What's up with the horrible service in Puerto Rico? (hotel, wedding)
U.S. TerritoriesPuerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.
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Super long wait times, absolutely no acknowledgement from anyone in a restaurant for a looooong time, sometimes being completely ignored altogether and not getting any service at all. Restaurants not opening on time, food and even a simple drink taking so long. We are white and speak some spanish...
I thought maybe its a covid thing but it really just looks like horrible service, and almost a discriminatory thing...
Super long wait times, absolutely no acknowledgement from anyone in a restaurant for a looooong time, sometimes being completely ignored altogether and not getting any service at all. Restaurants not opening on time, food and even a simple drink taking so long. We are white and speak some spanish...
I thought maybe its a covid thing but it really just looks like horrible service, and almost a discriminatory thing...
We havent been to every side but we have been to san juan, culebra, rio grande. Both higher end places and lower end. The best service we got is the fruit stand on the side of the road.
Super long wait times, absolutely no acknowledgement from anyone in a restaurant for a looooong time, sometimes being completely ignored altogether and not getting any service at all. Restaurants not opening on time, food and even a simple drink taking so long. We are white and speak some spanish...
I thought maybe its a covid thing but it really just looks like horrible service, and almost a discriminatory thing...
I'm actually heading to San Juan in a couple of weeks. It sounds a bit concerning. Did this take place in San Juan? Any particular restaurants to look out for?
There is nothing disconcerning. It doesn't matter where you go south of the United States, customer service is lacking. It isn't that they are intentionally giving 'bad' service, but rather that that is the normal expected way of doing business. Expecting to be greeted with a giant fake smile and given prompt service is not how it is done, more so in a restaurant. In the islands of the Caribbean it's known as "island time." Could be a culture shock for some Americans used to the saying "the customer is always right."
Judging any restaurant outside of the USA/Canada by the customer service compared to those places is a moot point. One thing has nothingto do with the other.
Puerto Rico is in a gray zone, because on many things it's like the US and on other things it isn't. Customer service is more in tune with the rest of Latin America than with the USA. In other things it can be confusing, such as speed limits is MPH (like in the USA), but distances is in kilometers (not like the USA.) That's Puerto Rico in a nutshell.
If you're asking yourself "isn't Puerto Rico part of the USA?" Like with everything else, the answer is yes and no. Welcome to the twilight zone. lol Why is it like that? Because that's how Puerto Ricans want their island. It really is as simple as that. What may seem weird to you is normal to others. What would be considered 'bad customer service' on mainland USA is normal customer service in Puerto Rico.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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I agree with AntonioR. Our group learned this back in 1994 when we were working in PR. One of the ways it was explained to us was the customer was not to feel rushed when ordering or wanting the check to pay for your meal.
Our mentor showed and explained to us a simple wave of the hand alerted your server you were ready to order or you were ready to pay and leave.
Super long wait times, absolutely no acknowledgement from anyone in a restaurant for a looooong time, sometimes being completely ignored altogether and not getting any service at all. Restaurants not opening on time, food and even a simple drink taking so long. We are white and speak some spanish...
I thought maybe its a covid thing but it really just looks like horrible service, and almost a discriminatory thing...
I noticed the same thing when I visited San Juan in 2008.
At one restaurant, we told the manager about the long wait time and he got angry at us. LOL
I've traveled to Mexico many times, and I guess I was expecting the same warm welcome. But we did NOT get it.
It wasnt that we weren't being rushed. It was that we were being completely ignored when standing at the counter or after we were seated. The worst offender was Cafe Berlin in San Juan, with several bones to pick on our experience.
Overall, Puerto Rico seems not to care AT ALL if they get any visitor income. The whole experience, even down to the resort which cost thousands, was lackluster.
Add to that the ridiculous mandatory hand sanitizer and temp checks everywhere you go, along with the mask mandates and daily check ins to report your health status...AND the fees on top of taxes on top of fees...
I was planning to have my wedding here but after all this I would NOT subject my guests to this!
if you knew the hoops you had to jump thru to get married in PR you wouldn't anyway. tells me you didnt research or you are a liar. also proves you've never been to europe. lol
please cry some more little person. your tears is why the caribe is so salty
I've traveled to Mexico many times, and I guess I was expecting the same warm welcome. But we did NOT get it.
It wasnt that we weren't being rushed. It was that we were being completely ignored when standing at the counter or after we were seated. The worst offender was Cafe Berlin in San Juan, with several bones to pick on our experience.
Overall, Puerto Rico seems not to care AT ALL if they get any visitor income. The whole experience, even down to the resort which cost thousands, was lackluster.
What? Puerto Rico gets more visitors than many islands in the Caribbean and San Juan (particularly the Old San Juan-Condado-Isla Verde corridor) is the epicenter of the Puerto Rican tourism industry.
In a normal year (2010) PR received more than 1.3 million tourists (not including Puerto Ricans visiting the island.) Of so many islands in the Caribbean, PR was surpassed by just Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica. https://www.onecaribbean.org/content...Lattab2010.pdf
Regardless what anyone wants to think, PR is a major tourist destination in the Caribbean. Plus, unlike the three that surpassed it, PR is a mostly "a-la-carte" destination instead of all inclusive, and it still has the largest luxury hotel options (Ritz Carlton types) of any island in the Caribbean.
Quote:
Add to that the ridiculous mandatory hand sanitizer and temp checks everywhere you go, along with the mask mandates and daily check ins to report your health status...AND the fees on top of taxes on top of fees...
I was planning to have my wedding here but after all this I would NOT subject my guests to this!
Excuse the island for not wanting to continue spreading Covid while on vacation. What type of complaint is this at this time?
Last edited by AntonioR; 06-26-2021 at 10:21 AM..
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