Negotiating with vendors: English vs. Spanish

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I speak Spanish well enough to say the usual greetings and have a simple conversation, plus if need be, ask for help. My cruise includes a port of call in Cozumel, where I'm planning to buy a few useful things and/or fun souvenirs.

 

Strictly out of curiousity, do I have a better chance of negotiating down the price or getting extra things thrown in if I speak to the vendor in Spanish? Or it doesn't make a difference, since money is money, no matter what language you speak, plus they know English well? When I stayed at all-inclusive land resorts in the past, I got better service when I spoke to the workers in Spanish, and heard interesting stories.

 

Does it make a difference with the vendors?

[kickballpro]

We are fluent in Spanish and I can tell you, it doesn't make a difference at the Port Shops. We didn't like the vendors at the Port Stores. They seemed almost bitter that they had to serve tourist all day. Once you get away from the port and into the stores it helps alot. However, Cozumel is a really busy DIY port. So prices start a little higher than you would see in other Mexican cities. The stores on the Main Street will go down in price a little, but they get plenty of business. You can find some alley shops that your language can go a long ways to getting really good Mexican goods at low prices.

 

If I may suggest, hire a driver for a day. There is an entire thread dedicated to it. Some people book it far in adavance, but we used our Spanish to get a driver at the port at a rate that is half of what others paid at the port. The driver took us all over the island. Wherever we wanted to go. We saw ruins, housing projects, went shopping, went to a beach, a hospital, to a wildlife protected area, we went to a part of the island where there were few tourist and a beach in which we took pics that looked like they were from a Corona Commercial. Anyway, the driver also took us to shops that knowing Spanish saved us alot of money.