Areivim zeh la-zeh?

I vividly remember the opening scene in Potok's "The Promise". A couple of Orthodox kids from New York wind up at this carnival in a small town. They walk up to a booth start to feel uncomfortable until they discover that the guy who runs the booth speaks Yiddish, is a fellow Jew. All of a sudden they feel all their stress go away. They feel like everything will be fine - until the Jew cheats them at the game.

I always wondered about how things like this work in real life. Have I ever gotten a better deal when dealing with fellow Jews? Have I been taken care of better? I don't know... I don't think so...

I think there is definitely the case, especially in the frum community, where people "take care" of one another because they know each other. But in the situation where I don't know the person, but somehow it becomes known that both of us are Jewish, will I be at an advantage - I don't think so...