10th March, i will be the one with the handcuffs tied to my suitcase and a placard with NO THANK YOU round my neck!!!!!

I never had much time for the airport porters, and have never let them take our cases. Last year I was at the airport waiting for a friend and the flight was delayed. I was desparate for the toilet and was told that the only available toilet was in the baggage hall on the other side of customs. One of the porters, an older guy, heard me and took to to the door of the toilet, after telling the Police and Customs why I needed in to the baggage hall. When I came out I was impressed because I did not even have to pay a bribe to get out again, but when I offered the porter a tip he totally refused to take it. Perhaps he is one of a kind, but it does show that they are not all just greedy for money. I still would not pay them a pound though.

We go on how we are getting ripped of in goa,but we can say no and that it,not like this country,we get ripped of every where we turn and its all legal,mainly goverment.I also think we dont need to tell them to f-off,its whats giving us british a bad name,if we dont like there culture dont go.

When you have said no thank you, please leave my case alone, don't touch that, I said leave it, NO I SAID, after a log flight tired, getting through immigration and customs and these XXXXX are still grabbing at your case to earn as much as a day labourer for walking ten paces , f off might not be appropriate but it works and it has nothing to do with culture, it is to-do with him understanding that he is not being paid by me.

Oh yes, you want to what he says to you when you give him a ten pence coin.

When you put it that way,maybe you are right,its just just that when i am in goa i seem to here a lot more swearing at goans and most of the time its not justified,I dont seem to have a problem,when i say no they go away,my wife tells me its the way i look at them its anough to send any one away,i must be a ugly b------

I don't think I have ever listened to anybody swearing at Goans except at the airport, I know I haven't, when I say swearing I mean cussing them out. Taxi drivers excluded, but not often.

Lez

Well I have sworn at the Porters, it really annoys me the way they push you out of the way, to get your luggage out of the boot of the taxi when you arrive at the airport, ( I am never in a good mood when I know I am on my way back to the UK) and then they follow you around demanding a pound. I know a pound is nothing to us, I tip more than that when I get a taxi home, from a drunken night out ) but considering there are thousands of other Goans working in the fields for far less than a pound a day, it gets me really angry.

I think the porters count on people like me being tired and weak when we arrive; as although I am grumpy, I just give them a quid to get them to sod off.

I have been to Goa several times before and have tried the polite way of saying no and the rude way and neither work. In the end I just give in because you manage to get rid of one bloke who is then replaced by another who is told to go away and who in turn is replaced by another.

However, there were instances this year when porters were actually sitting on cases and then demanding £5 before handing over the case. Their argument was that the case was too heavy. In that instance I couldn't guarantee not to have a massive hissy fit.

Opened a bit of a can of worms here Having travelled through both the Domestic and International Terminals at Dabolim as have many members here the difference is plain and simple, Indians tend not to give them the time of day. I had one last year at the smoking room demanding money it`s getting silly now, funnily enough an Indian friend of mine from home who was on the same flight in and out of Goa was just behind me and gave him a right flea in his ear and he just looked really sheepish and walked off. I asked him what Indians think of the tipping situation at the Airport and he laughed and said "in Mumbai they get 20 rupees if I`m feeling generous, here they get the same".He added that the Indian tourists flying into Dabolim are probably as well off if not better off than a lot of us poor tax laden Brits, so in general most of this problem has been created by us tourists and it should be up to us to take a stand and try to calm it down. When you fill in that questionnaire on the plane, mention the problem (or vent your spleen) on there, it probably wont have any effect but at least you have made it knowledge .

FTV - it was my first trip to Goa this year and I read previous threads about these greedy little sods at the airport.

I worked myself into a slight frenzy when we got to the airport. Thinking these would descend on us like vultures and prise our pound coins out of pockets and we would be powerless to do anything about it. And do you know what?. We had one tiny frail porter try to carry my daughter's case 5 yards. A quick 'no you don't ' look from me and he scurried off to another potential victim.

Coming back half hearted attempts were made to take cases out of the boot of the taxi. But a firm 'No - Thank You' did the trick.

But put all of this into perspective. Definitely do not give them any money - hang on to your cases - but if they do manage to grab hold of them and carry them a short distance - one quid is hardly gonna kill you or spoil your holiday.

McGroogle

I agree McGroogle, a quid isn't going to spoil anyone's holiday, however, I do think it is taking the mickey when you give someone £1 for taking your case off of the carousel, someone else £1 for taking your case to the barrier outside of the airport and someone else another £1 from the barrier to the taxi/coach.

But that doesn't always happens, it depends what time of day you arrive. When we have arrived really early in the morning we have only had to part with £2 each.

How much!!!

Sorry, I always make it my mission to make sure they don't get their mitts on my cases been ripped off to many times. Infact its part of the fun trying & succeeding to beat them.

The more I go, the tighter I get.

On a serious note in England if someone moved your case a few yards without asking, you'd thimk they were stealing it and no way would you part with a £1.

AJ

I always take some small notes home with me, ready to use on my next trip. Toilet attendants are the same in the airport - 10/20 rupees is enough for a tip.
No need for shouting and swearing - it just winds you up !! I think it is amusing seeing peoples faces as they turn round and a porter is walking off with there cases.

I take my own luggage. I find the guys at the airport the worst people you will ever encounter in Goa.

It was funny last year. We only take backpacks and were 'positioned at the ready' to grab them. As the cases started to come through the porters did their 'usual' taking them straight off and piling them high on the floor next to them. Suddenly a loud booming English voice shouted out 'NOOOOOOOOOOO LEAVE MY SUITCASE ...LEAVE IT!!!!!' ... it was duly left to continue its journey. I couldn't help smiling though at some people who were obviously first timers to Goa and DIDN'T know what was going on! They tut tutted between themselves and gave dirty looks at this, obviously, NOT a first timer to Goa!!! I often wonder if they've been back again...and are now doing the very same thing!!!

The previous time I had my backpack slung on one shoulder...flight bag wrapped around my wrist. I had a tug of war with a porter all the way out of the airport for my flight bag! He DID manage to get it off me and strode off with it with me chasing and shouting after him! It had ALL our money, documents in it!!! He stopped outside in front of a taxi and was most upset when I dragged it back off him and even more so when I refused to give him any money! I spent the first week of our holiday with bruise marks on my forearm where he'd been pulling at the bag!!!

Having used a lot of airports in India I can quite safely say that Goa is the worst as far as porters demanding tips is concerned. Sure, at other airports you will get offers of a trolley for your bags or assistance in carrying your bags, but a no thank you usually works. I visited Dabolim this year in April, having not been there for a number of years. The situation with the porters was noticeably worse! I suppose the more that is given to them the more they will want and so it goes on.

Do it Indian style; either ignore them or, if they have been helpful, give 20 or so rups.

I might try and make a few quid at Newcastle Airport on my day off. Grabbing peoples suitcases and wrestling with them then asking for a pound coin. What do you reckon my chances are?

a FULL £ off a Geodie you have to be kidding

wasn't me who posted that

Hotxbun yes please do that would be a laugh. I think you would get told to off