Review Best Posts in Thread: Dumaguete is not the best place to retire.

Seems like you would have saved yourself a trip if you had.

You act as if there is some major transgression or crime happening when in reality bad service, subpar food and outrageous food prices (when you factor in quality) is the standard in the Philippines. It is the way it has been since I first came to the country in 2005 and was probably like that long before that. Yeah, there are a few restaurants around the country that can step it up to a Western standard but you almost always pay a premium for that (more so than you would for the exact same service in the US).

There you go making those assumptions about people and resorting to personal attacks again. You are definitely putting off a pretty irritating "holier than thou" vibe.

It seems you have forgotten where you are. You are not in your home country anymore. You need to forget about those standards and prices and adapt to the local standards and purchasing power. Yes, the service is subpar and food overpriced...but it is like that almost everywhere in the country. You say you've been traveling around for a year in the Philippines? With your expectations and huge sense of entitlement I'd say the odds are around 2:1 you don't make it another year.

Again, none of this is breaking news to anyone on this forum (or a person who has even spent a couple days in the Philippines/Dumaguete). Many of us have complained here and to the managers of the restaurants. It has rarely ever made any lasting impressions on the way the business operate. They will only change the way they operate when they start to lose money.

What does religion have to do with service and people sleeping on the job? The answer is nothing, absolutely nothing. You say you have traveled and Dumaguete is the only place where Filipinos sleep on the job. Pay closer attention when you are traveling because it happens all over the country.

"I guess you'll enjoy counting"?
What does this even mean? Maybe I should cut you some slack, it seems that English isn't your first language. Given the arrogance, odd backhanded insults, p*ss-poor communication/social skills, desire to let everyone know how unhappy you are and a massive void where a sense of humor would normally be I'm going to guess you are German? If so that explains pretty much everything.

Why do you keep saying "innocent people"? That's a bit odd. Do you see yourself as some sort of restaurant reviewing super hero on a mission to enlighten us helpless citizens? Captain Complainer?

Lol What?

Oh boy, you're one of those types. Disagreeing with you isn't calling you a liar.

Huh? There is no way you are a Filipina. Was your dad German?

Solid logic. Perhaps you are Filipino.

Want to know how to hack the bad service issue in the Philippines? Carry your own service bell with you when you go out.

 

Oh my! What breaking news!

I take it you didn't do your research prior to making the trip or followed this forum. Your OP here is basically just copypasta of every single complaint that has been made on this forum since it was created.

I hope you didn't just read the Forbes article and say to yourself, "Gee whiz, I'll pack up my things and move to Dumaguete ASAP!"

It seems you have moved around the country quite a bit. You might just be best served with moving on to another city. I can assure you that the exact same complaints made previously here made little to no change to the way businesses operate or how traffic flows in the city. If you want to rant, well, go right ahead. Most of the members here have done so to relieve a bit of stress that living in Dumaguete will almost certainly bring. However, it is best to avoid making sweeping accusations against the local and expat communities. Chances are that most people are just as annoyed with it as you are.

 

I have noticed a significant improvement in the availability of and/or the ability to quickly order products, goods and services along with a much higher quality and wider selection of restaurants since I have been back (arrived 25DEC). Table service at many of these places has also improved. There is plenty of room for improvement but I feel they are definitely headed in the right direction.

While the selection of foreigner focused bars/nightlife/restaurant seems to have went downhill or stagnated (there are some exceptions) I have noticed major improvements and participation in the local bar scene. (These days I really prefer to hang out with Filipinos/Filmix as the conversations tends to be much more relatable, civil and cordial and the point of going out for them is to actually have fun and socialize...not to start bunch of drama/fights, put their mental illness on display for all to see and/or compair notes for which bar wh*re screws the best.)

Many of the bamboo hut style restobars I frequented in the past have completely remodeled to a hard structure and moved on to more modern interior design.

Yes, traffic sucks during rush hours but I can't really remember a time, since I arrived in 2010, when this was not the case. Most of us have the luxury of being able to adjust our schedule around these high traffic hours. If you have the ability to do this stop your whinging and adjust your schedule FFS.

Again, there is still plenty of room for improvement (for the love of God PLEASE make debit/credit card and mobile payment options widespread! I hate carrying around more than P10k and constantly having to go to an ATM.) but I have actually been quite impressed with the fast pace of improvement in and around the city/area. My 2 cents.