touts looking for hotel guests are rarely seen at British rail stations,
right ?

About a million years ago I covered my room and board in a hostel by doing
exactly that at Victoria Station.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

Oh,well, it looks like the OP is the one who misunderstood the very
word he was commenting on. Maybe the word I was looking for is
"scammers". I don't know what the American word is, but I thought the
British word was "tout". At any rate, I am talking about those people
who will not just sell tickets or lead you to their hotel, I am
talking about the people who will *scam* you to buy *anything*. Maybe
more to the point, they will *trick* you. I guess a good example
would be a particular incident I had in India where I was tricked not
into paying money for a hotel or a ticket, but for the privelege of
seeing a Hindu cremation site! I was approached by a man who
convinced me that this was fascinating and then, when I got there, he
and his shill blocked my way out and demanded 900 rupies. What is the
word for such people?
I'd like to know if my story can be topped (I'm sure it can). As I
say, the most professional of these people are the ones at the
Pyramids. You would think that going to the Pyramids would be a
straigtforward affair, but you are met by people who convince you that
they work for the attraction site and tell you that you have to pay
for their camel to get you there. I forgot exactly how they do this,
but believe me, when you are there they are *awfully* convincing.
Maybe it would be good to hear from those who have developed an
effective technique in dealing with such tricksters.


Bradwell Jackson


"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message ...
"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.

Bradwell Jackson wrote:
Oh,well, it looks like the OP is the one who misunderstood the very
word he was commenting on. Maybe the word I was looking for is
"scammers". I don't know what the American word is, but I thought the
British word was "tout". At any rate, I am talking about those people
who will not just sell tickets or lead you to their hotel, I am
talking about the people who will *scam* you to buy *anything*. Maybe
more to the point, they will *trick* you. I guess a good example
would be a particular incident I had in India where I was tricked not
into paying money for a hotel or a ticket, but for the privelege of
seeing a Hindu cremation site! I was approached by a man who
convinced me that this was fascinating and then, when I got there, he
and his shill blocked my way out and demanded 900 rupies. What is the
word for such people?

Hustlers.

I'd like to know if my story can be topped (I'm sure it can). As I
say, the most professional of these people are the ones at the
Pyramids. You would think that going to the Pyramids would be a
straigtforward affair, but you are met by people who convince you that
they work for the attraction site and tell you that you have to pay
for their camel to get you there. I forgot exactly how they do this,
but believe me, when you are there they are *awfully* convincing.
Maybe it would be good to hear from those who have developed an
effective technique in dealing with such tricksters.

Ignore them? People - unless they are in uniform or otherwise obviously
employed by the thing you're visiting - who try to convince you that there
is a requirement to pay them money are clearly always lying.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

What's a tout?
JS

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

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

"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.


For the OP, the worst tout I've seen was at the taxi stand outside of
Termini station in Rome. When you exit the station ALWAYS go to the head of
the taxi queue to get a taxi. Don't let anyone lead you away from the queue
towards their vehicle.

For the OP, the worst tout I've seen was at the taxi stand outside of
Termini station in Rome. When you exit the station ALWAYS go to the head of
the taxi queue to get a taxi. Don't let anyone lead you away from the queue
towards their vehicle.

But isn't that dangerous advice? Going to the head of the line will insure you
being physically assaulted by those behind you!!!!!!

"Steltzjr" wrote in message
...
For the OP, the worst tout I've seen was at the taxi stand outside of
Termini station in Rome. When you exit the station ALWAYS go to the head
of
the taxi queue to get a taxi. Don't let anyone lead you away from the
queue
towards their vehicle.

But isn't that dangerous advice? Going to the head of the line will insure
you
being physically assaulted by those behind you!!!!!!


I should've said, "Go to the line forming for the taxi queue." Besides, it
is Italy, queues are merely suggestions.