Countries
in Asia are known for their cheap mass production of fake goods. We
see it all around us: shops lining the streets and market stalls with
copy CD's, DVD's, and latest software prominently displayed. Western
brand name goods, logos purposefully placed in their correct areas such
as North Face, Nike, Gap, Quicksilver and others hang on display... all
fake. It's taken to the extreme in Vietnam. people specialize in
making copies of famous paintings; the Mona Lisa, Picasso, Monet and
others hang from the walls in little art shacks. Silk tailors copy
fashion designers and produce look alike product for a fraction of the
real designer cost. In Hanoi, they have gone as far as replicating
well know businesses. It's difficult to even know if you're at a
legitimate place of business.
Take
for example, a travel/tour company who has a well published reputation
in guide books- Sinh Cafe. They sell bus tickets, boat tickets, hotel
rooms and other tours. We were given the recommendation to book our
Halong Bay sailing trip through them. After having done research and
learning of potential "copy" or fraudulent vendors, we thought we knew
where the "real" Sinh Cafe was. We get to the street that Lonely
Planet said it was on, and see the sign, logo, and cruise in with our
friends Jet and Jafra, to purchase the tickets. We talk to the sales
manager about the company, the tour, the boat, and he shows us pictures
and even speaks at length about other "fake" Sinh Cafes that are
illegitimate. We pay a deposit and sign over our commitment, and for
a moment a doubt funs through our minds. Darrin asks, "How do we know
you're the real Sinh Cafe?" We open up the guide book (which also
happens to be a "fake" copy of a Lonely Planet Vietnam book). Without
looking at the book, the sales manager says, "We're #22 on the map."
We looked, and indeed, #22 is Sinh Cafe. We leave the office and
check the store front address- #31 Hong Bac Street. In the guide book,
one reference doesn't have an address, another listing says its 52 Hong
Bac. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach. We had carefully
researched this one, read the horror stories of those people who went
to the "copy cat" cafes unknowingly, and were sold a bum deal. I think
we've just fallen into the same scam/trap. As we walk outside and look
up and down the street, we spot five more Sinh Cafes, all in close
proximity. We walk down to #52 and ask if the branch up the road is
part of their company. They say, "No, it's a fake." So we thought
we'd try a rational approach and go back and talk to the "fake" Sinh
Cafe manager who just sold us our tickets, to see if we can get a
refund, given the false pretenses with which we were sold the tickets.
Darrin and I would lose our $20 deposit, not that big of a deal; but
our friends paid in full, and they'd be out $100 if the manager refuses
to refund and the trip is a scam. As we thought, the guy turns hostile
and refuses to admit that he's a fake, and that he's just used
deceptive advertising practices to win our business He places a call
to someone he says is his "boss," someone who speaks English, and he
makes me speak with him. The guy on the other end of the phone is
completely rude, and the purpose of this call is to reinforce that once
we signed our name on the dotted line of the receipt, that we are now
obligated and would not receive any of the deposit, despite the receipt
that says if we cancelled that we'd get back 50% of what had been paid.
The guy is so completely rude, and when I ask him basic questions
about the trip that he can't answer, I immediately know this guy on the
phone is not the sales guy's boss, but rather a friend of the sales guy
who is in on the scam, who speaks English, and whom the sales manager
is trying to use to strong arm me into forking over the remainder of
the money and continue with the trip. At this point, I let the sales
manager know how disappointed we are with his fraudulent business
practices, and that we would hate to have to get the police involved,
so we should just resolve this now, between us here, and just kindly
refund our money and we'll go away happy. He then says the police
speak no English and would be of no help to us. There is no
negotiating with this guy. He's a scam artist, and we got suckered in.
I tell Darrin, let's leave now and write off the deposit as a
learning, regardless if they have a real tour behind the drama. I do
not want to go with them or pay them anymore money. We finally get up
to leave, after talking in circles. They guy tells us to come back in
30 minutes - that we need to cool off, and he'll address the issue with
us later.
We
really didn't expect to go back, and have written them off. But
several hours later Darrin decides to swing by and the guy asks him
what he needs to be happy... Darrin said, "just return our $20." The
sales manager reaches into his wallet and hands over a crisp $20. We
take our business down the road to ET-Pumpkin, a company that chooses
to actually pay for their business registration/license, so there's
only one of them on the street, and we book our tour. We feel much
more comfortable with this company, as the sales manager is actually
reading recent web-based reviews that clients have posted about his
company and their tour experiences. He tells us improving their
service is most important, and that he checks out these sites daily.
Wow, I think we found an actual legitimate business. We were just
waiting to walk out of the store and see a boatload more "ET-Pumpkin"
signs over store fronts, but to their credit, there are no copycats
like Sinh Cafe.
