Tipping

[bachata]

Like you , sometimes that $5 was disproportionately heavy, or light - depending on the meal(which is my basic point)

I was either a king or a demon... depending on the day.

When I go to DR some times I pay disproportionately heavy for two reasons:

Break my heart to see people struggling trying to make a living on almost nothing...
Selling on the side-walk of my neighbourhood whatever they think can make a profit.

When I think in how much I make in the US compared to what they make over there my generosity is not a big amount of money.
Life is hard in DR, just think about I can gas my car for the week here in the US on one hour labour pay.

In DR you pump RD $1,000. gasoline and the tank remains empty... Is hard to make $ 1,000. over there.

JJ

 

[the gorgon]

When I go to DR some times I pay disproportionately heavy for two reasons:

Break my heart to see people struggling trying to make a living on almost nothing...
Selling on the side-walk of my neighbourhood whatever they think can make a profit.

When I think in how much I make in the US compared to what they make over there my generosity is not a big amount of money.
Life is hard in DR, just think about I can gas my car for the week here in the US on one hour labour pay.

In DR you pump RD $1,000. gasoline and the tank remains empty... Is hard to make $ 1,000. over there.

JJ

i hear you, bachata, but try to remember that if your car breaks in the USA, no mechanic is even going to look at it for less than 50 bucks...

 

[drstock]

Do you guys tip at restaurants that automatically add the 10 % tip to the bill? If you do, do you tip another 5% or another 10%?

I hate it when restaurants add on the "surprise" 10% service charge plus ITBIS to the bill. In my view, these items should be included in the price stated on the menu if they are mandatory. This is what happens in my country, the UK. If you have these charges added to your bill and then pay another 10% (or more) tip on top of that, you end up paying at least 40% more than the price stated on the menu. There are a couple of restaurants here on Cabarete beach where the price on the menu is the same as the price on the bill and I prefer to use these restaurants and am happy to give an extra tip at the end.

 

[bachata]

i hear you, bachata, but try to remember that if your car breaks in the USA, no mechanic is even going to look at it for less than 50 bucks...

At some point you are right but remember... Even in DR or in the US you need have people in your circle:

1- A doctor
2- A lawyer
3- A cop in the police department
4- And a Mechanic....

I am a mechanic my self, I help people all time...

Last week my buddy Jose was stuck with his car breaking down with a Ck Eng. Light on... It took me few minutes to figured out
using my scanner and multimeter... The MAP sensor malfunction was causing all the issues.

JJ

 

[davetuna]

fine. if i walk into a repair shop with my broken fan, and it works when i go to pick it up, i pay the guy who fixed it what he asks. i don?t tip him on top of that, simply because he got it to work. that is his job.

you might tip him if he has totally cleaned it and greased it......or if he had delivered it to your home.......yeah you pay for work done, but you tip for someone 'going the extra yard'...........

 

[the gorgon]

you might tip him if he has totally cleaned it and greased it......or if he had delivered it to your home.......yeah you pay for work done, but you tip for someone 'going the extra yard'...........

well. i just had the same situation this weekend. paid a guy to repair my fan. nice and clean. brought it to my house Sunday morning.

it ain?t working today...and i gave him a little extra.

 

[bachata]

well. i just had the same situation this weekend. paid a guy to repair my fan. nice and clean. brought it to my house Sunday morning.

it ain?t working today...and i gave him a little extra.

You will have the same for problem for the rest of your life, never fix ( repair) a radiator cooling fan = Replace it.

I try to fix fans my self in DR many times, they will work for a short period of time only...
This is a sealed part that cost a considerable amount of money I recommend to get a brand new OEM not a replacement.

My condolence to you and follow my instructions:

Buy a new fan motor, reverse your vehicle to factory setting= do not bypass the coolant temperature switch.

Go to a local radiator shop an install in your vehicle a TROPICAL WEATHER COIL.

This way your far only kick in from time to times on very heavy traffic conditions.

JJ

 

[bigwhiskey]

I tip it's not a big deal I don't get carried away with it. You give me good service I tip give me bad service and you will watch your tip walk out the door in my wallet. Years ago my brother and I were chilling at a resort and we were seen tipping the bar tender by a guy from England he said why would you tip him when it's included in price. Our response was look at the level of service we get and quality of drinks. You have to go and get your drink and it's served in crappy plastic cups we have yet to go to the bar to get a drink and we have glasses.
What I make in one day is more than some may make in a month so it doesn't hurt my pockets.

 

[bachata]

Go to a local radiator shop an install in your vehicle a TROPICAL WEATHER COIL.

JJ

Probably a small shop will have to order from the factory in SD or a distributor in Santiago.
Mechanics in DR name this part = Panel de cuatro canales para radiador.

JJ

 

[AlterEgo]

Working for Tips

So ..... it's true..... supermarket baggers are not paid by the store, they work for tips. I'll be more generous knowing that.

According to this article, it's illegal but they all do it. And they don't let the boys work more than 2.5 months, because of liquidation laws - even though they're not paid. So they move from market to market, and return time and again to the same ones.

http://www.7dias.com.do/elpais/2014...te-dinero-paguese-empacador.html#.V4WCw5MrIyl

 

[caribmike]

In La Sirena in Plaza Luperon are several I am sure they are there since we shop there. Almost a year now...

 

[hard times doug]

Keep on truckin'

 

[ExDR]

Holy ****....I'll pack your groceries!!!! Never heard anybody tipping that much. Good for you.

Tipping that much??? really? it only amounts to a couple of dollars. Give me a break, if someone does something for you without a prescribed fee and even then if you are really satisfied with the service you should tip. A 50 peso tip is just one dollar and should be the minimum. Otherwise carry your own crap and bag your groceries. Cheapskates!

 

[jd426]

Tipping that much??? really? it only amounts to a couple of dollars. Give me a break, if someone does something for you without a prescribed fee and even then if you are really satisfied with the service you should tip. A 50 peso tip is just one dollar and should be the minimum. Otherwise carry your own crap and bag your groceries. Cheapskates!

With all respect , if you tip a kid 50 pesos all day long , he will make MORE than His MOM who is working hard as a Maid.
Cleaning peoples Toilets is a lot harder than walking to the car with some bags of groceries.
No wonder these kids grow up to be hustlers later on .
I used to give them 35, but was corrected that even that is too much.. I agree that 25 pesos is just FINE for a Service I did not even ask for and takes them about all of 2-3 minutes Flat.

 

[Derfish]

With all respect , if you tip a kid 50 pesos all day long , he will make MORE than His MOM who is working hard as a Maid.
Cleaning peoples Toilets is a lot harder than walking to the car with some bags of groceries.
No wonder these kids grow up to be hustlers later on .
I used to give them 35, but was corrected that even that is too much.. I agree that 25 pesos is just FINE for a Service I did not even ask for and takes them about all of 2-3 minutes Flat.

So he brings home more than his mother in a day's work. I bet he throws most of that into the kitty to help pay for monthly bills. Did you know it is against the grocery store's rules for the mother or sister or father of a casheir to check out at her register? Something else I learned recently. They are afraid mommy will get freebies.
Der Fish

 

[irishpaddy]

well if JD426 is at the supermarket that day ...they wont need freebies ....the kid will need a trolley to get that 25cts home

 

[ExDR]

When I go to DR some times I pay disproportionately heavy for two reasons:

Break my heart to see people struggling trying to make a living on almost nothing...
Selling on the side-walk of my neighbourhood whatever they think can make a profit.

When I think in how much I make in the US compared to what they make over there my generosity is not a big amount of money.
Life is hard in DR, just think about I can gas my car for the week here in the US on one hour labour pay.

In DR you pump RD $1,000. gasoline and the tank remains empty... Is hard to make $ 1,000. over there.

JJ

I am with you Bachata, it's not a lot of money to me although it seems like a lot in the DR. I tip a bagger $2 for bagging two bags and I carry myself here in the states. I guess I am one of those DomRep/Gringos that spoil the populace with high tips. Minimum I give in a restaurant in DR depends on the service and the total cost of the meal. 500DR pesos is a small tip from me. I remember my mom complaining about the taxi's, Conchos, charging 100 RD for a trip and I would say to her "really? that's only a couple of bucks? IN the US the same distance would cost you at least $20.00. Her answer was always, yeah, but they pay in pesos here! She was a cheapskate thought. My cousins in DR are always getting on my case on the amount of tip that I leave, that's too much, leave only a couple of pesos..... I feel like Bachata, because I came from utter poverty in the DR to a very comfortable living and giving enough of a tip to help a less fortunate person makes me feel good about myself.

 

[LTSteve]

I am with you Bachata, it's not a lot of money to me although it seems like a lot in the DR. I tip a bagger $2 for bagging two bags and I carry myself here in the states. I guess I am one of those DomRep/Gringos that spoil the populace with high tips. Minimum I give in a restaurant in DR depends on the service and the total cost of the meal. 500DR pesos is a small tip from me. I remember my mom complaining about the taxi's, Conchos, charging 100 RD for a trip and I would say to her "really? that's only a couple of bucks? IN the US the same distance would cost you at least $20.00. Her answer was always, yeah, but they pay in pesos here! She was a cheapskate thought. My cousins in DR are always getting on my case on the amount of tip that I leave, that's too much, leave only a couple of pesos..... I feel like Bachata, because I came from utter poverty in the DR to a very comfortable living and giving enough of a tip to help a less fortunate person makes me feel good about myself.

You are why out of line. 500 pesos in over $10usd. You must have money to burn. Most restaurants are now putting a 10% tip on the bill. Another 10% for the server is more than fair. I tip at every restaurant whether it is a local establishment or high end place. Those who do not are just plain cheap.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

A group of four tourists eat in a restaurant. At bill time, they fail to notice the 10% tip already added to the bill. Each tosses $5 USD onto the table. It's their money and they can spend it any way they like. It's only a few dollars to each them and they wish to stamp out poverty, add the the college fund for los ninos and of course achieve parity with the servers at home.

The problem as I see it with excessively high gratuities is they do not contribute to the solutions many hope they will. In the end they just break the worker as they are forever chasing larger and larger sums and become resentful towards the next group that tips less. The bag boys do reasonably well for the service they provide. For me their tip is dependent on the amount of coins I receive in change when I pay for my groceries. 25 peso coins stay with me and the rest usually go to the bag boy as I don't want them in my pocket or taking up space in the coin jar at home. In a restaurant that has already added a gratuity to the bill, I tip much less than I would otherwise. Even without a compulsory tip being added to the bill, I am not trying to single-handedly pull someone out of poverty or assuage my sense of ethical guilt for having a few more dollars than someone else.

Value based on service provided up to a reasonable point and no further. After all, how hard is it to carry a plate of food 100 feet from the kitchen to the table and then ignore me for the rest of the evening unless I jump up and down waving my arms as if directing a landing airplane? Tipping never solves the problem of poverty, the extra money is never put towards something of long term value and the tipper is forgotten the instant they are out of sight; Unless, the tip is excessive and then the vultures keep a keen eye out for the return of said carrion so that the fighting over and feasting may begin anew.

Moral of the story: Don't break the service staff. Admit that tipping is a self aggrandizing gesture more often for the sensibilities of the tipper than the recipient.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Let ExDR tip as he wishes. It will have no bearing on how others tip or what the bagboys expect from the average customer.
If he has the money, he can spend it as he wishes.

Let everyone tip as the wish. It will make little difference to the world.