wanted weird information :) how much you tip the maids?

[vagabond]

I have my own appartment in Sosua, but when I'm traveling to Santiago, Santodomingo, or stays overnight at Rio San Juan or Puerto Plata, I usually leave a 100 peso note on the pillow every morning.
I have got some blow jobs of a made at one hotel, and have tipped a little extra for that.

[KoKi9290]

Jimbo I guess it has been awhile since your last trip? I have not seen a 10 or 20 peso note in months. In fact it can be hard to find 50 peso notes. They have new coins for 10 pesos and 25 pesos. In the past I never walked around with any change on me. Now I may keep 100 pesos or so in change on me as taxi drivers either don't or just say they don't so they can keep the change.

For the very reason that I don't like carrying around a bunch of coins, I usually leave whatever coins I have accumulated during the day for the maid. Especially at NG, I tip daily and if I haven't at least 30P, I'll leave a 50P note. For that, I've always received extra towels and whatever else I've requested. (Like making sure the room is immaculate before the novia shows up in the morning after a night with another chica) As well, a number of times either myself (one time my entire dop kit) or the novia (jewelry and clothes) left something behind and the maids kept it for me until the next time I was there. Unless you are a regular, it would seem the better practice to tip daily anywhere so as to maximize your benefit.

[gdogg]

I typically leave 200 pesos. Once, I only had enough pesos for the taxi, so I left the maid some candy and some cosmetic knicknacks. She was VERY pleased.

[eastcoastallstar]

$5 a day is cool, but I always ask for extra stuff like towels and they always hook me up.

[howudoen]

I guess I tip too much!!!!!!!!!

[vagabond]

I never give anything to beggers or hustlers, but think it's okay to give a little extra to people who does a honest work for a rather lousy payment.

[Jimbo44]

I was down there in Nov. and recall having plenty of 20 and 50 peso notes. I just looked in my DR wallet and ther is 2300 pesos which include three 50 peso notes.

Jimbo I guess it has been awhile since your last trip? I have not seen a 10 or 20 peso note in months. In fact it can be hard to find 50 peso notes. They have new coins for 10 pesos and 25 pesos. In the past I never walked around with any change on me. Now I may keep 100 pesos or so in change on me as taxi drivers either don't or just say they don't so they can keep the change.

[chicmatic]

I have got some blow jobs of a made at one hotel, and have tipped a little extra for that.

If a bj doesn't merit a tip, I don't know what the hell will

[MegaSquirt]

I left $20.00 (USD) on my last trip and I also left some nuggets in the fridge. I never like those coins! I always leave them on the table.

[JuanElGriego]

I always wanted to fuck the maids for the simple fact that they're the maids and that's a turn-on for me, just like how i've always wanted to fuck every nurse i've ever had whenever i was in a hospital.

Having said that, i've never even approached a DR maid because i feel like that would make me the asshole American assuming every woman down there will fuck you for money and i don't want to be that guy.

[greydread]

$5 a day is cool, but I always ask for extra stuff like towels and they always hook me up.

$5 a day is my average throughout the Caribbean. It's a way of letting them know that you appreciate them. They occasionally find condom wrappers, errant thongs, cum stains, sheets all fucked up or every glass in the place dirty and they will provide extras upon request like face cloths (a rarety in the D.R.), extra towel sets (for multi puta nights) and once I had one take my pants to the laundry for a new zipper (extra $70RD).

These women are an indispensible asset to the successful Dominican vacation and $5 is a good standard tip.

[whatever]

Before I leave for the DR I get $50 in ones. That
way I can tip easy (at ~RD$35 a pop) to
bartenders/waitresses/etc if I want to. It's small
but I get much better service and I don't waste
time with the problem of finding RD$50 bills and
RD$25 coins that the merchants try to make you
think are in such short supply. The excess I can
spend when I get back on soda pop/etc. $1-2
per day goes to the maid if the service is good.

[MrHappy]

Want them to REALLY remember you? Go to the bank and get some $2 dollar bills, and hand those out for tips.

People NEVER forget that guy that gave them the two dollar bill.

[weyland]

Want them to REALLY remember you? Go to the bank and get some $2 dollar bills, and hand those out for tips.

People NEVER forget that guy that gave them the two dollar bill.

I thought this was more of Mr Happy's dry humor as there is no such thing as a two-dollar bill. I certainly can never remember seeing one.

However on checking with Wikipedia I found this is not just a misconception by a sad old Brit:

Taco Bell
In a story, documented on Snopes.com, a Taco Bell patron attempted to pay for a burrito with a two-dollar bill. The cashier and the store manager both refused to accept it as valid U.S. currency, believing that there was no such thing as a two-dollar bill. When the patron then said that the only other bill he had was a fifty-dollar bill, the manager said that since it was less than an hour to closing, he didn't want to open the safe. When the patron insisted on paying with it, they called the security guard, who then explained that two-dollar bills are actually valid U.S. currency.

Others have written in to Snopes to report similar incidents at other restaurants.

Best Buy
In February 2005, a patron of Best Buy attempted to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills. The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police, and the patron was handcuffed until a U.S. Treasury Agent arrived to clear up the issue. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills, which is not uncommon, and by the fact that the serial numbers on the bills were in sequential order.

So be smart, don't take Mr Happy's advice or you might find yourself handcuffed and spending the night in a Dominican jail. Or as many nights as it takes for a US Treasury Agent to get to you.

[Beads]

I tend to tip daily if I have change. This can range from 100RD to $5USD depending upon the condition of the room. If the room is a mess I feel she deserves something extra for doing more than changing the sheets, making the bed, replenishing towels and toilet paper, and emptying my garbage.

Sometimes I leave a room in a mess. Also if I ask for extra towels or anything extra I need I never have a problem.

I also realize a lot of these cleaning ladies rely on their daily tips to make ends meet. Their actual pay is generally for large bills like rent and such. The daily tips are what puts either a crappy meal on the table or a good one.

[yayow]

I don't waste
time with the problem of finding RD$50 bills and
RD$25 coins that the merchants try to make you
think are in such short supply.

By the way it is not just something that the merchants make you believe, it is truly hard to find change in the Dominican Republic.

A while back a friend who owned a bar in Sosua had to go back to the States for a little more than a week. He didn't want to close his bar and asked if I minded working it for him, while he was gone. I agreed he went over everything with me, and showed me where to go for the daily change runs, the gas stations etc. Let me tell you some afternoons before opening when I would try to procure change for that evening activities were extremely difficult. I would have to drive all over town, and sometimes to the next town just to try and find a little change, so that when somebody came in and their bill was 140 rd and they gave you a 500 peso note you had some change to give him back.

The guys that have been there a long time for example Herman at Siempre Sol, everyday would have his change guy come by and bring him a specific amount of change. I don't know how much this guy charged Herman for that service but I can assure you whatever it was, it was worth it.

[greydread]

Want them to REALLY remember you? Go to the bank and get some $2 dollar bills, and hand those out for tips.

People NEVER forget that guy that gave them the two dollar bill.

...another great tipping currency is the $1 "golden" coin. Don't have any? Just go to any USPS stamp machine and pay for a single stamp with a $20. You'll get 19 of them with your change. I had a pocketful of these on my last Mexico trip and before I got out of the airport there were a half dozen Mexicans walking around holding these things up to the light and scratching their heads.

[cainer]

...another great tipping currency is the $1 "golden" coin. Don't have any? Just go to any USPS stamp machine and pay for a single stamp with a $20. You'll get 19 of them with your change. I had a pocketful of these on my last Mexico trip and before I got out of the airport there were a half dozen Mexicans walking around holding these things up to the light and scratching their heads.

Arent foriegn currency coins useless in these countries?

Everytime i leave The DR, i always trade with the luggage guys their Canadian $1 and $2 coins for DR currency.

[MrHappy]

We're not talking about using these currencies to purchase things, although they ARE legal tender.

I said to use them as TIPS!!

[MrHappy]

By the way it is not just something that the merchants make you believe, it is truly hard to find change in the Dominican Republic.

A while back a friend who owned a bar in Sosua had to go back to the States for a little more than a week. He didn't want to close his bar and asked if I minded working it for him, while he was gone. I agreed he went over everything with me, and showed me where to go for the daily change runs, the gas stations etc. Let me tell you some afternoons before opening when I would try to procure change for that evening activities were extremely difficult. I would have to drive all over town, and sometimes to the next town just to try and find a little change, so that when somebody came in and their bill was 140 rd and they gave you a 500 peso note you had some change to give him back.

The guys that have been there a long time for example Herman at Siempre Sol, everyday would have his change guy come by and bring him a specific amount of change. I don't know how much this guy charged Herman for that service but I can assure you whatever it was, it was worth it.

That was during the period of time there was a coin shortage here. You couldn't even buy them in the banks.

The problem has since been resolved. There are now more coins than people know what to do with..

For those of us that live here, it's a blessing. I have to go through a minimum of two toll booths a day, at 30 pesos a pop.