www.CostaRicaTicas.com

T&V,
I apologize to you if my post offended you. I have to admit my initial comments were a bit mocking (Just a bit? D'ya think?). However, I never said you were being untruthful about the amounts you tipped or your personal view of the results.

What I said, or at least meant to suggest, was that for you to present your tipping policies in answer to a newbies question as to what constitutes a decent tip, without any other commentary, could easily be interpreted to suggest such tips are typical. So in that sense your comments may have been truthful but were still misleading.

Now you've added the fact that you manage to negotiate TLN rates as low as 20K. That is a horse of a whole different color. Maybe the main reason you can negotiate so low is because they know they can make up a lot of it on the tip. If you pay as little as 20K for a TLN, get mindblowing sex and then tip as much as 20K, you're still probably paying much less than most guys, especially newbies, manage to negotiate for their base rate alone. In my post, I said that the more I pay the less I tip because the more I expect that mindblowing aspect to be a "given". The corollary is also true. The less I pay for my base rate, the more I'm inclined to give a bigger tip IF the service was exemplary. It may all amount to the same thing (20K + 20K tip vs. 40K w/o tip) but your way is definitely better because you're not committed to pay the full amount if the service is only okay or worse.

However, I'll still go back to my initial reaction given the context of the original question, because most newbies aren't likely to be as effective negotiators as a seasoned vet such as yourself. At least at first, better they should keep it simple and just negotiate the least amount they can and offer a more modest tip if the service is above the CR standard.

Incidentally, as another general rule, if as part of your initial negotiations you hold out the carrot of a tip if the service is good, you should definitely deliver if the service actually was good (do you hear that Jenjad55?). If chicas come to believe guys will renege on such promises it weakens that negotiating option's effectiveness for all the rest of us. OTOH, if guys like T&V deliver on their promises, it helps make that type of arrangement more credible to chicas and a thus a more likely negotiating tactic for others that would try it.

T & V,

Thanks for the clarification. I must admit too, I thought you were WAY overtipping. Now you have me rethinking they way I will go about my negotiations. It helps that I am (mostly) fluent (such a relative concept), s I certainly can expain the qualatative and quantitaive aspects of what excellent preformance is.Also, if you are paying that little for the baseline services, it is easy and cost effective to say goodbye after one event(as you put it),

Great post.

PS. I love when a guy can appologize. It shows strenght of character- Thanks Prolijo.

Psychman

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Lou Reed

WELL GUYS IT IS ALMOST THAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts you guys have been very helpful and I am most GREATFUL!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!

A few years ago I met a stunning colombiana at Blue Marlin. We locked eyes and I went over and talked with her. (In spanish, of course) and we went back to the Presidente. I paid her $60 the first time, and the next 6 times she didn't charge me a dime. I returned to CR at least 4 times after that and she always showed up at my room and never charged me.

I got married, as did she, and she moved to a large city (USA) nearby, and to this day we meet about twice a year for a few days just to talk and be intimate.

This is a very unique relationship and I value it greatly. With a little luck you can do the same.

BTW newbys, speaking spanish is the key to elevating a relationship above that of being a "John" to these girls. I higly recommend all three levels of Pimsler Spanish followed by at least one year of private lessons. The level of pleasure that you will get will increase one hundred fold.

El Gamin

Prolijo: No offense taken.
If you continue to be so gracious how will I ever get a free beer from you?

Since discovering CRT I have started to apply some of my business principles to TICA negotiations.
My mission statement would be something like;
Maximum value for a fair price, do no harm, and encourage my suppliers to want my repeat business

Interesting side note, relative to my last post in this thread:
There is a DR TICA that I have been noticing, but have not had a chance to talk to.
I was always with someone when she appeared, and "POOF", she was gone when I tried to track her down.
I guess she noticed I had been watching her.

She came up to me in the DR, described my personal sexual preferences, and in a very sexy voice, said she could
'Suck-Start a Harley Davidson'.
That is a line I used in front of another TICA this week, while talking to Hand Solo.
Who says these girls don't understand English?
You gotta love the DR Banana Telegraph!
These girls definitely compare notes.

She said she would go back to the SL with me (yes, she knew where I was staying), for as long as I wanted
and would do it for 'whatever I thought was fair'.
How is that for confirmation of the value of a good reputation?
This did raise my fears of a problem later, where she could demand more than I thought fair.
The chemistry was good, and none of her actions caused me to doubt her, so I said lets go.

If I ever buy a Harley in SJO It will not need a starter!

Prolijo raised a good point:
If you hold out the promise of a good tip, be honest.
The Banana telegraph also definitely spreads the word among girls about guys that are unreliable or dis-honest.

I had one TICA that did not deserve a tip.
I told her early that unless something changed there would be no tip.
She either did not understand my wants, or was unable to comply.
I cut the session short, and paid her the promised amount.
She left sad, but with no tip.

_________________
It is cheaper to pay now and get it over with.
It is also easier to get them to leave.

In my humble opinion, the tip for the ladies should be the exception rather than the rule. If she stays longer than the agreed upon time period or delivers better than expected service, then a tip is definitely in order. I usually give 5,000 colones MAXIMUM. If she provides only what was agreed to in the negotiations, than I believe that only the agreed upon price should be paid. If guys start tipping all of the girls all of the time then the girls are going to grow accustomed to this and will eventually refuse to leave your room until they get their tip (kind of like the guy who brings your luggage up to your hotel room). This will also push the market in their favor and render the "no cien" rule meaningless. If word gets out that the guys tip only after exceptional service, the performance of the girls may gradually improve.

As for tipping in restaurants in bars, if the service is good I usually only leave an additional 5% tip. As Prolijo discussed, 10% is already included in the bill and is all that is expected. I used to tip the bartenders at the DR/KL heavily thinking that it would lead to preferred service when the bar is busy, but that has never worked so I stopped doing it. 10% is already added to the bill at the DR/KL even for drinks at the bar, so tipping is not necessary or expected.

Some of you may disagree with what I've written, but in Costa Rica as well as all of Latin America, tips are not given as liberally as they are in the US. And tourists often unknowingly inflate the market for the rest of us by overdoing it when it comes to tipping.

Sandinista,
You'll notice that yours and my tipping practices are pretty similar. It certainly is a tricky situation. On the one hand, what you say is true. Some girls will come to see tips to be some sort of entitlement and will not deliver even good basic service unless a large tip is promised or, worse, will expect a large tip regardless of whatever performance level they provided. That is certainly the danger. The flip side is that if every guy managed to get the low rates that T&V we'd still come out ahead. The problem with these girls is that they seem to conveniently remember the things that are to their own advantage and forget the trade-off. Will they remember that the guys that leave the biggest tips are the ones that also get the lowest base price or will they expect CIEN Y UNA PROPINA GRANDA. I fear the worst. Sometimes its best to keep things simple and have everything spelled out clearly.

If a girl provides only lackluster service, I don't even want to be with her at 20K and no tip. If I pay more, which is already twice as much as the MP girls get, I EXPECT her to really put herself into it. That's what I'm really paying extra for anyway. Only when the service is truly exceptional, even by CR standards, do I feel she deserves a special tip. But that's just me.

T&V's approach is definitely intriguing and I think, for those of us that can communicate their expectations well in spanish, negotiate well and travel to CR often enough for a reputation to develop, it could work very well. I wouldn't recommend it for most newbies, at least not to start. And I don't think enough guys are going to adopt it to really effect the market very much for everyone else. What I fear much more are the guys that come down pay the CIEN and then pay big tips on top of that. Those are the guys that really Phuck things up and the reason you may be seeing some of the more hardened chicas starting to DEMAND a tip.

Daltin,
Just read this thread about a month after its creation. Wondered what your experience was and if you posted a trip report. I couldn't find it, but may have missed it.

Yes, we do have a little "grumpy old men" syndrome on the forum. Most of the time it appears more harsh in writing than its intention. There are a few really bad apples who post and I wish would be banned, but thats not my job.

Back to topic:
During the daytime, and when the odds are heavilly in your favor (say, 3-4 girls per guy in the bar) its usually no problem to negotiate down to 50. There are many factors that come into the equation however. If the girl perceives that you are a truly nice guy, you have a nice smile, you attempt to speak spanish to her, you're not terribly unattractive, etc. then 50 or even slightly less is very possible. My all time best experience at the DR was at this price point in early afternoon.

I think that the bottom-line is that Gringos pay too much. If you are not bargaining, you are wrong. The one chica I picked up was $50.00 and she was a hot Colombian. It helps if you speak Spanish, which I do, but honestly, you are in a buyer's market with the amount of chicas there. If you are really slick, you can get it for free, just hit the discos and try there.

wtf it has been 50 days since the last post on this of course we pay too much. we are tontos but i just saved a boat load of colones by calling geico pura kittens

Florida, you just aint right brother....
Sparky

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Sparky
Get in line to ride the lightning!!!


Almost legally single again! Voy a Colombia otra vece!!