Anyone else had problems w/gas station clerks on Bonaire?

[salth2owannabe]

I am just curious if this has happend to anyone else.
Just got back from Bonaire last week. My dive partner was there on a cruise in December and rented a pu. From what we can gather the gas station clerk charged him US dollars for the marked Gilder price/liter. As he was only there for a day and was not at all familiar with the exchange rate he got took. We went to a different gas station and the female clerk tried to short change me twice. She first tried to slide me a 1 Gilder coin and told me she had given me a 5 Gilder coin. She also tried to short me 10 gilders on the rest of the change. I thought this kind of interesting as they were two different gas stations and situations.

 

[reefdiva]

I am just curious if this has happend to anyone else.
Just got back from Bonaire last week. My dive partner was there on a cruise in December and rented a pu. From what we can gather the gas station clerk charged him US dollars for the marked Gilder price/liter. As he was only there for a day and was not at all familiar with the exchange rate he got took. We went to a different gas station and the female clerk tried to short change me twice. She first tried to slide me a 1 Gilder coin and told me she had given me a 5 Gilder coin. She also tried to short me 10 gilders on the rest of the change. I thought this kind of interesting as they were two different gas stations and situations.

Multiple trips a year for ten years and have never had a problem as you described.

 

[herman]

Never had a problem myself but anything is possible. Another good reason to drop by the bank and get a few guilders and deal in local currency.

 

[salth2owannabe]

Herman,
In my case we had exchanged our US into Gilders just for that reason. Not only to avoid any confusion, but to make it easier for us in stores that didn't post prices in both currencies. I gave her a 100 Gilder bill (83 Gilder purchase) so the math couldn't be any easier then that. When she acted confused she used a calculator twice. I work law enforcement in the states and unfortunaltely it was pretty obvious this wasn't just a mistake. I just hoped these were isolated instances, but I also wanted to make others aware in case it wasn't.
Since the rental vehicles are marked with the big stickers on the doors and people tend to fill up just prior to leaving the island it certainly creates the opportunity for less then scrupulous folks. Again - I'm not saying this is the norm and I want to thank all the folks of Bonaire for a wonderful trip.

 

[dvrliz1]

As you all may be aware, I am on the board of the BONHATA, (Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association). I will print this out and make the board aware at our next meeting, so that we can request that maybe some employees need to be re-trained. I really don't think that the clerk was "acting" confused, but she probably truly was.

I honestly think these were mistakes, not purposeful.

Liz

 

[mike_s]

I doubt they were confused. This is a simple "gringo tax" that is 'charged' in many tourist destinations.

I can't tell you how many times that I've been mischarged in Mexico for example. Or you pay in US dollars and they bring back the change in local currency and the change amount is WAY OFF the correct amount. Most tourist don't notice as they are on vacation and 'carefree' , and the clerk/waiter just pockets the difference.

This sort of thing is not just occuring in Bonaire.

This happens on all islands and vacation destinations out of the country that are frequented by US tourists. (and I'm sure others...). Like I said. "Gringo Tax"


I credit Liz for promoting Bonaire and being positive, but this is a well known scam all over the globe.

 

[salth2owannabe]

Liz,
Thanks,
I watched this gal count the change and put it in her hand, before she set it in the tray. After I questioned her she told me she gave me a 5 Gilder coin and 2 one Gilder coins. Even though they do look a little alike, I don't think this was her first day on the job or the first time she had seen a 5 Gilder coin. ( I recognized it after only seeing Gilders for a couple of days).
After I gave the change back to her to see she then gave me the 5 Gilder coin. I then told her she was still short 10 Gilders and she checked it again on the calculator. ( subtracting 17 from 100 for a person who handles money)
The only reason I am really pointing this out is beacuse of the amount of time we talked about my friend being taken at the gas station on his cruise and then we go buy gas and this happens. Again - I never had any other issues on the island at all, and purchased items at numerous stores.

 

[DiveMaven]

Thanks for the information, I'm going to keep a sharp eye out for it this summer. We've been very fortunate never to have been mischarged in our travels in the Caribbean, but there's a first time for everything.

 

[dl348]

We didn't have this problem when we were there in March.

 

[anzac65]

I doubt they were confused. This is a simple "gringo tax" that is 'charged' in many tourist destinations.

I can't tell you how many times that I've been mischarged in Mexico for example. Or you pay in US dollars and they bring back the change in local currency and the change amount is WAY OFF the correct amount. Most tourist don't notice as they are on vacation and 'carefree' , and the clerk/waiter just pockets the difference.

This sort of thing is not just occuring in Bonaire.

This happens on all islands and vacation destinations out of the country that are frequented by US tourists. (and I'm sure others...). Like I said. "Gringo Tax"


I credit Liz for promoting Bonaire and being positive, but this is a well known scam all over the globe.

So Mike, do you expect to pay using US dollars in another country and be given change back in US dollars ? I'm confused.....