- Thread starter niceguy
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cabarete harrassment
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I have to disagree. While I can't speak about Cabarete, since I haven't yet visited there, I would guess it's similar to Punta Cana with regard to the people selling crap to tourists. I don't have a LOT of experience compared to some on the forums, but I have spent my fair share of time warding off the overly aggressive sales guys, and have had conversations with a number of them. EVERY one of them were Haitian, NOT Dominican... so this is no more "their" country than it is mine... maybe less, since I have purchased property and invested in the country.
I will say, with each successive visit, I get bothered less and less. I might be getting the "Don't even bother, I'm not a sucker." expression perfected... or maybe that little "wave of the hand" thing that says... "I've been here before, and you're wasting your time."
My litmus test is: if somebody comes up while Im walking and is nice they A: want me to give them something or B: want to take something from me.
Friendliness is a sign of weakness and being out of touch, and anything other than friendliness is seen as being arrogant and out of touch. You are F-ed if you do and F-ed if you dont.
The DR isnt as bad as some places, and is worse than most, it was like this before we came, will get worse, and there is nothing we can do or write in a forum to change it. Either get used to it or dont.
Friendliness is a sign of weakness and being out of touch, and anything other than friendliness is seen as being arrogant and out of touch. You are F-ed if you do and F-ed if you dont.
The DR isnt as bad as some places, and is worse than most, it was like this before we came, will get worse, and there is nothing we can do or write in a forum to change it. Either get used to it or dont.
I constantly hear friends who have gone to the DR for their 1st or 2nd time complain about this too, and most of them are staying in AI`s and don`t go off resort. I personally don`t mind the vendors approaching me and enjoy talking with them. I usually find that a simple " no gracias" works when you are really not interested....Most of them are pretty good guys just trying to feed their families. When they find out that I spend most of my time off the resort area with friends in the barrios (Playa Oeste, Padre Granero) they don`t even bother trying to sell to me anymore, they just stop to chat and ask what I`ve been up to.
Uhm. . . .I am a sales person and have no interest in cultivating NOs. Why waste my time?
I also think it is a cop out to say you can't change a thing. Sure you can. The more people that try the more people you can change.
Maybe 12 years ago a kid in La Ceniza tried to sell me roses when I was with an ex. At that time the roses may have cost 30-40 pesos. I asked him how much. He said 100 pesos. I said, remember my face because you will see me a lot, but never get a dime. Over a 10 year period I must have seen that kid over 100 times. His face would light up when he would see a gringo walk into la ceniza. Then he would see it was me. I would ALWAYS make a point to call over another muchacho selling lowers and buy some for every female sitting at my table, and sometimes for a waitress just to hammer home the point that it is not about the lousy 60 pesos etc.
About 2 years ago I ran into the guy again but he was working at a bar. He told the owner he knew me for years. I asked him how much money he lost in the last 10 years because he tried to rip me off. He laughed and told the owner he could have bought a cadillac.
The owner told me the kid must have learned a lesson as he only gave him the job because he was the only "honest" flower salesmen he ever met. . . . . .
The sankies are just as bad, especially during the time of year where they seem to outnumber the tourists. Try hanging out with a fellow AI vacationer of the opposite sex that a sankie has his eye on. They will plot to make your vacation a disaster-everything from messing with the air conditioning in your room to messing with your food and drinks to just being a-holes whenever you poke your head out your room.
Addressing the OP, you must be aggressive. Dominicans who work as vendors in tourist areas don't understand subtlety. They think tigeraje will intimidate the meek tourista into handing over their wallet.
Look them in the eye and say "No, y dejame quieto". Don't avoid them when you see them in the street. Walk right past them and look them right in the eye. After a couple of days of the same thing they'll leave you alone and will remember never to harass you again on future vacations.
This is the hat I wear when I go to the tourist areas (or near Metro/Caribe Tours)
Don
the bottom line is this : you are a guest in this country, your views, ideas, morals, wants, and expectations are just that ... yours. your plea for sympathy for being bothered while eating your lobster while someone is trying to get enough money just to eat anything is ludicris. Have you ever been hungry after not eating for days? Respect these people. It is THEIR country not yours. And because you most likely got ripped off by your realtor that sold you a piece of property for 10 times the value does not give you any right to try to inforce your views on the native inhabitants of this beautiful country. try walking on the other side of the street, or to the airport and go back to your country. I left my country because of people just like you. The vendors are not the problem, you are. This country will not and should not conform to any of YOUR rules.
Yeah but Niceguy, you contrived to express that having your lobster eating spoiled by lots of poor people was not on.
Whether you meant that or not - that is how it came across.
Whether you meant that or not - that is how it came across.
What greydread said, I am really getting sick and tired of folks complaining about aggressive vendors. You are in a third world country, in the midst of a global economic downturn. Would you rather they pull out a knife or a gun instead? Tired of all the touts and vendors? Go to an AI or rent a private Villa. A simple no thank you or I don't have any money will do.
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He hasn't been to Marrakech I think. Stick out your finger in the souks there and they just grab it and pull you into their shop. And as long as you stay interested but do not ask the price, you are fine but oh boy if you dare to ask the price and walk away then haha. Very aggressive sales techniques there 
A polite no gracias with a smile or the finger movement here is enough and these people need to make a living also, so they do not bother me really.
A polite no gracias with a smile or the finger movement here is enough and these people need to make a living also, so they do not bother me really.
Funny story-
I was in Bahia Brazil me and my buddy from Amsterdam thought we were being clever, so we devised what we thought was an ingenious plan: avoid eye contact and don't utter a word in english. He speaks Dutch and I speak a bit of french, so we decided to hold a meaningless conversion (Me speaking french and him speaking dutch without really saying a thing to each other) it worked until a jewelry shop owner caught on, he addressed us in French and Dutch and invited us in..LMAO...after busting out laughing we went in, purchased an item and left.
I was in Bahia Brazil me and my buddy from Amsterdam thought we were being clever, so we devised what we thought was an ingenious plan: avoid eye contact and don't utter a word in english. He speaks Dutch and I speak a bit of french, so we decided to hold a meaningless conversion (Me speaking french and him speaking dutch without really saying a thing to each other) it worked until a jewelry shop owner caught on, he addressed us in French and Dutch and invited us in..LMAO...after busting out laughing we went in, purchased an item and left.
It happened to me once in Casa de Campo, when I went down the steps to ride a boat on the river. I guess that part doesn't belong to the resort. We were almost assaulted by a swarm of agressive vendors trying to sell us all kinds of worthless trinkets, we almost had to push our way through them while they were calling us names. It was a harrowing experience.
Next time make sure you have some Japanese people in your group, never fails, they CANNOT stop shopping
I try to get along go along but when the guy was walking around Baileys selling puppies I did object!
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