www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Was talking to a buddy of mine that also frequent DR, I'm hearing the bartenders make around $3000/month! they get between $1000-$2000 in tips alone. Which brings to my question..how much is everyone tipping them? Isn't that alot of money for these girls or is it just me?

$3000 a month tax free in CR is alot of money...those of my friends that are even fortunate to have a job in the states are considered lucky to take home that much.

thoughts anyone?

What do you mean by "lot of money"? I mean, isn't it a free market and they should pull in as much as they can make? If customers want to tip them 10 bucks for a 4 dollar beer, isn't that their prerrogative?

Believe it or not, the SL bartenders make decent coin, too.

mh

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mh

There is a big difference between "tips" and intentionally not returning someones change.

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

Good point, that 2nd part is plain stealing

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mh

I guess to clarify, "lot of money" I meant compared to others in the service industry, waiters/waitresses make $800-1000. I agree if people want to tip 200%-300% its their prerogative. I'm just shocked by how much they take in for pouring drinks meanwhile I see so many people on this board very cost conscious which chicas/taxis/hotels, etc.

All of which has been going on for as long as I can remember at the DR. Nobody can convince me that the head bitch, most of us know of whom I am referencing, is not telling them to play it that way. Years of this "waiting for my change" or getting the wrong change, is systematic, and not by mistake.

A few times a night at a busy bar, no problem. But, "almost always" doesn't pass the smell test. If you watch you'll see only a few of them are allowed to use the register. Your dinero and check sits there until then. That's Part 1. The rest I haven't figured out for sure other then possibly the game is they know you'll give up, forget, leave, or are too drunk to remember. Whatever, it is definitely a game planned scam by managment. Casn you imagine how many times guys have bitched about it to the bartenders or the front desk or the bitch over the years? And it still goes on? Not by accident. They know 75% or more of the guys are 1 and done in CR.

Edited for spelling 2x, sticky keyboard

Let me verify that figure with a couple of HDR bartenders I'm friendly with and report back.

mh

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mh

thanks..the curious mind awaits..

for some reason i feel the $3000 is probably the low end..i bet you its even more! like Devo said..some "unreturned cash" gets rolled into tips as well.

$3000 seems possible for some, but seems a bit high to me. In the days when the Rey was jumping, back in the mid 2000s, yeah, quite possible. At the moment, I am skeptical. I know lots of the scams and such, but it's been so dead there except for peak times, that I believe there have to be days when their tips are minimal, even including the 10% svc charge they divide between themselves. Their hourly wage is minimal, you can count on that. I wouldn't be surprised if some actually pay to work there. In one way or another.

I know that some of them work the 'other' side of the bar, and having talked to a few of their 'clients' and SEEN a few of their clients, I don't think they would bother with ugly old geezers for a couple of hundred if they were earning 3 plus thousand a month. That's a LOT down here.

And if they steal from their customers, systematically, it makes you wonder if there isn't some larceny going on between them as well. But this is simply my surmise, not based on anything but what I see and guess.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

FWIW, the Del Rey bartenders I checked with claim in a decent month their take home pay averages about $2,000, and during slow months not even that much. Still a lot of dough, but not 3K or more as your friend claims. Would be interesting to know how he came up with that number.

When I ran the $3000 figure by each bartender, the reactions varied from "WHAT!" to "I wish" to "Solo si fuera puta"...

I'm sure there may be at least one or more DR bartenders (e.g. Mia in her heyday) who have made that much (or more) in a month, but having been to these particular ladies' homes and seeing how they live, I suspect the reality is somewhere close to what they claim. The bartender base salary is less than $500/month, so to get to 3K they would have to pull $2500 in tips every month. That's $100+ per bartender per day in tips. Seems like a lot to me, especially these days.

Mis dos centavos,

mh

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mh

Random and scattered thoughts on this issue;

If guys want to tip these girls, more power to them. When I worked as a waiter for my family restaurant in 1969 thru 1972 (I was 15 thru 18) I was paid $50 a week salary for 25 hours a week and easily pulled $100 in tips every week. $150 a week was monster money for a teenager in those ancient days of $3000 new cars, .33 a gallon gas, a pound of good weed for $200 and our 4000 sq foot luxury 3 story home at $37,000 ! Our top of the line steak dinner with all the trimmings was about $7.00 !

I bought and maintained my own car, kept my girlfriend happy with gifts and nice dates, paid for my trips to Florida with my buddies and even saved about 10k for college. Nobody "gave" me those tips, I earned them working my tail off and tolerating occasional obnoxious demanding customers.

I talked to one of my favorite putas here once, she said she makes almost 4k per month and averages $80 a trick. That means she pounds apx. 50 guys a month. She bought her own house and car, has beautiful clothes, nails, hair, etc., and takes care of her younger brother and sister as both parents died when she was 18 and she took up the puta profession to keep the family together. How many of us would sacrifice like that for our family ?

I believe the waitresses earn every penny of their money tolerating many drunk and cheap American visitors. One trick I use is to bring about $100 in singles when I come here to give out as tips as we Americans don't like handling coins and every 1000 colone tip is 2 bucks.

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

$3,000 per month tax-free in CR is higher than average wages for people with college educations (Bachelor in Computer Science) and 5+ years experience of work. If the bartenders are making more than that, then they have it made here in CR. That said, I would tread with caution on that statement, as I'm certain that what comes, gets quickly spent on stuff with NO value beyond RIGHT NOW. I would surmise they don't spend their money as wisely as a guy/girl with a degree in computer science and 5+ years experience.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

netgem says: "tolerating many drunk and cheap American visitors"

Ask them which nationalities are the notipems. And even if a gringo didn't there's a built in tip as we all know on every food and/or drink tab so don't pity the poor thing for walking over and giving you a beer.

Gringos are not going to be the 1st nationality out of their mouths.

In Recoleta right now on La Heras, man dem goils here are beautiful!

[/quote]FWIW, the Del Rey bartenders I checked with claim in a decent month their take home pay averages about $2,000, and during slow months not even that much. Still a lot of dough, but not 3K or more as your friend claims. Would be interesting to know how he came up with that number.

When I ran the $3000 figure by each bartender, the reactions varied from "WHAT!" to "I wish" to "Solo si fuera puta"...

I'm sure there may be at least one or more DR bartenders (e.g. Mia in her heyday) who have made that much (or more) in a month, but having been to these particular ladies' homes and seeing how they live, I suspect the reality is somewhere close to what they claim. The bartender base salary is less than $500/month, so to get to 3K they would have to pull $2500 in tips every month. That's $100+ per bartender per day in tips. Seems like a lot to me, especially these days.

Mis dos centavos,

mh[/quote]

Thanks for the report. I'd say your info and assessment is more reliable since its straight from the horse's mouth.

My buddy must have exaggerated a bit but he sounded so convincing. We were talking about the economy US/CR..etc.

Even at $2000 per month on average, these girls are still doing pretty good.