Tipping for having car "looked after".
 

We've been to Morocco a couple of times and encountered the guys who claim you owe them money for "looking after" you car when it has been parked up, either at hotels, restaurants or visitor attractions.
We even had one guy wash our car while we were away and was holding his hand out when we returned!
We are going again in February in a 4x4, and wish to be fair without getting fleeced. My question is "What is a reasonable amount to tip one of these guys for "looking after" your car for a couple of hours or overnight?"

Dunworkin

At one place in Moyen Atlas, a real toriust trap we had the watchman, the faux guide, the washing guy and the beggar all reaching out their hands. It can get to you.
I think 4 DH is reasonable for the dude with the
yellow jacket watching the street. And 10 Dh for overnight secure parking. YMMV.

Why a tourist trap? Please explain better, cuz in case, we'd avoid it if we'll go to Morocco instead of Tunisia...

This is normal all over Morocco to the point of being unavoidable! Most of the time however it is a valid service worth paying for. I agree with 'priffe' - expect to pay 3-4Dh for general parking and about 10Dh for overnight. Small amounts, not worth being bothered by.

The only time I came unstuck was at a city hotel in Rabat, where the on-street parking was metered. Firstly a guy offered to get a parking ticket for me from the machine, this was helpful as I didn't understand the meter. For this service he expected a small tip and cheekily, also kept my change. Another chap then offered to watch the car overnight, and to be fair, when we came back from our evening meal he was still there, so money well spent I thought. However, sometime during the night there had been a changing of the guard, so a different bloke was there holding his hand out in morning.

If in doubt offer the pay the tip upon your return to the vehicle, this will probably not cause offence and will guarantee that the 'attendant' stays around.

It does seem to have become more common in recent years (decades). When I was touring Morocco in the late 70's the only place where it was carried out on an industrial scale was in the centre of Marrakesh and you felt that the money you handed over was for the guard not to steal your bike.

They can take the mick though. I left the bike in a hotel car park with an overnight guard and when I came back the next morning the top box, panniers etc had been forced open and loads of stuff stolen. The guard still wanted his money:thumbdown:

You probably get what you pay for, if you pay someone to watch your stuff he probably was still watching as agreed while it was being pilfered ;)

I grew up and still live in South Africa and we have a culture of people holding out their hands.

I may be in the minority, but unless I made a contract with someone to do some work, I will not pay them!

I wrote a little something on the problem here: “Gifts” for the locals...

Hi Dawie, thanks for the post about handouts to the locals. I totally agree and don't have strong views about it either :-) except perhaps that handouts take the receivers' (will-)power away. An educated Maasai man (i.e. Maarusha) told me in Tanzania: "Charity without responsibility is the virus perpetuating the disease of begging so prevalent in my people."

Thanks for your comments, guys.

10 Dirhams overnight and 4 Dirhams for a shorter stay sounds ok to me.

Dunworkin

That is AWESOME!!!! That's it! I'm having T-shirts printed with that one!

Best plan is to agree to pay, but make it clear you'll only pay on your return if everything is okay.

Have done that very successfully for years now.

Cheers, Sam.

hi.
pls note that in morocco those watchmans are legit ,registered and chartered :)
Those old dudes with the stick and the copper badge in the blue overall are ex-policemen that are entitled -by law!- to be official watchmans.
They *should* produce you a ticket after payment also.

Sounds like bankers in the UK.

We had people watch are bikes every where we went in Morocco, the only time we needed the guy was in the Riff mountains when I looked out the window i saw someone trying to steel my bike. I ran down and sorted it, on my return into the hotel I saw our guard asleep.

10 dh was about the price over night.

Pete

Parking Charges
 

In fact 90% the guys you see with their hands out are legitimate.
This is how it works:
The guys rent a section of road and pay to do so, this could be a side of the street, a particular parking area etc.
They have already paid for this before they stand there.

When they hold out their hand as you leave they are asking for money for the following:
Guiding you into the space
Keeping an eye on your car
Making sure anyone parking near your car does not hit it
Assisting you when leaving the space

They are not begging!

If you don't pay them, you are ripping them off, they have paid to rent the space. Do you park for free in the cities where you live?

If you pay more than 2 dirhams to park you are obviously either one or both:
1) Stupid
2) Incredibly wealthy

The rates quoted previously over night are correct for a car, but for a bike the maximum is 50 dirhams if you are solo and reduces to 20 dirhams per bike, if you are a group.

If you object to paying a guy 2 dirhams for parking so he can feed his family (remember most Muslims don't drink) don't go to Morocco, go somewhere else where you can live for free and not contribute to the people who will make you most welcome and help you if you let them.

I hope this clears this up.
Safe riding/ driving
Tim

Bah humbug
the beggar is a beggar, not providing a service
faux guides are everywhere in Morocco where tourists go
they should be cut short and not be paid
the guardian watching the parking lot can point them out to you
there is a learning curve to discerning the legit from the illegit
I'm still learning

To add to the last post, this trip the same watchy-man who last year was asking 10 Dh for overnight parking in Taroudant was now asking 25 - and was very upset when he didn't get it! Some serious inflation going on - wonder what he will want next year??
Like a Moroccan in Laayoune put it - "they are getting crazy up north"

10DH for overnight parking :( ...and I thought I was a tight Jock git. :biggrin3:

Maybe if there are a few 4x4s/bikes and everyone was contributing, 10DHs would be ok.

But that's not much for someone giving a solo vehicle/bike his undivided attention for probrably 12hrs.

I value my wheels and gear a lot more than that.

It reminds me of the guy who parked his car in Liverpool and the local kids asked "do you want us to look after your car mister?", "No, its ok I will leave my Rottweiler in it, it will be safe"

To which the Scouse kids enquired "so the dog can put out fires can he?"



The guides parking 'fees' are cheaper than London parking, and safer!

Strange. Is this a new thing? I was in Morocco in 2006 (which is a obviously a few years ago now) for about three weeks, toured all round but wasn't once asked for money to 'watch my bike'. A 2003 trip in a car (OK a battered old citroen) - same thing. Parked anywhere I liked, no problem.

I wasn't really in cities much - just in smaller towns, is it prevelant everywhere?

Its a shame - I never felt like my bike was at risk. This either signifies a change in the risk of theft or is just a new scam to relieve tourists of their money. Either way, not good. :(

Matt

I was first in Maroc on a bike in the early 80's and it was the norm, returned again in '06 and still the same for parking, but was pleasantly suprised that there were less hawkers and hasslers in and around Tangiers and other large cities nowadays, and was told there had been an official clampdown on them.
I found that the parking attendants were doing a pretty good job, so have no complaints about them.

I've had mixed experiences of parking guardians in Morocco. In places like the middle of Marrakesh they've done what they're supposed to do, in the sense that the bike + baggage was still there when I came back but my worst ever traveling theft was at a hotel where we arrived very late and because there was an all night parking watchman (that we paid) we weren't as careful with unloading as we should have been. Next morning the bike was still there but just about all the luggage was gone. The attendant said he'd seen nothing and the hotel said "tough".

Caveat Emptor as they used to say when I last toured the Roman Empire.

Just read this thread with a not inconsiderable degree of amusement, esp the story about the scouse kinds and the rottweiler!

I encountered this sort of thing in Morocco myself. It's irritating and a bit of a culture shock, although I am aware that the people with the badges are entitled to charge you, so that isn't that much different to a parking meter. Also difficult to argue with a language barrier.

Maybe what's needed is to learn the French phrases for "I am not paying until I come back and I will only pay if the car isn't damaged" or (for the story about the man whose car was washed) "I am not paying for something I haven't asked for" or "I am not paying unless you show me an official badge"

My experience was that it was good value for the money, we got into the "spirit of the occasion" and enjoyed good service. The funniest was when we parked the landcruiser in Marakesh and an old guy approached us (older than me!!) and held out his hand for his money, all official like, uniform, badge and walking stick, then i noticed the uniform..... General Post Office, it fitted him like a coalsack, but I bet he felt important!! The idea of "minding" the vehicles is worldwide and i still pay "minding" money in the London wholesale markets, a good job for older or retired porters, and a good service for not a lot of money. Have fun, Best regards, Bill Westley

the guard Abdul
 

We had to park a few times in front of the Mauretanian Embassy in Rabat. When leaving we payed the guard by giving him a cigarette for his splif. He was very happy with this and the third time we came he offered us a meal! We ate couscous with him...