It has been 3 years since we went but we didn't pay above $3 anywhere we went. We also got happy hour pricing at Sea Star.Originally Posted by LivinInThe603
It has been 3 years since we went but we didn't pay above $3 anywhere we went. We also got happy hour pricing at Sea Star.
Thanks! I was starting to think I was crazy... but I clearly remember budgeting and spending about $4 a beer on the crawl last year.
Same here in Dec...every stop but one($3.50can't recallwhich)was $4(US) for a red stripe
Pizza@bella $5 a slice...it was just a tiny slab too..but I went back for another...it was delicious!
The crawl is unique...and a bargain imo
I'm amazed every time I read complaints about high prices in negril...you're on vacation...I feel worse when I pay more to eat in the back corner of my local longhorns Knowing that I could be at Ivans cliffside enjoying a sunset dinner for LESS!!!
Discussing practices and policies of business operations is nothing new, for example, waiting for a full ride with JUTA, the prices at Rick's, in-room smoking policies, whether or not service charges are added to restaurant bills, etc..
The thing is, the crawl is advertised "...stops at about 7 authentic bars on the One Love Drive on the West End..." and "The tour is free, ..."
How authentic is it if prices are raised specificially for this tour, and the ride really isn't free when drink prices are raised to compensate the driver? http://www.negril.com/nt/nt052212.htm
The tour is free. You can ride the bus all evening and not spend a dime.
No one holds a gun to your head and makes you buy a drink.
If you don't like it, don't spend any money.......or don't go.
The tour itself is 100% free.
July 1993*, Feb 2003, Aug 2005, April 2007, Feb 2008, Feb 2009, April 2010, Nov 2010, Nov 2011, Nov 2012, March 2013*, Nov 2013, Nov 2014, March 2015*, Nov 2015*, April 2016*, Oct 2016, Nov 2017*, May 2018*, Nov 2018*, Oct/Nov 2019*, Dec 2020*, Dec 2021*, May 2022* (Portland), Dec 2022* (Irish Town/Strawberry Hill), Dec 2023*, Dec 2024*, Dec 2025*
First of all, I want to thank all of you who respect the positive impact that Lenbert and the Pub Crawl has had on the businesses of Negril. His dedication during the near non-stop busy season and twice a week slower season is an inspiration to many. But this thread makes me wonder.
To discuss Lenberts business model here is something that I find a little puzzling. Do businesses in your own town have to go through this public scrutiny on an Internet forum? If you own a business, would you expect this to happen to you? I have seen people going as far as to try and calculate out their perceived numbers to determine his income. I am truly puzzled by that behavior.
To answer Lola's comment, yes, the tour is FREE as there is no fixed charge to any visitor on the bus. And with Jamaica being the most capitalistic country I have ever lived in, it is truly authentic for one business to help out another when they benefit from the other business' services. As is common to say here, it takes two hands to clap!
As some have stated, a tip as low as US$3 has been accepted. For a tour that lasts at least 4 hours, that works out to be less than a dollar an hour for two people. I find that puzzling behavior, just as I do the following:
I have personally witnessed an entire group of about a dozen people use the free "pub crawl" as a way to get to the West End from the beach for free. They all left at the first stop as a group, not tipping a penny. They just walked away without even a thank you. A dozen times zero works out to be ZERO dollars for a dozen people to ride. I have seen couples use the bus to get back to their cliff hotel from the beach, stopping at each location until they got near their hotel and then they walked off without tipping a dime. Others have left the tour thinking it was a shopping tour and others have demanded that Lenbert take them to Ricks Cafe. I have witnessed each of these instances first hand. Thank Jah this behavior is not the norm, but it does happen. How does Lenbert pay for the cost of doing business when some people use his generosity as a free ride and pay nothing? Any business person knows that this is just not economically sustainable.
To hopefully shed some factual light on something that really shouldnt be necessary, but hopefully stop the speculation, the bus Lenbert owns was painted and originally meant to take our visitors as a free shuttle on the West End as part of a "Negril Cluster" project, which was "West End" focused. They were also the ones that came up with the One Love Drive name and petitioned the government to allow it to become a secondary name for the road on the West End. This West End shuttle idea came to a quick halt when the regular taxi drivers didnt like the idea of competing against "free". That and the fact that there was no way to keep the bus insured or maintained since there was no charges planned for the West End shuttle service. The costs involved in maintaining the bus are much more than a car, a single tire can cost more than 4 tires for most cars. The red plated licensing and associated costs have to be added to the "cost of doing business". For operating a "free" service to our visitors, common sense dictates that money to maintain the operation has to come from somewhere. So a new idea had to be hatched.
In 2011, when Lenbert, Lisa and I were sitting around trying to figure out a way for the bus to become something useful for the community, we came up with the idea of the "pub crawl". We webcast the first several ones on RealNegril.com to give people an idea of what they could expect. Here is one of the first threads with pics from the original "bar crawls":
http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...rawl-yesterday
Within two months, the bus became so crowded that there was no way to webcast from the bus anymore. And in the last 5 years, the "bar crawl" became the "Pub Crawl" and has brought more people to businesses on the West End than any other single endeavor. One enterprising bar, upon being overloaded with the rush, hired extra help for the short time the "crawlers" were there. To give Lenbert incentive to come back, they "tipped" him for his service. This is how that practice started and was quickly copied by other bars. Whether the bus was packed or just comfortable with a dozen or so visitors, most bars appreciated the business.
As with anything, you cannot please all the people all the time. Some bars could not handle the increase in traffic which is why Lenbert now calls the bars in advance to make sure they are ready. But this is not always a smooth process so problems can and have occurred over the years. In a small town like Negril, where everyone knows everyone, emotions can run high and stories can take on a life of their own. But each situation is always worked out to both Lenbert's and the businesses' satisfaction. The business hire extra staff for that short time period and the smart ones encourage Lenbert to return more often by helping him maintain the bus service so the Pub Crawl remains FREE for all of our visitors. To accomplish this, the prices at some places are raised to cover the additional staff and a gratitude to Lenbert for bringing them a crowd, but many do not raise their prices at all. It is up to the business.
This is the truth behind how the business model came to be, and in the last few crawls, businesses such as Red Dragon, Woodstock, Quality's Sea Breeze, Sunset Bar, No Limit, Xtabi, The Horizon West and others have all benefited by these stops.
I find it strange to be writing all this. When did it become a crime to be a successful Jamaican business person? The Pub Crawl IS free and the stops ARE as authentically Jamaican as you can get.
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
LOL!
I write a friggin novel and you sum it up in 4 lines.... (grin)
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
sounds like Bernie Sanders economics... Everything is "free" but you will be taxed accordingly. Bahahaha
Rob I gotta say you explained that very well and covered every aspect of it, from the passengers, Lenbert as well as the establishments it goes to and benefits. It's to be expected that Lenbert gets something from the bars for bringing them business as well as a tip from happy passengers. Personally I don't see why it would be run any other way. Makes perfect sense to me and everyone seems to be happy. It's a great idea for Negril and congrats to you guys for coming up with the concept. I will definitely be going on the pub crawl with my wife and her sisters in April and I am sure it will be a fun time and worth every penny. Thanks again
If it were not for gratuities; Linda and I would not be able to visit Jamaica. Linda is a server here in Niagara Falls Canada. I'm a pensioner. Cut the man some slack. I've never been on the crawl, but then I always stay 'West End', so no real need. But for thousands of other visitors; it's a deal.
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