Ripped off by the Merchants of Venice

Paul, I couldn't agree with you more. Tone of intent is lost in these types of communications. All is well with the world now...........

I want to commend Joseph for having a positive attitude and enjoying his vacation. The whole point of traveling is to have an enjoyable experience and learn about the culture in these countries that are new to us. We all remember if we have had an experience like this, and it's more fun to laugh about it, and learn from it. I will never let a "porter" help me lift my suitcase onto a train again, but I smile when I think of it.

Joseph, I hope you continue to have a great vacation
and love Italy as much as many of the rest of us do!

These people are only taking advantage of the fact that you were not paying attention. You admit you made several mistakes, so why are you angry?

It has been discussed here on this forum, over and over again that changing money at exchange places will get you the very worst exchange. Why didn't you use an ATM?

Why didn't you check the prices in the restaurant first? Why did you pay for items you did not have? It sounds like you didn't do quite enough research before going to Venice.

Hey Jo, why the hostility toward Joseph? Maybe this was his first time in Venice and he expected merchants to behave in a fair and honest manner because where he is from you don't have to be suspicious of every transaction. I have traveled with some pretty worldly people and even they have been ripped off occasionally. It happens. Sure Joseph could have done things better, but he got burned instead, life is a learning experience, and this has been one for Joseph. I don't see a need to make him feel even worse about what happened to him. I have studied Italian and even my teacher was appalled by how much of a ripoff Venice is.

Andrew, where you saw hostility in Jo's post, I saw none at all ... just common sense questioning. Your Italian teacher's belief about Venice is not relevant actually, unless it comes well documented.

Thanks for the feedback. I have no hostility towards
the people in Venice. All of the experiences I have had were positive. As you said, it was a learning experience. My wife and I have to pay attention next time. I have used the ATM and it works great. No commissions just a $5 fee. So, anyhow, life is good.
The weather is beautiful, and Italy is great. Especially Bergamo.

Joseph, St. Paul, MN

Those money exchange places are a rip-off anywhere---not just in Venice. (I've seen them in Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris. . . It's not just Venice). They are always to be avoided.

As for the extra 3 euros on the bill---many restaurants in Italy charge a "coperto" or "cover" for the use of the table, linen and silverware, maybe bread, etc. It should be stated on the menu.

My post was certainly not meant to be hostile. I am only astonished at people paying for things they did not eat, like an extra two bottles of water and an ice cream. Perhaps it was an honest mistake, the server got your bill mixed up with some one else, or accidently rang it in.

The best thing to do is to publish the name of this restaurant here, to warn others not to go there, then go over to Trip Advisor and write a review, and then maybe the restaurant will stop doing this. I agree, it is not correct behaviour for an establishment, but are all the places in Venice like that or just this one? If so, then why the shock title? - "Ripped off by the Merchants of Venice"

Ok, hostility perhaps is not the right word. It just seemed to me that Jo's post was a case of blaming the victim.

Ripoffs are everywhere, everywhere there are tourists. You said the restaurant was by the Rialto, and that explains everything. next time, walk a few blocks away onto a quiet alley and pick a busy place with no English menu. The bill will probably be almost half as much and the food twice as good. The same thing would happen in Rome if you ate on Piazza Navona or near the Colosseum, in Florence near the Duomo, etc.

QUOTE from Jo: If so, then why the schock title? - "Ripped off by the Merchants of Venice"

Maybe he was shooting for a Shakespeare allusion.

This is the trouble with written communication. Without sometimes obnoxious clues -- e.g., LOL or :) -- words are easily subject to misinterpretation. I, for example, read Jo's words as being harsh -- harsher than she probably intended as it turns out. I appreciated the original post as another reminder of the need to be careful.

Also, concerning the comment about repeated warnings to stay away from change bureaus, note that the original post was Joseph's first (as an aside: why doesn't that show up if someone posts something? it was his later reply that listed how often he'd posted to this forum). Consequently, he may not have had the benefit of those other warnings.

Anyway, it looks like all parties now understand each other and no harm or criticism was intended. Or at least, that's how I'm now reading it. :)

Well, I could always throw a few LOL's in there for good measure, if ya'll want them.

I do appreciate the fact that Joseph wanted to warn everyone on here, but my answer was also meant as a warning, to look at your bill and to refuse to pay for items you did not order. To not use money exchange places, it doesn't matter which country you are in.

I think no matter how well researched you are regarding your trip, when you're actually there, your guard is down because you're just seduced by the magic of actually being THERE in person! So Joseph, you've learned your lesson. Jo, you're just reiterating countless discussions on this subject, I don't feel you're being hostile at all. I'm going to Italy for the first time in October and just love reading about everyone's experiences and taking in their advice.

Just another reminder that we've had bad advice posted on this subject. A frequent poster (I'm Italian!) has repeatedly posted advice to use exchange bureaus near the Rialto Bridge. And has been quite combative in PMs when challenged about that advice.

So, I think this post is good evidence of why travelers should not use exchange bureaus and stick to ATMs.

The first time in Venice we encountered what you experienced. We now laugh about it and realize how naive we were. We walked into the lion's den of restaurants along the Rio Nuovo. A fast talking proprietor waved us to a booth on the canal with a promise of free wine for the evening. He handed us a scrap book filled with compliments from prior guests. Every guest seemed to get their own compliment books. Wow! This has got to be "some kinda famous place" we thought, even though it isn't in the RS guide. They had a caricature of an Italian chef by the board menu which was in English. They had the printed menus in 5 languages. Everyone spoke flawless English.
It was an enchanting spot where we watched people coming from the cruise ships and getting water taxis.
We decided to dine there. We picked a prima of pasta/shrimp. It took 45 min. to bring this. In the mean time we requested more wine. The pasta was bland. We asked about fish as a secondo, and the proprietor gave us a verbal price, said it was too fresh to be listed in the menu - only 4 Euro per fish. We ordered that, which also took 45 min. We requested more wine. The fish was obviously frozen and over cooked. We could only get through 2 of the 6. By now we are feeling the effects of the wine and relaxing. It was an enchanting location and getting dark so the whole canal was scintillating. We order the Fruit Bowls, which were Fruit Cups. The staff then disappeared for 1/2 hour. I had to hunt down a waitress and ask for IL Conto.
We read the bill in amused shock and found Mr. Proprietor had left; that we were charged for wine, and the fish were 10 Euro each: Our first and last experience getting pinched by an Italian restaurant. Now we know what a bad restaurant looks like and always use the ATMs or a C-Card.

Every time we think about this Rio Nuovo Restaurant its actually a happy thought about how silly we were.

Jo - I noticed you threw a "ya'll" in your last post. Where y'all from? Or do they use that Southernism in Germany now? (I'm going there this summer so it'd be helpful to know.) Although I've seen it spelled the way you used it, I've seen it more often written "y'all." As a contraction of "you all," it is somewhat strange because the first word is the one shortened, different from most contractions in American English.

Join the club!! I remember we were there and it was rainy, we decided to duck into a cafe for a glass of wine to get out of the rain and relax for a bit. Smiling proprietor read our minds, said with a smile "Glass of wine?" "Sure", we said, "a glass of house wine apiece"because everywhere else in Italy a glass of house wine was just a few euros. We were sitting near the register and I knew we were in trouble when the girl at the register said to the owner (in Italian, a little of which I understand) "how much do I charge them?" Our mediocre glass of house wine was 10E apiece.

I guess we were lucky we got off that cheaply. Learned the lesson to always ask "how much" before ordering anything. Just another "welcome to Venice" story... A time-honored tradition that goes back centuries.

Paul - I am from Col. Ohio, but have lived in Frankfurt for over 23 years.