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I "get" her point.... but she could have picked on someone else....LOL

From yesterday's Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/con ... _0325.html

Parrotheads, an official organization of Jimmy Buffett fans, had all crowded onto this balmy, sun-kissed island, only 90 miles from Cuba, to sit under coconut palms and raise margaritas to Jimmy Buffett, and listen to warring bands playing Buffett songs at a dozen bars clustered near the gulf.

Official Parrothead Festival "board meetings" (?!) were under way at the Casa Marina resort to discuss — what? Cheeseburgers in paradise? With lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57, French fried potatoes?

ToplessRideFL wrote:I "get" her point.... but she could have picked on someone else....LOL

From yesterday's Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/con ... _0325.html

Parrotheads, an official organization of Jimmy Buffett fans, had all crowded onto this balmy, sun-kissed island, only 90 miles from Cuba, to sit under coconut palms and raise margaritas to Jimmy Buffett, and listen to warring bands playing Buffett songs at a dozen bars clustered near the gulf.

Official Parrothead Festival "board meetings" (?!) were under way at the Casa Marina resort to discuss — what? Cheeseburgers in paradise? With lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57, French fried potatoes?

She's from Palm Beach... I think it's just jealousy.

"The laid-back Parrotheads group is actually a hard-working service organization that has raised money for Alzheimer's Community Care, cancer victims, the Salvation Army and many other groups.(Visit www.phil.com). Jimmy can be proud."

Jimmy can be proud, but oops! www.phil.com!

And I've never been there, but I could see how MOTM could be a bit much to unsuspecting visitors to Key West at that time... I'd think it might be something some pholks might need to mentally prepare for!

Tiki Bar wrote:"The laid-back Parrotheads group is actually a hard-working service organization that has raised money for Alzheimer's Community Care, cancer victims, the Salvation Army and many other groups.(Visit www.phil.com). Jimmy can be proud."

Jimmy can be proud, but oops! www.phil.com!

And I've never been there, but I could see how MOTM could be a bit much to unsuspecting visitors to Key West at that time... I'd think it might be something some pholks might need to mentally prepare for!

less so than FantasyFest...

The complimentary blurb quoted aqt the end of the articfle siting PHIL instead of PHIP was tossed in there by the paper I think,..... maybe they recalled the head parrot lives in PB!!! LOL

ToplessRideFL wrote:The complimentary blurb quoted aqt the end of the articfle siting PHIL instead of PHIP was tossed in there by the paper I think,..... maybe they recalled the head parrot lives in PB!!! LOL

That's what I figured too...

Tiki Bar wrote:And I've never been there, but I could see how MOTM could be a bit much to unsuspecting visitors to Key West at that time... I'd think it might be something some pholks might need to mentally prepare for!

In a way, I can sympathize with her being "surprised" by unexpected company on the island. Ten years ago we booked a trip there for our mid-September anniversary - unbeknowst to us it was the same weekend as the annual Harley rider's charity Poker Run! While a heads-up from our travel agent may have been nice, we made the best of it and had a blast.
Truthfully what I find amazing is that she, as the travel editor for the Palm Beach Post, was unaware of MotM presence in Key West. Kind of mind-boggling, especially as she professes to be a Buffett fan, no less!

I've been visiting and performing in Key West for a long time. Now this is not geared toward anyone, and I really haven't seen much evidence of it, but my experiences with cab drivers, bar tenders, food servers is that they can't stand meeting of the minds because, and I quote, "Parrotheads don't tip well". Has anyone else heard this? As I said, my experience is that they are like any other group, some good some bad. But the perception seems to be otherwise.

ccmatt wrote:Has anyone else heard this? .

I dont know where that was started...but yes, I heard it.

I can tell you I am a 20% tipper if the service warrants it.

ccmatt wrote:I've been visiting and performing in Key West for a long time. Now this is not geared toward anyone, and I really haven't seen much evidence of it, but my experiences with cab drivers, bar tenders, food servers is that they can't stand meeting of the minds because, and I quote, "Parrotheads don't tip well". Has anyone else heard this? As I said, my experience is that they are like any other group, some good some bad. But the perception seems to be otherwise.

the reputation is pretty-ingrained and undeserved. and now, there is no way to get rid of it. No matter what you do, they are still going to claim that they were undertipped, and b**** about it.

PHIL



ah, thanks....I needed that !!


I am a member in good standing of the PHIL.



cracks me up

I suppose one *could* say that when they stop watering the overpriced mixed drinks, maybe people will tip better.

Seriously...Key West ain't a cheap place to hang out, unless you bring your own booze. I can see where some folks on a tight budget might consider tips for overpriced stuff being someplace they might economize, right or wrong.

Me...I've upped what I tip, the past two years. Especially after Wilma. And people smile and thank me, so maybe I'm doing all right. And yeah...I know just enough about the economics of trying to live in the Keys to know that the folks waiting tables and such need the $$. When they deserve it (or at least don't go out of their way to *not* deserve it), I'll give it to them.

TropicalTroubador wrote:
Seriously...Key West ain't a cheap place to hang out, unless you bring your own booze.
.

Have flask...will travel.

I drink Appleton Rum which isnt usually in every bar in town...alth I will say KW drink spots carry it more often than not.... And you are right about over priced.... At Louie's Backyard 2 Appleton and diets in maybe a 8 oz glass before the ice was $16.00! A 5th costs 11.99 @ the liquor store! We had one round...but I gave her a $20!

ccmatt wrote:I've been visiting and performing in Key West for a long time. Now this is not geared toward anyone, and I really haven't seen much evidence of it, but my experiences with cab drivers, bar tenders, food servers is that they can't stand meeting of the minds because, and I quote, "Parrotheads don't tip well". Has anyone else heard this? As I said, my experience is that they are like any other group, some good some bad. But the perception seems to be otherwise.

At the risk of inviting ire from certain people, I'm going to respond to this. I've been in the bar and restaurant business for a dozen years now, including a year and a half in Key West from January 05 through May 06. As for whether Parrotheads tip or don't tip, I've learned that generalizations (or however you spell that word) never hold true 100% of the time. I've gotten great tips from people I didn't expect a dime from, and I've gotten stiffed when a good tip seemed like a sure thing. Sometimes, but rarely, it has to do with level of service, but if I wasn't a good, friendly and fast bartender, I wouldn't have been able to make a living at it for so long. The problem with the MotM and the perception it has among service industry people, is two-fold:

1) The help is exhausted. Coming as it usually does right after Fantasy Fest, there is a certain level of burn-out. Some people, feeling flush from the money they made, don't feel the need to be as polite or capable as they should be. Some also don't care for JB, his music or his fans, but why they live in KW is beyond me. Anyone who's moved there in the last 10-15 years should know what they're getting themselves into.

2) A few bad apples spoil the bunch. Like any other group of people, rarely do service industry people get together and talk about the vast majority of customers who were good to them. they instead b**** about the few who weren't. Stories of people who sat at the bar for hours and left a dollar abound. One of my friends during MotM 2005 had six people sit at a table of his for three hours and order nothing but cokes....so they could fill them with their own rum! Now, look at it from his perspective. On a super busy weekend, he has to give up one of his big tables to a group that probably spent no more than $40 for three hours. Even if they left a $10 tip, economically that kid just got killed, considering how much more he could have mae if that table turned once or twice (And to be a bit persnickety, if you're going to cheap out by bringing your own booze to an outdoor restaurant, you think they left him $10?) It's these stories that make the rounds and color people's perspective of the Parrotheads.

Someone else said it best: KW ain't cheap. And while it is certainly everyone's right to go on vacation wherever they want, some consideration should be paid to including tipping into the budget. If you can't afford to tip, you shouldn't go out. I'm not saying everyone deserves 20%+ (and those who usually b**** about it don't) but people should be prepared to give it up when they get really good service.

as for my own expereince, I treated it like any other day. I loved the opportunity to talk to people from all over the country when they came to KW on vacation, and the fact that we had JB in common to talk about made it even better.

I tip based on service 1st....2nd if i'm buying one drink say appleton and coke and they charge 5-6 dollars i'll tip a buck...or 4.75 for a corona then about the same...but if say that same Corona or drink is 3-3.50 i'd give a five and tell them to keep the change..so sometimes bars screw there staff and themselves by raising the drink prices!!!..which i'm sure is done for MOTM!!

ToplessRideFL wrote:

TropicalTroubador wrote:
Seriously...Key West ain't a cheap place to hang out, unless you bring your own booze.
.

Have flask...will travel.

I drink Appleton Rum which isnt usually in every bar in town...alth I will say KW drink spots carry it more often than not.... And you are right about over priced.... At Louie's Backyard 2 Appleton and diets in maybe a 8 oz glass before the ice was $16.00! A 5th costs 11.99 @ the liquor store! We had one round...but I gave her a $20!

I was drinkin' Mt. Gay & Diet, and I thought they were $7 each...but I coulda been wrong.

Then again...Louie's Afterdeck is *worth* paying $8/drink. At that point, you're not buying the booze; you're renting a seat in a *very* lovely place. And they don't seem to water my drinks.

And yeah...KW is better about carrying a variety of rums than, say, your average bar in the Bay Area (San Francisco, that is). But when I can find Mt. Gay here, I'm only paying $6/drink max.

I tend to buy a bottle of rum when I hit town - I'm partial to the Conch Republic Dark, which is usually $9 for a full liter bottle, 'cause I can't get it anywhere else. And it's relatively nice stuff for the money, even if it's no Mt. Gay. I'll spike my own drinks at events like the street festival and the all-day lawn bash at the Casa, and maybe top up a weak drink in a bar. But these days, if I'm in a bar, I'll pay the extra $5 or so for the shot of booze. It's easier, and better karma.

Caribbean Soul wrote:Truthfully what I find amazing is that she, as the travel editor for the Palm Beach Post, was unaware of MotM presence in Key West. Kind of mind-boggling, especially as she professes to be a Buffett fan, no less!

What amazes me is that more than four months after the event, she still thinks that MOTM is newsworthy.

The drink prices Ive read in this thread are crazy,and I ve met alot of parrottheads,and they are great people...been to key west a couple times ,love he place but the prices are a bit out of hand.Any way what Im trying to say is Im proud to be a parrotthead,and a member of a fan club we do a lot for our communities,and have fun doing it.

What is our motto........something about "you either get it or you don't...."

i've just gotta say...

that if you had an experience like that, would you be seeing MOTM as a great thing for everyone?

it seems like most bn'ers understand that. i think its definitely in line for us to kind of police ourselves, especially on large phlockings. sure, have plenty of fun -- but remember that there is a limit and that it's ok to remember last night.

we can't overstay our welcome in such beautiful places such as key west. i guess, just remember that the locals always remember what happened "last year".