Beware expats in Lemar and the like.

ataturk


Joined: 09/09/2008
Posts: 712

Message Posted:
25/09/2008 19:21

I was in Lemar Karakum the other day and the british couple in front of me gave the cashier £40 the manager came over and told the cashier that it was 91.50 ytl but round it down to 90 ytl. Apart from this the cashiers always try and short change you and round everything down. 30-40 ykr is the equivalent of 15-20p depending on the exchange rate. You would never allow this in the UK so dont stand for it here, always insist on the correct change and if they tell you they have not got it insist on more rather than less and tell them that you dont want bubble gum. One of my pet hates in the TRNC is being short changed and given exchange rates below what the exchange bureaus do.

kenny



Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 405

Message Posted:
25/09/2008 19:43

wot is the exchange rate at the bureaus today ?

Graham


Joined: 20/10/2007
Posts: 397

Message Posted:
25/09/2008 19:53

1.00 GBP = 2.2690 TRY

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
25/09/2008 20:34

Give us the proper change.... not a sweet or a book of matches, it's such a negative impression to give your customers..... if this happens a lot, here's a couple of phrases that will get you noticed and more than likely get you your change....



para eksik (pronounced "para ek-seek") = some money is missing (say this whilst holding out your hand to the till girl/boy) or more politely....

paranın üstü, lütfen ("para-nun oo-stoo, lute-fen") = change please (say this whilst holding out your hand to the till girl/boy)

kenny



Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 405

Message Posted:
25/09/2008 20:40

thanks Graham

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 13:19

Two sides of the same coin!



Dont all laugh,but,

Many years ago about first time in trnc, bought some goodies in little supermarket.

Didnt really check the small change, got bag of sweets.

When outside said to wife "thats a nice touch ,I got a bag of sweets , probably in appreciation of, and to keep ,my custom .Wouldnt get that in the bigger supermarkets"

Duh!!

But

About the same year,

Needed to use toilet down at harbour,went in with 10mill note,to pay both wife and self.Couple looking after place didnt have change, so waved us both thro without charging .That was their living and could easily have asked us to come back with change or taken that chance to overcharge. I was so impressed that later went back with payment.



Again, few years back. Not used to million note colours, gave taxi driver 50 million instead of 5 million.Driver called me back and explained mistake. He could have just driven off with his bonus.



Although I get annoyed with the ripoffs and the bureaucracy,I temper that with remembering these two, and other examples of some good everday folk.

I only hope they are not a dying breed and are still around.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 13:23

girne 29. That;s a good post. I am sure there are still people like that in the trnc.

TimothyCadman


Joined: 13/12/2007
Posts: 1040

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 13:57

There is a simple answer....always use a credit card. They alaways charge you the correct amount and you pay the credit card company the correct amount, BUT best of all the retailer LOSES 2.75% as a commission to the credit card company, so we get one over them!

ttoli


Joined: 24/03/2007
Posts: 1172

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 14:03

What a great idea TC, Supermarkets profits come tumbling down, so they hike the prices again!, Great thinking there.

hattikins


Joined: 17/02/2008
Posts: 2793

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 14:07

Would it not have been easier to get some YTL, that is the currency in TRNC, we wouldn,t go into Tesco and offer YTL.

CJtill


Joined: 02/05/2008
Posts: 836

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 14:23

To stop yourself getting stressed out about being ripped off you must understand a few basic rules

1. Always keep your loose change for your next trip to Lemar so that you can pay the exact figure to the nearest 5 kirush.

2. If you have any old boxes of matches, bubble gum or sweets take them along and offer them as part payment for the odd 10 kirush.

Until you realise that they will always take rather than give, you will only have yourself to blame.

Michael

The butler


Joined: 22/06/2007
Posts: 1958

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 15:11

hattikins,



I totally agree with you, we should be happy they are accepting sterling instead of ytl. If you were to offer ytl in the UK they would tell you to go change it for sterling, incurring commission in the changing of it. On the odd occasion I have not had ytl to pay, I am just grateful they have accepted sterling and just been happy they have taken it.



The Butlers wife

joanie1


Joined: 25/07/2008
Posts: 164

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 15:34

i also totally agree with Hattikins. Offering a foreign currency in a supermarket is a bit like visiting a foreign country and shouting loudly in English and then getting angry when nobody understands. I have been visiting this country for 13 years now - there were no supermarkets then - just small shops. On a few occasions I didn't have the right money - shop didn't have the correct change - they insisted I take the goods and asked me to come back another time. I always did - but maybe everyone didn't. I think the message is to use the local currency like you would in England.

dusterbruce


Joined: 03/08/2007
Posts: 1125

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 15:51

Reading girne29's posting reminds me of the time in 1981/2 when we ran out of petrol on the way back from Famagusta, because the (then) few petrol stations were closed for the night.

A passing local man stopped to help, syphoned some petrol out of his own car and flatly refused any form of payment.

Kind actions like that happened all the time in those early days of the Turkish Cypriot State.

techtrader


Joined: 06/08/2008
Posts: 126

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 16:23

haha would never happen now the smell of greed (as measured by he amount of Range Rovers on the roads) is in the air.



i dont know how people will take this frankly i dont care but when i first visited North Cyprus in 2001 all i saw were friendly cypriot people now all i see is greedy turks!



make of that what you want

authentichoccie


Joined: 09/01/2008
Posts: 481

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 17:05

I must be in a minority i don't mind being given a sweet etc instead of 10 kurus! Can work both ways if my bill comes to 10.65 YTL for example I just give 10.50 YTL!! If you are regular customer they know they will get it back from you sooner or later! Although nearly forgot where i was once and tried it on the south side!!!! Can't imagine getting away with it in the UK either!

brandy sour


Joined: 09/04/2008
Posts: 310

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 17:35

If you dont want to get ripped off in supermarkets use YTL it makes sense if you dont want to have problems at the checkout ,it must be the third time on this forum that it has happened to someone

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 17:38

I totally agree with you and have stood my ground many times and asked for correct change, now I go with a bag of coins imagine how much they all make in a day, how the tills balance I will never know. I approached the manager of Lemar and suggested as this sems to be general practice why thet dont all ge together and give the surplus to charity then noone would mind , usual answer just a shrug.

ataturk


Joined: 09/09/2008
Posts: 712

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 19:16

The argument was not whether to use sterling or ytl the argument is that these cashiers short change customers throughout the day and pocket the money at the end of the day.



Why is it that you never get shortchanged on the greek side or in the UK. They are clearly making a profit from the goods they sell why should they profit by rounding everything down to suit them.



Even when using ytl they still round it down

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
26/09/2008 20:40

Msg 19: "Why is it that you never get shortchanged on the greek side or in the UK?"



Maybe it's because they haven't quite developed the same culture of automatic dishonesty and rip-off. Perhaps also overall there are lower concentrations of elderly/gullible people outside the TRNC.