See here in full the article from Beijing Today (14 Dec 07) about the latest in scams: coffee swindle (?). I am sure Beijing either already has it or will soon introduce the same. Many foreigners are tricked by friendly “college girls” to have a cup of tea, look at “valuable” Chinese paintings and now, having a coffee. I wonder if the ex-Starbucks in the Forbidden City could be a strategic location. Maybe they don’t have (foreign) whisky but they could serve Maotai.
The problem is in Beijing that according to foreigners who went through the ordeal, the police looks the other way and does not want to “interfere in private business” (see earlier entry).
Good for the image of Beijing, good to increase local revenues during the Olympics.
When young girls approach me I play deaf and ignore them. If not tea or coffee they will offer massage, if you don’t look interested they will clarify – “make love”. Any interested males can hang out at the main entrance of Lufthansa Shopping Center or even the lobby of Beijing Hotel (pimps more likely there). At your own risk.
Tourists ensnared in Shanghai coffee swindle – Annie Wei / Beijing Today
A Swedish businessman was cheated in Shanghai’s most prosperous area during his November inspection tour, a Shanghai newspaper reported. Peter De Verdier, manager of OMX, a Swedish financial service company, was allegedly approached by two college-aged girls who asked to talk to him on an evening stroll down Nanjing Dong Lu. The girls asked whether he would like to help them improve their spoken English ability during his sight-seeing, he said.
Shortly after the chat, one of the girls said she felt cold and asked him to go to the Manabe coffee shop on the third floor of the Bailian Shimao International Mall, where they ordered three cups of coffee, he said.
Verdier said the coffee was listed at 40 yuan per cup in the menu, but after being served, one of the girls ordered whiskey after Verdier told her not to.
After the whiskey arrived, Verdier received a call and left the table. He was on the phone for 10 minutes while the girls continued to order and drink whiskey.
When Verdier asked to pay and leave, the waiter served him with a bill for 4,966 yuan. The waiter said each glass of whiskey cost 400 yuan, and these girls drank 12 glasses.
The girls said they were students and could not pay, and Verdier found the exit blockaded by what he described as “serious-looking” men.He wanted to call the police, but didn’t know the number since it was his first visit to Shanghai, he said. In the end, he had no choice but to pay the bill.The newspaper sent its reporter to investigate the coffee shop and found two German tourists ensnared in the same swindle, it reported.
The Germans said they met two college-aged girls on Nanjing Dong Lu, were taken to the coffee shop, and tricked into paying 2,600 yuan for two cups of coffee.
Shanghai authorities have started an investigation, and Manabe’s headquarters said it would fine the branch for its fraudulent acts. Xia Junyi, manager of Manabe franchising, said it received a similar complaint from a Japanese tourist before Verdier’s story made the press. Manabe’s legal department is taking action, he said.