Ice cream van moint choisy ripped off

1. before ordering check the price properly, and if you feel like they are ripping off, try talking some sense to them and then if it's not working just boycott that place.
2. learn Creole! and learn to bargain!

but anyway the vans at mont choisy are the worst, I had kind of the same experience with one of the food trucks, although we ordered food for 150 mur they asked for 700, and that's when we tried to talk sense into them, but they didn't want to agree, so I learned it the hard way, after checking the price and order, pay right away or you will be doomed.

@elanazari thank you for you answer. Good tips. Pay first. Yes i will definitly learn creol if anyone knows a good teacher let me know 😀👍 thank you mate and once again i love mauritius and i will make it here

i like to adapt to the customs

Hi if you want to buy ICE CREAM go to super market, like super u.  The price is fixed.

Make friend with Mauritian people and learn Creole.

regards

@infostarfreight yes thats what i am planning to do but this happend on the first day so learned the hard way now i am aware of it sad cant buy ice cream at the beach though without getting ripped off...

Watch what other locals pay & just pay the same price. In restaurant, get a copy of local menu from a local & pay that price. Even if you speak creole, they will pick up on your accent - so they will still try & overcharge you. Otherwise, shop with a local & get them to ask price for you. I now just explain to them that I am Mauritian & expect Mauritian prices - & this seems to work most of the time.

@shirley1421971 very good tips thank you dear. Will follow that, make friends with locals 👍

Another trick that I use during my travels is to befriend and ask one or more customers in front of or beside you (hopefully a local) who has already been served with a similar product how much he or she has paid.  Another customer will typically be truthful.  If the merchant then attempts to over-charge, then you have another customer who can help set the record straight.

When a customer has ordered an obviously delicious dish that is not on the menu, I would politely ask that customer about the dish, the story about the dish, how to order that, and how much it would cost to get a similar specialty... Made many new acquaintances and I was able to experience many new dishes without experiencing sticker shock.

Hope that little trick works for you. 

@Laura91

****

100% I had the same experience. I'm never using it again.

But after living here for over a year, I've learned a few things.

1. They may not be trying to cheat you. some sellers are bad at math. Even simple math is difficult to them.

2. I never buy anything on the street or on the beach. Not hygienic...

Hello everyone,

@ Rubelle Please let us provide meaningful advice here.

This whole incident is one of many that even we Mauritians are ashamed of.

I personally buy goods only when the price is clearly labelled/shown. No price = no purchase.

It is an offence not to put price tags/labels : page 5 https://www.mcci.org/media/165411/the-c … pdated.pdf

I would rather go elsewhere where the price is clearly shown (there are some exceptions though).

Ask the price first, if it seems odd, don't go ahead with the purchase.

In your case, Laura91, Consumers are protected in Mauritius, if ever you encounter such situation again, take a photo (vehicle registration plate) feel free to call the Consumer Affairs Unit rightaway (You can still call them and report that ice cream van)

​​Contact Details :

Level 1​, SICOM Tower,

Wall Street, Ebène Cybercity,

Ebène 72202

Republic of Mauritius

Phone ​ :

+(230) 460-2500

Hotline : 185 ​​

consumerpu@govmu.org

Regards

Bhavna

Last year, when I first came to Mauritius, I had an experience with an ice cream truck. I saw the owner of an ice cream truck on the beach of Mount Choisy and greeted me very warmly. Although I couldn’t understand English, I felt that He was very enthusiastic, so I responded to him politely, and then asked if I wanted ice cream. I thought ice cream would not be very expensive, so I asked for one without asking the price, and then the person who bought the ice cream gave me ice cream At the same time, I took out my wallet and asked him to take the money from the wallet. He first got a Rs200, then another RS200, and finally he wanted to get an RS1000. At this time, I felt wrong, an ice cream How could it be possible to ask for so much money, so I quickly snatched all the money from him, returned the ice cream to him, and then I was about to leave, but he kept chasing me and yelling, I am China Man, I can't understand English, let alone Creole, and I don't know what he was calling, but I was still very scared at the time. Finally, he caught up with me and insisted on selling me the ice cream. I used The mobile phone translation software asked him how much it was? He said he wanted RS450, I used a mobile phone to translate it to him and told him I didn’t want it because he was dishonest, and finally I got rid of him, and then I saw another ice cream truck nearby, this time I asked the price first, I used mobile software to translate, the boss told me the price was RS90, so I ordered an ice cream, I gave the boss RS200, and he gave me back RS100, I thought the number was wrong, so I asked through the mobile software, isn’t it RS100? The boss said a few words that I didn't understand, as if he was explaining something to me again! Since I don't understand, and it's only RS100, I won't ask any more.

@Laura91 Most of these guys are on TripAdvisor. Be sure to give him a review accordingly and ensure that other people don't get ripped off like you were.

He gets a bad reputation and goes out of business eventually, unfortunately you get nothing but the ultimate satisfaction

@Glenn G Clayton thanks for the advice. Would like to point out that there are many lovely sellers at mont choisy beach too so that people dont get me wrong but since i check for the prices before ordering i never had any new issue so thanks to everyone for the great advice and great forum.

hi, having read the comments, on this topic this reminds me of a thread where we had a heated debate over the same subject couple of months back. well as a Mauritian I am sorry for the visitors to our country who are having to face similar problems.    I do believe that customers should be able to complain to the tourist beach authority if that the case, correct me if I am wrong as I haven't had to do so hope it is the right process to report. All the sellers are licensed to operate on the beach which I know but as any process to solve any issues may be lengthy here this may discourage us to report such issues .   I don't know how fast the authorities can act on your behalf but at least you have tried to raise this complaint. I hope this could help for now.

Unfortunately my husband was conned for Rs509 for two cones. I went and confronted the ice cream van seller. Told him that people like him who give us Mauritians a bad name. I was going to report him. My only regret is that I did not do anything at that time. Now I refrain from buying ice cream from sellers. Shame on them.

@infostarfreight

…and the ice cream from these cars is not very safe to eat…..

better is packed ice cream unless at ice café in La Croisette…

I think we should also take into consideration that same thing happen abroad, like for eg, foreigners pays a higher fee for university studies in the UK than locals, for the same service! So as long as the price is communicated before the purchase and the buyer agrees, it should not be a problem.

@yusuf.beeharry  Everybody pays the same for food,etc. There is no difference in prices for locals or foreigners in the UK, and certainly not for ice-cream.

eg, foreigners pays a higher fee for university studies in the UK than locals, for the same service!
-@yusuf.beeharry

Foreigners paying a higher fee for university studies is justified because they have not paid taxes or made any specific contributions to the buildup of the educational infrastructure. This is a deliberate implementation of a country's educational policy. Unless governmental policies dictate that foreigners should pay more for every day things, there should not be any special treatment applied here.

I am both a Mauritian and an expat and I believe that the ice cream example is not policy but rather behavior of a minority.  Recommend avoiding this unpleasant minority.

The majority of Mauritians are honest, hard-working, and friendly. This is the Mauritius of today. If I am wrong, I would like to see more examples beyond just the actions of a small minority.

@prospectorland yes i totally agree to that i meet wonderful people, my kids got cake on the beach from locals, played with local kids so many nice memorys made in a short time after having lived in Scandinavia were everyone loves to live isolated and greeting eachother is lost, this filled my heart so thank you to Maurtian people for welcoming us on your island. I see the inflation has hit this beautiful island and their people hard i do understand people have to make a living..

@Laura91 Hi Laura. I'm glad that things have improved as the majority of service providers actually try to do a really good job.

As I indicated in my note regarding TripAdvisor reviews, please bear in mind that the inverse also applies and good service deserves to be praised accordingly. The result of which is twofold, 1, who not to do business with for whatever reason and 2, who gives you the type of service you expect and why, so that they get the benefit of increased business and support.

Good luck and I hope that you continue to enjoy loving in Mauritius, it is a stunning place.

Regards Glenn

@prospectorland that is a great way to get affordable prices and make friends. I am wondering in what language do you ask the other customer(s)? Do you speak Creole? I am in the process of learning French, but Creole lessons I cannot find here in the Netherlands.

I had a similar experience at Pereybère a few years back,it was a van that trades at Choisy as well.I bought ice cream that was overpriced.As I wasn’t sure since I’ve lived abroad for a long time.I asked my friend who was local to buy the same ice cream and she was charged the normal price.I confronted the seller,he refused to refund me .I took photo of his number plate which was black,had to get very close to read and illegal and threatened to report him to the police.He refunded me straight away.I did go to the police the same day and a week later I noticed he had a new number plate.My advice is don’t hesitate to complain to the authorities and take photos or video.

Interesting thread about ice cream vans! I have only had one run in with an ice cream van here, which was shortly after we arrived here a few months ago, and also happened to be on Mont Choisy Beach. Mine was the opposite experience. I was on the beach and took some money from my bag and left the bag with our daughter. I didn't know how much ice creams cost but thought it would probably be enough for 3. Anyway I ordered the 3 ice creams from the vendor and he told me how much. But the money I had taken with me wasn't enough (I can't remember the amounts now but I was about 30% short). My wife told him that we could go and fetch some more money but he refused, did a funny trick of holding the ice creams upside down, then gave us the ice creams and accepted the lower amount. Reading this thread, I now wonder if maybe he had done so well with other foreigners that he could give some back by this point (-;

I think when I buy icecream on the beach I will look for a price list and point to the one I want. No price list, not getting ice cream.

@prospectorland that is a great way to get affordable prices and make friends. I am wondering in what language do you ask the other customer(s)? Do you speak Creole?
-@oshudofsky

@oshudofsky, when I ask other customers around me, I use mainly English when I am with my family (who speak mainly English). When I am alone, then I will use Creole or French. The key here is to be friendly, genuine and polite. When my family or I are interested in asking something, we will explain why we are making the request. I also make sure to state that the response is voluntary and that it is ok to say no. Some looked at a providing an answer for a price and I would respond that I was not planning to pay for this info and thanked them anyways.

Most Mauritians are very helpful when you are very approachable as a friend. When a foreigner approaches a local with an attitude of superiority, it is very likely that the local will consider the exchange as a transaction. Of course, behaving in a friendly manner must not be excessive as acting "naive" which would attract unwanted attention.

In summary, treat the locals with the same respect that you would expect the locals to show you.

Hope that this helps.

Absolutely,  friendliness and respect must come from both sides ALWAYS

OK, so I asked several locals today about the price the pay for ice cream at this place. I was told standard price was 75 rupees & 100 rupees at the most for a fancy ice cream. So, there it is - you could just say locals told you that ice cream was no more than 100 rupees there.

Hello, just for info, we paid Rs75.00 per ice cream cone of 2 scoops, yesterday at Gris Gris (there's only 1 ice cream truck there).

Tomorrow is public holiday, so enjoy your day and if you're going to the beach and having ice cream, check the price first.

@shirley1421971 wow thanks good to know for the future 👍

@Bhavna Thanks for the info, hope everyone enjoy the public holiday!

@elanazari This is wrong why one has to learn the creole language in order to get a better deal these guys are just not honest I have been here long enough you get ripped from top to bottom for me whoever does that is just a low life crook I can’t be more open

This is just a general observation. When we think about people within our home country (wherever we are from, UK , Germany, Mauritius, Morocco, USA, etc), we know that there are all different sorts of people, some really honest, some really dishonest, and everyone in between. Yet when some people go to another country they seem to think everyone there is the same as each other. Obviously, in reality, for all countries there are all different sorts of people, some really honest, some really dishonest, and everyone in between. So our perception of the situation seems to depends much more upon what experience personally we have and how personally familiar we are with a country, rather than the actual reality of the situation. As I say, this is just a general observation.

@andrew9799 I understand what you say. However, that is a simplistic explanation. Those who are good are good to all, and those who are dishonest are dishonest to most. What we are discussing here is dishonesty by some to only those who are 'different' in some way. That should not be acceptable.

This is just a general observation. When we think about people within our home country (wherever we are from, UK , Germany, Mauritius, Morocco, USA, etc), we know that there are all different sorts of people, some really honest, some really dishonest, and everyone in between. Yet when some people go to another country they seem to think everyone there is the same as each other. Obviously, in reality, for all countries there are all different sorts of people, some really honest, some really dishonest, and everyone in between. So our perception of the situation seems to depends much more upon what experience personally we have and how personally familiar we are with a country, rather than the actual reality of the situation. As I say, this is just a general observation.
-@andrew9799

@andrew9799, is there something that you are recommending an expat or returnee to prevent getting taken advantage of or being treated differently from locals?

You may be on to something here but it would be useful to complete the thought with a recommendation.

Just watch what everyone else is paying & pay same. If you have to, get a local to buy you one. I am Mauritian/Australian. I have about 100 family members here, yet I get treated differently. My Mauritian family & friends protect me from this if they are there. But alone, it is difficult. Even some of my family charge different prices to locals and non-locals. They themselves cannot explain to me how this is fair when I ask them? They do however admit that they assume that non-locals have more money.

They do however admit that they assume that non-locals have more money.
-@shirley1421971

Yes, but this is not a good reason to treat expats and returnees differently.  Inequality exists everywhere.  Honesty is a big component of personal integrity.  Good things will always happen to honest people and bad things to dishonest ones.  If I feel that I have been taken advantage of at a particular place, I will not go back and will alert everyone I know to avoid that place.  However, when I have received excellent service somewhere, I am sure to let everyone know about that wonderful place to visit.  Honesty is the best policy.

I am glad that you are having your friends and family help you whenever possible.  Hopefully the message will get through to the dishonest local vendors.

Hang in there....

@prospectorland Not sure this is a recommendation, maybe more of another observation. But say we are overcharged 100MUR for an ice cream. We get a double hit from this - one, we have lost 100MUR, and two, our perception of how we feel about that. There's possibly nobody on this forum for whom the loss of 100MUR is really going to make any difference to their life. So it is really number two that is more of a problem for us. So, while we may try to avoid number one from happening, ultimately it is outside our control because it depends upon the actions of others. But number two we have control over, it's entirely up to us how big an issue/problem we want to make it. Again, this is just an observation.