cabarete harrassment

[niceguy]

These are my personal thoughts.
Everytime i walk down the main road of Cabarete i am bothered continuously by people selling all manner of crap and sh!tty art. If i am thinking about something, which is often, i can now guarantee that someone will go out of their way to REPEATEDLY try to get my attention disturbing my thoughts. I ignore them and continue to mind my own business, but then they position themselves directly in my path, and there is often very little space for me to politely walk around them.

I was walking the other day in Cabarete and a man stood directly in my path with his hand stretched out in front of him and towards me. I saw this as an commanding instruction to stop, which i did not and brushed past him. I got a mouthful of spanish. Inside i am thinking F#$k you... i am not responsible to you in anyway, i do not have to speak, look or walk over you.... leave me alone with my thoughts' and my coca cola.

I however get the impression from these people that i am in someway supposed to give them the time of day and my money. When really i don't care about their issues. I care about relaxing and me (in a nutshell). I am not their social support network, if all you have to eat is 2 coconuts and 1/2 a banana then that is your problem and the government that is supposed to care for its people, not me

My thoughts, i am not here in the DR to save anyone from their financial problems, i am here to relax. i have to say these people stress me. Its not just me either i see them launching themselves onto anyone that moves.
One man offered me a sh!tty glass bottle with a matchstick boat in it for $10us. i mean it deserved to be placed in the garbage immediately after purchase, or thrown into the sea. He even said to me, after i said 'i have no money'.... (he scoffed) 'you have money, i know, you can pay'. I mean its my choice to pay and these DR folks better learn that! Further do they really think people come here to buy $25us ashtrays from a man in a shirt with no buttons and different colored flip flops (another couple told me about their experience at being harrassed and then being strong-armed into buying this ashtray).

If these people want to increase their tourism then i ask the DR tourism officials to do this;

Train these people in their blue coloured shirts on Cabarete beach to remember that people come to Cabarete beach to relax.... That 'sales people" are not our priority. Every 4 minutes i was bothered by people selling fruit, necklaces, shells, shoes and a BJ.

Dont stand in infront of people (hoping they will change their minds and buy the 'shell; as they relax on the beach. These sales people are blocking my sun.

Don't STARE at people asking them to buy something whilst they are eating IN a restaurant..... that is wrong. if i am in a restaurant it is unlikely i will want to buy a sea shell from a haitian.

People simply wont come here, and you can see the tourist numbers are down in cabarete. I love cabarete, people should come, i even love the people, but the sales tactics used can destroy one's holiday experience.


Don't block the public walk way/path barring people from walking past your shop that sells eveything i don't want or need

Dont lift the price based on what you think i can pay.... e.g i used a massage service in Sosua.... excellent service. i am always charged 500rd for a therapeutic massage 1 hr. Well i went yesterday and they lifted it to 700rd... i walked out and they said 500 quinientos.... i said no and was a little ****ed off. This is bad business practice. I liked the service but they lost further business because they tried to scam me. i use the service 3 times a week... every week. Now they have NO business

one last rule.... the sales people should know; i am here for me, it is my vacation i worked for, dont bother me unless i call you over to assit me



If these people have to resort to aggressive sales tactics... then i object to that. I have heard many people speak of these problems... so its not just me

Cabarete truly is beautiful and well worth visiting .. apart from this

 

[Hillbilly]

This should be read aloud in English, French and Spanish on every street in Cabarete. This is the exact same way they killed POP tourism...
Hassling tourists is NOT the way to have successful tourism. Quality tourism makes the visitor feel relaxed and safe, not bothered by every swinging......on the beach..


HB

 

[greydread]

One day they may just give up trying to sell you things you don't need or want and just stab you and take all your stuff.

You are in their country. A country with abysmal literacy, unemployment and poverty problems. Hunger makes them aggressive. Sure, you don't 'owe' them anything and true they are annoying but there's a sure way to avoid them. Go to an AI and enjoy the sales free private beaches and leave the public beaches to the locals. You will pay a hefty price for that but then Paradise ain't free, is it?

 

[belmont]

one last rule.... the sales people should know; i am here for me, it is my vacation i worked for, dont bother me unless i call you over to assit me

Every salesperson worldwide operates under the #1 rule of sales....Each "NO" you receive, gets you closer to your next "YES". Hope you feel better getting it off your chest, but you aren't going to change a thing.

 

[johnny]

Most vendors and beggars in Sosua and Cabarete are Haitians, NOT Dominicans.

 

[Ken]

I don't have a problem. I wear long pants and not shorts so am not confused with the tourists and when a vendor starts to approach me I wag my finger in the accepted manner and keep walking.

 

[bryan1258]

Most vendors and beggars in Sosua and Cabarete are Haitians, NOT Dominicans.

I disagree. However I would say that most of the hard menial tasks are done by Haitians and not Dominicans.

You want brush cleared from your property, Haitians. You need a wall built around the property, Haitians.

You want to get hassled to buy an "Oster perpetual", Dominican. You get bothered ten times a day from the cashew guy, Dominican. Hows about the rotting prawn salesman, Dominican. You want some "Ray Bangs", Dominican

 

[Papa Benito]

Most vendors and beggars in Sosua and Cabarete are Haitians, NOT Dominicans.

Wrong. Every DR chica on the streets of Sosua are begging.

 

[ramesses]

...I guess none of you have been to Jamaica? The DR is a lightweight when it comes to hassling tourists...I remember my thoughts when I visited for the first time after 15 years of travelling to Jamaica..it was, "how nice is this".

 

[ramesses]

I don't have a problem. I wear long pants and not shorts so am not confused with the tourists and when a vendor starts to approach me I wag my finger in the accepted manner and keep walking.

I wear long pants and I look like a tourist unsuccessfully trying to look like a dominican.

 

[RV429]

Niceguy, I hope you feel better now. Did you change the world, NO. You call them sales people but they are not and they have no sales training, they are trying to eat.
HB you are correct of course as always but it is not that simple.
Greydread, on this topic and with your response you are a genius, you hit the head on the nail.
Belmont, not necessarily right, but they are not sales people, they are people trying to buy tonites platanos which are up to 10 pesos each.
Johnny, you are a racist idiot, no offense intended.
Ken, you are a genius, it is exactly what the niceguy carbon unit needs to learn. Wag the finger no, say no and move on. If they continue tell them to flllk off.
Bryan1258, you are thinking in the right direction, it is not a haitian problem. The idiot is wrong.
The kids selling cashews are just trying to put food on a sparse table. The two brothers who sell that shrimp on playa Sosua are nice guys, I just can't eat it in the sun but they do refrigerate it at night if that helps. Eating oysters in months without "R" is not my style either. But having said that I've never in almost 20 years seen/heard anyone getting sick from buying either. I don't buy either but I do buy the brothers a soda when they pass, they too have families and get thirsty in the hot sun.
Papabenito, you are getting into Johnny territory.
Menesses, good point, also in Jamaica an armed gaurd is often necessary to leave the AI.
At the end of the day, some of this is what is called local "charm" some not. But it is what it is ...........ccccccccccccccccc

 

[bryan1258]

I wear long pants and I look like a tourist unsuccessfully trying to look like a dominican.

I've noticed that large, hairy, overweight, northern European men, wearing thong speedos, don't get harassed when walking around town............weird.

 

[ChrisNYC]

...I guess none of you have been to Jamaica? The DR is a lightweight when it comes to hassling tourists...I remember my thoughts when I visited for the first time after 15 years of travelling to Jamaica..it was, "how nice is this".

I was going to say the same thing. Jamaicans do not like to be ignored and if you do so they will get right up in your face.

The only way to deal with this sort of thing is CARE. Chat these guys up and say no gracias pero quizas otro dia. Bring up some other topic that they can relate to...small talk. You can't be an expat and just live in your bubble. That is rude and inconsiderate to people who live there. I feel the same way in america when people don't share their customs with us and congregate only with their kind. What good is it to live somewhere else if you don't mix well with the people ?

You need to figure out another way to deal with these issues than get angry or else it will only get worse.

 

[Gordon]

I've noticed that large, hairy, overweight, northern European men, wearing thong speedos, don't get harassed when walking around town............weird.

noticing this phenomena can also generate nightmares Bryan. It is better to look away. There are prettier sights to see if you are more selective with your thoughts.

 

[bri777]

I got the answer lol

next time I go I bring a bunch of chiclets
and when anybody approaches me ,I will try to sell it to them
while babbling in very fast german

I will let you know if it worked
silly thursday
manu

 

[alexdr]

Niceguy, your thoughts are very accurate. I have lived in POP for 7 years. These are poor uneducated people trying to survive day to day. Not trained salespeople. Unless you have walked in their shoes you will never understand life as they know it! Move on, try to be polite, no gracias should suffice. Then again, maybe it works for me because i own my own gym, am 6, 4, and weight train 4-5 days a week. Try to deal with it, have compassion, and move on! Good luck!

 

[bri777]

Exactly
other places are much worse
I ll never forget Mo bay or Matamores or ,or,........

no gracias worked in DR

go to Genf ( Geneva) no one will bother you
Manu

 

[johnny]

Niceguy, I hope you feel better now. Did you change the world, NO. You call them sales people but they are not and they have no sales training, they are trying to eat.
HB you are correct of course as always but it is not that simple.
Greydread, on this topic and with your response you are a genius, you hit the head on the nail.
Belmont, not necessarily right, but they are not sales people, they are people trying to buy tonites platanos which are up to 10 pesos each.
Johnny, you are a racist idiot, no offense intended.
Ken, you are a genius, it is exactly what the niceguy carbon unit needs to learn. Wag the finger no, say no and move on. If they continue tell them to flllk off.
Bryan1258, you are thinking in the right direction, it is not a haitian problem. The idiot is wrong.
The kids selling cashews are just trying to put food on a sparse table. The two brothers who sell that shrimp on playa Sosua are nice guys, I just can't eat it in the sun but they do refrigerate it at night if that helps. Eating oysters in months without "R" is not my style either. But having said that I've never in almost 20 years seen/heard anyone getting sick from buying either. I don't buy either but I do buy the brothers a soda when they pass, they too have families and get thirsty in the hot sun.
Papabenito, you are getting into Johnny territory.
Menesses, good point, also in Jamaica an armed gaurd is often necessary to leave the AI.
At the end of the day, some of this is what is called local "charm" some not. But it is what it is ...........ccccccccccccccccc

Thanks for call me an idiot.
Why, before you talk about racism, do not stop to think for a while what are you doing, and what your country is doing to help the poor Haitians?
what they do in your country to illegal inmigrants who beg or sale in the streets?
Sorry, but double moral does not go with me.
I have few legal haitians working for me and they are doing very good for living and help their family. what are you doing to help them?
We are the only country that really help Haitians.

 

[niceguy]

I disagree. However I would say that most of the hard menial tasks are done by Haitians and not Dominicans.

You want brush cleared from your property, Haitians. You need a wall built around the property, Haitians.

You want to get hassled to buy an "Oster perpetual", Dominican. You get bothered ten times a day from the cashew guy, Dominican. Hows about the rotting prawn salesman, Dominican. You want some "Ray Bangs", Dominican

i should be clear i have no problem with the nationality of a person. I have used many haitians to build and clear my land. I would use them again too.
My issue was aggressive sales tactics and the impression they left with me. This being that even though i came to rest and relax on cabarete beach... ?THEY? have different plans for me. F?$k that sh!t.... i?m not the kind of man that allows anyone to make plans for me or to guide me into a sale of something i don?t want. I use the eyes down, finging wagging, ignoring tactics with some success but NOT always.

 

[niceguy]

agreed