https://the-forum.net/forums/show/62.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net
Es muy común conseguir una comida aquí en la República Dominicana con una vista increíble, un ambiente elegante y un personal de servicio cuatro veces mayor que el que esperarías en los Estados Unidos, mientras gastas entre $25 y $30 en un plato en el que habrías gastado entre $50 y $100 en una sencilla franquicia de comida mediocre. Aquí puede esperar comida increíble prácticamente en cualquier lugar de Punta Cana y tenemos un directorio de restaurantes que puede consultar. (Haga clic aquí)


Cuando llegue la factura, querrás saber cómo dar propina, porque aquí en la República Dominicana dar muy poca (o ninguna) propina no tendría clase… pero dar demasiada propina puede ser ofensivo.

“ITBIS” y “Ley”

Cuando recibas el cheque, casi siempre verás “ITBIS”. Esa es básicamente la manera que tienen los dominicanos de generar ingresos tributarios. La gente aquí apenas reclama impuestos sobre sus ingresos personales y el país no tiene los recursos para perseguir las deudas tributarias, incluso si el dominicano promedio ganara más de unos pocos cientos de dólares estadounidenses al mes. Esta tarifa es del 18% y es fácil de comparar con un impuesto sobre las ventas ligeramente más alto al que estamos acostumbrados en los Estados Unidos.

La mayoría de las veces (pero ciertamente no siempre) encontrarás una línea llamada “Ley”. Generalmente es una tarifa del 10% y no se moleste en intentar traducir esto en algo que tenga sentido. La traducción literal es “ley”, lo cual resulta algo engañoso cuando miras tu factura por primera vez aquí. Si sabes aunque sea un poco de español y ves la palabra “Ley” con un monto del 10% de la factura adjunto, parece ser un impuesto o algún requisito gubernamental. Es una propina forzada, como ocurre en South Beach y Fort Lauderdale.

Si solo ve ITBIS como una línea de pedido y nada que diga “Ley” (o alguna otra palabra con una tarifa del 10%), entonces no se ha agregado ninguna propina. En ese caso, entre un 10% y un 15% sería suficiente, un 20% si recibiste un servicio increíble y te sientes generoso.

Si ve una línea para "Ley", estaría bien ofrecer entre un 5% y un 10% de propina adicional. Si hace mucho más que eso, corre el riesgo de ofender a los que le rodean (incluidos los dominicanos con los que podría estar cenando), ya que aquí se trata de una importante faux paus. El pensamiento predominante detrás de esto es que si usted da una propina excesiva, el personal se acercará a usted y el servicio para los demás, incluso si pagan una propina de nivel normal, se verá disminuido. También existe un concepto cultural que dice que comprar propinas excesivas aumenta los costos laborales generales dentro y fuera de la hotelería.

Sé que todo esto suena ridículo para un estadounidense, especialmente cuando vemos infinitas noticias sobre personas famosas por dar propinas generosas y cómo respetamos a quienes nos sirven. Esto puede parecer una falta de respeto, pero en realidad no lo es. La intención de todos es crear un nivel estable de crecimiento para la clase trabajadora aquí en la isla.

Ahora que conoces la cantidad aceptable para dar propina... ¿da la propina en el comprobante de la tarjeta de crédito o en efectivo?

¡Estamos seguros de que sabes hacia dónde va esto! Sí, los camareros preferirían propinas en efectivo. Este es un concepto bastante universal, pero aquí en República Dominicana REALMENTE quieren propinas en efectivo. ¿Recuerdas ese 18% de ITBIS? Bueno, todo lo que se paga a los empleados a través de la empresa se grava como un impuesto directo. Si das una propina de $5 USD, $1 irá al gobierno dominicano.

Si desea que sus camareros estén contentos en este momento, dé una propina en efectivo. Simplemente convierta DOP (pesos dominicanos) a USD (dólares estadounidenses) y luego dé propina de acuerdo con las cantidades indicadas en la última sección. Serás apreciado en el momento, pero creemos que hay una mejor manera para ti y para la República Dominicana.

En nuestra opinión, es mejor dejar una propina (en la línea de propina de su factura) y simplemente agregar la cantidad necesaria para cubrir los impuestos del servidor. En otras palabras, si la propina debe ser de $5, que sea $6. Si tiene una razón comercial para estar allí (como a menudo lo hacen nuestros socios en el sistema de propiedad fraccionada de El Grupo Thornberry), entonces tiene una cancelación de impuestos que excede el beneficio para el empleado en más que la propina adicional que compensa el pago de sus impuestos. No hay ningún inconveniente para nadie, existe un beneficio fiscal potencial para usted y hay más dinero destinado a un país en desarrollo que está haciendo un excelente trabajo agregando infraestructura diariamente que hace que este maravilloso lugar sea aún mejor.

A veces recibirán un recibo de tarjeta de crédito sin línea de propina ni línea de firma. Si solicita que uno firme, a menudo obtendrá uno para firmar. La razón por la que le dieron un recibo sin firma fue un intento de fomentar las propinas en efectivo. No suele pasar, pero sucede, te dirán que “ya estaba cerrado”. Esto no es más que un engaño para intentar obligarte a encontrar algunos billetes en tu bolsillo.


¿Por qué un servidor intentaría forzar una propina en efectivo de esta manera?

Si experimenta esto, es probable que se encuentre en un restaurante donde el personal no confía mucho en el propietario (o sus gerentes). Es probable que el personal crea, con precisión o no, que las propinas (o como las llaman aquí “propinas”) no se comparten en su totalidad con los empleados. También pueden sentir que se están incorporando al grupo de propinas más empleados de los que merecen. También es posible que hayas conocido al servidor más codicioso y egoísta del lugar.

Cuando esto sucede, a menudo me acerco al nivel mínimo de propina en efectivo y la dejo en billetes de 1 dólar. Si bien se podría dejar nada y “darles una lección”, lo que tal vez incluso conduzca a una mejora en el restaurante y la compensación de los empleados, se necesitaría que mucha gente lo hiciera para lograr ese efecto. Solo dejamos una propina mínima en esa circunstancia y no hacemos un escándalo por ello. Sabemos que cuanto más avance este país, lo cual no puede suceder sin que se paguen impuestos, mejor, ¡pero elegimos nuestras batallas!

En resumen…

Con Ley 10%: 5 - 10%, preferiblemente en tu tarjeta de crédito
Sin Ley: 10 - 15%, preferiblemente en tu tarjeta de crédito
Sin tarjeta de crédito: 10% en billetes de $1 dólar

On Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 1:19 PM Nathan Thornberry <nathan@thornberrygroup.com> wrote:
Tipping in Punta Cana for Americans

By El Grupo Thornberry, Dominican Republic



When we bring tenants, friends, clients, and partners in our fractional condominium ownership program in Punta Cana to the Dominican Republic for the first time, they all say the same thing…the food is amazing and the prices are incredible! We Agree J



It is not uncommon to get a meal here in the Dominican with an insane view, a fancy environment, and four times the service staff you would expect in the States all while spending $25-$30 on a plate you would have spent $50-$100 on in a simple chain steakhouse for mediocre food. Here you can expect amazing food virtually anywhere in Punta Cana and we have a restaurant directory for you to check out. (Click Here)



When the bill comes you will want to know how to tip because here in the Dominican Republic tipping too little (or none at all) would be classless…but over-tipping can be offensive.



“ITBIS” and “Ley”



When you get the check, you will almost always see “ITBIS”. That is basically the Dominican’s way of making tax revenue happen. People here hardly claim any taxes on their personal incomes and the country doesn’t have the resources to go chase down tax debts even if the average Dominican made more than just a few hundred US dollars per month. This fee is 18% and it is easy to compare to a slightly higher sales tax than what we are accustomed to in the States.



Most of the time (but certainly not always) you will find a line called “Ley”. It is generally a 10% fee and don’t bother trying to translate this into anything that makes sense. The literal translation is “law”, which is somewhat deceptive when you look at your bill for the first time here. If you know even a little bit of Spanish and you see the word “Ley” with a 10% amount of the bill attached to it, it appears to be a tax or some government requirement. It is a forced tip, much like they do on South Beach and in Fort Lauderdale.



If you only see ITBIS as a line item and nothing that says “Ley” (or some other word with a 10% fee), then there has been no tip added. In that case, 10-15% would suffice, 20% if you received amazing service and are feeling generous.



If you do see a line for “Ley”, it would be fine to offer 5-10% additional tip. If you do much more than that, you run the risk of offending others around you (including Dominicans you might be dining with) as this is a major faux paus here. The predominant thinking behind this is that if you over tip, the staff will gravitate towards you and service for others even paying a normal level tip will be diminished. There’s also a cultural concept here that buy over-tipping you are increasing the overall labor costs within and outside of hospitality.



I know it all sounds ridiculous to an American, especially when we see endless news stories about famously generous tippers and how we respect those that serve us. This may seem like disrespect, but its actually not. The intention from all is to create a stable level of growth for the working class here on the island.



Now that you know the acceptable amount to tip...do you tip on the credit card slip or in cash?



We’re sure you know where this is going! Yes, the wait staff would prefer cash tips. This is a fairly universal concept, but here in the Dominican they REALLY want cash tips. Remember that 18% ITBIS? Well anything paid to the employees through the business is assessed a tax out the door. If you tip $5 USD, $1 will go to the Dominican government.



If you want to make your servers happy in the moment, tip in cash. Simply convert RDP (Dominican Pesos) to USD (United States Dollars) and then tip according to the amounts stated in the last section. You will be appreciated in the moment, but we think there is a better way for you and for the Dominican Republic.



It is our position that it is best to tip on the tip line of your bill and to simply add the amount needed to cover the taxes for the server. In other words, if the tip should be $5, make it $6. If you have a business reason for being there (as oftentimes do our partners in the El Grupo Thornberry fractional ownership system), then you have a tax write-off that exceeds the benefit to the employee by more than the extra tip that made up for their tax payment. There is no downside to anyone, there’s a tax benefit to you potentially, and there is more money going to a developing country that is doing an excellent job at adding infrastructure daily that makes this wonderful place even better.



Sometimes you will receive a credit card receipt with no tip line and no signature line. If you ask for one to sign, you will often get one to sign. The reason you were given a slip with no signature line was an attempt to encourage cash tips. Seldom, but it does happen, you will be told that “it was already closed out”. This is nothing but a deception to attempt to force you to find a few greenbacks in your pocket.



Why would a server attempt to force a cash tip in this manner?



If you experience this, you are likely at a restaurant where the proprietor (or his managers) are not very trusted by the staff. The staff likely believes, accurately or not, that tips (or as they call them here “propinas”) are not being shared in full with the employees. They may also feel that more employees are being brought into the tip pool than deserve to be. It’s also possible you met the greediest, most selfish server in the place.



When this happens, I often just go towards the minimum level cash tip and leave it in $1 bills. While you could leave nothing and “teach them a lesson”, perhaps even leading to an improvement in the restaurant and compensation of employees, it would take a lot of people doing so to have that effect. We just leave a minimal tip in that circumstance and don’t make a stink about it. We know the more this country advances, which can’t happen without taxes being paid, the better, but we pick our battles!





In summary…



With 10% Ley: 5-10%, preferably on your credit card.

Without Ley: 10-15%, preferably on your credit card.

No Credit Card Slip: 10% in $1 bills (USD)]]> https://the-forum.net/posts/preList/7833/36224.page https://the-forum.net/posts/preList/7833/36224.page GMT
[b]Tipping in Punta Cana for Americans
By El Grupo Thornberry, Dominican Republic[/b]

When we bring tenants, friends, clients, and partners in our fractional condominium ownership program in Punta Cana to the Dominican Republic for the first time, they all say the same thing…the food is amazing and the prices are incredible! We Agree!

It is not uncommon to get a meal here in the Dominican with an insane view, a fancy environment, and four times the service staff you would expect in the States all while spending $25-$30 on a plate you would have spent $50-$100 on in a simple chain steakhouse for mediocre food. Here you can expect amazing food virtually anywhere in Punta Cana and we have a restaurant directory for you to check out. [url]www.Dominican.US.com[/url]

When the bill comes you will want to know how to tip because here in the Dominican Republic tipping too little (or none at all) would be classless…but over-tipping can be offensive.

[b]“ITBIS” and “Ley”[/b]

When you get the check, you will almost always see “ITBIS”. That is basically the Dominican’s way of making tax revenue happen. People here hardly claim any taxes on their personal incomes and the country doesn’t have the resources to go chase down tax debts even if the average Dominican made more than just a few hundred US dollars per month. This fee is 18% and it is easy to compare to a slightly higher sales tax than what we are accustomed to in the States.

Most of the time (but certainly not always) you will find a line called “Ley”. It is generally a 10% fee and don’t bother trying to translate this into anything that makes sense. The literal translation is “law”, which is somewhat deceptive when you look at your bill for the first time here. If you know even a little bit of Spanish and you see the word “Ley” with a 10% amount of the bill attached to it, it appears to be a tax or some government requirement. It is a forced tip, much like they do on South Beach and in Fort Lauderdale.

If you only see ITBIS as a line item and nothing that says “Ley” (or some other word with a 10% fee), then there has been no tip added. In that case, 10-15% would suffice, 20% if you received amazing service and are feeling generous.

If you do see a line for “Ley”, it would be fine to offer 5-10% additional tip. If you do much more than that, you run the risk of offending others around you (including Dominicans you might be dining with) as this is a major faux paus here. The predominant thinking behind this is that if you over tip, the staff will gravitate towards you and service for others even paying a normal level tip will be diminished. There’s also a cultural concept here that buy over-tipping you are increasing the overall labor costs within and outside of hospitality.

I know it all sounds ridiculous to an American, especially when we see endless news stories about famously generous tippers and how we respect those that serve us. This may seem like disrespect, but its actually not. The intention from all is to create a stable level of growth for the working class here on the island.

[b]Now that you know the acceptable amount to tip...do you tip on the credit card slip or in cash?[/b]

[i]We’re sure you know where this is going![/i] Yes, the wait staff would prefer cash tips. This is a fairly universal concept, but here in the Dominican they REALLY want cash tips. Remember that 18% ITBIS? Well anything paid to the employees through the business is assessed a tax out the door. If you tip $5 USD, $1 will go to the Dominican government.

If you want to make your servers happy in the moment, tip in cash. Simply convert RDP (Dominican Pesos) to USD (United States Dollars) and then tip according to the amounts stated in the last section. You will be appreciated in the moment, but we think there is a better way for you and for the Dominican Republic.

It is our position that it is best to tip on the tip line of your bill and to simply add the amount needed to cover the taxes for the server. In other words, if the tip should be $5, make it $6. If you have a business reason for being there (as oftentimes do our partners in the El Grupo Thornberry fractional ownership system), then you have a tax write-off that exceeds the benefit to the employee by more than the extra tip that made up for their tax payment. There is no downside to anyone, there’s a tax benefit to you potentially, and there is more money going to a developing country that is doing an excellent job at adding infrastructure daily that makes this wonderful place even better.

Sometimes you will receive a credit card receipt with no tip line and no signature line. If you ask for one to sign, you will often get one to sign. The reason you were given a slip with no signature line was an attempt to encourage cash tips. Seldom, but it does happen, you will be told that “it was already closed out”. This is nothing but a deception to attempt to force you to find a few greenbacks in your pocket.

[i]Why would a server attempt to force a cash tip in this manner?[/i]

If you experience this, you are likely at a restaurant where the proprietor (or his managers) are not very trusted by the staff. The staff likely believes, accurately or not, that tips (or as they call them here “propinas”) are not being shared in full with the employees. They may also feel that more employees are being brought into the tip pool than deserve to be. It’s also possible you met the greediest, most selfish server in the place.

When this happens, I often just go towards the minimum level cash tip and leave it in $1 bills. While you could leave nothing and “teach them a lesson”, perhaps even leading to an improvement in the restaurant and compensation of employees, it would take a lot of people doing so to have that effect. We just leave a minimal tip in that circumstance and don’t make a stink about it. We know the more this country advances, which can’t happen without taxes being paid, the better, but we pick our battles!

[b]
In summary…

With 10% Ley: 5-10%, preferably on your credit card.
Without Ley: 10-15%, preferably on your credit card.
No Credit Card Slip: 10% in $1 bills (USD)[/b]


Want to OWN your vacation? It's more affordable than you think! As little as $50,000 down, no credit check, and 5% APR!

www.Dominican.US.com]]> https://the-forum.net/posts/preList/7812/36201.page https://the-forum.net/posts/preList/7812/36201.page GMT