An American writer and lawyer has recalled an unpleasant experience during his trip to India, wherein the manager of his hotel teamed up with a cab driver in an attempt to fleece him. Andrew Hammel spoke about the time he was nearly scammed out of ₹3,000 in response to a viral X thread on India’s lack of social trust.
The writer, who is based in Germany, said he was visiting Jaipur, Rajasthan when he took a cab back to his hotel. Soon thereafter, he heard a loud pounding at his hotel room door and realised that the cab driver was demanding cash from him under the pretext of being shortchanged. More shocking, however, was the fact that the cab driver was accompanied by the hotel manager.
HT.com has reached out to Hammel for a statement and will update this copy if he responds.
“Loud pounding at my door”
“My favorite story was taking a cab back to my hotel in Jaipur, a Holiday Inn which was supposed to be one of the best. Maybe 30 minutes later there's a loud pounding at my door. It's the cabbie *and the hotel manager*,” Hammel wrote on X.
He continued his story saying that the hotel manager informed Hammel that the cab driver had “accidentally” given him too much change, and that the American should return ₹3,000.
{{/usCountry}}He continued his story saying that the hotel manager informed Hammel that the cab driver had “accidentally” given him too much change, and that the American should return ₹3,000.
{{/usCountry}}“I politely inform him this did not happen and I have no intention of giving the cab driver extra money. I then close the door. The knocking starts again,” recalled Hammel.
He realised that the hotel manager and cab driver were banking on the fact that he would break down and pay up. In short, they wanted to bully him into paying extra.
In fact, the duo kept knocking on Hammel’s door for 45 minutes, claimed the American lawyer. “hat's when you realize time has very little value to them. The cab driver might make 400 rupees an hour doing legit business, so investing 2 or even 3 hours in a potential payoff of 3000 rupees from the rich foreigner is reasonable,” he wrote.
Saved by American corporate culture
So how did the tourist get out of this scam attempt? He claims it was because of American corporate culture.
“I was saved by American corporate culture,” Hammel wrote, explaining that the hotel had provided an international complaint hotline number in his room.
Even though the number was barely legible and printed on a torn laminated instruction sheet, Hammel managed to get through. And even after he began complaining about the hotel manager on the hotline, even spelling his name, the manager continued demanding money from him. The manager, in fact, threatened to call the police on Hammel.
“Only when I started repeating words like ‘police,’ ‘crime,’ ‘arrest,’ ‘harassment’ and ‘fraud’ did the guy finally relent,” the Germany-based tourist recalled.