Having just done a blog on the crime situation, and pickpockets in general, it was only fitting that shortly after, a pickpocket would attempt, thankfully unsuccessfully, to pick my pocket.
Here's how it happened. I walked up to a parked public car. The car fills up and then leaves, and it still needed a few more people. I noticed a woman waiting for someone to fill the more uncomfortable part of the front seat--that is the one where you are halfway sitting on the parking brake, and the driver is shifting right next to your leg--and decided to oblige her. The instant I got in, a man jumped in front of her so that he could sit next to me. His accomplice sat in the back, as did the other woman.
I immediately became suspicious. Why had this man been so rude? Why was it so important to him to sit there? He began the usual pocket fumble, as the driver began to drive off. I scooted over noticably and stared at his hand in his pocket. He asked the driver if the car went somewhere everyone knows it doesn't. Upon receiving a "no," he asked to be let out. The driver was irritated, but I was relieved.
Once the two were gone, we had to back up and wait for two more to fill the empty spaces. As we drove off, I told the driver that the man was a pickpocket, and the woman behind me confirmed it. He went around the block and came back to the starting point, to make sure the two hadn't just hopped into the next car. The guy who works with the company asked him why he had come back. When he told him about the pickpockets, the guy said, "Yes, I recognized them." He knew that they were pickpockets, but had simply watched them get into the car!
Half the way home, the driver gave the other woman and myself a lecture. "You should have told me. I would have taken care of him." He pulled a baseball bat out from under his seat. He said that they have a room upstairs in their office where they take pickpockets when they catch them, and that they break all their ribs, and beat them badly, and that they usually die of their injuries. He wasn't joking. Vigilante justice is just part of this Dominican Life.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Cell phone number five...another one bites the dust & fun times in public cars
I must have a sign on my back that says "steal my cell phone." My fifth cell phone disappeared last week. It was stolen in a public car by pickpockets, as were two of the others. Another was stolen at knifepoint, along with my nice little camera. One was stolen from my friend about five minutes after I warned her to be very careful. I can't blame her, though. Those guys are pretty skilled.
You might think that I'm not being careful myself. Au contrair. I'm careful to the point of near paranoia! Pickpockets have attempted, unsuccessfully, to rob me many more times than they have done so successfully.
Part of living in a big city here is facing up to the crime rate. I have to take things into consideration when I decide to go someplace. Can I go in that area alone safely? If I take a picture here, will I be mugged for my camera a few minutes later? (Hint: take your indoor pictures with your nice camera, and get a disposable for your wandering around pictures.) I think about what time I can finish my shopping. It must be before dark, or I have to add in the cost of a taxi.
When I want to take a public car (functions like a bus on a route, but with less people), I have to quickly evaluate its safety. Does it have the green or yellow top? If not, it is a "pirate" and could be less safe. Does it look like it has been used for a public car? That is, does it look like it is three miles from the junkyard? Then it is probably safe to ride in--not necessarily mechanically, but probably it is a legitimate car on a route.
Yet I have been robbed in cars that were legit as well--they just go to another route to perpetrate their crimes.
Once I got in the front seat-- I must stop here and explain that the front seats are for three people. The left bucket seat is for the driver, and the right for not one, but two passengers. As I headed into the front seat, I see the other person is a man with a bandage wrapped around his ankle. He kept squirming and adjusting his position, and getting me to change mine, pretending that he was in pain. When it was obvious that no position would suit him, I said, I'll get in the back. The driver pulled over. As I reached for the back door handle, the two ladies inside said the back was "full." Now full, means you've paid four passages. If that was true, the driver would have told me no, it was full. They sped off. I found that I had been relieved of my change purse. Every one in the car was part of the gang. The two women were there to make women feel comfortable entering, and to reach through the space between seats, and steal what they could.
Another time, there was another gang of four, and I was once again in the front seat. I paid my fare upon entering. The other guy kept acting strangely, putting his hand behind a briefcase-like canvas bag, and moving it around, while instructing me to open the window. He was trying to distract me in order to let the others rob me. I clung tightly to my back pack and kept saying, what are you doing? The man said to the driver, "let her out; she's going to be too much trouble." The driver returned my money and dropped me on the curb.
Once I was carrying a load of cash. (I now take a taxi if I have much cash on me.) A man hopped in the car ahead of me, rather than behind me as he should have. So I already knew something was up. Then he proceeded to rummage through his pockets. As we are sitting tightly, pocket to pocket, this is a favorite trick. It feels like he is in his pocket, but then suddenly he is in yours, and it feels the same. I knew immediately what he was up to. I slapped my hand down over my pocket, and glared at him. He asked the driver if the car went someplace it didn't go, then had the driver let him out because he was in the wrong car.
I could go on and on about all the times I had been robbed or someone had attempted to rob me. But there were also the times when I was leaving my umbrella or my keys, or my change purse was falling out of my pocket, and another passenger or a driver helped me out.
The fact is, any big city has its pickpockets. The difference in this one is, perhaps, that they are known to the drivers, and often to the police, but nothing is done about them.
You might think that I'm not being careful myself. Au contrair. I'm careful to the point of near paranoia! Pickpockets have attempted, unsuccessfully, to rob me many more times than they have done so successfully.
Part of living in a big city here is facing up to the crime rate. I have to take things into consideration when I decide to go someplace. Can I go in that area alone safely? If I take a picture here, will I be mugged for my camera a few minutes later? (Hint: take your indoor pictures with your nice camera, and get a disposable for your wandering around pictures.) I think about what time I can finish my shopping. It must be before dark, or I have to add in the cost of a taxi.
When I want to take a public car (functions like a bus on a route, but with less people), I have to quickly evaluate its safety. Does it have the green or yellow top? If not, it is a "pirate" and could be less safe. Does it look like it has been used for a public car? That is, does it look like it is three miles from the junkyard? Then it is probably safe to ride in--not necessarily mechanically, but probably it is a legitimate car on a route.
Yet I have been robbed in cars that were legit as well--they just go to another route to perpetrate their crimes.
Once I got in the front seat-- I must stop here and explain that the front seats are for three people. The left bucket seat is for the driver, and the right for not one, but two passengers. As I headed into the front seat, I see the other person is a man with a bandage wrapped around his ankle. He kept squirming and adjusting his position, and getting me to change mine, pretending that he was in pain. When it was obvious that no position would suit him, I said, I'll get in the back. The driver pulled over. As I reached for the back door handle, the two ladies inside said the back was "full." Now full, means you've paid four passages. If that was true, the driver would have told me no, it was full. They sped off. I found that I had been relieved of my change purse. Every one in the car was part of the gang. The two women were there to make women feel comfortable entering, and to reach through the space between seats, and steal what they could.
Another time, there was another gang of four, and I was once again in the front seat. I paid my fare upon entering. The other guy kept acting strangely, putting his hand behind a briefcase-like canvas bag, and moving it around, while instructing me to open the window. He was trying to distract me in order to let the others rob me. I clung tightly to my back pack and kept saying, what are you doing? The man said to the driver, "let her out; she's going to be too much trouble." The driver returned my money and dropped me on the curb.
Once I was carrying a load of cash. (I now take a taxi if I have much cash on me.) A man hopped in the car ahead of me, rather than behind me as he should have. So I already knew something was up. Then he proceeded to rummage through his pockets. As we are sitting tightly, pocket to pocket, this is a favorite trick. It feels like he is in his pocket, but then suddenly he is in yours, and it feels the same. I knew immediately what he was up to. I slapped my hand down over my pocket, and glared at him. He asked the driver if the car went someplace it didn't go, then had the driver let him out because he was in the wrong car.
I could go on and on about all the times I had been robbed or someone had attempted to rob me. But there were also the times when I was leaving my umbrella or my keys, or my change purse was falling out of my pocket, and another passenger or a driver helped me out.
The fact is, any big city has its pickpockets. The difference in this one is, perhaps, that they are known to the drivers, and often to the police, but nothing is done about them.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Lying is part of normal customer service here!
Customer service is a nightmare here.
I haven't made a post lately because my internet has been out. During two different outages, I lost 11 days of Internet service. The chances are I will not be reimbursed for at least five of those days, because their (choose one or more of the following) lazy/ inept/purposely deceitful customer service people did not bother to make a report of my complaint when I called. Therefore, according to them, it was not reported at that time, and cannot be credited.
The first time, there was a cable cut on a main road, and there was a general outage of Internet service for a large part of the city. Unfortunately, when the cable was repaired, I still didn't have Internet. I had no way of knowing that it was repaired already, so I didn't call back till the third day. They said to hold, and in a matter of a few seconds, I had Internet again.
The second outage proved to be much more complicated. Like the first, it began with a general outage, but this time limited to my area of town. I called on the first and reported it. It would be back on that night or at least by the morning.
IN fact, I was told that daily. I was promised that without a doubt, they would have it back on (fill in the blank) this afternoon, tomorrow morning, within 24 to 72 hours. Also I was told twice that a supervisor would call me. Not one of these promises came true for the first 7 days. Finally, on the 8th day, after probably 15 phone calls total, one lost day of work, and who knows how many hours lost on the eternal hold system, a technician came and replaced my defective modem. It took about 15 minutes for him to set it up and get it checked out. (He had to call the company, and they put him on hold too.) A speed test revealed supposedly the correct speed, but trying to play a youtube video proved that I was not really getting that kind of speed. They are undoubtedly throttling that site, and other popular sites, as that happens whether it is a peak hour or not.
I also brought to an end, almost, over three months of visits to my former phone company. My account is now at zero--or at least they claim it is. But they can't give me the paper to prove it unless I come back and stand in their line for 30 minutes or more. I've spent hours in their line. Every person who works there knows me, I've been there over and over again. I've been lied to repeatedly. In fact, when I tried to transfer my Internet service to my new location, I was lied to over and over (tomorrow, today, in three days etc.) until after an entire month, I was finally informed that they do not even offer service in my area!
The poor customer service is why many Dominicans just give up and let themselves be cheated. They pay bills they do not owe, because they know that the business will simply not correct them. Customer service from the major services here routinely lie to their customers. Sadly, that is just part of this Dominican Life.
I haven't made a post lately because my internet has been out. During two different outages, I lost 11 days of Internet service. The chances are I will not be reimbursed for at least five of those days, because their (choose one or more of the following) lazy/ inept/purposely deceitful customer service people did not bother to make a report of my complaint when I called. Therefore, according to them, it was not reported at that time, and cannot be credited.
The first time, there was a cable cut on a main road, and there was a general outage of Internet service for a large part of the city. Unfortunately, when the cable was repaired, I still didn't have Internet. I had no way of knowing that it was repaired already, so I didn't call back till the third day. They said to hold, and in a matter of a few seconds, I had Internet again.
The second outage proved to be much more complicated. Like the first, it began with a general outage, but this time limited to my area of town. I called on the first and reported it. It would be back on that night or at least by the morning.
IN fact, I was told that daily. I was promised that without a doubt, they would have it back on (fill in the blank) this afternoon, tomorrow morning, within 24 to 72 hours. Also I was told twice that a supervisor would call me. Not one of these promises came true for the first 7 days. Finally, on the 8th day, after probably 15 phone calls total, one lost day of work, and who knows how many hours lost on the eternal hold system, a technician came and replaced my defective modem. It took about 15 minutes for him to set it up and get it checked out. (He had to call the company, and they put him on hold too.) A speed test revealed supposedly the correct speed, but trying to play a youtube video proved that I was not really getting that kind of speed. They are undoubtedly throttling that site, and other popular sites, as that happens whether it is a peak hour or not.
I also brought to an end, almost, over three months of visits to my former phone company. My account is now at zero--or at least they claim it is. But they can't give me the paper to prove it unless I come back and stand in their line for 30 minutes or more. I've spent hours in their line. Every person who works there knows me, I've been there over and over again. I've been lied to repeatedly. In fact, when I tried to transfer my Internet service to my new location, I was lied to over and over (tomorrow, today, in three days etc.) until after an entire month, I was finally informed that they do not even offer service in my area!
The poor customer service is why many Dominicans just give up and let themselves be cheated. They pay bills they do not owe, because they know that the business will simply not correct them. Customer service from the major services here routinely lie to their customers. Sadly, that is just part of this Dominican Life.
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