It is a common occurrence for tourists to fall prey to scams perpetrated by business owners in the countries they visit. Oftentimes, they end up paying more than the actual price for goods or services but only rarely do they protest much due to language barriers or the hassle it would involve.
That’s exactly what happened to a British Youtuber couple, Zoe and Czar, who was charged RM120 for a haircut in Kuala Lumpur recently.
A TikTok video that has gone viral with over 644,000 views shows Zoe and Czar visiting a barbershop in Bukit Bintang, KL, that advertised a haircut for RM19.
@zoeandczar_ What do you think? Do you also think 120 ringgit is far too much for a trim in a local barber shop in Kuala lumpur? First time this has happened to us in Malaysia 🇲🇾 #malaysia #kualalumpur #kualalumpurmalaysia #malaysiatiktok ♬ original sound – Zoe&Czar
During the haircut, the barber engaged in friendly conversation with Czar, asking where he was from. Czar replied that he was from the Philippines but now resides in England with Zoe.
Upon completion of the haircut, the barber surprisingly charged them RM120, a huge jump from the advertised price.
Zoe and Czar asked two locals if the price was reasonable and they were told it should not be more than RM50.
When they confronted the barber, he became defensive, claiming that foreigners have to pay more taxes for local services and that Czar’s facial hair required more effort.
After the incident, Zoe and Czar left the shop feeling bitter and disappointed, stating that it had ruined their day.
While Zoe acknowledged that it is reasonable for foreigners to be charged more, the RM120 price was excessive and unjustifiable, she said.
The couple expressed their frustration at the assumption that being foreign meant having unlimited funds, and that it was acceptable to charge exorbitant prices.
They also noted that they had visited Malaysia previously, but had never encountered such a situation before.
“Imagine if it was our first time here and we weren’t regular travelers. Maybe we wouldn’t want to come back. Luckily, we’ve seen good sides of the country and we do like it here. But you’ve got to think about the lasting impression that that leaves on tourists,” said Zoe.
Some of the comments on the video also called out that the foreigners (Zoe and Czar) were being scammed by another foreigner, referring to the barber who some believed to be Egyptian.
