I live with a Dominican family. I do not live in a tourist area. 50 pesos is the going rate.
- Thread starter juanita
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Blending in - tips for foreign residents
I live with a Dominican family. I do not live in a tourist area. 50 pesos is the going rate.
@reilleyp: Your assumptions are false. You don't know anything about me or my behavior. I never sit inside when I smoke a cigar. I only find restaurants where I can sit outside and where there are empty tables. If others are sitting there, I always ask permission if I can smoke . . .
@mongongo I am not trying to get any reaction. I am a straight-shooter. It seems that you cannot deal with people who are different from yourself. @Sosua: Enlighten me. What did you find objectionable? You don't know anything about the details of my life and the context in which I live that might explain any statements I make. "Don't judge a book by its cover."
Im not juging a book by its cover. In this instance I am forming an opinion solely based on what you WROTE. Objectionable is not even a strong enough word. I find your way of moving downright CRASS.
I really dont want to know the details about your life. People like you I avoid.
Since you need me to spell it out and these are YOUR words:
I may sit at a table for three hours, smoke a cigar, drink coffee, and read, O.K., and people watch. I will then generally leave a tip of say, RD$ 50, or 75, or 100
I live 5 blocks from La Sirena. If an employee pushes my shopping cart to my apartment, the customary tip is RD$ 50.
Now any person with civility, logic or common decency will know right away the above 2 examples are so out there and are in no way acceptable. It seems you can't see what your doing is wrong. I will not be the one to try and show you or teach you etiquette or decorum.
Luckily for me that we will never meet or break bread.
Take care. You need it.
I agree 100 % Even though I am of Dominican descent I was a complete simp when I got here.
I tipped everybody, gave my money away. Very wealthy people around me looked on disapprovingly, it took me a while to get it but I am now hardened and understand that being overly generous is one of the best ways to look like an easy target.
These people will kill you for 500 pesos, why would you give them a tip just for doing their job ?
We've talked about tipping before. Everyone brings their own cultural norms to the discussion. As far as I am concerned, the over tipping Americans make up for the rest of us. Thanks guys. I have zero interest in the personal economics of the person who brings me my ham & cheese sandwich and a beer. I don't really have any vested interest in the establishment where I choose to procure my lunch or consume my libations. There are lots of choices and I go to the one that is most convenient and the least egregious.
My game is to make my money go as far as possible and to get the most value for what I do spend. I do not see my living here as any sort of calling to purposefully prop up the local economy or necessarily better the lives of individuals. If that happens great, but it is not my daily focus. I do not need to complicate the process of acquiring a sandwich and a beer.
Personally, if an establishment is open and there is no line of patrons waiting for a seat, I see no problem sitting there consuming a coffee at the rate of 1 per hour or so, getting caught up on email using the free wifi offered by the establishment. As always, my tip is commensurate with the amount I spend, the effort required to serve me and a reflection that is the DR and not 5th Avenue in NY.
The presumption and pompousness put forward by some from North Americas is merely a reflection of their own country's flawed employment system/reality and a desire to not stand out as being the only one who feels compelled to make it possible for every server to send their first born to Harvard. Get over yourselves.
Besides, customers in an establishment attracts more customers. Empty tables and chairs do not.
My game is to make my money go as far as possible and to get the most value for what I do spend. I do not see my living here as any sort of calling to purposefully prop up the local economy or necessarily better the lives of individuals. If that happens great, but it is not my daily focus. I do not need to complicate the process of acquiring a sandwich and a beer.
Personally, if an establishment is open and there is no line of patrons waiting for a seat, I see no problem sitting there consuming a coffee at the rate of 1 per hour or so, getting caught up on email using the free wifi offered by the establishment. As always, my tip is commensurate with the amount I spend, the effort required to serve me and a reflection that is the DR and not 5th Avenue in NY.
The presumption and pompousness put forward by some from North Americas is merely a reflection of their own country's flawed employment system/reality and a desire to not stand out as being the only one who feels compelled to make it possible for every server to send their first born to Harvard. Get over yourselves.
Besides, customers in an establishment attracts more customers. Empty tables and chairs do not.
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The "presumption and pompousness" of a few Canucks is what gives Canadiens a bad rap. These people prattle on and on about things they think they know but actually are some of the most ignorant people in North America. These book smart but lacking common sense people are a curse on others. Prattling ad infinitum and really knowing nothing about cultures around the world.! Just my thoughts after only one espresso this am. Love to all.
This Canuck can certainly feel all that love. Hypocrite.
Why not post an opinion pertaining to the topic rather than an attack directed towards an individual? Maybe one espresso is 1 too many. Try decaf.
This the original op thread "Blending in - tips for foreign residents" Please explain how your prattling on pertains to the op's thread. Again this demonstrates the ignorance of a small number of people on the fabulous DR1. Please stay on the topic of "blending in" not talking about my "Hypocrisy" as it again demonstrates your lack of really understanding the world we all live in. I,for one, blend in completely in the DR. Again, love to all
Who " gives" a CEO his remuneration? That is negotiated.
A person needs to be selective in whom they tip and how much, the same with giving to beggars. There are too many to give to everyone that asks. I tip the guy that delivers from the pharmacia and anyone that carries out heavy stuff that I buy, I tip the guy at the plant nursery that helps me select plants and loads them in the car, and if we go to a restaurant I tip the server personally. I give money to several older ladies that pass by the MIL because I know they have no family or are very poor ( they never ask) . They people that hold out cans or hats at intersections I rarely give money to, but do if I am at a stop and happen to have change available, nor do I tip the guy that comes by with a medical letter that is five years old(my relatives never give them money either) . Saturday is beggars day in Jarabacoa. They come by the truckload from the campos.
I do not believe it is a question of "class". People are free to spend their money anyway they wish. Not all countries embrace tipping to the degree that exists in the US and perhaps feeling compelled to pay more for the same thing than someone else can make some people a bit more inclined to be negatively judgmental.
As mentioned, this is a discussion that has been had numerous times on this site. In the end, when your pocket is empty it doesn't matter. I do believe in tipping when I feel it is appropriate. I object to the included mandatory tip on the bill, a delivery change + a tip expectation and most importantly, being told how much I should paying out as a gratuity.
If someone gets enjoyment or satisfaction from offering a gratuity of a particular amount, well, that's fine, that's their prerogative and they are entitled to feel good about it. There is no question that the amounts offered as tips are significantly lower outside resorts and tourist areas in general. I'm sure you don't see a lot of typical locals in the tourist bars and restaurants as paying more for a product and dropping a $5 USD tip for it as a tourist would is probably objectionable if not completely unaffordable. Locals eat their platos del dia sans tip and the foreigners eat burgers & fries and cheese steak sandwiches at a higher price point and then feel compelled to pay even more by way of an additional monetary penance based on a cultural sense of guilt - that's life I guess.
As mentioned, this is a discussion that has been had numerous times on this site. In the end, when your pocket is empty it doesn't matter. I do believe in tipping when I feel it is appropriate. I object to the included mandatory tip on the bill, a delivery change + a tip expectation and most importantly, being told how much I should paying out as a gratuity.
If someone gets enjoyment or satisfaction from offering a gratuity of a particular amount, well, that's fine, that's their prerogative and they are entitled to feel good about it. There is no question that the amounts offered as tips are significantly lower outside resorts and tourist areas in general. I'm sure you don't see a lot of typical locals in the tourist bars and restaurants as paying more for a product and dropping a $5 USD tip for it as a tourist would is probably objectionable if not completely unaffordable. Locals eat their platos del dia sans tip and the foreigners eat burgers & fries and cheese steak sandwiches at a higher price point and then feel compelled to pay even more by way of an additional monetary penance based on a cultural sense of guilt - that's life I guess.
Yes I am sure that some tourists and x-pats tip the airport attendant 50 pesos, the chamber maid 50 pesos, or a waiter or waitress 50 pesos because "that's their job". I just don't travel in such social circles. These are probably the same people that always complain that the service was horrible, slow and the food was not good, anything to keep from giving an appropriate tip. I can spot these people, they don't know how to handle their eating utensils , elbows on the table, slumped over, talking on the cell phone, smoking and generally rude and lacking sophistication.
A little more about BLENDING IN TIPS FOR FOREIGN RESIDENTS please. There's another thread about tipping.