One Love Pub Crawl

[BostonBob]

For sure Kevin and I would add that the lay of the land needs no introduction other than take a walk or a cab and stop there and anywhere and you will be welcome and at any hour for many places. I am not trying to dash the bus deal but marked up drinks is not cool. Agree that volume increase should offset the expense to the bus driver. If the increased prices for bus folks is true, then that could hurt business. Also, who picks the bars and what about those places not making the list. Seems unfair.

[Big_frank]

The places not making the list are the bars that do not pay a kickback. This kind of thing is just business as usual. Ride a JUTA or any other bus to Negril and the driver will likely palm some money depending on how many drinks are sold at the 'rest stop'. You may not see it happen; but it mostly does.
Don't jump on me defending your favourite driver please. Maybe they don't want to make extra money.
Happens in my city where sightseeing buses only stop at 'certain' souvenir stops/attractions. Why do you think that is?

[Patricia]

Big_frank is correct...we've talked to many transfer drivers over the years & they've told us the exact same thing.

[HarryS]

I was always under the impression that Lenbert worked for tips, and think that's been said here before as well. I feel like I've read it said specifically that Lenbert is only paid in the tips he receives and doesn't receive kickbacks!

If he's getting kickbacks at every bar, why are we "encouraged" to tip him $10 or more per person? Seems to me it should be one or the other, not both. Thinking of all the people he packs on that bus three times a week, if everyone is handing him $10 AND he's getting kickbacks, he's doing very well for himself on a part time schedule, all cash, presumably completely tax free.

When we were last there (more than a year ago) we were on the tour and were charged $5 or $6 at Belladonnas for Red Stripes, and a big deal was made by others here on the board... it's not the first time price gouging on the tour has come up here, and probably won't be the last.

[Kevin, PA]

I was always under the impression that Lenbert worked for tips, and think that's been said here before as well. I feel like I've read it said specifically that Lenbert is only paid in the tips he receives and doesn't receive kickbacks!

If he's getting kickbacks at every bar, why are we "encouraged" to tip him $10 or more per person? Seems to me it should be one or the other, not both. Thinking of all the people he packs on that bus three times a week, if everyone is handing him $10 AND he's getting kickbacks, he's doing very well for himself on a part time schedule, all cash, presumably completely tax free.

Does it really matter what his business model is, if its even his business, or how much in tips he's making? Maybe he only gets to keep tips? We don't know and frankly its really none of our business. Would we ask these sort of questions of other businesses we deal with every day? Would you ask a bartender if he works for tips only? What about their hourly wage? Would your tip change if you knew the bartender was making $100 per hour? What about if they were given a percentage of the totals sales during their shift? How should any of that factor into a tip?

It was always advertised as free and tipping was completely up to the individual. I recall from previous topics that $10 is often suggested as a recommended tip and that seems like a reasonable starting point. I don't believe gouging is the norm. Besides nobody is forced to buy anything and its not like your stuck at any one place for long. The reviews speak for themselves. Most find it to be an enjoyable experience and good for Lenbert if he happens to be making a decent living delivering this experience to visitors.

[booger]

Does it really matter what his business model is, if its even his business, or how much in tips he's making? Maybe he only gets to keep tips? We don't know and frankly its really none of our business. Would we ask these sort of questions of other businesses we deal with every day? Would you ask a bartender if he works for tips only? What about their hourly wage? Would your tip change if you knew the bartender was making $100 per hour? What about if they were given a percentage of the totals sales during their shift? How should any of that factor into a tip?

It was always advertised as free and tipping was completely up to the individual. I recall from previous topics that $10 is often suggested as a recommended tip and that seems like a reasonable starting point. I don't believe gouging is the norm. Besides nobody is forced to buy anything and its not like your stuck at any one place for long. The reviews speak for themselves. Most find it to be an enjoyable experience and good for Lenbert if he happens to be making a decent living delivering this experience to visitors.

Exactly.......

[ladyluckireland]

I Total aggree with Kevin we have done and realy enjoyed it and will do it again in the future when we visit we were there in April last year and we did not find the bars overly expensive most red stripe were 3 $ the one place that we thouugh was expensive was xtabi i think a red stripe was $4 but we were out for the day and we had a great time.

[Mike_D]

I agree with Kevin, as well. It is a relatively inexpensive and fun way to get introduced to the bars of the West End. Many experienced Negril travelers are repeat customers, even though they can do their own bar crawl because it is still a good value. The cab fare alone from the beach would be over $10 per person, if you made all those stops. The problems occur when a spot decides to blatantly overcharge customers of the tour. I think those spots have gotten called out here in the past, and when Lenbert is made aware of it (hopefully) the practice stops. My solution - ask the price of the drink before you buy it. If it's too much, I'll wait until the next stop.

As a side story - on one trip, our driver kept promoting Sweet Spice as a place that my wife and I should try for dinner. After eating at all the other restaurants that we wanted to try, I told our driver that we would like to try Sweet Spice that night, knowing that we would need a taxi to get there. Once we got to the restaurant, our driver walked in with us. We were seated in the dining area and our driver walked over to the take-out counter. A few minutes later, I saw our driver walk out with a smoothie. It was obvious to me that he was given a smoothie as a kickback for referring us to the restaurant. I still paid the same prices that were advertised on the menu and had a great dinner. Our driver got a free smoothie. Sounds like a win/win to me!

[HarryS]

The tipping culture has arisen because employers, where allowed, pay much less than a living wage knowing it will be covered by tips left by patrons.

So NO, I would not tip if I knew my server, bartender, or driver, or anyone else who would normally receive a tip, was making $100 an hour.

When it comes to tipping, prices should be raised and included in the costs, workers should receive a living wage, and customers should not feel required to tip so that someone can earn a living.

Where is the line drawn? What about the employee at Home Depot who barely makes minimum wage and doesn't have health insurance, who not only shows you where 10 different things are, but advises you on how to use them? Why aren't we handing him a wad of cash, but we do to the person that twists the top off our beer? I can go on and on about how the tipping culture is completely arbitrary.

I want to make very clear that I am not one of those people who doesn't tip - I tip well, and if you go above and beyond for me I tip extremely well. That being said, I'd rather see the bill go up 20%, employees get paid more, and then not have to tip at all unless service is actually exceptional.

Now when it comes to Lenbert and the bus, I assumed he was the owner, it's his bus, and the money is his. If that's the case, and he's being paid by all the bars he visits, AND sticking his hand out for tips from every person on the bus, he's double-dipping. If he's an employee and he works for someone else, that's a different story. I get that everyone loves the crawl and doesn't want to hear bad things said about it, but the truth is, if you knew the server at Dennys was making 50K a year, would you feel the same obligation to tip as when the server is making two bucks an hour?

Another thing that's not mentioned about the bus - they pack it so full, people sitting on laps, standing in the aisles, it's an accident waiting to happen, potentially a really bad one. I wonder how much insurance Lenbert carries?

[booger]

The tipping culture has arisen because employers, where allowed, pay much less than a living wage knowing it will be covered by tips left by patrons.

So NO, I would not tip if I knew my server, bartender, or driver, or anyone else who would normally receive a tip, was making $100 an hour.

When it comes to tipping, prices should be raised and included in the costs, workers should receive a living wage, and customers should not feel required to tip so that someone can earn a living.

Where is the line drawn? What about the employee at Home Depot who barely makes minimum wage and doesn't have health insurance, who not only shows you where 10 different things are, but advises you on how to use them? Why aren't we handing him a wad of cash, but we do to the person that twists the top off our beer? I can go on and on about how the tipping culture is completely arbitrary.

I want to make very clear that I am not one of those people who doesn't tip - I tip well, and if you go above and beyond for me I tip extremely well. That being said, I'd rather see the bill go up 20%, employees get paid more, and then not have to tip at all unless service is actually exceptional.

Now when it comes to Lenbert and the bus, I assumed he was the owner, it's his bus, and the money is his. If that's the case, and he's being paid by all the bars he visits, AND sticking his hand out for tips from every person on the bus, he's double-dipping. If he's an employee and he works for someone else, that's a different story. I get that everyone loves the crawl and doesn't want to hear bad things said about it, but the truth is, if you knew the server at Dennys was making 50K a year, would you feel the same obligation to tip as when the server is making two bucks an hour?

Another thing that's not mentioned about the bus - they pack it so full, people sitting on laps, standing in the aisles, it's an accident waiting to happen, potentially a really bad one. I wonder how much insurance Lenbert carries?

You sound like you could use a vacation to Jamaica. Southwest has some great deals right now........