Isn't it annoying when you look at a restaurant during the day, see the menu, see the sign giving the number to ring to make a reservation, then try ringing to make a reservation & can't get through!
Yesterday tried ringing Vespucci for a reservation, rang 18 times during the evening - every time the phone was engaged. This morning still engaged, so went there today to try to reserve.
We find out from a passing person that they are closed this week, but no sign to tell anyone that! So guess what we will probably never ever try again. how difficult is it to actually put up a sign by their notice board, or (and I'm really pushing technology here) have an answering machine with a message?
Much easier to just take the phone off the hook.
Is the restaurant worth the effort, we'll never know.

Hey John..Really, if this is the worse of your problems you've really got it made. Be thankful you're on Bonaire. I suspect that many many folks would gladly trade places with you, with restaurant inconveniences & all.

last winter i tried to make reservations at donna and giorgio's. the phone was busy every time i called. that went on for over a half hour. then i decided to call other restaurants to see if they had the same problem. every phone was busy. it was a telbo problem. we went to donna and giorgio's and apologized for not being able to make a reservation....donna didn't even realize there had been a phone problem but she was starting to wonder why so many people were walking in without calling first.

as always, she was very gracious and got us a table as soon as she could and we had a great meal.

So sorry, I forgot that unless you are member of the inner circle you are not supposed to make any comments.
Maybe the guidelines about what is and is not allowed should be stronger!
Is Pat's comment OK because of "Extraordinary" status?

John do you just look for stuff to complain about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you ever had anything positive to say about anything.. If you don't like BT go somewhere else and complain some people get tried of hearing it..........

Sima down now...sima down folks.....

John, bummer about Vespucci's. You have a right to your thoughts/complaints. Maybe someone who reads the board and lives on Bonaire will let the owners/managers of Vespucci's know about your frustration (and a viable frustration IMHO). I wonder if the busy signal was a Telbo issue, as the restaurant was closed.

A lot of restaurants close down for weeks/or the month of September for vacation. Most restaurants are run by the owners, so it's the only vacation they get each year.

This has me thinking however, do most restaurants post a sign when they are closed for a period? Just wondering

On one of my trips to Bonaire, don't remember what one, I think it was an October trip, I really wanted to go to Capriccios, but every time I drove by they were closed. No sign. Found out they were closed for the month, as they usually do each October (again, I think it was October).

FYI, comments are not allowed to stay because of one's "status" on the board.

That being said, everyone is allowed to complain, sometimes good things can come from it, you never know.

I had the same problems with Will's last trip. I would call and it would ring and ring and ring and then all of a sudden I would get tones like a fax machine. A friend down the street told me they were closed. Since I was fortunate to have a long stay, I was able to get in when they returned.

Why is it that restaurants do not post messages on their phones? Are they charged if the phone picks up? Is it that they would have to have it in too many languages to make it worth while? Or is competition such on island that they can close and not fear repercussions of lost customers?

It really bothered me and I would like to know why they don't use messages on their phones.

I bet the Chicken Lady would know...oh Ruuuuthhhh....

I'm wondering if putting a message on the machine or a sign in the window might make them more likely to be theft targets? I mean, why tempt fate? Granted if someone is casing the joint, they will find out in a few days whether they are closed for any length of time, but that's my $0.02. :-)

Oh for Pete's sake.....re: phones on Bonaire: In my experience, answering machines don't work well here because most people hang up when they get one (and the caller is always charged for the call, even from land lines; locals don't like losing a minute's time for an answering machine). Also, since our hang-up tone is different than an American hang-up tone, the machine keeps recording it. American answering machines don't record dial tones, right? It was that way years ago when we tried one. All we came home to was message after message of our local tone. Then when they get full, they don't pick up anymore...anyway, that's my theory/experience. Well, that and the adapter burning out. Restaurant phones also stay busy a lot when they're open because of the credit card verification calls, and, dial-up internet still exists here.

The thing that cracks me up is people trying to call me if I'm on the phone (they get, horror, a busy signal!). I've had them freak out and start calling every number they have for me, sending me e-mails shouting "HELLO, ARE YOU THERE?!!" because they're so used to voice-mail picking up everywhere else. I explain to them: we were on the phone, that's why you got a busy signal. When we're off the phone, your call will go through. Must be all part of that instant gratification mode.

Guys, people close for vacations, especially in September. Sure, they should put up a sign--but maybe there's no place to put one that'd stay up/not get destroyed in the rain. Maybe they just forgot. If you're getting annoyed at this stuff, then I suggest you hit the next happy hour anywhere, try to adjust to island life, and chill.

And that's why we love Ruth.

Thanks Chicken Lady, I knew you would be able to put it in perspective for everyone

If I lived on Bonaire, the phone thing would probably drive me nuts, but as a visitor, great balls 'o fire, it's the Carribean....I don't expect things to run like greased ball bearings; it's another place, another culture, and it is what it is....





Wow...that came out as more of a rant than I meant it......

(Message edited by barbara_gibson on September 27, 2008)

Cheez Whiz, what's with your knickers all in a twist, John? Sure, you can make any comments you like, and so can anyone else. If you expect to get no feedback, you are definitely in the wrong place. Say what you want, within the guidelines, but realize, everybody else has the same right to speak their mind as you do. It's all good.

Wait a goldang minute.....Cheez Whiz?....we's almost getting personal here....them's my relatives. In fact...some of them might be shown on my profile family photo (cynde....you aint the onliest smart one).

El Quesodelvis

oops duplicate

(Message edited by seb on September 27, 2008)

I tried to put together a list of who is on vacation, etc. and post it on www.bonairediningguide.com. It is a tedious task and the chance of error is too great to keep it accurate and rather than post the wrong info, I decided to find a better way...any suggestions..

Much more work for you (and I wouldn't want to do it----but a posting every month on BT about who is closed for the month? Since you're a local, you would have the first access to news. But I don't blame you if you wouldn't want to do it-you do enough for us anyway.

I say do it like all the other islands do it. It's well known that the Caymans during the month of September are closed or have limited staff. The seems to hold true in Bonaire. Post this information on infobonaire and everywhere else via the tourist dept. In addition, the "normal" traveler to Bonaire knows, "YOUR ON ISLAND TIME."

john, sorry, i haven't been on the boards for a while. all i did was post my observations about one incident with one restaurant and our experience trying to make reservations. sorry it upset you...apparently you are very easy to upset...i did it without even trying....guess that comes with "extraordinary" status....it's a gift.

My question is why would anyone book a vacation on a beautiful island and expect everything to be like home? Why book a foreign vacation anywhere and expect it to be like home. I travel to experience different cultures, etc. Bonaire offers a lot of updated amenities but it is still a small Caribbean island. Everything has to be transported to the island, by ship. The beauty of Bonaire is that it is not "Americanized", you know, no high rise hotels (yet and I hope NEVER), no golden arches, and the only stop light on the island is at Pasa Bon Pizza. I think that people who live on Bonaire do so because they love the island, the people and the ideosyncracies (sp) of Bonaire. I would hope the same feelings are shared by our guest on Bonaire. Shelley

I guess John's glass is half empty. Some Brits like to moan, I like to have fun.

Dos Brights please

not a fun way to go thru life. i know other people like that (maybe i'm a whiner magnet). after a while you just learn to ignore them and enjoy life in spite of them

Shelley, Brian, Pat, do you realize that what you are doing above is ... whining? You are whining about people that are whiners!

Shelley, I too liked the non-Americanization (meaning USA-fication) of Bonaire, superficial as it were. Prices are well Americanized both in magnitude and in denomination. So is the lingua franca. One of the few things that has not been Americanized on the island yet, is customer service. Truly, this selective non Americanization is quite interesting.

From my perspective, what annoyed me on a couple of occasions at Bonaire was the disconnect between the price we were paying and the customer service we were receiving. I can tolerate substandard customer service as long as I don't pay for it. When I am paying stateside prices without the corresponding customer service and then I register my complaint, does this make me a whiner? I don't think so.

(Message edited by lgreco on October 5, 2008)

You have to keep in mind that what may seem like sub-standard service to us (North Americans) is considered good service in other places. In Quebec it is impolite for the server to remove the plates of people who are finished their meals before everyone at the table is finished.

They may see fast service as being rude and pushy.

That being said, everything moves at it's own pace on Bonaire. It can be charming and annoying at the same time........ but it is Bonaire so you might as well adjust and enjoy yourself.

Fid, I agree that there may be cultural differences that could be perceived as a lack of customer service concept. But there are objective issues that constitute factual lack of customer service.

For example, we could agree that if you went through 5 rental cars in 2.5 days, until you got a barely safe and functional car, that there is a factual lack of customer service. There is nothing cultural here.

Or, we could agree, that waiting for 40 minutes for your beer while it's sitting on the bar getting warmer by the minute, is not cultural (Heineken is supposed to be served cold, after all). And not given a fresh cold beer instead stems from a reduced customer service notion.

The slow pace really doesn't bother me as long as it's a genuine expression of the island's idiosyncrasy. My only experience of unacceptably slow pace at Bonaire had to do with a very warm bottle of Heineken at a very disappointing restaurant. My wife and I enjoyed he rest of our meals, slow paced as they were.

We had a hankering to try the breakfast burritos at Last Bite Bakery during my early September trip. The sign said she was on vacation through the Friday the day before we arrived, but it was clearly locked up on Saturday morning. I drove by later with the intent of physically checking the door just to make sure, but there was someone else already shaking the door and looking frustrated so I didn't even need to stop.

The next morning, the mystery was cleared up by a sign posted saying that she was still on vacation, but returning Wednesday. Faithfully, I returned Wednesday morning to find a new sign that she would return Friday morning. And wouldn't you know, on Friday, that was replaced by yet another sign, placing her re-opening date beyond the reach of our one-week vacation.

Whatcha gonna do? It's the Caribbean! We'll be awaiting those breakfast burritos next trip.

Greg, thanks for your persistence... sorry it didn't pay off. Indeed, my vacation was extended several times due to personal reasons. The breakfast burritos will be warm and waiting for your return. :-) Annette

Annette, we had our noses pressed against you locked door on our trip too. But we'll try again...your deserts are so good that we have to have RULES about how to share them!