Thoughts on 'locals' pricing

joecanada

New member
Jan 15, 2004
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I hope everyone is enjoying the new year and that our local expat community is making the most of the current high season.

Am in a chatty mood, so I thought I'd address something that's been coming up in conversations a lot lately, both on and off this board: local's pricing.

My own opinion is that locals pricing should be just that -- pricing for locals. While I can certainly understand that no one wants to pay more than they have to, I thing a bit of clarification is in order.

First up, please bear in mind that the minimum wage in this country is a mere RD$4,970 or US$150) per month. Granted, most people make more than the minimum wage, but it should give you an idea of comparative salaries. One makes significantly less working here than one would for a comparable job in North America or Europe.

Also, the cost of living (at least in the tourist destinations) is not significantly lower than 'back home' (depending of course on where you're from). Taken into account the cost of living as a percentage of wages earned, your disposable income is significantly less than it would be were you to live, earn and spend in say Montreal.

This is not to bemoan the fate of us poor expats -- quality of life is a heck of a compensation for foregone revenues, but just to say that a $50 night out costs us (in comparative terms) a significantly higher portion of our disposable income than it does any tourist.

Take into account as well that the average expat makes by far more than the average Dominican in tourist areas. (for clarification: I obviously include Dominicans in the 'locals' category.)

Another point to consider is that, while a tourist will come to your restaurant/bar/shop/place of business a couple of times per trip at best, a local can and will come every weekend for a year -- 52 visits vs 2 or 3. Likewise, a well-pleased local will recommend your place to other locals, thus exponentially increasing your business, whereas a tourist will mention it to his friends when he gets home, sure, but how many of them will come down and visit, and how often?

Yet another point: A resident is generally a resident year-round and will therefore keep you in business not only during the high season, but also during the low season -- when you REALLY need the help.

With all of these factors to consider, it's no wonder there are local's discounts. When I was in Rio de Janiero, I knew I wasn't getting the local's price on the things that I bought, but guess what? I didn't expect to.

If you're a tourist, we're glad to have you and glad to have your business. Generally we'll go out of our way to make sure you have a great stay and go home happy. But please don't feel you're getting 'ripped off' if you have to pay the full price, or the taxes, or in any way miss out on the discount a local would get. You're not a local, you don't make local wages. We're not jumping the price to take advantage of you, we're just investing a bit in our local clientele by discounting them a bit. Think of it as wholesale vs retail. A bar can sell you 10-20 beers during your trip, but can sell a local 1000 beers in a year. Just as you can't expect to pay the same per bottle for a bottle vs a case, you shouldn't expect to pay the same per beer for your 10 beers as a local pays for his 1000.

Again, this is not intended as a 'stick it to the tourist' thread, but rather to make some people understand why it is that residents and Dominicans often get considerations they don't get.

Thoughts?
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
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Speaking about pricing for locals, how about one for your Hotel and Joseph?s restaurant? I am sure all the DR1 people would appreciate it.
 

joecanada

New member
Jan 15, 2004
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Didn't want to self-promote, but since you ask:

We discount the 16% tax for locals at Joseph's and there's always a competitive rate at the resort for friends and family of the local community.

Cheers!
 

Malibook

Bronze
Jan 23, 2002
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www.yourtraveltickets.com
I'm sorry but as much as I understand the concept, I really can't stand places with tiered pricing.
It just feels like they are playing 'Let's screw the idiot gringo'.
I suppose it is not so bad at places where it is the policy like the cable car but it still bothers me. Gringos pay twice the price there.
Giving locals a break on the taxes and they can tip modestly is fine but twice the price is rude.

What really p!sses me off are the vultures who blatantly try to gouge the stupid gringo for all they can!
Like one time at La Canita when a waitress tried to charge me some inflated foolish gringo prices! Plus she brought me a slushy beer!
I told her off and got a nice honest waitress instead.

One time this a$$hole moto driver wanted 300p for a 20p ride.
I usually pay them 3 to 5 times the going rate by choice but this really p!ssed me off.
I gave him 50p and told him where to go.

I also can't stand these greedy local taxi drivers who think I should pay double or more what the tourist taxis charge.
 
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Snuffy

Bronze
May 3, 2002
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1. Always ask for price up front...first explaining to them in spanish that you have X number of years living in the country and you are a dominican.

2. If the price is high...explain again that you are dominican and that you expect the correct price which you believe to be approximately Y.

3. If they still want to play games...you have the option to walk.

4. If you do not clearly negotiate the price up front...and they want a lot on the backend...you can simply refuse to pay their price and raise your voice. Tell them what you think. I have had to do this several times and I always ended up paying the low price. They have two options....one...charge the fair price....two...call the police. They will probably choose the first option. But to do this you have to be willing. I rarely see middle class and upper class dominicans raise a stink over price...probably because they don't have to...but I have seen them do it...they get very angry. So don't feel like you are out of line by raising your voice.
 

snowqueen

Member
Dec 15, 2004
232
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I don't have too much of a problem with different prices for locals, unless it is blatant gouging. In that case, we walk away, there is always someplace else to get what you want. I really prefer to see prices marked on an item, so when shopping, I can compare prices. If something produced locally is much higher than what I pay at home, I don't buy it. Just because we can manage to afford to go down for a few weeks doesn't mean we can afford to pay exhorbinant prices for everything.
 

HOWMAR

Silver
Jan 28, 2004
2,624
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We had the same situation with our restaurant back on the New Jersey Shore. We had 20,000 year-round residents and 250,000 summer residents. The best way to reward the year-round residents without alienating the summer residents was by the use of an affinity card (we started with a punch card). If a person frequented us 3 times in a month, they would receive 20% off their checks for the following month. If a tourist frequented me 3 times during his vacation, I didn't mind giving him the discount on the remainder of his stay. It applied to very few tourists. Later we added a data base to the affinity card and collected names, birthday and aniversary dates, etc. We were then able to reward our better customers with such things as a birthday cake if they came in on their birthday.