Be Alert If You Are Shopping in Katakolon
Upon arriving in the town, we found it very peaceful, with lovely ocean views. The visible shops were lively, even though the area was relatively small.
It took us about two hours to walk through them all, and with nothing left to do on our own, we sat down at a seaside restaurant for a refreshing drink before heading back to the cruise ship.
Just as we were about to leave, we decided to go back to a shop to buy something that had caught our eye earlier. There, we had an experience that—had we not handled it methodically—could easily have ruined our entire trip.
We entered the shop filled with lovely swimsuits, beach cover-ups, hats, and beach bags. I liked a particular swimsuit, so we asked the saleswoman the price; she replied that all the swimsuits in that section cost $10. We picked up the swimsuit and headed to the register to pay for it.
Just as we were about to leave, we decided to go back to a shop to buy something that had caught our eye earlier. There, we had an experience that—had we not handled it methodically—could easily have ruined our entire trip.
We entered the shop filled with lovely swimsuits, beach cover-ups, hats, and beach bags. I liked a particular swimsuit, so we asked the saleswoman the price; she replied that all the swimsuits in that section cost $10. We picked up the swimsuit and headed to the register to pay for it.
After swiping our card, we asked for a receipt—as we always do—but the woman acted a bit strangely, saying the machine wasn't working properly and took a long time to print. We told her we didn't mind waiting for the receipt, so we stayed.
A few minutes later, the woman returned with the receipt, handed it to us, and hurried off to help other customers. Since it is our habit to check our receipts, we noticed—to our surprise—that she had charged us $100 instead of $10!
At that moment, we were very disoriented; we didn't speak Greek and didn't know how to contact the local authorities. A thousand questions raced through our minds in a split second: Should we call the police? Should we contact the cruise line? Should we stay or leave? Are the police trustworthy in places like this?
While these thoughts swirled in our heads, we decided to speak to the shop owner. She claimed we had misunderstood and that the total price was actually $100—which really upset us. We took a breath and decided to handle the situation methodically: we stayed there and began taking photos and videos of the shop, discussing the situation and our feelings about it out loud—loud enough to quickly catch the attention of other customers.
Once a crowd had gathered around us—with some customers even leaving the shop without buying anything after hearing us—the owner approached, apologized, and refunded our money. We returned the item to her and left.
A few minutes later, the woman returned with the receipt, handed it to us, and hurried off to help other customers. Since it is our habit to check our receipts, we noticed—to our surprise—that she had charged us $100 instead of $10!
At that moment, we were very disoriented; we didn't speak Greek and didn't know how to contact the local authorities. A thousand questions raced through our minds in a split second: Should we call the police? Should we contact the cruise line? Should we stay or leave? Are the police trustworthy in places like this?
While these thoughts swirled in our heads, we decided to speak to the shop owner. She claimed we had misunderstood and that the total price was actually $100—which really upset us. We took a breath and decided to handle the situation methodically: we stayed there and began taking photos and videos of the shop, discussing the situation and our feelings about it out loud—loud enough to quickly catch the attention of other customers.
Once a crowd had gathered around us—with some customers even leaving the shop without buying anything after hearing us—the owner approached, apologized, and refunded our money. We returned the item to her and left.
This experience was an excellent example of how unexpected events can easily disrupt travel plans; however, how we respond to the situation makes the difference between creating our own reality and letting others move us within theirs... in our case, we have a method to handle it, and it works!
If you want to see some more information about Katakolon, check out our other posts.
What to See in Katakolon as a Cruise Stop
What to See in Katakolon as a Cruise Stop
If you’d also like to explore Katakolon, I’ve included our links below to help you purchase your tickets easily and securely.
Happy Travels!
Happy Travels!
Check out some of our Adventures in our YouTube Channel: @klstyle5388
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