Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 14961
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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yeah I hear ya.....but for me...going to Match and getting the ingredients to pull off a killer dinner and then cooking it is actually fun and relaxing....and there is a lot of interesting stuff to choose from there too......and you certainly aren't going to hear my wife complaining about me cooking up a great dinner either....but I love going out for a good dinner too.....so if its not a blatant case of price gouging....we'll go out to eat.......and if it is.....we'll cook at the bungalow...it's all good either way ....
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Election 08 - darkness has a hunger thats insatiable..and lightness has a call thats hard to hear
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KevinS
Reged: 07/23/03
Posts: 3305
Loc: Boston
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I have no comment on gouging, either on prices or exchange rates, other than to say that I know it when I see it, detest it, have a long memory, and have more SBH restaurants that I would like to visit than I have time in which to visit them.
Regarding restaurants that appologize and blame their prices on the Euro/USD exchange rate - I didn't experience this in November, but I may be patronizing different restaurants. It should be noted that, among SBH friends and visitors who I have asked, "Maya's" is by far the leading response when I ask which they consider to be the most over-rated restaurant on the island.
I do have a comment on the Visa/MC in Euros and Amex in USD difference. Two restaurateurs on the island have given me essentially the same explanation for the use of different currencies. I can't speak to the veracity, but I offer it for discussion.
Supposedly, a credit card machine, either Amex, MC, or Visa, can be set up to charge sales in only one currency.
Mastercard and Visa charge the merchant a percentage on all sales charged to their cards. The patron, if they carry a balance, also pay an interest rate to their bank. (No idea if that is shared with MC/Visa) Both MC/Visa and the issuing bank are getting a piece of the action, either out of the merchant percentage or the cardholder interest payments.
Amex also charges the merchant a percentage on all sales charged to their cards, but a higher percentage than MC/Visa. With Amex there is no bank involved, so Amex's profits are only coming from one end of the transaction - the merchant. One way for merchants to recoup the higher cost to them of sales made on an Amex card is to charge the sale in USD using a merchant-defined exchange rate, which is artificially high. Amex makes more money from the merchant than MC or Visa, but doesn't collect anything on the other end from the cardholder who is required to pay their bill in full. The merchant reduces the sting (to them) of the higher Amex fee by stinging the customer with a higher exchange rate. The customer pays up front via a higher exchange rate, and may or may not pay more in the long run - depends on how bad the merchant's exchange rate is.
Does any of this make sense as a plausible explanation?
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Lance
Reged: 11/21/02
Posts: 27
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Gayle, Nice report. I have a feeling that what is posted on this board finds its way around the island very quickly. What is needed is for the frequent January and February visitors to the island to contribute their impressions on how things have changed in reference to restaurants, and shops in 2004 vs 2003. This way each couple can make up their own mind on what is the best value for the weak American Dollar on their visit to St. Bart's. If this means more in-house meals, or more meals at Eddy's and less visits to Mayas so be it. You will be sending everyone a message that will be read by incoming visitors and merchants on the island. The end result, you will still be able to enjoy your vacation in paradise.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 14961
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Kevin....we dont take Amex in our shops because they are a living example of gouging...they charge the merchants around 3% per transaction.....where with MC/Visa, if you you know how and where to look, you can get a deal of around 1.25%....big difference if you do high volume business......if a customer disputes a charge on an Amex account....the amount being disputed automatically gets taken out of the merchants account until it is resolved....with MC/Visa the money isnt debited or credited until the conflict is actually resolved ( and 90% of our charge disputes end up in our favor )... once again....big difference....I love AMEX as a consumer...detest it as a merchant.....
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Election 08 - darkness has a hunger thats insatiable..and lightness has a call thats hard to hear
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Lauren
Reged: 10/10/02
Posts: 1332
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Chip, I agree with your analysis. In St Barths, supplies come from many places....U.S., South America, France, Caribbean...maybe St Barths should start using the dollar as a currency when they changeover to a Collectivité Outre-Mer...
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geopap
Reged: 12/30/03
Posts: 11
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Price gouging does suck..But except during X-mas and New Year's most restaurants are almost empty so they try to milk us when we visit. It is a shame that it happens but as a small business owner I feel their pain. I, however, would never do it to a degree that I lost customers! Hey guys, just stop taking AMEX or print a statement that explains your problem and encourage your customers to pay by Visa/MC.
GCP
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drr
Reged: 10/09/02
Posts: 72
Loc: Seattle
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Thanks for the report. Sorry to hear about the luggage. The people at SBH airport have always been very
nice to us. I hope you reported this agent.
Besides food, what else was going on on the island? What were the demographics in town and on the various
beaches? (Some friends of ours reported during Thanksgiving that Saline was visited by several cruise groups
who wanted to take pictures of all the c/o sunbathers.) Was the Island full? Did you get the impression
that the weak dollar has had any effect on the crowds?
You really can get by with two carry-ons. I take a rollerboard and a medium sized back pack. We take a little
box of detergent to wash socks, undies etc. out in the sink for our trip home. The rest of the time it is
shorts and golf shirts when out in the evening.(If a restaurant requires more formal attire than that,
we don't go.) Of course, not a lot of clothes needed for the beaches.
Hope the dollar recovers some prior to our next trip.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 14961
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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Quote:
(Some friends of ours reported during Thanksgiving that Saline was visited by several cruise groups
who wanted to take pictures of all the c/o sunbathers.
Please.....please.. ....please!!.....tell me that is not true......*rolling my eyes big time*
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Election 08 - darkness has a hunger thats insatiable..and lightness has a call thats hard to hear
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noel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 588
Loc: St. Louis, MO, USA
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Gayle,
Great trip report, and thanks for the info.
On the issue of luggage, however, I have to say that we were surprised at your reaction. Actually, I had to ask my wife the science teacher if a kg was actually 2.2 pounds. She assured me it was and asked why. I told her about your trip report and your luggage, and it makes us both totally sympathetic with that little SBH airport hysteric you encountered!!! In fact, we now want to run around with him and scream too!!! What in the world are you carrying??? Are you moving there?
Please let us know if you are ever on one of our little rinky dink flights and we'll take the boat!
Yeeoowww!!!
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julia
Reged: 11/20/03
Posts: 548
Loc: CT
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Gayle,
Thank you for taking the time to share such an interesting report. I have a suggestion re your luggage weight. We devour books while on St. B & thus would have a weight problem if we packed them. However, we send a box ahead of time to SiBarth indicating our villa name & date of arrival. It is always at the villa when we check in. We ship primarily paperbacks & we leave them for others at the villa or donate them to the Lorient sale. Alternatively, you could order your books from "Funny Face" & avoid packing them.
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