Rosemary and I have spent the last week in Turkey.
Three of those days we attended a scientific conference.
We then flew down to southern Turkey to visit Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary.
Rosemary is very religious, so this part of the trip took on added meaning for her.
It was all she talked about for weeks.
As always, Rosemary took care of all the travel details.
She's so good at the kind of stuff.
I just mess it up.
She plans the trips…
I get on the plane when I'm told. 🙂
Our vacations always go off without a hitch…
But not this one.
This was the vacation from hell.
I would like to say that most of the problems were because of language differences.
We didn't encounter too many people who spoke English, and we certainly didn't speak much Turkish.
But that wasn't the real problem.
What was it?
We didn't have a local guide to steer us clear of the many scammers we would run across.
It seemed like everywhere we went…
Someone had a hand in my wallet, trying to rip me off.
I'm not exaggerating.
Even something as simple as taking a cab was EXHAUSTING.
You'd take a cab ride that should cost 35 Turkish Lira and half way there…
the cab driver turns around and says something in broken English, then tells us 120 lira.
What were we gonna do, get out of the cab in the middle of nowhere?
That was one scary cab ride…
If only we knew someone local to warn us.
And what of the scammers disguised as a tour company?
Rosemary arranged a tour to go to Ephesus and the House of Mary over the Internet.
It was supposedly a reputable company associated with Sheraton Hotels.
But when we got there…
They tell us that no group tours were available, only private tours…
that would cost us $890 Turkish Lira (roughly $500!).
$500 for a tour!!!!
And that didn't include the admission costs or lunch.
And of course the tip would be extra.
Liars and cheats abound…
all looking to take our money because we didn't know the lay of the land.
If only we'd had a local person to guide us.
In the end, we were so exhausted and disenchanted that we cut our vacation short…
and hi-tailed it back to New York.
It was THAT BAD!
[Disclaimer: I'm not claiming that all people in Turkey are dishonest or unfriendly –
We just ran into a bunch of bad apples.
I'm sure that the majority of Turkish people are wonderful!]
So why did I tell you this story?
What does this have to do with your home business?
Everything…
Building a business is a lot like trying to navigate your way in a foreign land with no translator or local tour guide.
You've got no idea who to trust or who's just in it for the money.
You just don't know what's necessary for your business and what's not…
It takes a long time to figure it out…. I guess you could say it's part of the learning curve.
Most people don't wait that long…
They get exhausted looking over their shoulder, afraid that someone is trying to sell them something they don't really need.
They become paralyzed with fear,
end up doing nothing…
and they quit.
They give up on their dream, and that's the biggest tragedy of all.
But what if you had a “local guide,” someone who knew who to trust and who to avoid?
Someone who understood what's necessary to build your business and what's a waste of your money.
How valuable would that be?
It can literally cut your “learning curve” in half.
And save you a boatload of money, too.
Rosemary and I have finally found a group of “local tour guides” for our business.
It took us a while to find people we could really trust…
But when we did, our business became so much easier and a lot more fun.
We can move forward without worrying that we're wasting our time and money.
And that, my friend is priceless.
YOU CAN HAVE THIS, TOO!
We've made it a lot easier for you to find people in the Industry you can trust.
Someone who has your back… and truly cares about your success.
Grab our Part Time Entrepreneurs Success Kit…
which includes our training video, “How to Find Your Perfect Mentor”.
And if you want to cut through the nonsense and work with the same people we trust, get in touch with me and I'll hook you up.
18 replies to "A $500 Tour and One Scary Cab Ride…"
Wow Bob, I’m sorry to hear that. You really ran into a bunch of bad apples, which really sucks. I’m happy to hear that you are open-minded enough to know that not every Turkish person is a scam.
Just a bad experience Roan… most people in Turkey are very friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back.
I wish you tried to contact some other websites to find out a local to help you. I wish you made some complaint about the taxi driver because laws against the people like him in Turkey are really strong.
Wish we had you there with us, Harun! Having someone who knows the ropes would have been invaluble. Hey, just like business! 🙂
Hi Bob,
What a true to life story?! I think every where we go, there are always scammers, including in the internet. That’s why i read and follow one of your advices in article [10 Steps to Being More Productive With Your Limited Time] Find the right mentor for you and I did! I’m glad and joined with his team and he’s very supportive in coaching me to setup a blog and how to make income out of it. His name is Manuel Viloria (http://www.viloria.net).
Kind Regards,
Alistair Javillonar
allaynebusiness@gmail.com
So glad you found your mentor, Allstair… it makes a world of difference, doesn’t it?
I’m SO sorry Bob that the vacation part of your trip was such a nightmare. I can’t even imagine but I would have been furious. I know that Rosemary was so upset to not take that tour and the bad taste it leaves is never pleasant. To be there and not be able to see what you wanted must be so frustrating.
Relating this experience to the online world is so true because that’s exactly what happened to me when I first started out. I still know the name of the business I joined which was a total ripoff but I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know who I was even suppose to be learning from I was so unfamiliar with it all. It was a scary and horrible first experience but it didn’t detour me because I know not everyone is dishonest.
Thank you for sharing this and welcome home. I hope you have a relaxing weekend and enjoy yourself. We’re glad to have you back.
~Adrienne
The online world is no different than the offline world, Adrienne, right? There are always going to be people looking to take advantage of the unsuspecting new folks (i.e. “tourists”).
Maybe it’s a right of passage, I don’t know… but I also got “taken” a few times before I wised up.
Appreciate the comment as always, my friend.
Scary stuff Bob. 3 comments, 1) I did not realize that Turkish currency is so strong. 2) When I was a kid I watched the movie Midnight Express with Brad Davis, I vowed to never go to Turkey. 3) This post highlights why I will not easily visit a non English speaking country.
Hey Wade… we had a bad experience, for sure. But I will also say that there were PLENTY of really nice people there willing to help us, as well. It’s just that the scammers stick out in your mind.
I wouldn’t hesitate to visit another non-English speaking country, but only if I had some kind of guide. Not so much for the language, but to avoid the people that take advantage of others.
Oh, really sorry to hear that. You definitely should well prepare for the next trip.
Live and learn, right Harry?
Hey Dr Bob
So sorry about your vacation. Although the moral of the story is extremely valuable. Thank you for drawing the parallel.
I remember Istanbul 2 years ago. One of the greatest experiences. I spent the week of Ramadon there and it was amazing.
Thanks for the great post!
Christopher
http://ChristopherHussey.com/Topic/How-To-Network-Market/
Yeah Chris… we also heard great things about Istanbul. And it IS a beautiful city, if you can get around all the other stuff.
Hi Bob; Thanks for sharing your story. I’m glad to see that you were able to put a positive face on the experience by writing this post. That’s a good example for us to follow. And you are a natural story teller. take care, max
Thanks, Max! Nice to be back! I guess we must always look for the lessons in even the worst circumstances.
Hi Bob,
sorry to hear about your issues you encountered in Turkey. On the other hand, they obviously inspired to this great post about having a reliable guide who knows his business – this aplies to any area of our lives. The problem is that most guides have their own agenda in mind rather than just guiding you.
Finally be assured that Turkish people are normally considered very friendly and welcoming. They have a saying:”You come as a stranger, you leave as a friend.”
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care
Oliver
Yes, Oliver when I wrote the post, I got concerned that I was generalizing too much about the Turkish people. Although the scammers tend to stick in your mind, there were many very nice people who were willing to help us.
Thanks for your comment, my friend.