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Nevertheless: Vendor story struck a nerve

9/18/2009

By Eric Lewis

To be honest I wasn’t expecting to get so much mail following last week’s article. Man, people lambaste me! It is only one or two who tell me that I was right not to interfere cause them wouldda do the same very thing too.

Now for those who may be a little confuse let me recap last week’s article. Last week I mention that I went to buy some coconut water and when I was there at the vendor two white tourists pull up – a man and a woman. The vendor charge them $20 for the bottle of water.

The white lady questioned the price saying that from the time them came to Barbados a week or so ago them was paying $12 for a bottle and she turn and ask me how much I was paying for mine. I told her to deal with the vendor and not me. I say so cause I really didn’t wanta get involved in anything.

Anyhow the long and short of the story is that the vendor decide to charge them $12 after the woman start keeping noise bout being ripped off, even so the woman was blue vex and told her male companion not to buy the coconut water, but the man still bought it. That is the story in a nutshell.

But people write me and tell me that I, me, I shouldda say something, that I shouldda castigate the coconut vendor for trying to rip off the tourists.

One woman wrote, “What also makes it so ironic is the fact that you did not give the man’s wife a frank answer when they asked you what was the real cost of the water. If I was in their shoes I too would think that ALL Bajans are crooks.”

And she put “all” in capital letters, I aint telling no lie that one had me feel real bad, cause you know what? If I did in them position I wouldda feel so too.

Another person wrote, “I’m disappointed in the way you responded to the situation. How would I suggest you responded, you ask? You could have told the vendor what he was doing was wrong. You could have refused to purchase from him knowing what he was doing was wrong. When she asked how much you were paying you could have told the truth or said ‘I gave him $20 and I’m waiting to see how much it cost’ (if you were not sure) but to simply say ‘deal with the man’ and to stand by and watch the robbery take place is unacceptable.”

The truth is that evening I wasn’t in the mood for being cussed cause I know that some of these vendors are quite fluent in obscenities. But of course I also got some interesting e-mails, some alluding to the fact that some professionals here charge tourists more for their services, but you don’t hear people coming down on them.

A lady also wrote that she once admonished a vendor who was trying to sell a tourist an avocado pear at an astronomical price. The vendor cuss her, the other vendors cuss her, and then some Bajans who were there buying vegetables also cuss her, telling her it was none of her business and how Bajans does go to New York and all parts o’ the world and get rip off and you don’t hear none of the locals coming to our rescue, so she promise to keep her mouth shut the next time she see anything so happening.

But I will leave you with this final piece o’ mail; it’s from a white lady living here who went to buy some fish. She wrote: “…I asked for 4 pounds, which the lady started to cut, then another very well dressed Bajan lady whispered to the stall holder, we waited, then the stall holder said ‘Is this alright?’ I answered ‘Yes, that is great thank you’. She then turned and handed the fish to the other lady. My husband said ‘Excuse me, I think we were first’. The reply from the well dressed customer was ‘Black before White’.

“I think she realised what she said when she saw my husband’s face, but she didn’t say sorry. After this incident I didn’t feel angry, I felt very sick and sad, and we didn’t buy any fish. The incidents are few, but the effect that they have on people is devastating. If we need any large amount of goods from stalls (unless there is a price marked on the goods) I ask one of our Bajan friends if they would pick it up.”

True true, See ya.

(e-mail: madderic@hotmail.com)

Indices

as of close 9/15/2009


Local	3404.30	-

Cross-List	1665.14	-

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