If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
The Tanzanian Change Mystery
I was recently visiting Tanzania and encountered a mystery for which I can
find no answer. It is about getting change for small purchases from street vendors. It was especially noticable when buying food from vendors in Zanzibar. Here is the typical scenario: I am in line behind several people buying seafood barbeque at a very busy waterfront market. This is the place where hundreds of tourists find wonderful food in Stonetown, Zanzibar. The vendor is doing a very brisk business. I order perhaps 1,500 shillings worth of something, get it, and here is the mystery - he never has change. I know he has been stuffing money hand over fist under the table cloth or into his pockets. He does not usually even need to look in these places, but knows he does not have change. I get my food and stand around waiting while the vendor disappears off into the darkness and returns in a minute or two with change. I was never cheated, so short or no change was not what was going on. I was never able to figure out where the vendor went or who he met. This happened over and over, not only on the waterfront, but at other vendors as well. In Arusha I met a German expat whom I asked about this. He said he had been in Tanzania for 3 years and had still not figured it out. Is it some kind of underground banking going on? Is there a money holder off site for robbery protection? Can anyone explain this?????? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
The Tanzanian Change Mystery
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 12:29:20 -0700, "none" wrote:
I was recently visiting Tanzania and encountered a mystery for which I can find no answer. It is about getting change for small purchases from street vendors. snip change mystery Interesting observation! The only reason I can think of offhand is that from my experience, *nobody* has change (ie coins or small denomination notes) because most Zanzibaris have little money and tourists almost always present large denomination notes for their purchases. It's sometimes a clever marketing excercise, in that small village shops conveniently have no change so you buy more from them to avoid hanging around while the shopkeeper sends a boy running around the village to look for it! This system works extremely well but sometimes, inexplicably, they will tell you to pay later when you yourself have smaller change, though again this places an obligation on the customer to come back and perhaps buy something else!! In truth I suspect that many Zanzibaris genuinely live from hand to mouth and money is spent as soon as it is earned, perhaps the vendor was paying off a debt to another stallholder? Maybe there's an unspoken system of "have exact fare ready please" in action which innocent tourists are unaware of? And of course, in Africa, sometimes it's just better not to ask! -- .--~~,__ :-....,-------`~~'._.' `-,,, ,_ ;'~U' _,-' ,'`-__; '--. (_/'~~ ''''(; |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks for the clues, but I think there is more than meets the eye, too.
Some of these vendors are doing windfall business taking orders, and cash at an amazing rate. It seems quite improbable that they are almost always short cash on hand, even 200 or 500 shillings. All this off site change making takes place in the dark. If there is some kind of underground banking going on it is amazing how it all happens without any visible records. "Eupe-mbwa (Wh1t3d0g)" wrote in message ... On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 12:29:20 -0700, "none" wrote: I was recently visiting Tanzania and encountered a mystery for which I can find no answer. It is about getting change for small purchases from street vendors. snip change mystery Interesting observation! The only reason I can think of offhand is that from my experience, *nobody* has change (ie coins or small denomination notes) because most Zanzibaris have little money and tourists almost always present large denomination notes for their purchases. It's sometimes a clever marketing excercise, in that small village shops conveniently have no change so you buy more from them to avoid hanging around while the shopkeeper sends a boy running around the village to look for it! This system works extremely well but sometimes, inexplicably, they will tell you to pay later when you yourself have smaller change, though again this places an obligation on the customer to come back and perhaps buy something else!! In truth I suspect that many Zanzibaris genuinely live from hand to mouth and money is spent as soon as it is earned, perhaps the vendor was paying off a debt to another stallholder? Maybe there's an unspoken system of "have exact fare ready please" in action which innocent tourists are unaware of? And of course, in Africa, sometimes it's just better not to ask! -- .--~~,__ :-....,-------`~~'._.' `-,,, ,_ ;'~U' _,-' ,'`-__; '--. (_/'~~ ''''(; |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:38:11 -0700, "None" wrote:
Thanks for the clues, but I think there is more than meets the eye, too. Some of these vendors are doing windfall business taking orders, and cash at an amazing rate. It seems quite improbable that they are almost always short cash on hand, even 200 or 500 shillings. All this off site change making takes place in the dark. If there is some kind of underground banking going on it is amazing how it all happens without any visible records. They hope you will not have the time to wait and either buy more or leave them the change. Apparently this behavior is widespread all over Africa. You might as well ask, why do people never repay their debts? In Africa, borrowed money is considered a gift. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
In message , Hans-Georg
Michna writes On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:38:11 -0700, "None" wrote: Thanks for the clues, but I think there is more than meets the eye, too. Some of these vendors are doing windfall business taking orders, and cash at an amazing rate. It seems quite improbable that they are almost always short cash on hand, even 200 or 500 shillings. All this off site change making takes place in the dark. If there is some kind of underground banking going on it is amazing how it all happens without any visible records. They hope you will not have the time to wait and either buy more or leave them the change. Apparently this behavior is widespread all over Africa. You might as well ask, why do people never repay their debts? In Africa, borrowed money is considered a gift. Hans-Georg I tend to agree with Hans Georg. I doubt an African customer would receive or accept this practice! It is a way of life which is unfamiliar to us as non Africans. In other words, all part of Africa and the differences between us. I can say Hans Georg that it also happened in Nigeria. An African custom perhaps? Pat -- Pat Anderson |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
This does not "feel" true. I never felt like anyone was anything but being
honorable to me. Even if I left the vendor and sat down nearby they would locate me and deliver the change. "Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message ... On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:38:11 -0700, "None" wrote: Thanks for the clues, but I think there is more than meets the eye, too. Some of these vendors are doing windfall business taking orders, and cash at an amazing rate. It seems quite improbable that they are almost always short cash on hand, even 200 or 500 shillings. All this off site change making takes place in the dark. If there is some kind of underground banking going on it is amazing how it all happens without any visible records. They hope you will not have the time to wait and either buy more or leave them the change. Apparently this behavior is widespread all over Africa. You might as well ask, why do people never repay their debts? In Africa, borrowed money is considered a gift. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:12:11 -0700, "None" wrote:
This does not "feel" true. I never felt like anyone was anything but being honorable to me. Even if I left the vendor and sat down nearby they would locate me and deliver the change. Oh, sure. If you insist and wait for the charge, you will get it. But some customers, particularly tourists, give in and renounce the change, and that's what the trader is hoping for. If it is dishonorable, it must at least be deniable. There are some fine lines in the behavioral code that aren't usually crossed. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:12:11 -0700, "None" wrote:
This does not "feel" true. I never felt like anyone was anything but being honorable to me. Even if I left the vendor and sat down nearby they would locate me and deliver the change. Oh, sure. If you insist and wait for the charge, you will get it. But some customers, particularly tourists, give in and renounce the change, and that's what the trader is hoping for. If it is dishonorable, it must at least be deniable. There are some fine lines in the behavioral code that aren't usually crossed. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:12:11 -0700, "None" wrote:
This does not "feel" true. I never felt like anyone was anything but being honorable to me. Even if I left the vendor and sat down nearby they would locate me and deliver the change. Oh, sure. If you insist and wait for the charge, you will get it. But some customers, particularly tourists, give in and renounce the change, and that's what the trader is hoping for. If it is dishonorable, it must at least be deniable. There are some fine lines in the behavioral code that aren't usually crossed. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
This does not "feel" true. I never felt like anyone was anything but being
honorable to me. Even if I left the vendor and sat down nearby they would locate me and deliver the change. "Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message ... On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:38:11 -0700, "None" wrote: Thanks for the clues, but I think there is more than meets the eye, too. Some of these vendors are doing windfall business taking orders, and cash at an amazing rate. It seems quite improbable that they are almost always short cash on hand, even 200 or 500 shillings. All this off site change making takes place in the dark. If there is some kind of underground banking going on it is amazing how it all happens without any visible records. They hope you will not have the time to wait and either buy more or leave them the change. Apparently this behavior is widespread all over Africa. You might as well ask, why do people never repay their debts? In Africa, borrowed money is considered a gift. Hans-Georg -- No mail, please. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How do I change the ticket I booked using FF miles? | James Cloud | Air travel | 2 | May 15th, 2004 01:55 PM |
Celebrity Constellation Transatlantic Itinerary change? | Joseph H. Duncan | Cruises | 0 | May 15th, 2004 11:39 AM |
change the world : a worldwide referendum ! | [email protected] | Air travel | 0 | January 8th, 2004 10:01 AM |
Pool water change or no change? | Guido | Cruises | 11 | December 18th, 2003 04:40 AM |
*GGC2004 MYSTERY PERSON OF THE WEEK* -Wednesday October 8, 2003 | Peter Berlin | Cruises | 45 | October 13th, 2003 03:52 PM |