Young people have a tough time allocating their pocket money. On one hand, they need to manage their necessities, and on the other hand travel and hangouts with friends with limited amount of cash they save from whatever their parents give them. [break]
Many often suffer from a crunch, landing up in embarrassing situations, causing them to panic and come up with funny excuses.
Hitesh Sharma, 17, shares his recent experience. “I went to a café in Basantpur with my friends and we ordered according to our budget. But when 13% of VAT was added, we ran short by Rs. 75.
We confessed our situation to the person who was in charge of the counter but he scolded us while blaming that we should have paid attention to the VAT and ordered accordingly.”
Hitesh and his friends convinced the manager they were regular customers and that they would repay the amount later. “He excused us for once,” added Hitesh.
At the same time, people who get into such situations can’t be completely blamed as many of the rates written down in the menu are not inclusive of the 13% VAT and 10% service charge. People can’t be expected to look at the menu with a calculator besides them and then place their orders.
“We embarrassingly asked the people sitting in the adjacent table to lend us some money, and they gave us Rs. 100 out of which we paid Rs 50 for the restaurant bill and divided the rest among the four of us to pay transportation fare on our way back,” recalls 17 year old Barna Pathak.
Perhaps it is easier for restaurateurs to believe in grownup people rather than youths who might intentionally do so. Whether it is carelessness or intentional, many youngsters seem to have suffered from such incidences.
As seen in films, do restaurateurs in Kathmandu actually make people wash dishes if they fail to pay the bills?
Prashakta Poudyal, owner of Cuppas located in Putali Sadak where youngsters flock for coffee while catching up with friends or read books, informs, “We’re well acquainted with most of our customers, so we let them loose in case they aren’t able to pay for once. Luckily, they pay us on their next visit. If it’s someone we don’t know or trust and has a huge bill, we would probably seize their mobile and return it once they pay.”
It’s not only at restaurants but while traveling also such incidences have happened where they have faced humiliation.
Sabin Gnawali, 20, shares, “I got into a bus that runs on the Chakra Path and later I realized that I didn’t have enough money. Rather than giving whatever amount I had, I tricked the conductor by scolding him for being forgetful about the fact that I already paid him. I was nervous and that was the only solution I thought of which I managed to get away with, knowing that I was doing wrong.”
Suraj Ghale, tempo driver, opines, “I think young people do that on purpose, and I get very irritated with such people. We can’t waste time holding the rest of the passengers and argue with such people or take them to the police station. Some old people get confused with the rates and don’t have enough amounts for the fare, which is acceptable.”
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