"Certain restaurants in tourist-heavy areas of Paris have been charging higher prices or applying extra charges to American tourists, an investigation by a French newspaper has shown. From taxi scams to pickpockets at Metro stations, stories of tourists (particularly Americans) in Paris being taken advantage of are not new, but what about being charged a different amount for dinner? The French daily Le Parisien did an experiment over the summer to see if restaurants in tourist-heavy areas would charge 'American' customers more than French people."
"Reporter Mathieu Hennequin disguised himself as an American, donning a T-shirt with the Eiffel Tower, a baseball cap, sunglasses, and the best he could muster of an American English accent. He enlisted the help of his friend, Marc Maziere, who runs the website radinmalinblog.com, which helps customers find good deals. Marc posed as the control group, a typical French person, inconspicuously sitting a few tables away from Mathieu, while Mathieu pretended to be an American."
An experiment tested whether restaurants in tourist-heavy Paris charged American visitors differently than French customers. A person disguised as an American and a French control diner visited several restaurants near the Eiffel Tower. Observed differences included Americans being given bottled water while French customers received a tap-water carafe, Americans offered larger soda sizes or fewer small options, and notably larger servings for the disguised American. Several American tourists had left negative reviews and complained online about overcharging, which motivated the comparative visits. The contrasting service and portioning suggest inconsistent pricing or service practices targeting tourists in some establishments.
Read at www.thelocal.fr
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