ONLY in DR (add yours to list)...

[Wrx2005]

Only in the DR

A hotel manager asks you if you need a taxi to pick you up, he says arranging for a taxi to come get you is complimentary. What he doesnt tell you, is that the only thing complimentary is him arranging for a taxi to come, not that the hotel is covering the cost of the trip. You find out later the driver wants $45 from SDQ to the hotel in Gazcue. Anybody can get a taxi from the airport for a lot less especially from a taxi who just dropped off, they dont need to be bamboozled by the hotel they are staying at. Always ask the cost before getting in any taxi, even if it was arranged for you.

You pull into a gas station. And get directed to a special pump with a faulty display, Or you have to watch the attendant and the display like a hawk. Otherwise your car will be full, he will reset the pump acting like he's still pumping gas. Meanwhile you dont know how much was on the display before he hit the reset button, but he's looking for the 3000 pesos for the gas he was supposed to have put in.

You have been waiting 25 minutes on line , finally made it to be the next customer served at the bank. All of a sudden the security guard decides to make a 2nd line. So he gets customer number 9 and everybody behind him to form a 2nd line. Then guess who gets the next available teller? Meanwhile your teller cant serve you because she suddenly has to leave her work station for several minutes. I guess they dont know how to arrange it so the customers waiting the longest get served 1st? Oh lets not forget, handicapped and pregnant women automatically get sent to the front of the line.

Do they give the poorest service at many restaurants. Servers cant remember what you ordered, cant remember to bring something you requested, cant remember to bring sauces and condiments that may be needed at the table, cant get your order prepared the way you requested, will take an order and not fully understand what the diner wanted. Will intentionally bring the wrong order figuring you wont notice. Have to be hunted down to get anything additional brought to the table, including the check.

 

[bob saunders]

Only in the DR



You have been waiting 25 minutes on line , finally made it to be the next customer served at the bank. All of a sudden the security guard decides to make a 2nd line. So he gets customer number 9 and everybody behind him to form a 2nd line. Then guess who gets the next available teller? Meanwhile your teller cant serve you because she suddenly has to leave her work station for several minutes. I guess they dont know how to arrange it so the customers waiting the longest get served 1st? Oh lets not forget, handicapped and pregnant women automatically get sent to the front of the line.

.

I go to the bank at least once every work day. Doesn't bother me at all that Pregnant women and handicapped , as well as really old people go to the front of the line. I don't mind standing inline but if I'm in a hurry I just hand them my VIP card and sit down. They call me almost immediately. I also get served coffee and have my own account manager. That doesn't happen in Canada.

 

[Wrx2005]

You go to Banco Popular one day to open an account. Yo sit in the waiting area only to find out you need a ticket to be seen by a rep. You come back another day, 1st thing you do is get a ticket and sit. 2 different individuals come into the bank and each walk over to a bank rep, is told to sit down and get served. Meanwhile you are in the waiting area with ticket in hand which ends up being useless.

You are on line at Orange, get called next to the counter. Impatient dominicans dont think lines applies to them. They come straight to the counter and try to get the counter person to serve them instead of respecting the line.

Youve been to the same bank and have been seen by the same reps within a week and shown your passport no less than 3 times. They copied it, and got it on file along with other documents you presented. They even gave you a temporary debit card. They call you to come in to pick up your permanent debit card. They ask for your passport, but you figured you wouldnt need it because they know you and they have it on file. So you hand him your laminated copy of your passport and he tells you he needs your original passport. I mean really? Turns out the original was not needed, he was just being a parrot. If not for my protesting and the rep sitting next to him he would have made me go home for nothing.

Will your security guard let guests come onto the property claiming to be looking for someone. You dont let guests come on the property unless that resident is aware or notifies you that it is ok. Guests must wait outside the property. Not paraded around the property and yelling the residents name.

 

[PeterInBrat]

Where in latin America does one put toilet paper into the toilet? Try seeing other places besides just the USA and here. ALl the others are common everywhere also except back where you came from.
Der Fish

The TP thing is actually very common because they don't install the sewage lines properly and the TP is usually poor quality. This causes clogs. I have a friend in Guatemala and it's the same.

 

[KITTU]

From my limited experiences in this country, I've observed that ONLY in the Dominican Republic (ODR):

ODR:
* A red traffic light is merely a 'suggestion' to stop.

ODR:
* cars made in 1982 are given a second chance.

ODR:
* a woman MUST visit a salon at least once a week to straighten her hair, no matter how little money she has!

ODR:
* a 1984 dodge omni can be transformed into an 8 passenger car publico.

ODR:
* used toilet paper is discarded into the garbage can instead of the toilet.


What have YOU observed ODR?

The car coming from the opposite direction, if the headlights blink, it means he will not stop! unlike in other countries.
Most of the motorbikes on highways have no lights.

 

[Wrx2005]

Only in the DR

A restaurant will put an extremely hot entree in a Styrofoam container to go, and in minutes the container melts and all of the sauce/gravy is now swimming in the plastic bag. You tell them what happens, so this time they double the styrofoam container and it happens again. You go back again and explain that doubling the container didnt work. It still melted before you could get home. They are apologetic but clueless to a solution. So you suggest to them to line the container with aluminum foil 1st then put the hot food in. Something they had in the kitchen all along but couldnt figure it out on their own.

 

[the gorgon]

You go to Banco Popular one day to open an account. Yo sit in the waiting area only to find out you need a ticket to be seen by a rep. You come back another day, 1st thing you do is get a ticket and sit. 2 different individuals come into the bank and each walk over to a bank rep, is told to sit down and get served. Meanwhile you are in the waiting area with ticket in hand which ends up being useless.

You are on line at Orange, get called next to the counter. Impatient dominicans dont think lines applies to them. They come straight to the counter and try to get the counter person to serve them instead of respecting the line.

Youve been to the same bank and have been seen by the same reps within a week and shown your passport no less than 3 times. They copied it, and got it on file along with other documents you presented. They even gave you a temporary debit card. They call you to come in to pick up your permanent debit card. They ask for your passport, but you figured you wouldnt need it because they know you and they have it on file. So you hand him your laminated copy of your passport and he tells you he needs your original passport. I mean really? Turns out the original was not needed, he was just being a parrot. If not for my protesting and the rep sitting next to him he would have made me go home for nothing.

Will your security guard let guests come onto the property claiming to be looking for someone. You dont let guests come on the property unless that resident is aware or notifies you that it is ok. Guests must wait outside the property. Not paraded around the property and yelling the residents name.

ohh, yes! i had a contract for internet service from Claro. to sign the contract, i had to produce my passport. they copied it, wrote the number down, and off we ran. a few weeks later, i found out they had a plan that would work out better for me, so i applied to change to that one. they wanted me to bring in my passport before they would sign me up.

i kid you not!

 

[GuillermoRamon]

Only in La R.D. does the word tomorrow mean both eventually, and never...

 

[bob saunders]

Only in La R.D. does the word tomorrow mean both eventually, and never...

Nah, that's a common Latin American thing - tomorrow never comes.

 

[SantiagoDR]

ohh, yes! i had a contract for internet service from Claro. to sign the contract, i had to produce my passport. they copied it, wrote the number down, and off we ran. a few weeks later, i found out they had a plan that would work out better for me, so i applied to change to that one. they wanted me to bring in my passport before they would sign me up.

i kid you not!

Claro called me to offer me a special promotion for fiber optic Internet.
I signed up for it, they charged me for it.

Claro does not have a fiber optic cable in my neighborhood.
They had to reverse all the charges.

 

[the gorgon]

Claro called me to offer me a special promotion for fiber optic Internet.
I signed up for it, they charged me for it.

Claro does not have a fiber optic cable in my neighborhood.
They had to reverse all the charges.

i signed up with Orange for wireless internet , with the dongle. i took it home, and it did nothing. they kept promising that they would send a tecnico out to check it. weeks `passed by, and nobody came, so i demanded that i speak to a supervisor. she checked the charts, and found that they do not offer the service in my area. she cancelled the service, and i signed up with Claro. the fun thing is that she apparently never bothered to make any notes in the computer, because a year later i got a call from their legal department, demanding 18000 pesos for unpaid services, or they would sue. i went to her, and we rehashed the situation. she said not to worry, she would correct it. a year later, legal called me again, threatening to sue me for unpaid service. we had to go through the same thing again. a year later, ssame deal. i am waiting for February to come so we can go through this for the fourth time.

i kid you not.

 

[the gorgon]

here is an interesting one. i live in an apartment building with a big steel security gate. everyone has their own key, as is to be expected. yesterday, i got back from the supermarket to find that my key would not go into the keyhole. i reached around the back of the lock, only to find out that a set of keys was already there. i took it out, entered the building, and knocked on doors to find the provenance. the lady beside me claimed them. she explained that she had left them in the lock because she planned going out later. in case this might sound normal, bear in mind that she had to take them out to open her entry door. so, after letting herself in, she went back to the lock, and put them in again, left them there, and went inside her home.

she was bemused when i told her that it was not a great idea, because if some tiguere had seen them, and stolen the bunch, they would have to bring in not only a locksmith, but a welder, since those locks are welded into the gate.

i kid you not.

 

[PeterInBrat]

If you get a flat tire in a town of any size, the odds are you'll be in walking distance of a tire shop.

I put about 2000 pesos into mi esposa's Super Cub. For that we got a new seat, a new section of the exhaust, and a new rear fender alond with about an hour of labor. It looks like new compared to how it was and runs a lot better with the exhaust fixed.

Just to be clear, that's the before photo...

 

[Wrx2005]

here is an interesting one. i live in an apartment building with a big steel security gate. everyone has their own key, as is to be expected. yesterday, i got back from the supermarket to find that my key would not go into the keyhole. i reached around the back of the lock, only to find out that a set of keys was already there. i took it out, entered the building, and knocked on doors to find the provenance. the lady beside me claimed them. she explained that she had left them in the lock because she planned going out later. in case this might sound normal, bear in mind that she had to take them out to open her entry door. so, after letting herself in, she went back to the lock, and put them in again, left them there, and went inside her home.

she was bemused when i told her that it was not a great idea, because if some tiguere had seen them, and stolen the bunch, they would have to bring in not only a locksmith, but a welder, since those locks are welded into the gate.

i kid you not.

Thats just dumb. But expected. I went to a restaurant on the playa in Sosua for some fish. The one guy working there cant get an order straight to save his own life. I asked for fried fish and a green salad. I broke down everything I wanted in the salad. I asked for a boiled egg. And I explained that I did not want any dressing. I wanted it dry. Then I explained I wanted creamy dressing for the salad on the side. Because I know he always messes up my order I pulled him over and asked him did he tell the ladies in the kitchen how I wanted my salad. My reason is, I believe most people in this country will take an order verbally or write it down but they do not actually tell the cooks or the ones preparing the food.

What good is it to ask for something if the idiot server is not going to make sure the info gets passed on? Anyway, when the food comes, just as I suspected, the salad was wet with some type of dressing. No boiled egg, and no creamy dressing on the side. When I brought it to his attention, he started the usual denial and lying about the whole issue. Meanwhile Im asking him why didnt make sure the order was right 1st. Why did he bring the order to the table when he knew it was not right? All I could get was his usual stupid look on his face. I swear if it wasnt for the food I wouldnt even come. Fortunately there are other servers on the beach with better waiting skills.

 

[Mauricio]

In general most waiters, cashiers, or any service employee doesn't really listen to your answer when they ask something. More often they ask me if I want 'comprobante fiscal', what soda I want with my menu, etc. etc. they will have to repeat the question, because they 'forgot' my answer, than that they heard AND registered it the first time.

 

[the gorgon]

In general most waiters, cashiers, or any service employee doesn't really listen to your answer when they ask something. More often they ask me if I want 'comprobante fiscal', what soda I want with my menu, etc. etc. they will have to repeat the question, because they 'forgot' my answer, than that they heard AND registered it the first time.

that is your answer right there. the problem is one of listening. i am tired of going to a colmado needing more than one item, and by the time you have told the guy one article he is off and running. then i have to call him back and tell him there is more i need.

 

[Naked_Snake]

that is your answer right there. the problem is one of listening. i am tired of going to a colmado needing more than one item, and by the time you have told the guy one article he is off and running. then i have to call him back and tell him there is more i need.

I'm amazed that there aren't that many cases of deafness here, since people here as a whole abhor any kind of silence and/or peace and quiet whatsoever. I'm a local, granted, but I will be the first to tell you that one of the most annoying national vices is this infatuation with noise that people of ALL social segments in this country seem to share almost to a man.

 

[Ecoman1949]

Only in the DR, will you see a 40 feet steel shipping container cut up and converted into a cafe and bar. So cool and environmentally friendly. If you want to check it out its on Luperon Beach adjacent to the closed resort. DR creativity is like a double edged sword. Sometimes devious, sometimes amazing! I guess not having financial resources does make you more creative.

 

[Commander Ooh La La USN]

I'm amazed that there aren't that many cases of deafness here, since people here as a whole abhor any kind of silence and/or peace and quiet whatsoever. I'm a local, granted, but I will be the first to tell you that one of the most annoying national vices is this infatuation with noise that people of ALL social segments in this country seem to share almost to a man.

Noise equals relative affluence. Silence equals relative poverty. If you own things with make noise you have more money than the guy who doesnt. Even a moto makes more noise than a burro.

That is one of the worst aspects to living in the country

 

[palmiche53]

You are interacting with the lowest educated people of this country, like primary school dropouts. In
the usa you find people that barely knows theirs name or where canada is located or who the president is.