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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that shops charging non-locals higher prices is not on?

391 replies

BBInGinDrinking · 01/09/2019 15:34

We're on a family holiday staying in a rural coastal cottage in the UK and have been doing all our grocery shopping at the local stores in the nearest villages. I discovered on the last visit to a general store in one village that they have two sets of prices - lower ones for locals and higher ones for visitors.

Who knew?! Is this a thing?!

OP posts:
Pat123dev · 02/09/2019 19:39

Living in touristy south west, it makes perfect sense that locals get a reduced rate! I don’t think people realise that the population near enough doubles during the season, the extra strain on the emergency services, the roads and hospitals. There isn’t extra funding for drs and fire engines etc put on during peak. So the county has to get it some how! And come the depth of winter, business is very slow. So for the shops etc to stay afloat they have make the bulk of the income during the season.
So I think it’s completely fair that tourists pay a premium, and locals, often on very low wage, get the perks of discount. I expec5 to pay extra when I go on holiday! And I’m happy to.

AguerosAngel · 02/09/2019 19:44

A Spanish village that we stay in every Summer has two restaurants that do this, the English menu is slightly more than the Spanish menu.

Our Spanish is good enough to cover ordering food and drinks etc so we always ask for the Spanish menu.

Ronsters · 02/09/2019 20:10

I expect to pay a bit more in touristy areas, but if I felt the shop/pub was taking the piss I would just avoid it. Not all tourists/holidaymakers are rolling in money. People who live in tourist areas go on holiday too, and I'm sure they wouldn't like being ripped off either.

9ofpentangles · 02/09/2019 20:31

Also, a lot of people holiday in the uk aren't loaded (the ones that are often go long haul) and stay in b snd bs or caravan parks and so bring in quite a bit of money so I don't understand the resentment. I don't know anyone with a second home anywhere

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 02/09/2019 20:33

DarlingNikita
Asking, you're basically saying you don't care much about the issue on the thread.

No, I am saying that it is a non-issue.

Which rather raises the question, why are you on it, if you're not bothered about arguing either in support of or against tourist prices?

Because I am one of the many, many people pointing out that this is not really about "tourist prices"; it is a complaint about locals being charged less, not actually about tourists being charged more.

I don't think it is legal to charge anyone more than the price for the item as written in your price-list; I am absolutely certain that it is entirely legitimate to charge someone less than that amount if you happen to want to.

StoneofDestiny · 02/09/2019 20:43

I'd expect to pay more in a local shop in a village as they can't bulk buy. However, no way would I shop in a shop that charged tourists more than locals! You should name and shame.

Katzia · 02/09/2019 21:48

When we lived in London, the local non chain and family run restaurants all treated the locals differently to the tourists. One always left the credit card slip blank for additional service charge to be added, even though it had already been on the bill. Another never charged the locals service charge, automatically brought water but offered tourists only bottled, locals don't pay for extras, eg like extra toppins (onions) on pizza, etc..lots of little tricks. The owners or established waiters always served the locals. Once we asked a new waiter for the bill as owner was upstairs ( we were downstairs) when we wanted to leave and she left the credit card slip blank. Owner was mortified and couldn't apologise enough. Treating your bread and butter customers well is very commonplace, even where we live now and it's not a tourist area.

Supermum29 · 02/09/2019 22:10

My hometown has a residents scheme where you can apply for a card, you benefit from reduced prices/cheaper entrance to local pool etc. It mostly encourages local residents to shop local as opposed to driving out of town to large supermarkets and also benefit from doing so, otherwise high streets become reliant on tourist trade which is purely seasonal! I don’t have a residents card but know plenty that do and I don’t really see a problem with it.

9ofpentangles · 02/09/2019 22:12

Our town has a similar thing. The thing that got me, though, was the underhandedness of it all and, in the days of TripAdvisor, I think they won't be getting away with it for long

Toomuchtrouble4me · 02/09/2019 22:31

That’s hilarious - good for them.
Put up with tourists and support local economy.

Toomuchtrouble4me · 02/09/2019 22:35

In Cuba you have separate money for Cubans and tourists and separate shops to spend it in - and the two cannot cross.

notacooldad · 02/09/2019 22:52

That's diabolical. You should name and shame
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I cant get upset over this. It's not like they are going to charging. ££'s more per item. It's not like I'm getting a big shop in week in and week out from them.
I see the locals rate as a discount for the people that's there for them day in day out.

keffie12 · 02/09/2019 23:15

@yellowellies yes it is true. My late husband is Welsh. He didnt speak Welsh but in the pubs where that happened he knew how to ask for a pint in Welsh

Doidoit19 · 02/09/2019 23:43

**
DS 1 is at Uni in Wales, and in some of the pubs they (allegedly) ask what you want in Welsh, and charge more/less depending on whether you can answer in Welsh or not- don’t know if this is true, but generally the English students avoid those pubs, so even if it’s just a rumour it keeps the Welsh pub Welsh! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@yellowellies Can totally believe this. My husband is welsh but doesn’t have a welsh accent. Everyone assumes him to be English (which he prefers 😂). Lost count of the amount of times we’ve been talked about in shops and pubs in North Wales and the faces of them staff when he’s address them in welsh! On the other hand, my BIL has a strong welsh accent and everyone is lovely to him. He can’t speak a word of welsh (I’m English and can speak more welsh than he can!)

OctoberLovers · 02/09/2019 23:46

Happens during Wimbledon tennis in SW19

notacooldad · 02/09/2019 23:51

DS 1 is at Uni in Wales, and in some of the pubs they (allegedly) ask what you want in Welsh, and charge more/less depending on whether you can answer in Welsh or not- don’t know if this is true, but generally the English students avoid those pubs, so even if it’s just a rumour it keeps the Welsh pub Welsh!
We had this in 80s when I was a student. We had a field trip or something in Wales. We were all English except for one Welsh guy. The locals were all speaking English until they realised we had walked in and were English so they started speaking Welsh. Whether it was to make a pint or to make us uncomfortable I dont know but our guy just smiled, greeted the landlord , asked if there was tables for us to eat etc, all in Welsh and once dine returned to us muttering 'tosser!!' under his breath!

lakeswimmer · 02/09/2019 23:55

I don't understand the resentment. I don't know anyone with a second home anywhere

Where I live 80% of the houses are holiday homes and many people are priced out of the area due to high housing costs and subsequently there's a loss of community. And then there's the congested roads and the difficulty of getting places on time in the summer but you still don't understand the resentment? Really? There are both benefits and challenges from tourism but for some people the challenges outweigh the benefits.

Bloodless · 03/09/2019 01:36

Price discrimination is a fairly common microeconomic strategy based on demand - such as phone lines being more expensive during business hours, student discounts, OAP discounts, professional discounts etc.

Rather than extortionate pricing for tourists I would look at it as discounts for locals which is fair enough.

Bloodless · 03/09/2019 01:40

Also theme parks in Florida, and probably others worldwide, offer discounted tickets to residents etc

karenbokaren · 03/09/2019 02:36

I don't understand the resentment. I don't know anyone with a second home anywhere

Probably 90% of houses where I live are 2nd homes that get used for a month a year tops.

greentheme23 · 03/09/2019 03:41

That used to happen in Keswick when I lived there. I got lower prices that the people who had moved there because generations of my family had lived there. I was therefore a local and despite the fact they thought they were - they weren't really! I don't live there now!

trinity0097 · 03/09/2019 04:46

Is this really any different to a shop who gives a student discount, or a discount for being part of the armed forces or nhs or something?

makingmammaries · 03/09/2019 04:56

A good reason to use the supermarket if local shop owners are so discourteous to strangers.

Teacher22 · 03/09/2019 05:24

While the practice is somewhat despicable, we are still in a free country with a free market economy. The way to stymie these fleecing local shops is to get your shopping delivered by a large supermarket straight to the door. If they played fair they would get the business.

As for the tired old second homer complaints. I have been coming to a part of the West Country for nearly forty years and have seen the second home market completely revive a tired local economy and make it vibrant and profitable. Not to mention that the locals could have sold their houses to other locals for nine pence but chose to get top dollar from more prosperous buyers. And the fact that, in those more prosperous areas the children of the prosperous buyers are unable to purchase a house themselves.

That is how it has been forever; read your nineteenth century literature. You move away from home to make money and return home to buy.

DianaT1969 · 03/09/2019 05:33

In London, if you get an Oyster card (for travel) at any station, or machine, you pay a refundable deposit for it. Those who land and buy one at an airport are sold one with a 'tourist tax' as the £4-5 can't be refunded.