27 Waterfalls

[Lambada]

I'm impressed that you got a response jallen. Now you just need them to tell you what the 'action' they are taking is, because someone who either lives here or another tourist who visits the waterfalls can check that it has actually been taken. They may not realise how many spies you can send out via this forum.

As a general piece of advice, ignoring the pssting is fine but to really have an impact ROAR. Doesn't matter what you roar but a loud (& I mean LOUD) expression will make the pssster a) very surprised & b) lose face and it is the latter which acts as a deterrent. You don't have to hit (& thus be the initiator of physical aggression) - just roar.

The one guy who once (only once in 15 years) laid an uninvited hand on me got his fingers sharply twisted. And he was (allegedly) a masseur. But it was him who made the first physical move, not me. He took off and sulked btw.

 

[jallen]

27 Waterfall

Here is my response:27 charcos, Thank you for your prompt response. I have posted the original e-mail to you on DR1. As I am sure you will see many people have responded. Sir, I would like to be made aware of exactly what your "action" is to Billy. In the interest of fairness, I belive your company response should be given the same publicity that my e-mails have. Some people have expressed doubt that you will handle this. I belive otherwise. If you are a parent, brother of a sister, father of a daughter or remembering your mother you know the rage we feel. To insult a decent woman is not tolerated. I have met many fine Dominicans in my visits here. They are representive of the nation, not Billy. As decent men, I request that you handle this in the strongest terms possibile. If this was to occur to your 17 year old daughter while she was a guest at my tourist operation you would personally witness the "action". Please respond and let me know exactly what your "actions are. Thank you Joe

 

[jallen]

Hey Folks, thanks again for your response and advice. Please write the proper people at <info@27charcos.com> Let them know how you feel about a young lady being touched, felt and insulted by the "Billy's" of the world. They have sisters, mothers and daughters. Touch that nerve. I think they will come through. Thanks again. Joe

 

[Lapurr]

The one guy who once (only once in 15 years) laid an uninvited hand on me got his fingers sharply twisted. And he was (allegedly) a masseur. But it was him who made the first physical move, not me. He took off and sulked btw.

I love your advise about the roar, i will make a mental note!!
and the fingers sharply twisted! Good for you!! I hate being touched by strangers in inappropriate ways!!

I was sitting on a bar stool and had a guy walk up bedind me and kissed my bare shoulder, it was so uncalled for i felt like i was gonna puke!! Regardless of how handsome/sexy he was..it was uninvited and i felt violated.

 

[Lapurr]

Jallen I'm thinking Billy may get repramanded, although I also think that they, (being staff of tourist attractions), are getting mixed signals how to make sure the tourist has a good time, for him to offer up his services and make sexual advances are uncalled for, highly i doubt he has any shame...or remorse, to him it's "normal".

It all starts as soon as you get off the plane, we were followed by "security" at the airport, He asked us where we were staying ? so that he could check in every now and then to make sure we were enjoying our stay and keeping safe!!

I told him to take a hike!

 

[Chirimoya]

I don't know about the roar - sometimes it's the reaction - any reaction - they're after. Ignoring them disdainfully and with dignity - like Dominican women do - has to be the best policy. I say that as someone who grew up in the Mediterranean region where it can also be relentless, and didn't always manage to keep to that rule. An angry reaction, although gratifying at that precise moment, leaves me feeling as if I'd played into their hands.

 

[drloca]

I don't know about the roar - sometimes it's the reaction - any reaction - they're after. Ignoring them disdainfully and with dignity - like Dominican women do - has to be the best policy. I say that as someone who grew up in the Mediterranean region where it can also be relentless, and didn't always manage to keep to that rule. An angry reaction, although gratifying at that precise moment, leaves me feeling as if I'd played into their hands.

I agree 100%

 

[Lambada]

An angry reaction, although gratifying at that precise moment, leaves me feeling as if I'd played into their hands.

I agree. I don't see the 'roar' as an angry reaction. I see it as a piece of unemotive play-acting designed to make the other person lose face - I probably didn't make that clear. I think the dynamic of these situations is 'who has control'. As long as the woman isn't angry she can assume control. The other thing which kills it off is walking right into it & pretending you're deaf.............hand to ear 'could you do that again please, I didn't quite hear it?' They soon get fed up, a bit like the person who has to repeat a joke over & over for the benefit of someone who doesn't get it. I'll admit that to carry these sorts of ploys off you have to have oodles of self confidence or a particularly warped sense of humour.

Getting back to the waterfalls, is Billy the guide referred to as Guillermo on the testimonials page?
http://www.27charcos.com/index.php

Nice video by the way.

 

[The Virginian]

I'm still unable to send any email to that address, something to do with me not using outlook as my default mailer. I noticed that the web site for the tours has a link to DR1 to help sell their tours. Can this link be stopped or directed to show only the report of abuse by Billy?

 

[jallen]

My Friends, Thank you for your input regarding "Billy" and his revolting behavior. To those who advocated some sort of violence, nothing would make me happier than to hear him squeal with pain and watch his matchismo disappear with his tears. I have spent a lifetime (25 years) bagging and dragging miscreant's. In my judgement Billy would be one of the easier ones. As I have tried to teach my son, violence should only be used as a last resort. When Jess told me what happened, my finger ached for Billy flesh. I know the lust and joy as you look into another mans face and watch his eyes bulge with terror and pain. I must fight the urge for in the end I am the loser, (although it would feel great) not the winner. I would hope to hear from the Park today, we shall see. Thanks again, Joe

 

[Lambada]

I know the lust and joy as you look into another mans face and watch his eyes bulge with terror and pain.

I understand the indignation of the aggrieved parent but, with the greatest of respect, I think you're telling us a little more than we want to know!

 

[Chip]

I understand the indignation of the aggrieved parent but, with the greatest of respect, I think you're telling us a little more than we want to know!

I agree - I think the focus should be on ensuring that the Billy guy lose his job.

That being said, Dominicans as a whole aren't so disrespectful. This is typically found in the tourist areas where there is a certain amount of freedom that some of the locals seem to feel to openly abuse foreigners. If this happened in a non tourist area like Santiago and the foreign girl loudly stated her displeasure in public, the perpetrator would be more than likely loudly rebuked if not given an arse whipping. It is important that when events like these happen that the people follow through and use public forums such as the DR1 to get the message out to the companies involved that their very livelyhood is at stake if they continue to employ such cretins.

 

[The Virginian]

jallen you are a better man than I. I have a daughter and 3 sons and several granddauthers. If this had happened to my daughters I would probalby have hurt Billy close to death. Again, you are a better man than I and you are right. Your approach is better, and the right one. Good Luck my man. My grandma would say "every dog has his day" and Billy's day is coming. May your God Bless you.

 

[jallen]

I am sorry if my words offended someone. Thats being said with a sincere heart. Please note 2 things. 1. I was raised by a single mother with 3 sisters. So, perhaps I feel a little too strong in this situation because of my personal past. 2. Having dealt with whom I have dealt with in my official life I also tend at times to be very base in my words, thoughts and actions. Like my nephew told me once, "Uncle Joe you are out of the gutter, you need to leave it behind you". True words. I am trying my friends. The important thing to me is what happens to Billy. Again, I am very sorry if the "gutter" showed and offended some people. Thanks for the responses and advice. Joe

 

[Budson]

Hi Jallen,

My son has Aspergers also. I have tried to get him to come down to the DR for a visit but with no luck. The falls are a challenge for just about anyone and for someone will Aspergers all the sensory stimulation the falls experience would provide, you son deserves a special thumbs-up for taking the challenge.

In guide selection, remember that there are so many guides that most only are allowed to work a few days a week but all would like to work everyday. Reporting bad experiences is not as helpful as passing on recommendations of guides you are happy with. With this, I would give a very strong recommendation for Papito.

We gave him a $500RD tip (for two people). This is much more than I would usually give (about $300RD) but he did a great job. I would think the size of the group dictates the tip but the service has to earn it. From my experience, your tip was appropriate.

Hopefully, your story will get to those running the facility. If it gets a bad reputation for how the guides behave, their business will suffer. Judging on the investment they have made to make this a reputable tourist recreation site, my guess is that they would want to fix it ASAP.

Hi everybody, Thank you for your input. Please keep it up. Just so you know I posted the following in English and Spanish to the company e-mail info@27charcos.com Please join and support us in writing to the company and expressing your outrage and disgust at Billy's behavior. All of us have a mother, daughter, sister or loved one who could be the next victim. As Rocky said, the way to hurt Billy is his wallet. Thank you for your support. I wanted let you people know what a positive and negative exp. that our group had at the 27 Waterfalls. What a great place to visit and explore. We (4ppl) two adults and 2 teenagers hired a guide named Billy. Billy at first was polite and cheerful with all of us. We only did the first 7 waterfalls but, enjoyed it very much. At one point I heard Billy refer to my son (who has Aspbergers Syndrome a form of Autisim) as "Loco" to another guide. I had explained to Billy before the trip that he had Autismo Especial. This explanation has worked well in the past with many other wonderful Dominicans. I let it slide because my son speaks no Spanish. When we returned to the staging area we tipped Billy the equal of 8 U.S. dollars in Peso's. This worked out to be roughly 23% or more of the trip price. He had the gall to come up to us and say "Whats this? Whats This? I was taken aback at his rude behavior. I explained that I had felt it was enough and only had large U.S bills. He told me that I should go get change. He also pointed to some big Dominican guy who was staring at us and said "he is not happy". Having worked in the Justice System in the U.S. I was not too intimidated by this cheap behavior. Billy gave the attempt up after a few seconds with "No Problemo". What really bothered me after we left is that my girlfriends daughter told us on the way back to our hotel that Billy had made open physical advances on her despite being told that she was engaged and was not interested several times. She said that he had grabbed her, tried to hug her, hold her hand, told her he liked her white skin and tried to touch her numerous times and pulled cheap crap like, "if you do not sleep with me you are racist against Dom. Men". He also told her at the very last "do not tell your Momma cause she would be mad". I WISH I had known this before we left your site. Although I wanted to go back, the girls did not want too at all. They wanted to avoid any confrontation. I can understand the embarressment Jessica would feel. I also know that you as a good company do not want or tolerate this kind of behavior. It is not my goal to go to the Newspapers or Policehere or at home. I belive that you can handle this in a proper way. I also do not want to post pictures of Billy to warn others unless I have to. My question to you, is what are you going to do about this? Please respond soon. Thank you for your attention to this insulting matter. Joe

 

[jallen]

Hello, I recieved the following post from 27 Waterfalls. Google Translate got most of it right.... Since I promised to post the response in fairness to the company Here it is...
Natural Monument
Jumping Rio Damajagua
?
Girl Lifeguard
Del Rio Damajagua




28 2008


Dear Joe:

Thank you for reporting on the behavior of a member of our organization, Mr. Billy (Guillermo Ramirez). We assure you that at the moment, this guide has been suspended from his duties.

However, we assure you that we have convened an extraordinary meeting for the express purpose of knowing all aspects of this co-worker. In this assembly to be held today February 28, 2008, will define the ultimate sanction that we will take in this regard.

We will get a copy of the minutes of the matters dealt with in that assembly, which was detailing where the penalty was applied to Mr. Billy for his insulting behavior he had with his honorable family.

We regret that a member of our organization has had such conduct, and assure him that we are always vigilant with all members of the association as long as they have an excellent behavior.

We hope your visit with new here, so you may confirm in person the penalty imposed, and at the same time provide a better service.

Sincerely,



Rafael Gil Pichardo Vargas
Administrator President
Natural Monument Falls Damajagua River Guides Association Lifeguard River Damajagua

 

[Rocky]

Sounds great, Jallen.
Good job.

 

[Chip]

I would say they took it seriously - good work... and to Billy - good riddens.

 

[The Virginian]

CONGRATULATIONS ! Glad the appropriate action was taken.

 

[Lambada]

Well done Joe for addressing the issue & plaudits to the Damajagua Tour Guides Association President for dealing with this in a professional manner.