Being generous when exploited

Fahd Bin Jleid Al-Jazirah In Belfast, a 5-star hotel became the butt of public joke when it charged a bottle of drinking water $40, the costliest in Ireland. The hotel justified the price by claiming the water it sold was one of the cleanest in the world. It became normal for the hotel's ordinary guests to carry water bottles priced much cheaper whenever they passed the lobby. However, there has always been a velvet class of people who are more than willing to pay $40 for a bottle of water because they enjoy showing off their wealth. In the lobby cafe of one of the hotels in Riyadh, the price of a cup of Turkish coffee is SR60, while the price outside the hotel does not exceed SR6. Also, a piece of cake costs SR340, as if it is studded with pieces of gold — remember the cleanest water sold at the Belfast hotel. Just a few steps away in the same hotel lobby, Arabian coffee is served free of charge with Sukkari dates. I have become a permanent customer of the Arabian coffee corner where I eat dates with the European guests staying in the hotel. After that I join my velvet class friends who drink a cup of Turkish coffee for SR60 with full knowledge that they will pay the price of the Arabian coffee I was served free within their exaggerated bills, but without them realizing it. Is there more generosity than this? As we lack any controls on setting the price lists for services provided in the Kingdom, I had my conviction that you might end up paying the costs of what people around you have enjoyed without you ever knowing it. The people who determine prices in the Saudi market distribute the total costs of services among all customers in an unfair manner, obliging them to bear additional costs for goods and services they have had the least intention to buy or enjoy. The costs of décor, the workers’ smart uniforms, the swimming pool, the health club, the complimentary coffee, perfumes and incense, among others, all would be borne by the customer even if he was paying for the most trivial of services, like having a shave or a haircut. We attribute the free services to the generous businessmen who use them as a means of attracting customers amid the stiff competition in the market. In fact, we are the ones who are being generous when the traders exploit us.