We
are expats, I think you'd agree, HB? Our cleaning lady gets 2,400 pesos per month plus 100 pesos a day in transport costs plus snack lunch. She works 3 mornings a week so for comparison purposes it works out at 200 pesos a morning. She does the cleaning, not the cooking, which I do. I consider her to be well paid & more importantly, so does she - she's been with us 12 years. And she's worth every peso!
If you were to total up her hours to a fulltime job it would work out similarly to what SamanaJon pays, except that we never would have a fulltime person because there is only so much cleaning needed! However, during her morning our cleaning lady has no down time: other than her snack lunch, she works continuously. Fulltime staff by the nature of a full days work have more down time.
I don't know that it's so much 'they saw you coming' but it might be that those of us who pay above the odds do so deliberately, with eyes wide open, knowing what the price of essential food items is and wanting to help out if we can. I agree that it is higher than many Dominicans would pay but it doesn't
necessarily mean we are foolish. Could be something to do with our political philosophy..........but I won't get into that!