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maneoOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 08:43 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Make a list of things to do and take turns going through them one-by-one.
Get creative.


Wonder if you can find poster paper with the glue that makes them impossible to remove (especially from glass).

Print a few of those with "Teahouse Scam" warnings in English and paste them all over their windows.
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boredengineerOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 08:47 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Why don't u guys just throw some molotov cocktails at night instead
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oh_the_darknessOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 08:50 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

maneo wrote:
Make a list of things to do and take turns going through them one-by-one.
Get creative.


Wonder if you can find poster paper with the glue that makes them impossible to remove (especially from glass).

Print a few of those with "Teahouse Scam" warnings in English and paste them all over their windows.


Now THAT is a good idea.

Laughing
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Ah BengOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:07 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Some questions;

Just what are we drinking that'll justify 700 rmb? Shouldn't we even look at the menu before ordering?

And if we do order anything from the menu that adds up 700 rmb and not pay, why would the police want any of this?
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maneoOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:15 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

There's one menu before you order and one after when you get the bill.
Do you need to be told that the prices differ on these?
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That_Chinese_Girl
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:16 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

The thing is prices are probably not listed.

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edbreejenOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:25 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

For sure there are 2 different menu lists. In some suspicious bars just don't give back the menu after ordering. If they complain or disagree, you know there could be troubles ahead.

PS: don't start a fight.....many scammers are from Henan/Shaanxi (as almost all locals know, people from those provinces are notorious scammers in any kind of activity!) and for them , the same holds true as they say in the US about Mexicans: fight one bean and you get the whole burrito.

These scammers are definitely like that...cowards on their own, so they always have their tribe of fellow cowards at hand to pick up a fight.
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oh_the_darknessOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:27 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Why not take pics of these kind of establishments and post them here as a warning?

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maneoOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 09:50 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Some posters have taken pictures.
For example, in this post from 2 years ago:

http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-35320-start-25.phtml


More stories on other sites, too:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/pb/f4fc8/fc79e/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=907675

http://gridskipper.com/54453/shanghai-scam-stories

http://www.scamspotters.com/chinesetea.html


Last edited by maneo on June 07, 2008 - 10:10 PM; edited 1 time in total
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RenovatorOffline
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 10:09 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

When you know which tea house(s) do this how about printing up a few thousand 90% off tea ceremony coupons only valid on a certain day for a 3 hour period. Pass the coupons out to all the chinese on Nanjing Lu and watch the teahouse get jamb packed with an angry mob. It will take them hours to sort out the mess.
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Post  Posted: June 07, 2008 - 10:11 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

^ HAHAHA!!

Spot on!!

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edbreejenOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 07:47 AM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Renovator, great idea! Scam the scammer!
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underh20
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 08:44 AM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Does the menu list the astronomical prices? That would be a problem if it does.

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That_Chinese_Girl
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 10:06 AM  Reply with quote  Back to top

^ The second menu does, not the one you order from.

Renovator, who would we get to hand out the coupons? He'll have to be a fast runner.

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dfooOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 11:23 AM  Reply with quote  Back to top

I read a couple of those threads, and its pretty clear to me that if you simply refuse to pay, or pay only a little of the giant bill then the staff don't actually do much, other than threaten you.
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 12:01 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Not always true Dfoo. A couple of years back there was a spate of foreigners getting hospitalized as a result of these scams.

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dfooOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 12:34 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

I would say the corrupt police draw the line at that, no? Its one thing to intimidate and rip off a foreigner, its quite another to actually hospitalize them.
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rolentoOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 12:40 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

hi guys,

before you decide to be a hero and teach these scam people a lesson, think for a little while and ask if the police could have already been involved?

as in, the police are actually the ones running these scams or helping them by turning an blind eye for a cut in your 700rmb tea.

remember, this is china.

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kumlongOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 12:45 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

go down to the nearest police station from the place with your foreign passport and tell them that u wish to make a police report on a cheating case. given that this is shanghai and they are usually worried about foreigner being involved the police will go down to investigate.
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rolentoOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 01:20 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

kumlong wrote:
go down to the nearest police station from the place with your foreign passport and tell them that u wish to make a police report on a cheating case. given that this is shanghai and they are usually worried about foreigner being involved the police will go down to investigate.


well of course they will do a show, but the fact that this scam has been around for so long, and still going strong just don't seem right.

From my previous experiences, i know the shanghai police are capable of wiping out criminals if they REALLY want to.

in shanghai, vices usually exist because someone have connections with the anti vice.

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KiwiOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 01:33 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

dfoo wrote:
I would say the corrupt police draw the line at that, no? Its one thing to intimidate and rip off a foreigner, its quite another to actually hospitalize them.


I'm sure the police disapprove, but then they aren't the ones actually shaking foreigners down for cash. I wouldn't want to be the one to test how some thug interprets police guidelines on how a scam should operate.


Anyway, several foreigners getting bottles smashed across their heads in as many weeks was enough to get the various foreign consulates organizing a formal prοtest to the police.

The police probably issued a 'no bottles except on Frenchmen' directive in response.

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oh_the_darknessOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 01:36 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Hey how about this - just let them carry on their scams and then after the Olympics the press in America/UK/Australia etc will be filled with 'I went to China and got robbed' stories.

The cops will soon take action then.

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KiwiOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 01:54 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

Hey, I don't think these foreigners who get scammed fully appreciate Chinese culture.

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Shanghai BratOffline
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 02:08 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

A friend of mine went to one of these bars, knowing full well what was the outcome. When the bill came he just started throwing bottles around the bar, scaring the hell out of everyone and ran out the door.
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That_Chinese_Girl
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Post  Posted: June 08, 2008 - 03:03 PM  Reply with quote  Back to top

^ Is he a big scary guy?

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