A lot of people associate this price scheme with the Japanese but really it started in America.  Once made in USA consumer goods like Parker pens, Gilette razors and Ralph Lauren apparel all had a huge range.  They made products for college students and executives.  A lot of Japanese brands still try to maintain this as part of their branding.  As the middle class , and the associated social mobility, is shrinking around the developed world, this way of doing business will not be viable.  The poors today will not transition to the rich of tomorrow  We will continue to see more tiered pricing structures based on brand.  This explains why Seiko has Credor and Toyota has Lexus.

people are willing to pay more for good service. I don't think it's a good idea to have two tier system for prices. you can have a "bargain" level restaurant and a high end one with different price points. if the foreigners don't mind sitting on plastic stools in the ally they pay less. if go to a fancy restaurant pay more.

I think if they can provide better service they can raise prices and the foreigners wouldn't feel ripped off.  Or a better way would be just to list the price in plain clear sight so there's no need to haggle.  Charge foreigners double while making a secret deal with the locals with a cheaper price.

If they get "ripped off" isn't it still cheaper than what they would pay for in America?

that's wrong. Nothing wrong with tourism since it is a income generator. And everyone can appreciate good customer service. It's not subservient it's smart.

you see when people associate aggressive, petty "smart" or as we call it "khon vat" as a highly valued quality its actually a low quality.

is this still going on?  there's no date on the article so it could be quite old

regardless, if you speak the language even when they know you're viet kieu less likely. I've never been cheated (that I know of over there b/c I always carried exact change and only used established taxi companies. I always haggled. it's really crazy you have to hangle to 1/4 of the price and still might pay too much. they can be aggressive and grab you if you pick up something and don't want to buy it. I just threw a tantrum and yelled back at them. 

It's good to help tourists from being ripped off. That way, more tourists will get a better impression of Vietnam and they might come back and bring more tourists to help stimulate the economy.

There's so many people getting ripped off that Vietnam might be known as a nation of thieves. This blog talks about scams in Vietnam, http://www.backpackingtravelpages.com/scams-in-vietnam/.


There is a law to punish Taxis from overcharging tourists, http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/taxi-driver-gets-comeuppance-for-ripping-off-foreign-tourists-in-vietnamese-capital-24128.html.