Another sad scam........

[Christi]

...but it sure seems like people keep running across a unusual amount of bad apples.

Not really here...again, Cozumel is NOT like the rest of Mexico. Yes, there have been some reports of some dishonest practices, but they are VERY few when you put it in perspective...and it's the same few places that keep getting these bad reports.

Cozumel may well indeed be better than the rest of mexico, but I travel on average 4-5 times a year across the world, and I have never felt more taken advantage of (or tried to) than in mexico.

Other parts of Mexico, or Cozumel?

Ive yet to have anyone in mexico welcome me into their homes, where that is not true in the Philipines, Fiji, Central America, etc. In other countries, they seem genuine and appreciative that you are there. Even in the philipines, where the kids try to sell you dvd's or jewelry, one NO THANK YOU is plenty, and they are smart enough to remember you when they see you again and not bother you. Ive chatted with all kinds of people regarding both our cultures and they all seemed as interested in learning about ours as I did about theirs. Please show me where I find that in mexico, sans a tour guide.

In Cozumel. You just have to get away from the resorts.

Nope, because in America (as well as other countries) even if someone tries to sell you something, or asks you for money, you can say no and they leave you alone. Can you tell me its the same in mexico? I dont think so. Im talking about people WANTING something for nothing or trying to get money out of you in unscrupulous ways. That was not the case for you when your credit card got stolen. Not saying they should have treated you bad because you didnt have a card, just saying they wanted payment for something due, without "hidden" charges.

Ok, so maybe my example wasn't the best...I just picked the first scam I thought of that I had been exposed to (credit card theft)...but I find more shady business practices and shady people wanting something for nothing in the US than I do here...it's not even CLOSE!

You mentioned the time share hawks. We all wish they would go away, but they aren't going anywhere. The best we can do is educate and warn people about them so they can steer clear of them. However, have you ever noticed that MOST of the time share salesmen are foreigners (not Mexicans?) Most are Americans and Canadians.

I certainly hope you have a better experience here than you've had in other parts of Mexico...because it really IS full of genuine, good hearted, sincere people who want you to have a good vacation. The Presidente is a fine choice and you should be treated with much respect and appreciation.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Most of the cabbies are fine, but a few make me feel otherwise about them in general.

I just got back from Coz last night, and I had to laugh at the different fares we paid to go from Aldora to town ... anywhere from $3 to $8, depending on the cabbie, to get dropped off in front of the ferry pier. No importe ... it's still cheap compared to what a cab costs at home ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

I have been to Cozumel twice this year and had no problems with rip offs, scams, time share salesmen or people pushing things on me. I have nothing but good things to say about Cozumel. The people have been very helpful and friendly. It has been over ten years since I have been to mainland Mexico, so I can't comment on it.

However, I have experienced some of what gbrandon has experienced in other countries. Jamaica, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Italy to name a few. Greece was the worst. It is part of traveling sometimes. I don't let it get to me. It is how these people, often very poor, survive. The traveler is their cash flow. At no time did I have the bad overbearing experiences that I encountered elsewhere when visiting Cozumel.

I blame cruise ships for some of the problems that we encounter as traveling Americans. Some of the tourists are real idiots. They come stumbling off the boat already drunk and make A---S out of themselves. They are my one complaint about Cozumel. It is not the locals that are the problem, it is the cruisers. They falsely condition the locals as to what to expect from the foreign traveler.

My two cents.

 

[ggunn]

In my opinon, we shouldnt have to itemize the bill after every meal to make sure we arent getting screwed. We shouldnt have to pretend to be asleep in the lounge chair to make the hawkers go away, we shouldnt have to carry signs saying we are on vacation and to leave us alone. Those are all unacceptable things to have to do. But like I stated earlier, to each their own. i just feel that going to all that trouble is not worth the hassle and people should go try somewhere else for a change. That was my point in my post.

Well, I dunno. I have been going to Cozumel since 1978, at least once a year since the mid 80's, and I have never experienced the difficulties there that you have. It is indeed my favorite place to flee to, but it is that to me in large part because of the way I have always been treated there. You say you've never been invited into their homes? Well, I certainly have, many times. Sure, I've been approached by hawkers and hucksters as well, but a cheerful "no, gracias" seems to work fine for me.

I even joke around with them; I feigned being offended once and demanded of one of them, "Do I look like a tourist to you?" Well, of course I do; he and I shared a laugh and I went on my way. I saw him several more times, and he never again tried to sell me anything. Another young man approached me trying to sell me a tour of the island. I pointed out that I had been coming to Cozumel since before he was born, and did he want me to give him a tour of the island? Again, my antics were met with good humor and he left me alone after that.

Another time, I left my carry on bag (you know, the one with all the stuff in it that I absolutely could not afford to lose) in the airport shuttle. I grabbed a cab back to the airport, and when I got out of the cab, the shuttle driver found me and said, "I'll bet you are looking for this, eh, senor?" as he opened the back of the shuttle and showed me my bag. He then drove me back to my hotel with not even the hint of charging me anything, though I tipped him well.

And then there was the cab driver who took me and my mom to find an old friend that lives on the island. Our friend has advanced Parkinson's disease and moves from house to house as his extended family shares the burden of caring for him. At the first house we went to, no one spoke any English (our Espanol is muy malo), so the driver got out and talked to the folks there and got another address, took us there and encountered a similar situation, and then drove us to a third house, where we found who we were looking for. He waited for us and took us back to the hotel, When I asked him how much, he just asked for what the cab rides alone would have been. I doubled it.

The last time I was there, one of the DM's we had been diving with invited me and my wife to his wedding. We were practically the only gringos there and like I said, our Spanish is terrible, but they made us feel very welcome and we had a great time.

Anyway, these experiences are typical of what happens to me every time I go to Cozumel. They are very different from what you have related. Like I said, I dunno.

 

[JDog]

...I just picked the first scam I thought of that I had been exposed to (credit card theft)....

I think there is a big difference between the crime that had been commited against you, and just padding the bill by 15% then adding another 20% for a tip. I don't see that as being a crime, I just wouldn't eat there anymore. If every resturant was like theirs, maybe that's just the way it is there, If I didn't like it I wouldn't go there anymore.

I travel often as well. And the term "ugly american" gets thrown around a lot, for a lot of good reasons that I have personally witnessed (worldwide not just Mexico). I feel the biggest problem is that there is a failure to adapt to other cultures. If you are the type of person that expects everything to be done like we do it here in the states you will probably be unhappy just about anywhere you go out of the U.S. and it might be better if you just planned your vacations in our large and beautiful country. If you can be a little flexable you might just have a good time, out of your own backyard. There are several countries I may never go back to, but I'm not going get too bent out of shape about it, I'll just pass those experiences out to others if they want to know about it. Mexico is on that list but not because of anything on this thread.

I have not read any untruths on this thread- everyone can have their say and their opinions.
You can give 10 people a bar of pure gold and someone will complain that it weighs too much. Your never going to make everyone happy.

 

[ggunn]

There are several countries I may never go back to, but I'm not going get too bent out of shape about it, I'll just pass those experiences out to others if they want to know about it. Mexico is on that list but not because of anything on this thread.

I'm just curious - if Mexico is on your list of places never to go again, why are you here? ;^)

 

[beezwax]

I just got back from Mexico-- I spent most of March up and down the Riviera Maya for cave diving, and I noticed this alot. It seemed to be fairly common to get a food bill back and see that 10% had been added automatically. Sometimes this was stated in the menu, sometimes not. Sometimes it was called a gratuity, and sometimes it was called a tax (is there a food tax?). I never got bent out of shape about it, but I did pay attention to the bills to see if it had been added or not. If they automatically put 10%, then I would usually leave another 10% (but not 20). But I did wonder if the initial tax/tip went to the servers or not. FWIW, service was usually great. I've been scammed in Mexico on other trips (the gas pump one), but whatever. Live and learn, there are scammers everywhere.

 

[JDog]

I'm just curious - if Mexico is on your list of places never to go again, why are you here? ;^)

Just reading threads and killing time while at work.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Cozumel is, indeed, an amazing place, and I've always found the locals to be charming, gracious, helpful, polite, and trustworthy. I was at the Casa Del Mar for Hurricane Wilma, and even though the staff that was locked in for the hurricane didn't know if their families or homes were still intact, they were unfailingly cheerful, polite, and they were just wonderful. After the hurricane, I helped them dig out the ruins of their dive shop. When I went back, six months later, the guys at the dive shop remembered me and gave me one of their staff T-shirts.

No one has ever tried to sell me anything, and indeed, I've never once been approached by a stranger trying to hawk something, or ask me for something. Man, I absolutely love Cozumel, as much topside, as underwater. I wish I lived somewhere like southern Texas, where I could boogie over there for four-day weekends, every couple of months...

The people of Cozumel are, bar none, the finest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, even in spite of the language barrier. (And yes, I'm doing my best to learn a little Spanish!)

 

[mike_s]

Lately I feel ashamed to live here and after almost 19 years, I hate feeling like that............Betsy

Betsy,

I'm really surprised you've live in mexico for 19 years and haven't seen something like this before.


Many times I've had a restaurant bill come in Peso's totaled up and list the totaled price in US dollars also at the end. If you pay in US Dollars, which most of us do, they bring your change back in Peso's. Many times the change they bring you does not come anywhere close to what you should have gotten back based on current exchange rates... What the waiters are doing is keeping some of the change and hoping you won't notice since it's in a different currency.

Several times we've looked at the bill, taken out a pocket calculator to check, they've seen us realize that they had "been caught" and come and taken our bill back and said they made a mistake, accidentally swapped ours with someone elses, etc or some other excuse. I've seen this happen in several different places. It's bascially petty theft by your waiter and is very common.

As for adding 15% and then leaving space for more tip, it's the same thing. The waiter you talked to was in on it.. It's that simple. He was getting more tip and so was the owner. He knew it was on there and yet he still rubber stamped the suggested tip on the bill. It's basically a way to trick tourist customers out of their money. It's still theft. The reason he was hugging you was to kiss your butt since he knows you live there and wants your repeat tip business.

While you live there and might get treated a little better than the rest of us, it's easy to con the other 98% of the people there who just get on the plane at the end of the week or back on the cruise boat at the end of the day.

my 2 peso's worth....