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First Trip - Spoiled by Street Sellers
The spanish word for greedy (codicioso) seems to share a common root with the spanish word for elbow (codo)
That's what the elbow is about.
That's what the elbow is about.
MrMike said:The spanish word for greedy (codicioso) seems to share a common root with the spanish word for elbow (codo)
That's what the elbow is about.
Bending an arm and tapping the elbow several times with the open palm is the universal sign for 'stinginess'.
Mirador said:Bending an arm and tapping the elbow several times with the open palm is the universal sign for 'stinginess'.
I agree.
thanks......now that i know it, ...its getting more universal!...so next time I get a weak bonus, from the boss...I am giving him the hand on the elbow routine..........bob
MrMike said:No wonder the terrorists were able to kill thousands of people armed only with boxcutters.
There have been some intelligent replies to my original post, from a variety of perspectives, but I find this remark inappropriate and offensive. If you are representative of DR residents then I'm damned sure i made the right decision not to return.
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It always pains me...
as a hotel owner in the DR to read a post from a visitor that had what they percieved to be an unpleasant experience that upset them so much that they state will not come back.
It pains me even more that certain idiots on this board respond the way they do and further worsen the situation. C'mon people, this is tourism, our lifeblood and without our visitors, this 3rd rate banana republic would roll over and play dead. Are you trying to drive people away from the DR? The way tourism in the DR has been going and with the upcoming crisis in world travel due to continuing high oil prices, we need all the help we can get, not continued negativism displayed by certain posters on this forum. But then, most of you negative types don't live on-island nor try to make a living here, do you?
as a hotel owner in the DR to read a post from a visitor that had what they percieved to be an unpleasant experience that upset them so much that they state will not come back.
It pains me even more that certain idiots on this board respond the way they do and further worsen the situation. C'mon people, this is tourism, our lifeblood and without our visitors, this 3rd rate banana republic would roll over and play dead. Are you trying to drive people away from the DR? The way tourism in the DR has been going and with the upcoming crisis in world travel due to continuing high oil prices, we need all the help we can get, not continued negativism displayed by certain posters on this forum. But then, most of you negative types don't live on-island nor try to make a living here, do you?
since I have really good friends that came from the DR and now good friends that still live there, I take an interest in the state of affairs in the DR...I talk with my buddies when I am there..he is well of , but he still can aknowledge, that the country needs help. Obviously the greed and bribery in the goverment, is the worst problem....it breeds distrust in investors, who might want to invest there. I dont see a short term solution at all for things like the street vendor, especially since the local police dept have such little bite..I mean its hard to believe the police cars even work they are so pitiful.... a street venodr is fighting for his life, and once down that road, its hard to imagine they can switch careers in stride.....I look at so many people i pass on the road and just wonder HOW they get food ...I have seen blind old men, old men with a missing leg, middle aged men and women that have been deformed from accidents... and wonder who supports them....all they could possibly do is ask for handouts from family or people walking the street, maybe they can sell something... I dont know if any of the cities there have codes, or zones of buisness's, or the political structure to form buisness districts that can regulate things in it like street vendors....in an effort to promote happier, more satisfied tourists..... I bet thats why the AI get away from the cities, and try to keep the people away from the things they feel with prevent the customer from coming back. I think the country need foreign invester money.. there isnt enough IN the country to make a change...at least those that have it arent giving it up soon... A company my company deals with built or moved a factory down there to build medical devices.... they country needs more of that to employ LARGE numbers of people.. and use funds from outside the country to pay them..but at some point the little people will have to start to pay for things like water and electricity if they want them to stay on all day and night......which comes first the chicken or the egg....no quick fix......bob
I?m sorry to hear about your negative experiences with street vendors. We?ve been to the D.R. on several occasions and I?ve always thought the street vendors were quite laid back compared to other places. I think Acapulco was one of our worst experiences with the vendors, although that wouldn?t stop me from returning. I guess we all have different levels of tolerance. I hope your next vacation is less disappointing.
An excellent post!
I've repeated the above paragraph because, in the light of followup posts, it hightlights how many of the forum members respond to opinions like yours.
joecanada said:No doubt many on this board will disagree with me on this point, and a few will even indulge in the sort of personal attacks that generally follow anyone who questions the status quo, and that's ok -- everyone has a right to their opinion (even when it's wrong) and I've long since given up trying to change minds on this or any forum.
I've repeated the above paragraph because, in the light of followup posts, it hightlights how many of the forum members respond to opinions like yours.
I have no problems at all with the vendors.
If they say hola I will also but if they go into their sales spiel I simply ignore them.
What I do have a problem with are the pests who follow me around and pester me and then they get beligerent because I won't give them a tip.
Am I supposed to tip them to leave me alone?
Some of them will follow me until I enter a business like a store, restaurant, bar, etc... and then they think they deserve a tip for bringing me there.
Some of them really piss me off and they are not so easy to ignore.
I just tell them that I did not ask them for their 'services'.
One time I was leaving the Paradise casino and this hombre comes out of the dark with the usual "Hello my friend blah, blah, blah, ..."
I kept walking and just ignored him.
He kept on following me and then he offered to give me a walking tour of the Playa Dorada complex for the cheapy cheapy price of only $100US.
I stopped, looked at him, and asked him if he is mentally ill or just incredibly stupid?
He said no so I told him to get the f*ck away from me.
Comprende?
Bien!
If they say hola I will also but if they go into their sales spiel I simply ignore them.
What I do have a problem with are the pests who follow me around and pester me and then they get beligerent because I won't give them a tip.
Am I supposed to tip them to leave me alone?
Some of them will follow me until I enter a business like a store, restaurant, bar, etc... and then they think they deserve a tip for bringing me there.
Some of them really piss me off and they are not so easy to ignore.
I just tell them that I did not ask them for their 'services'.
One time I was leaving the Paradise casino and this hombre comes out of the dark with the usual "Hello my friend blah, blah, blah, ..."
I kept walking and just ignored him.
He kept on following me and then he offered to give me a walking tour of the Playa Dorada complex for the cheapy cheapy price of only $100US.
I stopped, looked at him, and asked him if he is mentally ill or just incredibly stupid?
He said no so I told him to get the f*ck away from me.
Comprende?
Bien!
The best way to handle these guys is to be firm but not rude. Say "no" and mean it. Be confident. Be "in charge". Do not belittle or insult them. That technique will make things worse.
And remember that when a vendor acts offended...he is indeed acting. Gringos go for it all the time because most gringos don't want to go to a foreign country and offend people. Don't take the bait. He'll get over it in about 30 seconds. Keep walking.
If someone gets reeeallllly pushy. Stop...look them in the eyes...and say "No me oiste? Dije no gracias."
Don't get too stressed. Enjoy your time here.
Scandall
And remember that when a vendor acts offended...he is indeed acting. Gringos go for it all the time because most gringos don't want to go to a foreign country and offend people. Don't take the bait. He'll get over it in about 30 seconds. Keep walking.
If someone gets reeeallllly pushy. Stop...look them in the eyes...and say "No me oiste? Dije no gracias."
Don't get too stressed. Enjoy your time here.
Scandall
talbot said:There have been some intelligent replies to my original post, from a variety of perspectives, but I find this remark inappropriate and offensive. If you are representative of DR residents then I'm damned sure i made the right decision not to return.
Yeah well, you find it innapropriate and offensive to be asked if you want to buy a pair of sunglasses too.
I'm guessing you won't be missed.
True but....!
People need to know that when they go on vacation to a third world country, they WILL see vendors/sellers all over the place. If someone does not want to see street vendors, then go to Monaco or something!.
Those are the people that would let ANYTHING bother them. Those are the people that even if they had the greatest time, just for a simple negative episode, they would go back to their countries and bad-mouth the DR to all their friends.
The worse case of "vendors' that I have ever had was on my first trip to Cancun. Boy, oh boy, not only did I had vendors following me, but I also had a few mothers with babies in arms begging me for money. Every single day was the same thing!. Since I know Spanish, it was "open season" on me every time I left the hotel. Did it bothered me?. Did I cried like a baby?. I guess NOT since I went back about 15-17 times more after that (I really do not remember the correct times). The same thing happened to me when I went to Acapulco and to many other countries that I have been to and it did not stopped me from visiting them again. .
Yes, SOME are bothersome but one needs to know how to take "care" of them without ruining your vacation or getting in a bad mood. What would you rather do, know how to take care of them or let them ruin your vacation?. I rather not ruin my vacation so I learned how to deal with them.
My technique is very simple. I used it in the DR, Mexico and I will use it in Mars if I ever go on vacation over there. What do I do?. Let me give you an example:
When I was in the DR 2 months ago, Louisa and I were at the beach and what seemed like every 10 seconds, a vendor would pass by. When one asked if I wanted to buy something, I looked at him/her straight at their eyes and I would tell them a stern "NO" and immediately look away. If they stay around, I just ignore them. Eventually they will leave. If one is stupid enough to stay around and ask again, I would look at him/her with a very STERN look and move my head and start doing what I was doing. The STERN look works for me all the time. By the time they started "the route' again, they knew now that I meant business and they would not bother me. That some would ask again, sure, but they got the same "look" and eventually would leave me alone. Actually, my look has a name. My brother named it "Miguel's Cara de perro look" (Miguel's dog face look).
Do not get me wrong, SOME are pests and they do bother but only if you let them bother you.
Andy, since you are a hotel owner, do you know that people like the OP, the one that said that he would to return to the DR ever again, him and people like him are the ones that would go to YOUR hotel and if YOUR cleaning lady forgot to leave a towel, they would go down to the reception area and scream, yell and belittle your staff. Then would demand to see the owner (YOU) and they would also give you hell. They are known to make any little thing look like it's the end of the world. Trust me, if people that complain just about anything in YOUR hotel, you would not want their businesses also.
I will say this until I am blue on the face: when someone takes a vacation, make the best of it. Don't let every simple darn thing ruin what's supposed to be a great time. If you see something that you don't like, darn it, learn to deal with it and move on. It will only be ruined if you let it. You don't want to see vendors and sellers on the streets, then go to a country that it does not have them or better yet, STAY HOME!!.
Andy, I really understand what you are saying but some of the "idiots" that you wrote about (and I am putting myself into that category also) will not "babysit" for anybody that would let some fricking vendors/sellers ruin his vacation!. I mean, what are we, 5?.Andy B said:as a hotel owner in the DR to read a post from a visitor that had what they percieved to be an unpleasant experience that upset them so much that they state will not come back.
It pains me even more that certain idiots on this board respond the way they do and further worsen the situation. C'mon people, this is tourism, our lifeblood and without our visitors, this 3rd rate banana republic would roll over and play dead. Are you trying to drive people away from the DR? The way tourism in the DR has been going and with the upcoming crisis in world travel due to continuing high oil prices, we need all the help we can get, not continued negativism displayed by certain posters on this forum. But then, most of you negative types don't live on-island nor try to make a living here, do you?
People need to know that when they go on vacation to a third world country, they WILL see vendors/sellers all over the place. If someone does not want to see street vendors, then go to Monaco or something!.
Those are the people that would let ANYTHING bother them. Those are the people that even if they had the greatest time, just for a simple negative episode, they would go back to their countries and bad-mouth the DR to all their friends.
The worse case of "vendors' that I have ever had was on my first trip to Cancun. Boy, oh boy, not only did I had vendors following me, but I also had a few mothers with babies in arms begging me for money. Every single day was the same thing!. Since I know Spanish, it was "open season" on me every time I left the hotel. Did it bothered me?. Did I cried like a baby?. I guess NOT since I went back about 15-17 times more after that (I really do not remember the correct times). The same thing happened to me when I went to Acapulco and to many other countries that I have been to and it did not stopped me from visiting them again. .
Yes, SOME are bothersome but one needs to know how to take "care" of them without ruining your vacation or getting in a bad mood. What would you rather do, know how to take care of them or let them ruin your vacation?. I rather not ruin my vacation so I learned how to deal with them.
My technique is very simple. I used it in the DR, Mexico and I will use it in Mars if I ever go on vacation over there. What do I do?. Let me give you an example:
When I was in the DR 2 months ago, Louisa and I were at the beach and what seemed like every 10 seconds, a vendor would pass by. When one asked if I wanted to buy something, I looked at him/her straight at their eyes and I would tell them a stern "NO" and immediately look away. If they stay around, I just ignore them. Eventually they will leave. If one is stupid enough to stay around and ask again, I would look at him/her with a very STERN look and move my head and start doing what I was doing. The STERN look works for me all the time. By the time they started "the route' again, they knew now that I meant business and they would not bother me. That some would ask again, sure, but they got the same "look" and eventually would leave me alone. Actually, my look has a name. My brother named it "Miguel's Cara de perro look" (Miguel's dog face look).
Do not get me wrong, SOME are pests and they do bother but only if you let them bother you.
Andy, since you are a hotel owner, do you know that people like the OP, the one that said that he would to return to the DR ever again, him and people like him are the ones that would go to YOUR hotel and if YOUR cleaning lady forgot to leave a towel, they would go down to the reception area and scream, yell and belittle your staff. Then would demand to see the owner (YOU) and they would also give you hell. They are known to make any little thing look like it's the end of the world. Trust me, if people that complain just about anything in YOUR hotel, you would not want their businesses also.
I will say this until I am blue on the face: when someone takes a vacation, make the best of it. Don't let every simple darn thing ruin what's supposed to be a great time. If you see something that you don't like, darn it, learn to deal with it and move on. It will only be ruined if you let it. You don't want to see vendors and sellers on the streets, then go to a country that it does not have them or better yet, STAY HOME!!.
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Hi
I'm sorry to hear you had bad experieces in the D.R. I've lived in Sosua for 12 years, and I know the venders, beggers, and prostitutes are a problem! If we had a police force that wasn't corrupt, it would be a start to the solution! Unfortunately that is not the case! also the culture here is so completely different than that of North America that it is difficult to understand! You'll never get it on a 2week holiday, some people don't get it after years of living here! I'm not sure I fully understand it but I understand some of it! I'm not saying I agree with the way things are here, but I can live with them! I know I can't change the culture of this Island so I don't try to! I try to help educate my friends who have businesses here and help them to understand the way most tourists would like to be treated! I try to explain to them when a tourist is treated fairly and decently they will come back and bring more people too! It's very difficult to get these messages across to someone who has made his or her living by asking outrageous prices for junk (and gets it).If people were the same everywhere in the world it would be a boring place!
I hope your next holiday has better luck!
Ted
I'm sorry to hear you had bad experieces in the D.R. I've lived in Sosua for 12 years, and I know the venders, beggers, and prostitutes are a problem! If we had a police force that wasn't corrupt, it would be a start to the solution! Unfortunately that is not the case! also the culture here is so completely different than that of North America that it is difficult to understand! You'll never get it on a 2week holiday, some people don't get it after years of living here! I'm not sure I fully understand it but I understand some of it! I'm not saying I agree with the way things are here, but I can live with them! I know I can't change the culture of this Island so I don't try to! I try to help educate my friends who have businesses here and help them to understand the way most tourists would like to be treated! I try to explain to them when a tourist is treated fairly and decently they will come back and bring more people too! It's very difficult to get these messages across to someone who has made his or her living by asking outrageous prices for junk (and gets it).If people were the same everywhere in the world it would be a boring place!
I hope your next holiday has better luck!
Ted
Being mobbed by
taxi and motogoncho drivers literally fighting among themselves (pushing and shoving and yelling at each other) for our fare to Las Galeras at the bus station in Samana is a scary experience, even for my wife and I, longtime residents of the DR. Imagine how threatened a first time visitor/tourist must feel when suddenly thrust into a situation like that.
THAT'S the kind of thing we are talking about, not a visitor that would complain to management about nitpicky things (although I've had my share of visitors that I was glad to see check out, both foreigners and on-island residents alike). And as the economy deteriorates it gets worse as street vendors, taxi drivers, beggars and any other street people who depend on tourists for their income compete and fight among themselves for the few dollars/pesos on the street. Many of us have become accustomed to this and know that with a wave of the hand or a firm no we can usually handle the situation (although I've had to get in a few of the real pest's faces at times). But remember, very few of our visitors speak Spanish and that we are also starting to get a lot of first time visitors to a third world country that have never experienced this kind of thing.
In Samana, Politur and the local police have been attempting to handle this kind of situation that reflects badly on the DR. They even station a policeman at the bus station to keep order among the hustlers when busses arrive and patroll the beaches where certain vendors can really become pests. Its not a total solution but its a start. I've had some vendors come into my hotel's restaruant and try to sell things to patrons eating their dinner until I steered them toward the door with a firm "leave and don't come back." Most have gotten the message and will not come on the property now. And those that have continued to be a problem in public places are now starting to get a ride to the local pokey and in several cases I know of in Las Galeras, are permanently barred from hustling tourists with longer jail sentences in the offing.
Granted there are a few visitors that are completely unprepared for experiencing a third world country, but most I have encountered take it in stride. However, I've gotten earfuls of LEGITIMATE complaints and concerns, everything from pushy vendors to dirty beaches that if left unattended, will reflect badly on DR tourism for years to come.
taxi and motogoncho drivers literally fighting among themselves (pushing and shoving and yelling at each other) for our fare to Las Galeras at the bus station in Samana is a scary experience, even for my wife and I, longtime residents of the DR. Imagine how threatened a first time visitor/tourist must feel when suddenly thrust into a situation like that.
THAT'S the kind of thing we are talking about, not a visitor that would complain to management about nitpicky things (although I've had my share of visitors that I was glad to see check out, both foreigners and on-island residents alike). And as the economy deteriorates it gets worse as street vendors, taxi drivers, beggars and any other street people who depend on tourists for their income compete and fight among themselves for the few dollars/pesos on the street. Many of us have become accustomed to this and know that with a wave of the hand or a firm no we can usually handle the situation (although I've had to get in a few of the real pest's faces at times). But remember, very few of our visitors speak Spanish and that we are also starting to get a lot of first time visitors to a third world country that have never experienced this kind of thing.
In Samana, Politur and the local police have been attempting to handle this kind of situation that reflects badly on the DR. They even station a policeman at the bus station to keep order among the hustlers when busses arrive and patroll the beaches where certain vendors can really become pests. Its not a total solution but its a start. I've had some vendors come into my hotel's restaruant and try to sell things to patrons eating their dinner until I steered them toward the door with a firm "leave and don't come back." Most have gotten the message and will not come on the property now. And those that have continued to be a problem in public places are now starting to get a ride to the local pokey and in several cases I know of in Las Galeras, are permanently barred from hustling tourists with longer jail sentences in the offing.
Granted there are a few visitors that are completely unprepared for experiencing a third world country, but most I have encountered take it in stride. However, I've gotten earfuls of LEGITIMATE complaints and concerns, everything from pushy vendors to dirty beaches that if left unattended, will reflect badly on DR tourism for years to come.
You just have to take the bitter with the sweet.
That's my only point.
At the moment the DR affords people greater personal freedom in many ways than most first world countries.
Yeah well it's too bad this gives the locals the freedon to offer you their wares sometimes more than once, (the horror) but what's the alternative?
Dress them all in cutesy uniforms and issue them licenses?
Put them on a 3 strikes program for offending tourists that consider themselves too good to be addressed by "peasant peddlers"?
Regulate the hell out of everyone and everything to the point where everyone is in violation of something all the time?
I don't think so. Let's all just try to deal with the vendors for now please.
That's my only point.
At the moment the DR affords people greater personal freedom in many ways than most first world countries.
Yeah well it's too bad this gives the locals the freedon to offer you their wares sometimes more than once, (the horror) but what's the alternative?
Dress them all in cutesy uniforms and issue them licenses?
Put them on a 3 strikes program for offending tourists that consider themselves too good to be addressed by "peasant peddlers"?
Regulate the hell out of everyone and everything to the point where everyone is in violation of something all the time?
I don't think so. Let's all just try to deal with the vendors for now please.
maybe try this
We have traveled all over the islands and central america. Sosua will soon be our home. Some times when we are being bothered by street vendors or kids that want to take you around and be your "guide" we will pick the scrappiest kid and offer him some money with the promise of doubling it when we are done if he would do nothing else but keep the other kids and vendors away. It works ever time and we become his responisibility. It is funny to watch these kids puff out thier chests and take charge. We are rarely bothered by vendors again.
We will do the same thing when parking our car in a less then desirable spot and pay a kid to watch it. Usually then then sit on the hood and keep all others away. Sometime when we go to pay them they want my baseball cap instead. WE always travel with extra ball caps.
Bob K
We have traveled all over the islands and central america. Sosua will soon be our home. Some times when we are being bothered by street vendors or kids that want to take you around and be your "guide" we will pick the scrappiest kid and offer him some money with the promise of doubling it when we are done if he would do nothing else but keep the other kids and vendors away. It works ever time and we become his responisibility. It is funny to watch these kids puff out thier chests and take charge. We are rarely bothered by vendors again.
We will do the same thing when parking our car in a less then desirable spot and pay a kid to watch it. Usually then then sit on the hood and keep all others away. Sometime when we go to pay them they want my baseball cap instead. WE always travel with extra ball caps.
Bob K
Bottom line. If you can't handle a simple street vendor without panicking and complaining then stay out of the developing world. Go to Hilton Head.
Just don't bitch about it...you sound like a wussy.
Scandall
Just don't bitch about it...you sound like a wussy.
Scandall