www.CostaRicaTicas.com

sorry dupe post

My problem with the bartenders - as recently as Tuesday night - is they simply don't return change. I was with a friend who was drunk (I had water - driving) & the gal never brought back the 1500c. After about 20 minutes I tracked her down & said "cambio, por favor". Got a deadly, dirty look and got my buddy his money. He didn't realize he'd been shorted. VERY common practice.

Their other notorious trick is that if you leave your change on the bar they'll come back in 3 - 4 minutes, say "gracias" and scoop it up. I recommend to NEVER tip them - I simply don't like thieves & think the 18% or so on the bill is more than adequate. But....it's your money....feel free to give scammers and thieves $100 if you want.

/dddick

First, to Chico - one hears so much bullshit in and about Costa Rica - frankly, I'd put a lot more stock in a guy like Miamiheller, who is completely fluent in Spanish, has had untold trips to CR and knows the people and the culture - who knows about your buddy - maybe he truly did not know; regardless the HDR bartenders provide an endless source of fascination to the guys on CRT

To my friend DanD:

Its not just in the bar.....last trip, I went there late to get a bowl of chicken soup <I don't like the HDR on so many levels, but if its 10:30 or so, your options are somewhat limited, although Chubs is open> Anyway, I ordered, soup came, bill came, and I payed - I'm waiting and waiting for my change, and she disappeared; no where in sight.

I figured, Phuck it; I'm waiting - I got another waiter to "find" her, and she comes over; I ask wheres my change - she says - "Oh, I thought the money was for the food, and a tip for me"

(this from a person in who's culture is tipping is rare, plus there is a 10% service charge - this whole senario would never happen w/ a tico)

I said "No es su decision - trigame me cambio" <not interested in a spanish lesson, guys - regardless if it could have been said better or differently, it got the point across> which she did - ballsy; a server always should bring the change and not make the tip decision for the customer - this happened a few mosts ago.

I blame the clueless stupid Americans for a lot of the bad behavior you see in places like the HDR (just one of many reasons I personally don't care for the place) - but I don't in any way shape, or form excuse the server(s) - they should be told (like they should have to be told ) that change comes back to the table - PERIOD - and don't assume - unless told otherwise, that the money tendered is the servers.

So its the res't as well as the bar....makes you wonder about the casino

See you next month - say hi to your friend

scuba.. should it be us to tell the server???? or bar manager or even better the owner!! If the girls ever had any fear to lose a job from stealing from us , maybe things would change..If someone cares about their customer then he will do the most to keep them happy!!!

People have a million ways of justifying their behavior. These servers/waitresses would probably say that the Gringos have lots of money and don't need their change. They would probably say that its not fair that these Americans have so much while they (Costa Rican's) have so little.

These servers/waitresses would probably say that these guys (Gringos) are a bunch of perverts who come to their country to have sex with women much younger than them. Essentially these guys (Gringos) are "bad" and don't deserve to be treated with respect. If you keep lying to yourself then its easy to steal from the Gringo and still go to church without concern that you have done anything wrong.

It should also be mentioned that these servers/waitresses get away with this behavior for a reason. If nobody puts their foot down why would they change?

I will stick to my philosophy of saving my tips for the maid cleaning my room or the lady working at the hole in the wall soda.

Devo

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

You know, I thought about that too, informing the manager - but it was late, I was pissed, I just wanted to leave - but its not a bad idea to do so - although Costa Rican society being what it is, very non confrontational, I suspect that they would have just "yessed" me to death and little would have changed - but who knows, possibly worth a mention next rip, which for me is late January.

Oh, Devo...I don't really disagree with anything you wrote except to say I truly don't care what they think of me or what they think they know about my habits, behavior, etc (especially since I was by myself at the table at the time of this ) b/c its probably wrong - just bring the change back - like they do in the USA and every other country I've visited - period.

Except that you'd be complaining to the bitch and she's the ringleader. Big fat John, and Ace Hardware Greg know exactly what the bitch is doing with the girls and the bar/food tabs. If you've read this complaint on this board, what ? 100x? how many times in real life do you think guys have bitched? They KNOW exactly what's happening.

It's their "thing". Rather then a strip joint hussle, they do it this way. When you call them on it they always say the same bs "sir we were really b-e-e-e-e-e-z-z-y". Bull, busy eating and playing grab ass with whomever. It's a 1 cash drawer register at both bars with remote touch screen ordering stations. How easy is that to get a handle on. Why do they have 15 transactions next to it waiting for the fat ass tica cashier de jour to go over and do them, and then after she does, the bartender not bring the change over. How many times have I experienced the " oh, cambio senor?" like they were shocked I wanted my change bullshit, only then having to wait again while they re-did the transaction.

They were the same way on the floor at least until I quit playing there years ago. If you were ahead and wanted to cash in, it was like passing a new bill thru congress. 20 minutes. From dealer Rosa to asst floor boss Juan who had to call head floor boss Ramon who had to go get his book. Sir, another drink on the house? The game was to get you to sit back down.

That caused the first run in I had with the bitch. She barred me out of there, didn't go back for a year. One day walked back in, saw her and she acted like she didn't know me. Had another problem with their bullshit a few years later over a grossly inflated food and drink bill, got barred again. Next trip, Earl "Duke of Earl" Montoya, who she also screwed and got him fired, picked me up at the airport, told me she got fired or quit or whatever. Went back in. Later she got rehired or came back or whatever, probably started blowing fat ass again, acted like she didn't recognize me. We all look alike don't you know. We have that C-note look.

She's the bandita of the band, ask Earl if you see him around. Or see the tico trash she runs with, a real eye opener. A bunch of ink-ed up gang banger looking basura dudes. It's like, what is wrong with this picture?

I was at a restaurant in Ft Lauderdale, bill was $140, gave the waitress $200. Waited for change for about half an hour, she said she thought the change was her tip. Imagine that, in the USA

Ownership in on some sort of short change scam? That is laughable. I am confident they sell enough booze in the bar and need not line their pockets with a few bucks from a short change scam.

However there are bartenders the world over looking to make an extra buck. Without adequate supervision (when was the last time you saw a manager supervising the bar or restaurant in that joint) it is quite easy to pull off one of the many well known bartender scams.

As for the amount made by the bartenders, years back nightly tips rarely dipped below $100 per server. Keep in mind that each and every product purchased in the bar includes a 10% service fee. This 10% service fee is akin to a tip and is split among the servers for the night. Most servers worked 5 nights per week and are paid a minimum wage salary (about $500 per month take home). With this in mind it would be quite easy to reach the $3,000 mark in a month.

I understand your skepticism, it's kind of hard to accept that a biz would be involved in this type of systematic scam.

But, how would you account for this highly, highly reocurring money problem, easily correctable, over a number of years in a pretty tightly run hotel where one person hires and fires the bar staff and does so without mercy?

You say laughable? That would imply managment doesn't have a clue about it and it's all just a coincidental series of hundreds and hundreds of scams by slick bar staff, some of whom having worked there for a number of years. Hundreds and hundreds of times slick bartenders with mal intent and without mgmt knowing don't bring a newbie his change? Now that's laughable. I think not. Too often and ongoing for too long. I know they know. Too many guys have bitched at the bar staff and mngmt. Whether they just let the girls keep it or they have to pay up the chain with the cashier being the Majordomo of the scheme, no clue for sure, but I suspect the bitch gets hers somehow.

If it takes place with the frequency you claim I will cede that ownership is to blame for failing to have a manager on the bar floor watching over things. Almost every bar I have even frequented has a manager physically present observing the movement. As best I know they do not have a manager in either the restaurant or the bar.

Many things happen in that place but your claim that ownership is involved and profiting from a scam that would net them a few dollars to be distributed between many is still laughable.

In 2007 I dated a bartender for several months (ya, I know, and I don't need to be told). She told me she made on average 2k-2.5k per month. Some months 1.5, some months 3k. Mostly depended on which bar she worked. She get in a "little trouble", they sent her to Monkey Bar, and they made squat. Big night at BM, big $. She was always upfront with me about most matters, I never tried to impress, and vice versa, so I do take her word on the matter. She had a decent home (CR standards), but of course her mother, son, cousin lived with her. She was supporting all of them. She is a hard working girl (a little crazy ), but I was/am proud of her work ethic. The ONE thing I got, it is one hell of a job, and she was always worried about losing it (she is still there).

At the time, not sure if it is still the same, each station(BM, Lobby, Monkey, etc.) split the tips on that shift and that station. So, you could be working a Fri night at BM and make bank, while your co-worker may be at the Lobby bar and make very little, even on a busy night.

I have a hard time believing that they are making the same or more than they did in 2007, things are just different now at HDR, or the gulch in general.

Much more then a few dollars my friend. floor manager ? Why would they want that--to tell the bitch hey your employees are phucking people regularly and, by the way, this is the 28th I have advised of you this and now I think you are in on it? Really. They know what they're doing and want it to be done. And every square inch is on camera. They know.

If this happened ten times a year we'd all say yep, a CR malfunction. That ain't the situation. Without trying to be rude, you haven't offered an explanation of why so many guys have posted so many times over so many years (and so multiply that by the number of guys also jagged around who are not on this board) about the same problem: "Donde mi cambio" if they even know they have change coming, the great DR hope.

Politely let me ask you a question: Why are guys complaining to that frequency about the same specific problem over many years in a bar with one cash drawer? A queer coincidence? I have never heard about that kind of bullshit at SL, or DI, or HLH, or any of the other popular CRT hangs. So why just there, from so many guys, and for such a long time, years of complaints?

Why just there?

Solution......try to find Kimberly (formerly of HDR,Horseshoe casino and SL) She is back working at the HDR and is the most honest chica there. In fact I have wondered how she can be honest if the whole tipping and change scams are creating more scammed money which is split amongst God knows who. I agree with most every post on this thread. They tend to not try to scam me and other "regulars" because they know that we know that they know that we know. Also I NEVER run a tab there (ALWAYS at the SL) and NEVER pay with more than a 5000 col note (change at cage no problem.

Bob I will second kimberly and also say sandra is also very good too..