Tipping etiquette in Santo Domingo

[MariaRubia]

No, in the UK you don't tip on top if there is a service charge on the bill. Here it seems to be expected.

I sometimes give something on top. Not always. Depends if I think the service was beyond what it should have been and if I have any cash on me. I have asked my Dominican friends and they are all saying they do the same and they say the Propina Legal is the Propina.

I frequently go back to the same places and have not noticed a difference in service if I tipped or not the last time.

If I think someone is giving wonderful service I do always give a good review on Google and name them. This helps the business and the person and is a nice thing to do.

 

[Big]

Well I for one don't think there is a difference. I manage staff in hospitality and I explain to them that the 10% is their tip and it is split fairly between them. They cannot and must not expect anything extra they have had their tip.

But quite a lot or this forum are saying that they tip heavily on top of the bill. And I think we agree to disagree on whether this is right or not. I just reiterate that as someone who works in the sector I don't think it is helpful to leave big tips in the long run it causes more problems than it solves.

I am not sure what type of venue you manage or where it is, but I can confidently say it is not one I am familiar with or visit. Discouraging tips is like encouraging mediocrity in my world. Bonuses are given out to business people for good performance, so money is the strongest motivator.

 

[RDKNIGHT]

we still beating this to death....its turning into an overstay convo

 

[aarhus]

I sometimes give something on top. Not always. Depends if I think the service was beyond what it should have been and if I have any cash on me. I have asked my Dominican friends and they are all saying they do the same and they say the Propina Legal is the Propina.

I frequently go back to the same places and have not noticed a difference in service if I tipped or not the last time.

If I think someone is giving wonderful service I do always give a good review on Google and name them. This helps the business and the person and is a nice thing to do.

I do the same if it was good food and service. If it’s not I don’t tip which is my way of complaining.

 

[aarhus]

we still beating this to death....its turning into an overstay convo

Haha

 

[Big]

Reading between the lines...... these 'tippers' are hoping for preferential treatment on future visits...... perhaps not all, but some are

Or perhaps they are just rewarding hardworking people for excellent service.

 

[DR fan1990]

I always remember that most of the people I tip need the $ more than I do. I tip my barber 50% (gasp). That means he gets 300 pesos total. I can live with $5.50 haircuts.

Restaurant are around 15 - 20%. No hard and fast rules and not dependent on service quality. Same with delivery which is extremely rare for us. Neither of our legs are broken. Bottled water is the exception and that's around 25%.

The only other is Uber. They are generally 25-50% as their pay sucks. However, if they force me to cancel for a higher price, then the tip is 0. That's about it for me on the list.

Where on earth do you get such a cheap haircut? Here in the part of SD where I live it's 600RD per haircut not even including tips. You don't feel like tipping with such a higher than average price.

 

[NanSanPedro]

Where on earth do you get such a cheap haircut? Here in the part of SD where I live it's 600RD per haircut not even including tips. You don't feel like tipping with such a higher than average price.

I live in Boca Chica. My barber's name is Angel Miguel. I think the price just went up to 250 DOP. My kid is black/Haitian so his hair is 50 DOP less.

 

[MariaRubia]

I am not sure what type of venue you manage or where it is, but I can confidently say it is not one I am familiar with or visit. Discouraging tips is like encouraging mediocrity in my world. Bonuses are given out to business people for good performance, so money is the strongest motivator.

There are many many ways of motivating staff. A bonus is one, but I prefer to treat my people with respect and dignity, to pay them a good salary, to give them training, to praise them publicly when they do a good job, to help them enjoy the work they do. All of these are motivators. As I said, I have worked for many many years in the sector and some of the worst service I have seen is in the types of places which encourage their staff to rely on tips, generally these pay people atrocious salaries and don't invest in their people. I also think that service levels in the US, generally, fall way short of service in the UK.

 

[JD Jones]

Well I for one don't think there is a difference. I manage staff in hospitality and I explain to them that the 10% is their tip and it is split fairly between them. They cannot and must not expect anything extra they have had their tip.

But quite a lot or this forum are saying that they tip heavily on top of the bill. And I think we agree to disagree on whether this is right or not. I just reiterate that as someone who works in the sector I don't think it is helpful to leave big tips in the long run it causes more problems than it solves.

Tell ya what, if all employees received all of those 10% tips, there would be a lot of happy people here.

 

[JD Jones]

There are many many ways of motivating staff. A bonus is one, but I prefer to treat my people with respect and dignity, to pay them a good salary, to give them training, to praise them publicly when they do a good job, to help them enjoy the work they do. All of these are motivators.

Absolutely right.

I have spent my entire life working in free zones. 3 different companies over the years. Recreational Footwear, Power One and Timberland

Each had nearly 2000 employees at the times when I was a manager.

I have the same philosophy as you, and I frequently have folks come up to me after all of these years to say hi and shake my hand.

Pretty amazing they still remember this old gringo.

 

[Big]

This is some fuzzy and woke working concepts: dignity,respect and praising publicly, helping employees enjoy work. Almost every business person and employee I know is motivated by cash. MS Maria I hear what you are saying, I just completely disagree with it.

 

[Big]

The chamber maid that cleans my room has honor for working a difficult and strenuous job. I reward her and thank her by leaving a tip. Not by saying great job, see ya next month.

 

[Sol09]

There are many many ways of motivating staff. A bonus is one, but I prefer to treat my people with respect and dignity, to pay them a good salary, to give them training, to praise them publicly when they do a good job, to help them enjoy the work they do. All of these are motivators. As I said, I have worked for many many years in the sector and some of the worst service I have seen is in the types of places which encourage their staff to rely on tips, generally these pay people atrocious salaries and don't invest in their people. I also think that service levels in the US, generally, fall way short of service in the UK.

Do you pay the servers at your establishment more than the minimum salary required by law?

 

[Kricke87]

The chamber maid that cleans my room has honor for working a difficult and strenuous job. I reward her and thank her by leaving a tip. Not by saying great job, see ya next month.

In a few words I think what Maria is trying to explain. Instead of you paying your maid let's say 5000 pesos per month to do her job, and then give her 15000 pesos in tip for her good job, why not just pay here 20k per month right away and always expect an excelente work, every time?
That's how it works with every other job.
If your a good officer worker you get a higher monthly salary, better benefits etc, not just a one time bonus once in a while. If you're not doing what is expected of you, then eventually you get fired.

 

[RDKNIGHT]

⏳

 

[MariaRubia]

Do you pay the servers at your establishment more than the minimum salary required by law?

I have always paid above market wages. A server or someone at that level would typically earn RD$ 18,000 salary and then about RD$ 12,000 in Propina Legal (I have always paid every penny of this to staff, completely transparent accounting). In addition, I pay wages three times a month, not twice so they get approximately RD$ 10,000 every ten days. For someone who typically has little educational achievement, RD$ 30,000 a month is good. And I treat them well, all of my staff always say that I'm very fair to them. We all call each other Tu not Usted, it's like a big family. So they make reasonable wages, are treated with respect and dignity and are proud of what they do.

By contrast the restaurants who want staff to rely on tips will pay a basic of maybe RD$ 8,000 and RD$ 3,000 in Propina Legal, fire the staff after 89 days so they can't go to the Secretaria and just use them as cannon fodder.

 

[MariaRubia]

This is some fuzzy and woke working concepts: dignity,respect and praising publicly, helping employees enjoy work. Almost every business person and employee I know is motivated by cash. MS Maria I hear what you are saying, I just completely disagree with it.

If you think treating staff with dignity and respect is woke I doubt you have managed many people. Every time I arrive I always go up to every member of staff I see and say good morning and shake their hand. If you went into work every day, the boss knew your name and made you feel welcome, wouldn't you prefer that to somewhere where they made you feel unimportant?

I will give you an example of motivation. Last week I went to a clinic for some tests and fainted then was violently sick. The nurse who was taking care of me was absolutely wonderful, held my hand, fanned me, treated me with a lot of respect. I didn't shove a bunch of notes in her hand. But I went onto the company's website, and in the customer feedback section I said she had been absolutely amazing, a true professional. I also put a similar review on Google. One of the directors of the clinic called her to congratulate her. All of her colleagues are aware of what happened and gave her a round of applause. She saw me in the street a couple of days later and was almost on her knees thanking me. I know in your world the only way to make someone feel valued is to shove money in their hand, but in mine there are lots of ways.

 

[MariaRubia]

⏳

RD, with respect, there are plenty of other threads to look at on here if you're bored with this one.

 

[MariaRubia]

In a few words I think what Maria is trying to explain. Instead of you paying your maid let's say 5000 pesos per month to do her job, and then give her 15000 pesos in tip for her good job, why not just pay here 20k per month right away and always expect an excelente work, every time?
That's how it works with every other job.
If your a good officer worker you get a higher monthly salary, better benefits etc, not just a one time bonus once in a while. If you're not doing what is expected of you, then eventually you get fired.

Exactly. And also take an interest in them, pay them on time, give them chance to learn new skills, respect them, value their opinion, make them feel part of the team. All of that stuff is very very important.