The Capitalist Instinct

Did I say nothing but good vibes in Santorini? Well, there was one area that let me down a little, and I think you can blame the Capitalist instinct for that one. As I mentioned, I couldn't find stamps for our postcards. My bad, I know. We should have gotten them earlier, and since we waited, I now had to scramble and all these vendors wouldn't sell them to us without first buying their cards. It really bummed me out, but their in business, what are you going to do?

It reminds me of when I lived in Venice beach, which is a tourist haven. All these eateries cater to the masses, but they won't give you a napkin unless you buy their food, first. We're talking a negligible expense, believe me, I know. We are in the food service/consumer industry. We know what it's like to deal with customers and freeloaders, but there are some things that simply not worth doing battle over.

Either way, one thing I found really interesting was the significant presence of Chinese tourists. They are the new Japanese tourist, flush with money and wanting to spend it, except that Asians can be amazing frugal. A bit of culture clash with European "joie de vivre" sensibilities, but very amusing to witness firsthand. In fact, there was an interesting situation going on throughout the Greek Islands, and for a guy like me, it wreaked of conspiracy. In certain situations, we were short on Euros and wanted to charge things like big meals. It makes life easier, rather than holding large amounts of cash. Plus, when you withdraw money, they stick you with all sorts of charges, including the exchange rate, international fees, and bank fees, which are usually a double whammy because you get charged by the bank you're getting money from, as well as your own bank for taking money out of somewhere else. When you charge something, all you pay for is the exchange rate. BTW, the dollar is taking a beating from the Euro.

Anyway, there were several instances, in fact all of them, where the places would make excuses that they couldn't take the CC. The excuses were all over the map, from not knowing how to use the CC machine, to the electricity going out, the machine not being turned on, and my favorite, not understanding what I was saying. At one restaurant, the older woman said she couldn't work it, so I actually ran the car myself. I sure hope I did it right. Fortunately we had enough cash, but it was all a bit too coincidental. Even the rental car guys gave me their sob story.

At some point, you begin to get suspicious, and I'm guessing the Chinese tourists were onto it. There is a great article in the New Yorker about Chinese tourists in Europe, and it was very applicable to this situation. You have to give them credit, they come informed and are prepared to do battle. This is war. At one of the restaurants, a couple wanted to pay for their meal with their CC, but the waiter said the electricity was out and he couldn't process it. He also kindly informed them that there was an ATM just down the street. Funny how that works. They weren't buying it, and said they didn't have any cash. The waiter dug in his heels and said it make take awhile for the machine to be back up and running, and they were more than happy to wait it out. They simply rested their heads onto the table and went to sleep. The waiter had to give in. I was impressed, I wouldn't have the wherewithal to pull that one off. Best of all, after they'd clearly won and they took their card, they went back to sleep. You gotta love it.

I personally think they should just say no CC. They all say they take them, then give you the runaround, it's completely disingenuous. I realize they save money this way, and I'm sure there are other perks, but it's still sneaky. Besides, they should know that when you're dealing with Asian tourists and their money, it's a losing battle.

Oh well, that's the world of capitalism. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to peter lammers and Lotus Head for the pic.