Believe me, Olga was expressing the cumulative effects of how bad things are down Placencia way. Rightly or wrongly, that's what it was, plain and simple. There has been an upsurge in petty theft since after the storm last year, probably something she does deal with on a daily basis in her store.

It was a misunderstanding of your intent from the get-go.

Perhaps so...but a customer-wise shopkeeper would have observed that we remained in the store, continuing to shop and came to the cash register to pay for our goods. At that point, any "fear of shoplifting" would have been allayed and she should have zipped it.
Instead, she loudly berated us, continued to run her mouth while holding her hand out for my money, ran it still (even louder) while placing said $$ in the cash register, and inexplicably, even continued her tirade as we exited the store.
There is no excuse that could possibly justify such behavior towards a customer. Coupled with the rather sullen attitude we encountered at the seafront bar (I personally don't appreciate either myself or my companions being asked "what do you need it for?" when requesting a key to the bathroom, when we are paying customers), we came away from Placencia Town with a very negative impression. We have since advised other cruising sailors to bypass Placencia Town when planning their trips along the Belize coast.
This experience was very un-typical of our travels in Belize, including everywhere we stopped when sailing from Ambergris Caye to the Rio Dulce.
Obviously, tourists can be assholes like anybody else, and if they behave like drunken idiots, are certainly entitled to be put in their place..but we were not doing anything like that. We were simply thirsty, hungry and looking for a place to spend our money.

Susangg

First, I am sure that there was no intention on the part of your companion to steel the can of sausages.

I could not help but notice that everything you write has the word MONEY somewhere in the text.

Could it possibly be that there is an attitude problem associated with MONEY involved here ?

Sure would like to hear the other side of this story...

I bit my tonge, counted to 10 a thousand times and slept on this one. I am trying to live up to my image http://community.webshots.com/user/bywarren
of a cute, kind, loving individual who just wants to get along with everyone, BUT,

Susan, you are quick to write voluminous words describing your opinions and exalting your activist agendas, which I more often than not disagree with, and enjoy the debate and the opportunity to point out our differences. But in this case, I think you are going too far and should reassess your position.

The people of Southern Belize have suffered tremedous hardships due to Iris. For you to suggest that tourists should bocoytt them and the Government needs to train them on how to handle tourists is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

Just because you pissed off a store lady or just because she was having a bad day, is no reason to call for the extreme measure you are.

And, don't give me that "feel good crap" that just because you donated to the relief fund you are "holier than thou" or just because you are spending a few of your bucks in her store that you have the right to suggest all of Placencia be bypassed by your sailing buddies.

If given the choice, the people of Placincia might prefer the "intoxicated, loud, dirty and otherwise obnoxious people" as opposed to your kind and tell you to take your money, spend it elsewhere, and use some of the long winded air that comes from you to help you to just sail on by.

I don't think you or your money will be missed all that much. If everyone was like you, tourism in Belize would probably disappear and they would all go back to fishing. There is alot to be said for just having to deal with smelly fish.

PS: Susan, re-read your post on "support the Wavedancer Victims". Your words, "a boycott is a powerfull weapon and should not be used mindlessly". Where is your mind on this one? I guess 20 people getting killed doesn't compare to someone giving you a piece of their mind.

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 09-08-2002).]

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 09-08-2002).]

Warren: Nobody is calling for a "boycott."
But one of the many purposes of this board is for people to discuss their experiences in Belize..That is what I did. I formed an opinion and shared it and explained the facts of what it was based on.
Personally, when I or my friends are mistreated by people (especially when it seems that the mistreatment is related to racial prejudice, which I continue to suspect it was) I believe it a reasonable reaction to the experience to choose not to return to where it occurred, as well as to express my opinion of the behavior.
Others who read it are free to form their own conclusions. I doubt very much that reading what we experienced will be a major factor in anyone's travel plans, but if a few people decide to plan their trip so that they choose another place to dock rather than Placencia Town (and there are quite a few to choose from) well, that's the way it goes. One town's loss, another town's gain.
And I'm sorry, but I just don't consider the fact that there was a hurricane there a year ago an excuse for rudeness, hostility and verbal abuse. If you do, well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
Furthermore, my "recommendation" had nothing to do with "Southern Belize" as a whole, nor am I suggesting that people should not visit Placencia Peninsula. I would definitely go back to Kitty's Place or to any of the many lovely hotels and resorts along the peninsula beaches. My comments were addressed primarily to cruising sailors who are looking for a place to dock their boat and spend a few hours, go shopping, have a few drinks, in town. My recent experience there led me to believe that there are other places that are friendlier and nicer for that purpose and I continue to believe that and you know why.
For example, when we got to Tobacco Caye, the bar next to the dock was closed, but the bartender was sitting around chatting with a couple of friends. When we walked up and asked if we could get a round of Margaritas, he ran next door, got his boss, and they opened up. We ended up staying there for two hours, had three rounds of drinks and walked around town, found a restaurant and waited for them to open up for dinner.
Everyone was really friendly and nice and seemed happy that we were there.
See the difference? Why is it "holier than thou" to recommend Tobacco Caye as a good place to stop and Placencia Town as NOT a good place to stop? In one place, we were treated nicely and in the other, we were not.
Or is there some unwritten rule on this board that you only share the good experiences? I don't think so....



[This message has been edited by susangg (edited 09-08-2002).]

My mistake. You used the word "bypass" and not "boycott". That must make all the difference in the world. It is my lack of a legal education. I am still trying to figure out the many meanings of the word "is", so excuse me if I am having trouble with two syllable words.

Warren: Please don't misquote me (or more precisely, quote out of context.)

On the Wave Dancer issue, I supported a boycott of the Peter Hughes Corporation for gross negligence leading to many deaths and lack of remorse for same.

However, someone else was calling for a boycott of the entire country of Belize because the government had re licensed Peter Hughes. I disagreed with that and pointed out that it was unfair to punish the people of Belize for something they had no power to do anything about (licensing of a business which we all know is based on money and graft, not safety or the feelings of the public.

It was in that context that I made the comment about "a boycott is a powerful weapon and should not be used mindlessly."

There is a big difference between calling for a "boycott" and opining that a certain town is not a very friendly place and sailors might want to consider stopping elsewhere. A "boycott" is a calculated and organized campaign targeting a particular business, industry, place, etc. to persuade people not to do business with it in order to achieve a particular political or economic goal. Describing a negative experience at a tourist destination and suggesting that people pick someplace else to visit on a chat board is not a call for a "boycott."

No legal experience is needed to distinguish these two things...just a bit of common sense.

i can't be mistaken for anything BUT a caucasian tourist, and that said, i'd like to state that this summer when i shopped at olga's i found it well stocked and the woman in charge (i am assuming the same woman under discussion here) to be friendly and extremely accomodating. i remarked one day a few days after i had bought a tub of what i thought was yogurt, that what was in the tub was not yogurt at all, but a thick creamy stuff somewhere between sour cream and cream cheese. she explained what it was (something between sour cream and cream cheese, used for pastries and such.) while i considered it my mistake and my loss, she offered to take it back if i returned it to the store, even after i told her i had given it a stir with a spoon. i thought it was pretty nice of her, i hadn't spent a ton of money there, just bought juice, water, beer, veggies, bread & cheese for one person. i hadn't even asked for an exchange, i was just curious about what the heck i'd bought.

i guess we all have good days and bad days. in fact, the woman from olga's and i had a brief discussion once about how some days are just awful for some things: like some days are all about dropping, or giving incorrect change, or leaving belongings behind and so forth. maybe that was her bad customer relations day.

regardless, there are other nice grocery stores and other bars in placencia. it's still a lovely place and i'd go back again.

peace---
gogo

[This message has been edited by gogo (edited 09-08-2002).]

Susan, you can parse and re-phrase your words all you want. The point is, you were opposed to a boycott/bypass/do not do business in Belize, because it might effect people who had nothing to do with the incident in question, and I agree with that position. But, I think it is inconsistent on your part to call for people to "bypass" Placencia, or any part of Southern Belize, just because according to your side of the story you had difficulty with some of the people there. That to me is my "common sense" view.

[This message has been edited by bywarren (edited 09-08-2002).]