[jackbl]

Daylight robbers prey on tourists in Vung Tau
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Your correspondents penetrated restaurants and eateries in the tourism city of Vung Tau to witness their techniques of ripping off tourists using a myriad of tricks.

On the morning of February 2, three tourists visiting from Ho Chi Minh City were brought to Nhu Y eatery at 306 Phan Chu Trinh by a broker.

Duc,the man in charge of introducing the menu and collecting orders from customers, persuaded the three to choose “a small hotpot with a few grams of lobsters and crabs,” while initially the customers only wanted to order fried rice dishes.

The three customers agreed, and were an hour later shocked to see the bill charge them nearly VND3.1 million (roughly US$150) for the “small fresh seafood meal.”

Duc, who lured the customers into the trap, had already fled.

“A man told us that only a few grams of lobster and crab would be used in the hotpot, but why does the bill say there were 1.6 kg of crab, and nearly 1 kg of lobster?” one of the customers objected.

In response, the eatery employees and manager replied with a circular argument. The three tourists then had no choice but clear the bill, and leave.

Van, the cook at Nhu Y, said: “Duc is really an hustler in Vung Tau.”

“Foreign tourists are Duc’s favorite prey, then come those from HCMC.”



Weigh-adding scales

Your correspondents discovered that Nhu Y eatery used a weight-adding scale to rob customers.

The scale is put near the seafood tank, for customers to check the food weights. However, whenever seafood is put on the scale, its weight will automatically increase by 300g.

On February 5, Huong, the eatery owner, caught two lobsters from the tank, put them on the scale, and told the customers that they weighed 750g.

With the lobster costing VND1.3 million ($62) a kg, the customers had to pay VND975,000, and were thus robbed of VND390,000 for the 300-g “virtual weight.”

“Suspicious customers may ask to put the seafood on a scale to check, but either way, they will always be cheated,” said Van the cook.



Pawn phones to pay eatery

Meanwhile, Hung Phat 2 eatery at 189 Hoang Hoa Tham Street has a more sophisticated scam arranged to rob customers.

Hoa, the woman collecting orders, invites customers to eat the mixture or Thai hotpots, which cost only VND100,000 ($5). The hotpot, however, is accompanied by a dish of seafood, which costs an exorbitant price.

On February 7, a broker took Phan Duc Tien, from HCMC, and his family to Hung Phat 2 for lunch, where Hoa persuaded them to eat hotpot.

The waiters later brought out a hotpot with four lobsters, and a dish of cuttlefish.

Upon finishing the lunch, Tien was astonished to learn that he would have to pay VND1.2 million ($57.6) for the meal.

As the two parties got into a heated quarrel, one waiter turned the music to a maximum level to drown out the noise of arguing.

The customers could do nothing but pay and leave.

“No matter how angry they get, they still have to pay in the end,” Hoa said.

On February 5, a group of high school students in HCMC’s Thu Duc District had to pawn one of their cell phones in order to have enough money to pay VND2.8 million ($135) for their lunch at Hung Phat 2.



Huge assistance from the brokers

Contributing a great deal in the daylight robbery of customers by eateries in Vung Tau is a large number of brokers.

Several dozens of brokers drive motorbikes around the city to scatter the eateries’ leaflets, or lure customers to the eateries, to earn the commission of 20-30 percent of the amount the restaurants rip the customers off.

The brokers can also be taxi drivers who drive directly to the eating houses they have colluded with whenever their customers ask for a place to eat.

“A broker can earn more than VND1 million ($50) a day, and even more during the holidays,” said Hai, manager of Hung Phat 2.

Meanwhile, Huong, owner of Nhu Y, said she is willing to pay 20 percent of the total bill for brokers using motorbikes.

“If customers spend VND10 million on their meal, broker will receive VND2 million,” she said, adding that brokers who are taxi drivers receive even higher commissions.

On the morning of February 2, Phong, a broker, followed a 12-seat bus, and managed to throw a leaflet into the driver’s seat. That evening, the driver took the group of nearly 10 customers to Hung Phat 2.

This is enough for Phong to pocket VND1.7 million ($82) for brokerage.

“There are days when I earn as much as VND4 million,” Phong said.

“Though I have been constantly complained about and cursed, I can reap lucrative profits doing this ‘job’.”