Africa and Marketing

The painting was simple but attractive. 
"How much?"
45,000 Kenyan shillings 
The painting would have retailed for about $100 back home. The guy was asking for $700. 

"Way too expensive"
What is you budget?
"$20"
The look of disgust made me wonder if the guy had accidentally stepped in a pile of elephant poo. 

As we drive through Kenya, when ever we stop for a toilet break it is inevitably at a "curio shop". As soon as you enter the door, somebody directs you to where the washrooms are. They are waiting at the door when you are done your business. 

I often feel that I am at a time share condo presentation. These guys have a finally honed and practiced approach, designed to separate tourists from their money. Components include:
- this is a cooperative 
- local people rely on your purchases to survive
- proceeds from sales go towards supporting people with AIDS, schools for girls, etc
While all of these things may or may not be true, the one consistent aspect is the not so subtle combination of guilt and sales pressure. Our friend Simon, who recently traveled from Cape Town to Cairo on public transport, said that foreigners in Africa are basically viewed as ATMs with legs. In a way, it makes sense - national park few here are USD $70 to $80 per person per day, so anybody traveling here has a fair bit of money. There is a lot of poverty and unemployment, so you can't resent locals from trying to make a buck. But as a traveler, I get to choose how I react and who I spend my money with.

Locals are used to older, rich gullible tourists, so they are not sure what to make out of us. For example, we have pretty small luggage - we each have a pack that just fits as carry on size. When we get to a hotel, we know that there is zero chance of us carrying our own bags. Two porters will immediately grab our packs, and each expects a tip when they drop them off at our room. Ok, cool, I don't need anybody to carry my bag, but everybody needs to make a living and they usually only expect a dollar tip. No big deal. But in the morning, we will carry our bags the100m to the lobby, only to have porters grab them to carry then the last 20 feet to the van. Sorry guys, no tip!
We recently stopped to view a big waterfall. The moment we stepped out of our van, a woman started chatting us up. 
"Where are you from? What is your name? How do you like Kenya? My name is Lucy. After you see the waterfall, you will visit my shop."
Ya, sure, ok. 
At the waterfall, there was a guy with a couple of chameleons and some people dressed up as Masi warriors. 
"Ok," I asked. "How much for a photo?"
100 shillings ( a buck and a half). Cool. We learned later that the normal deal is that you take a photo first, and then they demand 500. 100 seemed fine. 

The chameleons were pretty damn cute. 

Then off to Lucy's shop. She dragged us through on a long walk through a warren of other shops.  At her small shop, we decided we were interested in a post card. 
"How much?"
No, you look around at other things. You buy more. Then I make you good price on everything.
"Nope. Just interested in the post card."  
We had bought post cards in Nairobi for 50 shillings - a bit less than a dollar. We expected the price might be double or triple in the country side. 
Lucy told us that post cards were $20 each. And then she was surprised when we walked out! 

Likewise, when we visited a Masai village, our guide asked us to look at the handicrafts that the village women had made. Jackie picked out a simple bead bracelet and asked the price. He said that it was $20. Jackie pointed out that during the drive into the village, a woman offered to sell her 10 identical bracelets for $10 i.e. A dollar each. "But this one is better quality and will last longer." We were keen to support his village, but we had already paid the chief $40 as an entrance fee for our visit. In the end we made a donation to the education fund and passed on jewelry purchases. 

At another shop, we saw a 1.2m high elephant carved out of a single block of teak wood. Only $10,000 USD, including fumigation, insurance and shipping to Canada! Obviously there must be some people dropping that kind of coin, because there were plenty to choose from! We figure that the guides probably get a commission - at the least, we know that they get plenty of free coffee, which is a good thing. 

Bottom line is that we are impressed and amused by how skillful the locals are at separating tourists from their cash. American tourists have trained them to expect huge tips. Observation, experimentation and practice have made them adept at throwing out the right psychological hooks, and most of them seem innately friendly and hospitable, so they are great sales people.  It is a psychological dilemma - we are keen to support local people in this country, but we don't want to be taken advantage of or support some of their more excessive marketing approaches.