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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lookingandbuying
Tips are the way business owners try to ensure their customers get good service. It weeds out the good staff from the bad.
.................................
A tip is a sign (not always) of appreciation expressed by a customer for making their time spent getting the service a better experience.
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Yup, I once gave the tailor at Mens Depot a good tip when he measured my in-seam
Bob Durrell
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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"For me I have found that by giving a token amount as an expression of appreciation goes a long way. As a kid I pumped gas for fifty cents an hour.
When someone reached into their pocket and threw me a quarter it meant a lot. I am sure these guy's at the Pemex stations appreciate it too."
I'm coming from the same reference point... and by the way... how's the service station attendent up there in the States.. you seen some one come out
and wash your window, ask if your oil is ok, check your water ... stand and talk with you while the pump is going..  maybe I'm
missing something.. but as far as customer service, down in Baja.. it's overall been excellent.... at least for this "El viejo"... and it's been
nice.. thank you Mexico.. folks down here appreciate a buck... even if it is only one....
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lookingandbuying
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Registered: 3-15-2010
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Small Tips
| Quote: | Originally posted by durrelllrobert
| Quote: | Originally posted by lookingandbuying
Tips are the way business owners try to ensure their customers get good service. It weeds out the good staff from the bad.
.................................
A tip is a sign (not always) of appreciation expressed by a customer for making their time spent getting the service a better experience.
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Yup, I once gave the tailor at Mens Depot a good tip when he measured my in-seam |
Never had the tailor tipping problem myself, BUT, when measuring my tip they never needed to get real close, pull out the small ruler (in
centimeters), put on the coke bottle thick type reading glasses and squint real hard either. Oh well some endowments (tips) are less than others?
[Edited on 5-5-2010 by lookingandbuying]
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BJSoccer16
Junior Nomad
Posts: 29
Registered: 3-21-2009
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| Quote: | Originally posted by irenemm
we always give 10 and sometimes 20 when they do the back windows too.
mojo-norte we feel the same way.
If your getting gas 10 times a week well OK it is a little much but hey what is 10 or 20 pesos. |
For some people mucho dinero (especially when you gas up daily); that said, I give 2 for front windows and 5 for both; there are some lazy attendants
who will lean back when you are the only car and do nothing...they get nothing. At the same station there is a guy who will wash your window even
when it's busy; he gets more. 20 pesos is a lot of money down here, but I have no problem with people who can afford it paying that much.
[Edited on 5-7-2010 by BJSoccer16]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BJSoccer16
20 pesos is a lot of money down here, |
I agree. It's an overkill tip for washing a window, but 20 Ps isn't a lot of money anywhere. It was in 1960. 20Ps would buy 40 draught beers at
the Mazatlán Beer Garden in the Pacifico brewery.
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
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| Quote: | Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Yup, I once gave the tailor at Mens Depot a good tip when he measured my in-seam |
Question not heard much anymore:
Sir, do you dress left, or right?
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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my favorite place...
http://www.livevideo.com/video/C1CCA30E64884815B7783DB6110AA...
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MitchMan
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Registered: 3-9-2009
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I asked the original question in this thread. Got excellent response and I gratefully got great answers. I now know what to do at Pemex stations. I
intend to tip reasonably for courteous prompt service and will tip a bit more if windows, tire air, oil check is done upon request.
I wasn't sure why the Pemex stations handle cash the way they do, I think it is a form of accounting internal control to split the acquisition of cash
between two people similar to the handling of cash at a movie theater (pay for your entrance ticket at the window, hand your ticket to the guy who
lets you into the theater). At any rate, it seems appropriate to tip the guy who pumps your gas a little bit.
I am pretty sure that the local Mexicans do not tip at all and that they tip very littlle if at all at restaurants. The Mexican culture is one where
they are used to living at a subsistance level and that doesn't conform to a practice of giving money away and I think that the service provider and
the Mexican consumer both understand that between each other.
Where the Mexican culture is generous is with their time... often (although not every) time. Local Mexicans tend to be very helpful when you
genuinely need help. I have been in dire straight types of situations where I really needed assistance and local Mexicans have volunteered to save my
a$$ while not expecting anything in return. Wouldn't have gotten as much help so readily north of the border.
The places where I hate to tip are 1)in Paris because you get absolutely crappy and bad service and bad attitude but must pay the added 15% tip 2)
Fancy expensive American restaurants where the food server makes two to three times as much per hour on tips alone as a tenured grade school teacher.
Basing the tip as a % of the total bill seems inappropriate and extravagant when equated to the amount of work done by servers at those places.
I don't like to give money away, but I feel tipping the Pemex guy for some service is OK with me. I am glad to find out that it is customary.
[Edited on 5-8-2010 by MitchMan]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
I'm pretty sure that the local Mexicans do not tip at all and that they tip very littlle if at all at restaurants. |
I don't know about that, Mitch. Image is everything in this culture.
Reminds me of a personal story. I was tending bar in Wyoming in '67 and some real cowboys used to frequent the place.
Well, I got to know them well enough to ask, "Hey...why don't you guys ever leave a tip?"
The reply was, "Tip??? Nobody tips us."
I was really sorry I'd asked.
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MitchMan
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I have a good friend food server at the Bismark malecon restaurant in La Paz. He tells me the truth about everything. I will ask him and do more
careful observation to verify if my guess is right about locals not tipping much at restaurants. If I do confirm that they don't tip much, it won't
affect my inclination to tip. Their financial circumstances are different than mine. I feel that we Americans get good value in Mexico overall and
tipping is a way to try to give some of it back.
So long as you own your own Mexican home, two people can live fat on $500 per month, including auto ins, health ins, food, gas, utilities, prop tax,
etc. Can't do that in California.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
So long as you own your own Mexican home, two people can live fat on $500 per month, including auto ins, health ins, food, gas, utilities, prop tax,
etc. Can't do that in California. |
I don't see how anybody can live normally, let alone "fat", on $8.30 US per day.
Well, maybe those Hindu Mendicants or Buddhist beggars who wander around with their outstreched cup, but not in Mexico.
[Edited on 5-8-2010 by DENNIS]
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Ford
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Registered: 1-2-2007
Location: Northern California
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I always tip.....when they dont try to rip me off! Which is alot more often than you would think!
The big one was always not clearing the meter before starting. Now I have caught one guy distracting me while the other guy put the key in the pump
and makes some quick move and add like 40 pesos to the meter! I usually leave someone behind the tinted glass and tell them dont take your eyes off
the guy pumping!
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
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DENNIS,
The following living expenses are per month for two people in Baja in one home that is owned outright:
Mx Med Ins - $33.33, Auto Ins one Vehicle - $14.16, Propane - $12, Electricity - $20, Prop Tx ($90K house) - $4, Food + Supplies - $250, Gasoline -
$30, PPD Cell Phone - $30, Water + Sewer - $8, Other - $98.51, Total per month = $500. The last "other" category can absorb, internet access
(although I use public places for their free internet and the very cheap internet cafe's), clothes, cable TV if you must, haircuts, occasional
medications, etc. If you have special needs, then obviously your monthly expenses can go through the roof.
My statement was "... two people can live fat on $500 per month". By my use of the word "can", I mean with some realistic focus on managing your money
and being wise, moderately frugal and reasonable, you can have all the necessities of life without any problem. Be like the locals when it comes to
cel phone use, only make calls that you have to, be short and specific and get off the line asap. Don't let the water run on and on, don't use
airconditioning when you can get by without it, Turn on your hot water heater (50 liters) for a half hour only just before showering every day, then
leave it on pilot - you'll have all the hot water you need or the rest of the day), use energy saver bulbs and turn lights off if you are not in the
room, choose to own a reasonable and reliable used vehicle (compact Honda or Toyota) that gets decent gas mileage that uses regular gas (heck, get an
89 Toyota pickup 4 cyl, 4x4 - it will get over 25 mpg). All you need is common sense price analysis, wisdom, and a little discipline. It's not hard
nor taxing nor at all Spartan.
The place where people waste money is in "choosing" unnecessarily to consume expensively by owning and using unnecessary gas guzzlers, unessential and
unnecessary use of utilities (including un-monitored phone use), and the way they buy and consume food. Eating at restaurants frequently and un
budgeted grocery shopping without analyzing prices. These types of lack of control will unnecessarily add several (if not many) hundreds of dollars
to a monthly budget. If by living fat, one means living, extravagantly and not excersizing any frugal controls, well, that is not at all what I
meant.
I don't need to eat at restaurants because I can cook better than what I can get at most any restaurant (except Jesse's restaurant - can't beat that).
I eat really well: beans & rice & tortillas, fideo, lots of fruit, plenty of chicken and fish, some pork and beef, lots of great pastas (I
make several killer marinaras), lots of home made soups, and three full meals a day. All in all, I eat better than any one else I know. A lot of
people don't know how to cook (a concept that I have never ever understood as everyody eats several times a day, every day of their lives, how could
they not know how to cook with all those thousands of opportunities on something that everybody loves to do, i.e., eat good food?) and that will cost
them several hundreds of dollars a month, easily.
[Edited on 5-13-2010 by MitchMan]
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
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Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Why not just stop and tip everybody along the way. Jeez, sorta like Mardi gras! Fling that cash in every direction. Here comes Santa, the tooth fairy
and Daddy Big Bucks.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
Propane - $12,
Turn on your hot water heater (50 liters) for a half hour only just before showering every day, then leave it on pilot - you'll have all the hot water
you need or the rest of the day), |
This scedule would put Thomas Merton to shame.
A 45 kilo tank of propane is 430 Ps so 12 bucks won't buy much and I've never seen a ten gallon gas water heater, but I'm sure they have them.
The lifestyle you suggest I would hardly consider if I was camping. I guess I'm getting old.
Thanks for the break-down of expenses.
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
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I realize that the level of frugality varies quite greatly between people at every income level. I can't remember which world wide known billionaire
it was, but two of them live in their original homes before they got wealthy. I believe it was Buffet who still lives in the home that he bought for
$31,000 circa 1960 and I believe it is he and Slim Helu who don't own a jet. But, one of my clients with a net worth of $10 million does. I believe
it was Buffet who still drives his 15 year old 240 DL Volvo for local transportation. Most people consume more than they need to, others know exactly
what they need and don't need and are quite content to use only what they need. That would be me, my extended family, some of my friends, and all of
my wife's extended family and kids as well.
Just before I bought my house in Baja, I did some calculations and research on utilities usage. My attorney's legal secretary in La Paz said that her
family of four gets by for two and a half months with one tank of propane (approx $32 USD) for a family of four. My La Paz carpenter turned me on to
the gas on for 1/2 hour a day for the water heater usage. I tried it and it works. In La Paz, it is so hot during the summer (La Paz summer = June 1
to Sept 30, then it is just plain warm the rest of the year except Dec thru feb) I don't turn the gas on at all, just the pilot light. Works just
fine, the black tinaco water tank on the top of the house gets pretty warm in the sun.
The Mexicans know how to get by on very little. I have learned many of their tricks, it works, and I don't feel deprived at all.
One thing that boggles my mind is that most all people do not actually know what gas mileage they get on their vehicles, especially those with the big
trucks and SUVs. 9 out 10 people I ask haven't got a clue as to what their gas mileage is, they are not even curious!
[Edited on 5-14-2010 by MitchMan]
[Edited on 5-14-2010 by MitchMan]
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mojo_norte
Senior Nomad
Posts: 725
Registered: 2-14-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
I am pretty sure that the local Mexicans do not tip at all and that they tip very littlle if at all at restaurants.
[Edited on 5-8-2010 by MitchMan] |
My observation is that the locals do tip a bit sometimes? - Pemex Grocery restaurants
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1856
Registered: 3-9-2009
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A waiter friend of mine that works in La Paz at the Bismark restaurant said the Italian tourists do not tip. He said it was particularly vexing in
that they want alot of service and usually come in groups. Over half of the restaurants in Italy include a 15% gratuity in their charges when you pay
your bill. At least you get good friendly service (unlike Paris where all restaurants charge 15% gratuity and the service is consistantly worse than
bad with the worst attitude I have ever encountered).
Spent a month in Italy last June, toured the entire country. The Italians have got pricing down to a science in that everything and anything that you
want/need has a price - an expensive price. Thirsty? Want a glass of water? That will cost you $3 to $6 USD at almost all restaurants. There are
virtualy no public drinking fountains anywhere in Italy. Want to go to the bathroom? That will cost you $.75 to $1.50 USD at a public rest room.
Sometimes toilet paper is rationed. Want to use the internet at your hotel? That will cost you from $2.50 to $7.50 USD per half hour at most hotels.
Want 4 ozs of Gelato? That will cost you $4 to $8 USD.
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BJSoccer16
Junior Nomad
Posts: 29
Registered: 3-21-2009
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
Propane - $12,
Turn on your hot water heater (50 liters) for a half hour only just before showering every day, then leave it on pilot - you'll have all the hot water
you need or the rest of the day), |
This scedule would put Thomas Merton to shame.
A 45 kilo tank of propane is 430 Ps so 12 bucks won't buy much and I've never seen a ten gallon gas water heater, but I'm sure they have them.
The lifestyle you suggest I would hardly consider if I was camping. I guess I'm getting old.
Thanks for the break-down of expenses. |
We do the same thing w/ the water heater; we only have to change the tank every three months for three people; he's not too far off... However most
people will spend more on food (including us)
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bajalera
Super Nomad
Posts: 1875
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Location: Santa Maria CA
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My vote for World's skimpiest tippers goes to Australians, who brag about being cheapos. An Australian guy I once shared a table with at a restaurant
in Barcelona picked up the loose change I had left on the table as a tip, and looked like he was going to make off with it until I growled at him.
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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