Medary.com

Merchants in Venice (hey, wouldn't that be a good title for a play?) have a system, according to this article from the UK's Telegraph (via BoingBoing):

Tourists who do not want to be ripped off in Venice were advised yesterday to drop their brutish behaviour and try to learn a bit of the local lingo.

A "significant proportion" of the city's bars and restaurants are now operating two or even three price lists: one for tourists, another for locals, and a third for "sympathetic" tourists who make more effort than the usual grunted demands.

"There are different pricing levels," said Franco Conte, the head of the Venetian branch of Codacons, the Italian consumer rights group.

"If you are Italian, a croissant and a cappuccino costs €3.50 (£2.40)," he said. "If you speak another language, it costs €7.

"In restaurants, a pizza and a drink for two people costs between €20 to €25 for locals, perhaps cheaper for Venetians - but €50 to €60 if you are forestieri." In Italy, the word forestieri applies to all strangers, who are said to be "from the forest".

Maria Tosi, who runs a tobacconist, said tourists could do simple things to try to get a better price such as saying hello when entering a shop or restaurant, or learning a few words of Venetian dialect.

"It really offends us when they walk in, make their demands and walk out," she said. "We Venetians spend all our time being polite to each other."

But the Telegraph article notes that the shopkeepers don't have it all their own way:

(Venice tourist authority head) Mr Renato observed that many tourists now bought their sandwiches and drinks in local supermarkets.

Buon giorno, y'all . . .