Do women on their own get ripped off in Doha?
On advice from a QL member, I sent my wife out to rent some dvds from Sound & Vision in Al Sadd.
She came back in tears.
She was charged 120 QR to rent 2 old dvds. She was told this was a deposit, originally it started at 80 QR, then went up to 160 QR and finally he told her 120 QR. Being the shy person she is, she felt intimidated and ripped off. There was no receipt give, how can I prove how much was charged when I go in there tomorrow to find out what happened.
IF someone can shed some light on the dvd rental process here and if she was indeed ripped off because she was a woman on her own I would appreciate any feedback.
We have lived here for 2 weeks and are finding issues like this very frustrating. (another one is cabs who see you are australian, think you are tourists and set the meter to 18 QR (the amount for pick up from the airport) not the 4 QR as shown on the window, or they leave the meter off altogether).
About the taxi not knowing where they are going...simple solution, pay them half the amount they charge. I do it all the time.
Marycat is right, next time any cab does not turn on their meter you dont pay them simple as that. Its even written in bold letters i believe in the back seat of the cab.
About DVD renting i dont rent them so don't know what they are going for but yeah I've heard about the whole security deposit thing, but if they dont refund you the security money you dont return their DVD simple as that too :)
oh, Da, I can always give you heaps of hints on places/persons to beat the hell out of them.. This is not a problem in qatar..
AussieChris, this is rather cultural. Start learning a new culture, that's it. But as for taxi, i agree with oryx. Anywhere in the world, if they think you are tourist, they try ot rip you off big time, not matter you are australian female or german man, or whever..
Were the movies 'Independence Day', 'The Crying Game' , and 'Taxi'?
came back in tears why did you not go straight down to the shop and find out what was going on? or were the films that good? :0)
The sad thing they don't realise is that if they gave good service in the first place you would overpay voluntarily; as in you'd tip them.
When they are so arrogant you begrudge them being paid at all.
I drive now, but got a taxi the other night and not only did he want more money than on the meter, but he asked ME the directions all the way there! I was thinking 'Who is the professional driver in this car?!!'.
And it wasn't a place off the beaten track either.
Mary then they shouldn't give you a wils guess about how much you should be paying as fare when you reach youe destination.
As for the taxi not turning on the meter - I believe Karwa's rule is that if the meter is not used the customer does not have to pay?
Qatar is something. It must be very frustrating not to speak the language in here.
As an advise, you gotta yell and give people crap to get serviced in here. People only work when under threat and people don't ripp you off when they feel you can harm them. make sure your wife does not fall for these intimidating acts and when something I'd fishy just mention the word police and notice the sudden low pricing and VIP treatment.
Qatar is something. It must be very frustrating not to speak the language in here.
As an advise, you gotta yell and give people crap to get serviced in here. People only work when under threat and people don't ripp you off when they feel you can harm them. make sure your wife does not fall for these intimidating acts and when something I'd fishy just mention the word police and notice the sudden low pricing and VIP treatment.
It happens even in pharmacy !
I went to a pharmacy near Abu Hamour petrol station and the Arabic speaking pharmacist charged me seven QR for a 1 CC cyringe. I took it and believed that was the price.
Two days later I needed one more, and there was a philippina pharmacist and she hands over a pack of ten for seven rials !
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Just go there tommorow collect your deposit money. I PMed you a place where deposit is 50 Riyals and Qr.10 for each DVD.
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..i'd say, you would feel safer there than here in jubail, ksa..got my nokia 5800 snatched from me while i sit inside my pickup last year..and i am no lady..hope there's none of that sort in doha...
oh and aussie chris, I have lived in the ME over 10 years now, am most defo sreet wise...but even I get ripped off sometimes. So don't feel bad about your wife being treated like this. Decency is not something that gets one far here...there are of course a few (very few) exceptions.
I think this is true of most places in the world. It's probably a bit worse here.
If you 'act the tourist' (a little uncertain, hesitant, ostensibly not in the know regarding how it works here, etc.), few would have the scruples to not take advantage of that.
If you're Caucasian, it could be worse...for some reason it is assumed that 'white people' have more to spare and are ripe for the ripping-off. Sad but true.
Act confident and in the know (I do it even in taxis, though I haven't a clue about the routes yet), hold your own, be assertive and never hesitate to ask why. I'm a female newbie to Qatar, too.
first of all , sorry about happened to your wife.It does happen around the world but Qatar is particularly bad. I always believe this country can bring out the worse in people sometimes.
i think it was more of your race rather than gender ( although that does influence the behaviour as well ).
you will find that Qatar will frustrate you on many levels, you either go insane or you will adapt. It will build character believe it or not, and yes its harder for women here regardless of whether they are on their own or not
maybe for the taxi( assuming its karwa) its worth asking how much before getting in( imagine you are on holiday, so use caution as you would then ).
if your wife can, go back when finished with video and see if she gets her money back, but keep a few steps away. so if they mess her about you can be witness and then step in by asking them how much etc and then challenging them if its incorrect.
you will find race an issue here in this wild west town !.
I can give you an example whereby I'm a Brit ( white English ) yet my wife is from Asia. Unfortunately people assume she is a Filipino or Indonesian maid etc ( not that I consider them any less a human being entitled to good manners) and look down their nose at her, despite the fact she is a major league lawyer and a graduate of oxford and kings. They get a shock when she can show up their lousy skills and abilities (especially the westerners and people originating from this general region). It’s one of the reasons we are selling up and leaving the backward mentality that exist here).
Both of you hang on in there. We have all been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Read QL, talk to your friends and you will both adapt and come out of Qatar shaking your heads in disbelief/laughter at this circus.
Regards
where is the shop so i can go and yell at him am very much pumped up these days looking to beat the hell out of some one :D
As for the DVD, whyteknight is right, they take a deposit along with the rental, when you go back tomorrow you can collect the money, if not me and whyteknight will collect it for you, we only charge 10QR (just kidding)
Taxi from the Airport, I'm not sure I've never read the window always starts at 18QR, I think thats the surcharge for the Airport pick up + extra 5 QR for a ticket you get to pay it before you leave the rank!!
paid it last week.
Oh I mean I don't rent them from this particular shop but from only one place all the time.. There is a shop in Najma I go to..
Excuse me if my use of English gave any wrong impression.
i used to rent a dvd and buy a pirated cd there and no problem so far...
I guess there is nothing to worry.......
If the things are as What Whyteknight says.......
Is that the store next to Food Palace?? If so I always found them really nice. If you aren't firm you are going to get ripped off anywhere in the world.
I have been here 2 years, I rent DVDs from the same place. The rent is 10 QAR and I pay 50 QAR as security deposit with no receipt which he returns to me when I go back to return the DVD.
I am NOT a woman, I am NOT new.
Why are you assuming you won't get the money back?
This world revolves around trust.
She does lack street smarts, I was hoping sending her out on her own might give her some confidence, it in turn did the exact opposite.
I will be takign the dvds back in a day or two once we have watched them and will be speaking to the manager and see what he has to say for himself.
Has anyone had experience at this store? ie, what should a dvd rental here cost?
hang in there mate, sadly this is only the beginning.
Why did your missus conduct business with the video store without demanding a receipt? Would she do that at, say VideoEzy or Blockbuster in Aus? Looks like she needs a brush up lesson on street-smarts.
If you have some kind of proof, just drop in at the Capital Police (near Toyota signal) and file a complaint.
not specific to women...i got robbed many times in my initial days :)
Aussie.. sorry to hear that, but its not that bad and not to worry. you will learn to fight it with time. welcome to Qatar :)
I suspect any problems are due to being new, not female!
Msandi
Aussie Chris, sadly, yes, these things happen...to women as well as to men. People will try to rip you off whenever they possibly can. Sad but true. You will learn, anticipate and defeat them....after a while.
Don't let it get to you.