Lame Accident Policy-Jamaca Hotel

Alot of people may think this is typical of the DR when you read this but I need to share this with all travelers.

I have been traveling to the DR all of my life and I am still amazed how many large establishments still need to educate their hotel staff on customer service and saftey.

A family that I know recently traveled to the Jamaca Hotel. This is one of the most frequented hotels in the Santo Domingo area by US main land tourists and those from Puerto Rico. It is also in Boca Chica one of the prettiest beaches on the island.

When the family I know was posing for a picture in the room balcony, their youngest son (3yrs old) slipped through a railing and fell two stories down. Through God's will the child did not have any injuries or even scratches. He landed safely on the ground (luckily there was lanscaping and no cement). When the mother who was very distressed called the front desk, she was told that there was no doctor on the premises and if she could carry the child to the front desk. (Not very smart). When she insisted that the staff come and see her child in the hotel room, she was told that the doctor they would have to call, who was off-site was going to charge $1000 pesos. Now that translates to only around $80 US and for a child their is no price tag. However, the point is that the railing in the balcony was not properly maintained due to the fact that there were many gaps in the railings. Also the parent was not negligent due to the fact that all family members were present and were supervising the child. However the front desk employees and management was in no way apologetic for this event that could of easily been a serious tragedy. To add insult to injury, the next day 3 hours before the mother was to catch a plane, the hotel manager was not going to refund the doctor fee from the hotel bill. When the mother insisted and adamantly demanded a refund, she was told she had to sign a waiver. She refused to sign a waiver, and she was then told that the hotel staff was not able to give her a report of the incident. Only when she demanded again, did they give her a copy.

Lesson learned: As much as I love the DR it is not the USA. Even if you protect yourself and your family carefully from accidents something can still happen. Therefore do not travel with out knowing all contact information: Health care, consulate information etc.

Also the mother was fluent in english and spanish as is very knowledgeble about the ways of the DR and she was still given the run-around. If someone is going to travel to the DR speak to a friend or a colleuge who has family their in case you need help.

Luckily the child is safe and has little recollection of the incident but was terrified when it happened. If any one has any information on who this mother can complain to, please email me.

If anyone has any comments or feed back please email me at
RALBE@aol.com

Very sad and unfortunate. Unfortunately, these people working there are so poorly trained educated and probably are scared when they encounter such a situation.

I wonder if the same would happen if the parents were Dominican?

No body seems to want to take responsibility.

The parents were American with dominican backgrounds so they were well adjusted to the ways of the island. In addition, there were witnesses from Puerto Rico (tourists) who were shocked at the way the hotel was treating them.

These same people would beg you for money or help if they were in the same situation.
I would mention the incident to the hotel management abroad.

Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

Come on guys ? "The DR is still not the USA" ? Gimme a break !
If you guys are from dominican background, you should know better ! or you are so americanized you forgot the mess it is down here !!! Hey, we are still in the third world, in case you forgot !!! If you wanna nice and clean-cut first world destination, why don't you pay the price for an expensive resort in Florida, instead of goin'cheap to Jamaca and then complain they don't raise up to US standards !!!!
Sabes que ? Son mala fe !!!

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

I agree, but there is no excuse for hotel staff that are so poorly trained.

These resorts during the peak time have more than 100 people staying there.

The resort has a responsibility to its guests. I bet this would never happen in the Hilton.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

question is:does the dr want to stay 3rd world or is there a will to improve what needs to be improved in order to get out of their whatever misery.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

Technically, it's a "developing country", and it could be much worse...

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

Why take it out so much on the DR? How about the parents who saw that the balcony was missing some rails and still let a three-year old close to it? I'm not excusing the hotel management, the handling of the situation was inexcusable, but why didn't the parents complaint about the balcony from day one? Especially if it's a 2nd floor balcony, not a ground floor. I wouldn't let my 8 yr child close to it, let alone a 3-yr old.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

They don't care. The hotel staff was probably indifferent. Those guys are so jealous and envious of foreigners. All their hypocritical friendliness is a sham to try to get to your money.
They could care less if the child would have died.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

This not about what the parents did, however, this is about the inedpt attitude on the part of Dominicans in general, and their failure to be prepared due to poor training in the case of an emergency.

Too many people there seem to pass the buck with lame excuses and fail to accept responsibility.

The hotel management know well in advance what type of training these people need to efficiently run a hotel. With more than 100 people staying there at any one time they are responsible for there guests.

If they cannot hire responsible local people, then at least they should have a doctor or some medical personell from abroad who can.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

I agree, I have had the same experience with Dominicans, instead of getting their act together, they tend to be envious of foreigners.

I found after years of living in the DR than many are resentful, envious of others. They never stick together and constantly fight amongst each other. I have heard many times when a Dominican who worked hard to acquire a car, his neighbours or even family would comment. "Posiblement esta haciendo algo ilegal"

Still, however, the hotel has a responsibility to its guests, no matter where they are from.

I was in Boca Chica with my daughter and she needed a docter, Mario from Costalunga (our hotel) called his own docter who came to the hotel, cost: 400 pesos!!! Small hotel, better(honest) service!!

I know Mario well, he is also Italian and does one hell of a job.

The difference is that he actually cares about his guests. Plus when he confronts a problem he tries to deal with it in a professional manner.

Thank their lucky stars.

First, the resort is the Coral Hamaca, not the Jamaca. Secondly the RD 1,000 pesos is about 60 dollars not $ 80.

Since the child was unharmed, why call a doctor? The resort is owned and operated by a subsidiary of the BHD bank and these are highly respectable Dominicans. The resort staff is among the best trained in the industry. They are also often beseiged with people trying to get their hotel bill reduced for one trumped up reason or another such as supposed thefts from the room, etc. They are thus not in a position to resolve that sort of thing last minute on checkout even if the claim is legitimate.

What do they want to do now? Take this all the way up to George Bush and have him call Hipolito to get the 60 dollars back? I would be glad to write off $60 knowing that my child is safe.

Re: Thank their lucky stars.

When you are a foreigner in a different country the hostility includes first aid and medical help and advice!

I do not think they care for rich bankers, who do not even stay one day in this tourist place due they have they properies in casa de campo!

I think your remark was pretty poor!

Henry

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

I am aware that the DR. 3rd world. Anyone can see that. However, there is no excuse for lack of civility. If you live in the DR you should be concerned, because it is OUR money (Dominicans abroad in the US and Europe (and the international tourist)that is maintaining tourism. As you should also be aware, tourism is probably your biggest attraction of hard currency into the country. Perhaps I can send you some seminar books on customer service so you can hand them around to local businesses and hotels.

Re: Thank their lucky stars.

Henry,

No, the executives do visit the resort frequenly. Why weren't the missing railings reported immediately? Maintenance would have come up to fix them right away.

These people sound like whining, chronic complainers to me. Sorry, no sympathy. If you feel so bad for them, why don't you send them the $60 and make them happy? What if the kid had climbed over the railing and fallen? Would that have been the resort's fault too? Children on second floor balconies should be better supervised. Irresponsible parents shouldn't blame the hotel staff for their shortcomings. No one on this thread takes the Dominican's side. There are always two sides to a story.

Re: Hey, it's the 3rd world, remember ?

Better send videos, they might not be able to read the books.

Do you know how much the employees make?

Before we all start criticizing the poor dominicans for being jealous and carless to their guest we should realize what type of a person we are actually dealing with.
First of all, with the price that you pay for an all inclusive vacation in DR, what do you expect.... royal service?
You can't compare the training and the professionality of an american resort chain with a dominican hotel staff. They make from 150 dollars a month to about 3 hundred dollars a month. Judging from what they make in a month, do you really expect these guys to be professional and loving to you when all you do is to flash your money at their faces and boss them around; not to mention, look down at them?
Ok, you are right that the staff should have been more helpful in a situation like this but we really don't have the full story. Everyone is going by the account of the guest who was unable to get her money back for the doctor's fees.
All I have to say is this: take responsibility for the well-being of your family and especially of your young kids. I have seen many times the parents are drinking and laughing at the bar and the little kids left unattended by the swimming pool or by the beach. When accidents happen, its always the resort's fault. If i had seen that railing being defected or having large spaces between them, i would have asked for a room changed to the first floor or to keep the door closed so the young kid can't venture off on his own.
There was an incident when my dominican friend who works in a 5 star resort lent his expensive mont blanc pen to a guest ( 15 yr old girl) to just write down a number. He had made it clear to her that he wanted his expensive pen back in his hand when she was done. Instead, the girl just decided to leave the pen on the bar table and left. The pen was gone in no time and when my friend tried to get compensated for his loss, he was bitterly insulted by the parents for accusing them of something that they should not be held responsible for. They said that the girl did return the pen by leaving it at the bar but wouldn't take the responsibility of returning the pen to his proper hand where she took it from.
My friend had to go through alot of trouble and he was still unable to recover his pen or the money for what it is worth.
So you see, the argument goes both ways.
The guest used his advantage " the customer is always right" and my friend lost a 100 dollar pen. On top of that he was insulted and threatened to be reported to the resort's head if he kept demanding compensation.
So tell me this now, how do you expect the dominicans to care for you from their heart when most guest treat the staff like garbage and actually look down upon them?
Besides, for 150-300 dollars a month salary, what type of a service do you expect? If you want to keep on vacationing for such cheap cost then be prepared to put up with a little inconvenience.
I guess you get my point.
have a nice day