No not offended.....I believe what he did by bringing people to the West End bars that they would not normally get to while on vacation was a wonderful thing....Great exposure for the Bar Owners....however..I think greed is an awful thing...My husband and I did not know that he was going to take us to his home and push his rum punch on us....yes..yes..yes... we did not have to buy it....wished we didn't ...won't do it again
Hey, I’d pay 20 bucks to sit with Lenbert over a few drinks and listen to his experiences! Don’t begrudge his income at all. However have to agree about the begging kids stop!
Borntobeach...what about the hotel owners making money and driving around in their Mercedes etc? I'm confused as to how Lenbert's being greedy?Originally Posted by Borntobeach
Last edited by Bnewb; 03-27-2018 at 10:26 AM.
I did not know Lenbert was in the bar business.....and it is in the middle of no where...Thinking the locals are not drinking there....Just have a real bad taste in my mouth about it. I will now stop my bytching
Obviously, it's not a popular opinion, but I understand the feelings of the original poster. We began going on the One Love Pub Crawl about a year after its inception. At the time it was a great way to get off the resorts and experience new parts of Negril, it was exactly what we needed to be prompted to leave the A/I and not look back. Lenbert was very engaging and a wealth of knoweledge about the area. We have probably gone 5 or 6 times over the years and noticed a definite change. The last time we went we made a stop at Lenbert's ex wifes "bar" which only opened when the bus pulled up and shuttered as we pulled away. We did not feel this offered much in the experience department as it wasn't really an actual operating business.
We then went onto the "shantytown" stop, which turned into quite the mob scene. We have been told by those in Negril that are far smarter than us, not to cater to the begging culture. We donate through Travelers Resort and let them decide what to do with the things. I understand Lenbert trying to help people out, and I don't know what I would do if I were him, so I don't judge, it's just not for me. The bus was quiet after that stop, everyone was kinda in a bit of shock and awe by what we saw. It really did get quite aggressive as has been described before, folks coming on the bus, pushing back the "school supplies" and asking for cash, etc., etc. Lenbert seemed to be pretty stressed and really didn't engage like he used to. I can only imagine the pressure he is under by the businesses, community etc. to get him to stop at their places.
We realized after that trip that the One Love Pub Crawl just wasn't for us anymore. I have referred others to give it a try and we may again at some point, but I feel like it has evolved and I just preferred the original. To each his own and I wish Lenbert continued success and he has done a lot of good for Negril for sure.
I wouldn't call Lenbert greedy, but I do get how one could feel that your money is being a bit more "directed" with the selection of the stops over what it used to be.
I'm really, really not understanding how it's a bad thing for someone to be successful.
Many businesses have other side businesses. Not to pick on hotel owners...but some have scooter rentals, car rentals, farms, construction companies and so on.
Why can't Lenbert do the same?
Borntobeach,
The bus driver was Lenbert's son. He has been employed by Lenbert because Lenbert now has a second bus for the crawl. It has been so successful that he wants his son involved in the business.
-------------------
Lenbert and I came up with the idea for a free pub crawl as a way to entice people staying at the AIs to leave the compound and see Negril. Since we started it in July of 2011 and Lenbert was a member of the then West End Cluster, we decided to have it focus on the newly named "One Love Drive".
Here is a link for the very first One Love Bar Crawl:
https://negril.com/forum/showthread....RealNegril-com
Here is another post from Lisa about a month later, explaining how to get on the bus:
https://negril.com/forum/showthread....AR-CRAWL-Today
The Crawl has advanced over the past seven years from those early days when me, Lisa and Lenbert were the only ones on the bus.
The crawl has evolved many times and will continue to change. The children begging started early on because of how Negril developed. Well meaning visitors would give handouts to the children and many times their parents. This is a lesson quickly learned and their children and grandchildren of today were not lost in that lesson.
Lenbert and I have discussed at length about the issue but it will not disappear overnight. But one thing that Lenbert wants to demonstrate to the begging children is what happens when you work hard and look forward to the future. The handouts are gone usually that day, but Lenbert lives in a nice house with a nice car and now his own family bar that makes money to help grow the family business. Plus no better way for the kids to learn than by example.
And just to be real, Lenbert has been doing crawls sometimes seven days a week. I congratulate him for taking our simple idea and becoming so successful with it!
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
The driver the day we went looked older than Lenbert....very nice gentleman. We have always enjoyed doing the crawl in the past....so much fun. Not so much anymore
I have known Lenbert for a very long time and when I stay in Negril, I stay close to his "yard". I think you have to admit, you wrote this very sharply critical of Lenbert's business and impugned his motives (which you have a right to do) but I have seen him struggle for a long time to try to please both the tourists and the establishments that want to benefit from his using them in his business.
When the business started, he only had a handful of riders and a wide choice of places to stop because everyone wanted the business. Lenbert is a very good-hearted guy and he tries to please everyone so when he added new stops, he had to drop some of the others which angered a few owners. When he would go to small, out of the way places the word would spread and curious kids would show up. Some people are too free with their money and the kids didn't even have to ask and they got some money. More kids show up when they hear about the "free money" and now the pushier ones started asking and some even demanding. Now Lenbert has a problem with the riders complaining about the beggers.
By building at his own property, he can do a better job of controlling the begging which he does to appease the riders. The saying is "Jamaica noh easy". Most people probably like going to his "private" bar and avoiding the begging but some, like you, do not. Sometimes I take the One Love Bus just to go around to some different places and don't even drink anything but I still tip Lenbert for the service he provides for himself and his community. Big Up Lenbert!
Free Opinions Offered. No tipping required. Hours: Open when I feel like it.
I can't wait for my next visit and One Love Bus ride. I hope Lenbert still has his new home on the route, I would love to see it and congratulate him and his wife on their success. I'm so proud of how he has developed his business. I can remember the early years when there was still room for Rob to do his live stream on the bus, lol.
Posting Permissions
