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Dec 26, 2002, 1:37 PM

Post #1 of 31 (9676 views)

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Pesos For Goods

Does anyone have problems paying with pesos?Either paying to much for something or not getting enough back when you do pay.I think it will take some time to get used to.

Don

Dec 26, 2002, 1:46 PM

Post #2 of 31 (9409 views)

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Re: [Ed] Pesos For Goods

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It is just a matter of math. It is the same no matter where you are. If an item costs "X" number of pesos, make sure you are not over charged. Then count your change if you don't pay the exact amount.

jennifer rose

Dec 26, 2002, 4:26 PM

Post #3 of 31 (9345 views)

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Re: [Ed] Pesos For Goods

The peso is the currency of this country. Get used to it. Learn what each denomination looks like.

Either plan on carrying enough change so that you can hand over the exact amount -- or learn how to count it out. Don't expect a fruit vendor at the tianguis to have change for your $200 bill, especially at the beginning of the day. It's your responsiblity to note how much you're handing over to the vendor -- and to hold your hand out while he counts the change back. Count it out then and then, instead of walking away to count your money. (And make it quick if there's someone else in line behind you.)

Frequently, there is a problem of vendors not having enough change to give you back the exact amount where anything less than a peso is involved, so they round up or round down.

Really, it's no different than dealing with lire, yen, the pound, or any other currency which is alien to a newcomer.

Alteño

Dec 26, 2002, 4:37 PM

Post #4 of 31 (9330 views)

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Re: [Ed] defenseless people

Ed,

Mostly, those who have this kind of problem handling money in everyday life are little kids and indigenous people who can't read and/or count. If you can read and count, you will have no problems at all.

If you have to pay 7 (pesos/dollars/francs/dinars/euros/rubles/yens/et cetera) and you pay with a 10 (whatever) bill, you know you should get 3 (whatever) back. Piece of cake, don't you think?

Maybe the problem is that you can't see, so that you won't know what denomination a bill would be.

Take it easy, Ed. You seem to be very apprehensive. Remember: Whatever has to happen, will happen. So, don't worry, be happy.

(This post was edited by jennifer rose on Dec 26, 2002, 5:14 PM)

scott

Dec 26, 2002, 6:56 PM

Post #5 of 31 (9293 views)

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Re: [Ed] Pesos For Goods

And don't pay with large bills in small bars etc at night, they might just refuse to give you any change at all...

Esteban

Dec 27, 2002, 8:49 AM

Post #6 of 31 (9216 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

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Most of the time change is available nearby. I always tell the vendor, that I'll come back tomorrow and pay if there is no change available now. It gets a good laugh and somehow, change is found. Some vendors that know I live here and who I frequent regularly, will allow me to pay later that day or even the next day.

scott

Dec 27, 2002, 12:14 PM

Post #7 of 31 (9189 views)

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Re: [Esteban] Pesos For Goods

Well I meant to imply they might just steal it.... This has never happened to me in my own city, but when I went to Durango City this happened to me. They stole 200 pesos from me. I paid first with 200, then they said they needed exact change, so I gave 15 or so pesos instead. Then they told me a $1 US dollar bill was the same as a $200 mxn bill, and refused to give me anything else except the 1 dollar bill. Which in the end I never even got, by the way. And I'm not even American.

This was at a pathetic little bar in downtown Durango, that was a block away from our 85 peso / night hotel... The person I was with had gone back to the hotel, and I was there alone after 12 or so, so take it for what its worth. These are my experiences only. And now I don't pay with large bills in situations like that.

I tried arguing with the dumb lady who did it, but in the end I didn't want to cause any trouble. People were looking at me not having a clue why that 20 year old "gringo" was fighting with the bartender. It was a long time ago, but it upset me enough that I'm not going to forget it any time soon.

(This post was edited by scott on Dec 27, 2002, 1:07 PM)

esperanza

Dec 27, 2002, 12:33 PM

Post #8 of 31 (9173 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

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Scott, yesterday I read your post on the 'Learning Spanish' forum and was feeling very happy for you that you've learned so much and were willing to put your learning out there to help someone else. Now, sadly, I see this about the 'fat ugly lady' and hope some day you learn that no matter what her physical attributes, she's a human being just like you~and that all of us human beings, no matter what we look like, have good and bad in us. What you said is really offensive.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

scott

Dec 27, 2002, 1:15 PM

Post #9 of 31 (9161 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Pesos For Goods

I'm sorry, I have nothing against anyone because of things they can't help. The truth is I started out with a 4 letter word starting with c, then a 5 letter word starting with w, and in the end I thought what I said was pretty mild. I didn't mean to offend anyone else based on that. Her, yes, I do mean to offend her she stole $200 pesos from me.......... I will say again I have *nothing* against things that people can't help, such as if they are naturally big boned. So I'm sorry for that, but yeah this lady deserves a good kick in the ass.

I changed fat ugly to dumb. But her looks were actually relevant because of the nature of the bar.....

Esteban

Dec 27, 2002, 2:32 PM

Post #10 of 31 (9147 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

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Don't misunderstand me Scott, I've been "taken" several times with the money shakedown. Most of the time when I've had too many beers. Sometimes because of a misunderstanding of some kind and I get too lazy to work it out because I'm not totally fluent. I'm getting better at it though and with both negotiating and making sure that I clearly understand the transaction. In a bar, late at night, I'd hold on to my money until I saw the change while both of us held on to each other's money and each let go at the last possible moment. I also tell them that letting go hurts my fingers.

jennifer rose

Dec 27, 2002, 8:06 PM

Post #11 of 31 (9107 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

Oh, Scott. What if the barmaid had been beautiful, a Rhodes Scholar and a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, kind, caring and nurturing, the veritable woman of your dreams, who said exactly the right thing, when she extracted the cover charge from you? Would you complain then? <g>

These things happen, and not just in seedy bars in Durango. It can happen in tony joints in New York City, and little stores in Mineral Wells, Texas (where an old lady accused me of not paying for a newspaper, when I perfectly well did pay for it, lecturing me -- as a 7-year old -- about honesty, doing more to destroy the image of Mineral Well, Texas, in my mind than she could ever imagine.).

rick

Dec 27, 2002, 8:42 PM

Post #12 of 31 (9102 views)

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Re: [Ed] Pesos For Goods

once in Durango and another time in Barra Navidad a rather substantial hotel had NO change for anything - apparently employees are not allowed to handle cash - so exact change was a must - it took me a long time to understand what they were saying (cambio) since I could not believe it

scott

Dec 28, 2002, 1:42 AM

Post #13 of 31 (9091 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Pesos For Goods

Ooh maybe you misunderstood, this was not a cover charge. The cover was $50 pesos...... Trust me, I don't part with money very easily.... Even if she is very beautiful, soy muy codo. Hence why I am whining about something that happened several months ago. To be fair, this is the only blatant rip off I've experienced, besides with Telmex, but I've already shared my thoughts on $4000 peso a month phone bills several times. But anyways nothing else has ever happened to me, so thats the good thing. I would like to share good stories, but I don't think thats a very wise thing to do.

You do have to watch out a little bit, sometimes they might try and rip you off ever, ever so slightly in the variety stores, etc. Today I was over charged $1 peso, the girl charged me $23 pesos but when I got home I rechecked and it should have been $22. I know for a fact this girl wasn't ripping me off intentionally, she is very sweet and works at the store a couple doors down from me. But the fact is she was adding in her head, and I've bought these things a zillion times and know it should have been $22 instead. So, yes you have to pay a wee little bit of attention. Yes I realize I'm talking about 17 Canadian cents here, but still.... I buy these things every day (Pepsi, Juice, etc).

Another thing I've noticed is with the chips. You know you have your $2.50 Doritos, and your $4 peso Ruffles. Well, sometimes if you go to a store where they haven't seen you before, they will pretend to think the Doritos cost $4 pesos too. When you point this out to them they will just pretend its a mistake. I used to live on those $2.50 bags of chips, so I know. I stopped eating them when they got hiked up 20% to $3 pesos. But anyways, you do have to watch out.

Yep if anyone needs any advice on how to live in Mexico on a veeeery limited budget, just ask me.....

esperanza

Dec 28, 2002, 5:43 AM

Post #14 of 31 (9071 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

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Has ido de Guatemala a guatepeor, Scott. Who is this 'they' you talk about? 'They' as in all shopkeepers? 'They' as in all Mexicans? 'They' who? When we write for these message boards, it's not possible for those who are reading to understand, other than from the written word, what is in our minds and hearts. The offensive part of your post about the woman barkeeper wasn't about money, it was about basing her behavior on her personal attributes. The offensive part of this post is about 'they'. No matter what your intention, you read like a suspicious bigot, someone who is always on the watch for 'them' because 'they' are going to take advantage of you in some way. Pay attention here: I am not saying you are a bigot, just that this is how you come off in this post, and I feel certain that you don't want to sound that way. Right?

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

keith

Dec 28, 2002, 11:01 AM

Post #15 of 31 (9018 views)

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yeah, and who is this "you"

and this "your" you're talking about, Scott? Do you mean Mexico Connects readers in general, or just us fat, ugly, balding red headed anglo saxons and us big-as-a-house expectant girls? harumph! and really!

Seriously, Scott, we'd like to see you edit those "you"s and "your"s to something like "gentle and generous readers." Those "they"s should be something like "ernest, well-meaning, hardworking, and otherwise honest shopkeepers and businesspeople who shouldn't be blamed for their genetic background or physical appearance."

keith

Dec 28, 2002, 11:35 AM

Post #16 of 31 (8999 views)

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back sort of on topic

This, I'm sure, varies trememdously by person and from place to place, but my experience in Mexico is that "honesty" is a much more flexible concept than what I was raised with. Some years ago when I took my son into La Central, the biggest abarotes in our town, to buy a deck of cards he wanted, the owner, Don Carlos (an ex-presidente municipal) spent some time telling us how as a younger man he had managed to cheat (with a marked deck he'd bought from another cardsharp) some "Arabes" out of a bunch of money. He related this story with considerable pride at the clever way he had pulled it off. For a while he liked to give rubes an old toston instead of a new half peso coin until everyone got wise. Don Chalo who runs what used to be the Conasupo sure does make a lot of errors when he gives you the change. People joke about it, and no one really holds it against him. It's like a game he plays. Panchon who runs La Lupita always gets the change right, and so do his wife and daughter, but everyone knows that he will give you a better price on everthing than his wife or daughter will. And Enrique (he's been suplente twice) at La Zulema? Ovidate, hombre! Ese no tiene palabra, ninguna. For him, people who tell the truth just don't have enough imagination to come up with anything better. I've heard it said that one of the reasons the PRI survived in power for so long despite all of the well-known corruption was that they were smart enough to include almost everyone in the country, top to bottom, in the corruption in one way or another.

So what does it all mean? If you want to let this kind of stuff get to you, you will have plenty of opportunity. On the other hand, these people (esperanza may not like that term) can be lots of fun, they can be good neighbors and friends, people who will stand up for you and stand by you, people who will give you credit and trust you. It's a good practice, though, to ask how much things cost, run an approximate total in your head, and count your change.

Mereja

Dec 28, 2002, 11:50 AM

Post #17 of 31 (8994 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

Ponte trucho. A very well known saying in Mexico. Here in the US, weather I go to K Mart, Walmart or the corner grocery store, I make sure people ring up the right prices and count my change. It doesn't matter where you live, here or Mexico, there are mistakes and some people try to take advantage of whatever situation they can. And, some see you coming, if you know what I mean. So the same precautions need to be taken in Mexico as here. I have a few stories I could tell about here and Mexico, but we all learn from our mistakes. I think you were just trying to warn people so they don't make the same mistakes as you, but you can do that without bringing into play their physical characteristics. It was just a new experience for you.

scott

Dec 28, 2002, 1:04 PM

Post #18 of 31 (8982 views)

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Re: [Mereja] Pesos For Goods

I changed fat ugly to dumb. But her looks were actually relevant because of the nature of the bar.....

When I said this I thought maybe you'd all pick up on the type of place I'm talking about. These girls didn't have clothes on in this bar, and guys took them upstairs to have their way with them after each dance. Hence, looks are relevant. They were the ugliest strippers I've ever seen. Well, just about... But anyways do you think its wrong for me to call a stripper and/or sexiservidora fat & ugly?

Yes I was a little white boy alone in a seedy bar in downtown Durango, and I got ripped off. Now I'm just warning others that if they ever are in the same situation, don't pay with 200's............. I don't know why you all are attacking me because I used the word "they". They means shopkeepers. Isn't that how the english language works, if you are talking about shopkeepers you can use the word "they" to refer back to them without explicitly stating it on every reference? Trust me, you guys are reading things that just aren't there.

Thats almost as bad as people attacking Jennie because she said Mexicans usually don't break into houses with dogs out front. Big deal, thats not racist. Stop crying racism when its not there. I'm simply saying that sometimes shopkeepers give bad change or mis charge you on things that have set prices, such as all the chips, cookies & crackers, etc...

Mereja

Dec 28, 2002, 1:38 PM

Post #19 of 31 (8979 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

Now who is the dumb one. And your still trying to explain yourself.

Someone better lock this thread before it gets deleted.

(This post was edited by Mereja on Dec 28, 2002, 1:39 PM)

esperanza

Dec 28, 2002, 1:46 PM

Post #20 of 31 (8978 views)

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Re: [scott] Pesos For Goods

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Yes, I think it's wrong for you to call anybody all those things. Remember, each one of those women is someone's daughter, or sister, or mother, or wife, and each one of those women is intrinsically precious to someone.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

keith

Dec 28, 2002, 2:25 PM

Post #21 of 31 (8972 views)

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Hey, Scott,

How about telling us about taking an intrinsically precious daughter, or sister, or mother, or wife upstairs. Was it worth getting shortchanged over?

scott

Dec 28, 2002, 2:40 PM

Post #22 of 31 (8963 views)

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Re: [keith] Hey, Scott,

Um, I didn't take anyone upstairs. I said other people were. What, are you guys so uptight that you are morally against strip clubs now too?

Are you guys all missionaries or something?

And as I said it was the 50 year old bartender who stole my money, not a beautiful young girl.

(This post was edited by scott on Dec 28, 2002, 2:50 PM)

scott

Dec 28, 2002, 3:15 PM

Post #23 of 31 (8955 views)

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Re: [Mereja] Pesos For Goods

Cut me some slack alright. I'm not a middle aged or retired gringo who came to Mexico to live in fantasy land. I came here to live with my family, an uncle who I have been very close to for my whole life, who married a Mexican, who he met in Canada. They lived in Canada for several years before they ever came down here. My cousins are Mexican. I'm sorry if my uncle and I went to a strip club when we were in Durango, I'm so sorry that I don't meet your moral ideals etc etc. We were in Durango because he had something to do at a mine there. We stayed in a cheap hotel and went to a strip club. Big deal. You don't need to call me dumb for doing that. I'm sorry if all you know are those fancy 5 star hotels in Ixtapa or or something. So you all can prance around in your fancy restaurants that have "white tableclothes" etc, and I'll just do my own thing. You are actually defending some 50 year chick who stole 200 pesos from me? Why?? WHY ?? What is so great about doing that. Why are you all critizing me now? Oh big deal I am soooo racist because I said "they" sometimes overcharge you. Go cry me a river. Go back to fantasy land.

Go build another bloody church and go teach the bible which seems to be just about every gringo I meet here in Mexico. So I guess I forgot its you bible thumper rejects who I'm talking to here. My aunt and my cousins, one born in Canada one in Mexico, I love them very much, all of them, and you are sitting here telling me I'm racist against Mexicans because I said "they". "They sometimes overcharge you". Give me a break.

keith

Dec 28, 2002, 3:50 PM

Post #24 of 31 (8959 views)

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No wonder they overcharged you, Scott!

You big tease, you. You probably had those girls all worked up, and you just want to pay for a beer and leave them all frustrated and hanging. Tsk, tsk.

scott

Dec 28, 2002, 4:28 PM

Post #25 of 31 (8947 views)

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Re: [keith] No wonder they overcharged you, Scott!

Maybe.... The truth is my uncle had me all excited about this place he kept referring to as "DisneyLand", its somewhere out in the desert outside of Zacatecas and all it is is gentlemens clubs. He got me all excited about it, but then got delayed at this mine and we didn't have time to go back to Zacatecas. Hmm... So the truth is I just wanted to see what a Mexican strip club was like. I hadn't been here very long at that point. Unfortunately there are not very many in Durango.

Admittedly I rarely get to a fancy restaurant, or to cultural events and stuff. I would love sooooo much to be in Tzinzunzan tonight, but I'm kind stuck where ever I can get on a combi right now. I don't know. But just ugh it drives me crazy when people accuse me of being racist or of being a freak or something. In Mexico its the same as anywhere else. In Canada there are lots of stupid people, and reading things like the thread about Canadians in Mexico being cheap, it just makes me laugh. I don't understand why it upsets some people so much in the other way around just saying something so simple as "they sometimes over charge you". I think its wrong to say "Mexicans are sooo nice, they are this, they are that..", like wise, its wrong to say they are all bad, etc. Every single individual is different. Just because I used the word "they", there is nothing intended by it.

I think maybe my experience in Mexico is different than that of many gringos. I have met three other people my age in Mexico. One was a twenty year old Canadian hanging out in a small town on the beach, one was a Californian who came for a month to study Spanish at the university a block away from my home, and another was a 19 year old bible thumping Canadian who came to hand out missionary flyers downtown with his missionary uncle. And I met two 20 year old Japanese Americans from Japan, who also are here doing the missionary thing for a little while. I don't live with my aunt and uncle, I rent a room with two little old ladies, in a tiny house. So I think my experience is maybe different, not better, just different. And you guys shouldn't be so quick to jump all over me when I say something slightly negative, like that I've been ripped off. This is my experience. When an older gringo is sitting around in a plaza downtown, do hippie kids come offer to sell you weed, or actually come up to talk to you sitting there smoking a joint right in the main plaza? Stuff like this is different, I doubt that stuff happens to older gringos, and I think you guys shouldn't be so quick to attack me when I relate my personal experiences here in Mexico. They are not better, I don't claim to be anything special, just that you should listen or something. No one wants to know whats its like for a 20 year old white boy in a seedy strip bar? Ok I guess with this, maybe not, but anyways, don't call me dumb, Mereja, just because I went into this place. Doesn't the fact that I was there in the first place show that I feel very comfortable here in Mexico, and am not very scared that anyone is going to hurt me, etc, etc. Sure they might rip me off or something, but thats about it. I'm sure that was a different experience than an older couple breezing through Durango, looking for a place to retire, staying in a 5 star hotel. Not better, not worse, just different. So don't jump all over me and bitch me out just because I, well thought I was, warning someone not to pay with large bills in small seedy bars. Common sense? Maybe. But whatever. I have lots of time on my hands.....

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