| Discrimination Against Locals or Hospitality ?? | |
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| Sep 28, 2006 22:44 |   |
 | Am not sure that this subject has been raised before. Nonetheless, I notice during my travels to China that there is discrimination against the locals in many industries that involve foreigners as well - like tourism, retail outets, MNC offices, etc. Though am a Chinese, they know I am not from China and am accorded priority wherever I go as well. But I don't feel good at all at this attitude. I feel for the local next to me for being ignored or accorded lower priority. Take tourism - in the past I recall that there were different charges at tourist attractions - the foreigners paying the higher rates. I thought that was sensible and justified in view of the comparatively lower earning power of locals. In almost all cases, foreigners are better attended to than the locals - just because they will probably buy the product and at higher prices than the locals ? I can quite understand this if it happens at small retail outlets owned by individuals. But when this happens at established or bigger corporate where the staff has no direct benefits out of treating a foreign customer better than a local ? Or is this a case of simple courtesy & hospitality to visitors ? I know this is a common problem globally. But I believe this is not so apparent in the West & some Asian countries. Comments are welcome. |
| Sep 29, 2006 01:30 | #1 |
| I guess you must have notice this in so call "tourist areas". Try going to places where the locals go and see the difference. |
| Sep 29, 2006 01:40 | #2 |
| Yes, what happens there ? |
| Sep 29, 2006 22:24 | #3 |
| Same service for everybody i.e. no service. You get screamed at (usual Chinese way of talking - very loud) laughed at (because we do not understand each other). Generally lots of fun with other customers joining in. |
| Sep 29, 2006 22:38 | #4 |
| So the position is still as per my thread then. |
| Sep 30, 2006 00:36 | #5 |
| Interesting points. I do not call favouring someone because you perceive they are rich and will bring you more money courtesy or hospitality. I have been on a train and tried to upgrade to a sleeper, only to be told by the guard if I paid him 500rmb he would do this. The normal price of the sleeper is about 200 and I had already paid about 90rmb for a standing ticket. If I was a local, he told me, he would give it to me. I explained to him I had lived in the NE of China for over a year, paid taxes etc... it made no difference. Similarly I have been completely ignored in bus queues, restaurants, train stations etc as locals/Chinese happily push past me. At other times, a conductor in a train searched the length of the train to find a seat for me when she saw me sitting on my bag in the smoking area as I had no 'seat ticket'. I have experienced great courtesy and great rudeness here, as I have in my own country, as I have in other countries. I would feel incredibly uncomfortable if I was accorded 'priority' over anyone else, Westerner or local. I also find it incredible that I can be charged double the price of my Chinese friend for a seat on a bus. Doesn't charging foreigners double assume two things that may be completely untrue: 1. That all foreigners are rich 2. That all locals are poor I know many Chinese who earn more than I do in China. And what about foreigners working in China who are not spending converted $ or £ or other strong currencies, but rely on the lovely RMB to pay their way ? There are many issues here. Not least of which is what is a foreigner ? The difference in the West I suggest is that it would seem unscrupulous to charge a 'foreigner' double. Should the West in fact reduce its prices for 'foreigners' and charge double for its locals ? Also, in the West, it is much less obvious who is a local and who is a foreigner... therefore these industries tend to believe that every guest they have is important, regardless of nationality, and should be treated well. |
| Sep 30, 2006 11:02 | #6 |
| Well put Lemoncactus. I'd have to say my experiences tend to be similar to yours. I have been treated withoverwhelming respect and honour by some and with stunning rudeness and distain from the airport ticket checkin to the fruit weigh-in in the supermarket but at busy train and bus stations it is the hardest mostly because of the pressure to communicate with haste. Some of the special treatment comes from locals wishing to take the chance to practice English too. But it is the same world-wide |
| Oct 1, 2006 22:31 | #7 |
| I distinguish the different level of treatment at different types of places. At the ordinary outlets people don't care less whether u are foreigners or not - these are at the grassroot level. On a different level where there are more educated people dealing with foreigners ( such as hotels, big shopping malls, etc ), I fancy the treatment is more bias. At least I find that true myself. I was just watching a local Chinese programme on CCTV presented by Hu Yi Hu 2 days ago on the "Ugly Chinese" - amongst the guest participant was a young French man who speaks excellent putonghua. He too admitted the different level of treatment accorded to him. He didn't like it too (so that's what he claimed ). So it is said, " The more educated one is, the worse a person one becomes" ? |
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