Cigarette Ripoff at Les Deux Magots
 

Just got back from Paris and Italy and had no encounters with the pickpockets, etc which I did fear.
Paris _Interestingly enough...I got ripped off buying a pack of cigarettes at the well-known Les Deux Magots Restaurant...Downstairs...set up outside the bathroom a lovely lady was selling cigarettes for the normal cost of a pack of Marlboros. I bought a pack, and so pleased for the service provided, left a one E tip. I was very surprised when I opened the pack and it looked tampered with, more surprised when I realised something that was not burnable tobacco had been stuffed in the cigarettes.
After trying to smoke a couple, I decided to leave them on a bench in the Metro station...thinking if someone was really desperate...they might want them...
Imagine my surprise when we got on the Metro and a young guy also boarded and said, "I think you left these." I would have expected someone just to relish the find. I explained to him the problem and he said he would keep them and give them a try and thanked me.

So...dishonest and honest people are everywhere.

I'm a bit confused. Are you saying you didn't open the cigarettes until after you left Les Deux Magots? If not, why wouldn't you have returned to her and shown her. I find it hard to imagine a place of that calibre would do that on purpose, especially since they are "permanently set up", right? And most people would immediately open and attempt to smoke one, wouldn't they?

I think the worst part of the story is your baiting someone with unsmokable cigarettes. Why on earth would someone "relish the find" of unsmokable cigarettes?

What am I missing here?

On the positive side, a few less cigarettes inhaled you've extended your lifespan probably 15 minutes - well worth it.

Yes, but leaving some unknown substance for a total stranger to smoke, perhaps killing him? Priceless.

Excuse me, but don't cigarettes come in a cellophane sealed package with a tearstrip?

If they weren't sealed, why would you accept them? If they were sealed and you thought they'd been tampered with, why blame Les Deux Magots?

and WHY on Earth leave them on a bench?? sheesh . . . .

Counterfeit fags (stop giggling) are a fact of life in Europe. If someone is offering you fags at a price that's too good to be true - it is.

but in the 2 maggots?

Why would anyone buy cigarettes from some lady outside a bathroom at a cafe that appeals mainly to tourists. geez, there's one born every minute

By the way, since the original poster is interested in being a licensed travel agent, I suggest you learn basics about scams before offering suggestions to the public about travel.
And I'd hope you treat your clients better than leaving unknown cigarettes on a bench to see what happens to them.

Piling On - 15 yards!

Why would anyone relish finding an old pack of ciggies on a bench? That's like saying someone would jump for joy at finding some old Lifesavers in the bottom of their handbag. Gee, what a windfall!!!!!! :)

If you felt so "taken" you should have gone back to Deux Maggots (I prefer Flore) and asked for your money back.

The Great and Powerful Thingorjus

well i have seen plenty of clochards in Paris who would relish even these type of fags - so i think the gesture was a caring one.

". . .something that was not burnable tobacco had been stuffed in the cigarettes."

"well i have seen plenty of clochards in Paris who would relish even these type of fags"


HUH? Non burnable tobacco? Perhaps poisonous or hazardous material? And if it won't even burn, why would ANYONE relish them?

well i was thinking that 1ss1 was exaggerating a bit and it may be subpar tobacco or tobacco butts someone collected and then put in cigarettes

and she did 'try to smoke a couple' - if they were that disgusting she would have thrown down at first drag.

so i say that thinking they were subpar but smokable, at least to the palate of the typical clochard, who, yes may relish such a fine.

but if they were as you say then she should have gone called the cops and not left them out.

Just goes to show, smoking is hazardous to your health, wallet, and posts :)

Counterfeit cigarettes are quite common in neighborhoods like Barbès (where a pack of Marlboro is often sold for 2€ instead of the proper 5.30€ -- or whatever the current price is). I must admit that I am surprised to learn that such items are being sold in Saint Germain des Prés. For one thing, like all cafés, Les Deux Magots is thrilled to sell cigarettes at a hefty markup (probably 7 or 8€), so I find it hard to imagine that they tolerate crooks selling crap right under their nose.

PalenQ, don't you think the homeless have enough to contend with wearing a Prada jacket from 4 seasons ago without having to worry about tainted ciggies?

Have a heart.

Hi, Mimi. How are you? :)

"For one thing, like all cafés, Les Deux Magots is thrilled to sell cigarettes at a hefty markup (probably 7 or 8€), so I find it hard to imagine that they tolerate crooks selling crap right under their nose."

I think one of the more amazing parts of this story (and there are several pretty amazing parts) is that the poster made it sound as if the cigarette stand was actually set up as a part of the restaurant, or certainly done by the restaurant itself -- not a stranger in a trench coat trying to catch people off guard with "hey buddy, want a deal on cigarettes?"

I'm really fascinated by this whole story, especially how couterfeit cigarettes could come to be sold by a place like Deux Magots. I've been thinking, and maybe I have an answer.

Let's suppose I'm a crook (a hard stretch, but play with me here). I go to Deux Magots with a pack of my fake cigarettes. I then go to the lady near the restrooms and buy a pack of hers for 8 euro. I walk away and then return, and say "oh, I'm sorry, I just realized I have my own. Is it possible to get my money back?" So the nice lady hands me back my 8 euro and I hand her my fake pack of cigarettes. I walk out with a good pack that hasn't cost me anything. The next poor unsuspecting cigarette buyer gets that fake pack, and the nice lady doesn't even realize she's been a part of it. Is this at all possible?