Thread: 100 bt today or 1000 bt tomorrow?

Originally Posted by Wally Dorian Raffles

i agree danbo. it could be a cultural difference - back home, if you are 'friends' with someone who runs a pub or bar, you expect a few 'freebies' now and then, where as over here it is impolite to expect anything free from your friends business - infact it's the opposite. Supporting your friends business and spending money is the norm...

I wish someone had told my mum that when she ran a pub. She even tried to charge me (and the rest of the family) for spending Christmas dinner there! We must be an extraordinarily handsome family. Needless to say, I told her what she could do with herself...

I've had hotels in Thailand try to cheat me by claiming that I made phone calls (that I didn't). Either the front desk is running a scam or the maids are calling their friends whilst cleaning the rooms.

Being firm about the charges has resulted in my never having to pay them.

I often do get 'extra' consideration here as a friendly, regular customer, as it should be.
On the other hand, I have been farang-charged at times, that also happens. Rather than making a big scene, I will not be a customer any longer. The place is small enough for them to notice.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Originally Posted by keda

Needless to say we didn't pay for the duck and the restaurant lost a ton of biz over the next 5 years, not that they seem to care or understand why.

plenty of other suckers eating there, don't think you make a difference

The difference we made may be slight if at all noticeable, even when badwil is addedl, but the fact is the owners have not earned several thousands of baht that they would have made with nominal attention to common sense.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

I used to go to Pakboongloyfa quite often, I cant remember why I don't go there anymore as it was many years ago when they stitched me up for a dish that never arrived, I would have paid it but I haven't been back for the last 14 or 15 years, They have one on Soi Theprasit now but I haven't tried that one yet.

There's another one on corner of 3rd Rd and soi Chaiyampoom.

Originally Posted by stroller

Originally Posted by keda

but usually manage to get him some business at 100 bt a throw when I'm with friends...as I was yesterday, and took his camera, and took 3 photos of friends that are blissfully ignorant enough to get ripped off paying 100 bt per pic.

Nice chap you are, keda. - to the wrong sort of people...

Could start a new thread on this one but fact is, I used to think it was my duty as the encumbent to take care of friends and save them those extra baht, always telling them the right price and generally being a pain, the while watching them not care a damn and leave 50-500 baht tips, give room service a daily 100, 20 to songtaew if a 10 isn't handy, spray thousand notes at their girls as they swallow tales of woe, and dish out 100s apiece to the tarts at any bar we happen to be at...and these are guys that have been coming here for years.

So yes I did feel a bit obsolete telling them no tip is fine and 20 is great, then watching change from 1000 left behind because it's only £4 or £6 and that's less than we'd expect to leave back home...

Then mrs pulled me up, explained that as they don't care a toss anyway why should I make an issue of telling them the right or fair price - even when they ask! - if they're not going to take a blind bit of notice anyway. That's one thing the farang learned from the Thai, and I have since found it easier to ease off, and on occasion even helped them redistribute throwaway baht in the right directions. For example, if the evening's exes are going to touch on 5-8k anyway, what difference to them if I steer some of it to a bar with a sympatico owner?

Ironically, as I eased off, they started coming to their senses too, and I have noticed the purple and reds change to blues and green. It may be as mrs k taught the farang after all, that silence is the best therapy.

Originally Posted by keda

Over the years, just like anyone else who has been here a while, I have come across many examples of Thai inability to see further than the tip of their nose, but some still leave me shaking my head in wonder as to what if anything is running through their brain.

It's a genetic malady, unfortunately for them. Incurable & it gets worse as the inbreeding index rises.

Originally Posted by DrAndy

I don't really understand this thread

You go to a restaurant, they charge you for something that did not arrive

you do not pay, they call the police

how does it get to that stage. When I was in that situation (twice), the manager agreed that a mistake had been made and took the item off the bill. All friends.

there must be a course in PR that farangs could go on

Message understood, except the ass is where the elbow should be and it's not the farangs but the local yokels that need to crash in pr as well as basic as in so fcuking basic you have to be brain dead for it to pass you by business management.

Originally Posted by watterinja

Incurable & it gets worse as the inbreeding index rises.

Yeah, used to be a real problem amongst White South-Africans, that.

Originally Posted by stroller

Originally Posted by watterinja

Incurable & it gets worse as the inbreeding index rises.

Yeah, used to be a real problem amongst White South-Africans, that.

Never heard of that with regard to White South-Africans.

On the other hand, the Muslim population in SA had a serious in-breeding problem due to a lack of fresh breeding material from abroad & a small local gene pool.

The White Afrikaaners made use of the local indigenous population whenever they felt the need to expand their gene pool.

Originally Posted by keda

Originally Posted by DrAndy

I don't really understand this thread

You go to a restaurant, they charge you for something that did not arrive

you do not pay, they call the police

how does it get to that stage. When I was in that situation (twice), the manager agreed that a mistake had been made and took the item off the bill. All friends.

there must be a course in PR that farangs could go on

Message understood, except the ass is where the elbow should be and it's not the farangs but the local yokels that need to crash in pr as well as basic as in so fcuking basic you have to be brain dead for it to pass you by business management.

I am not quite sure what you just posted Keda, it seems rather jumbled

I think you said that the farangs are Ok but it is the locals who need the PR course

well, maybe, but if you handle situations like that without getting all uptight and full of anger etc, then they can usually be sorted out amicably

at least in my experience

I do get the feeling that you are taking out some old friends/clients etc, and when something like this happens you feel the need to be the leader and make a strong complaint, you feel responsible.

That doesn't work, as you have found out

Originally Posted by DrAndy

Originally Posted by keda

Originally Posted by DrAndy

I don't really understand this thread

You go to a restaurant, they charge you for something that did not arrive

you do not pay, they call the police

how does it get to that stage. When I was in that situation (twice), the manager agreed that a mistake had been made and took the item off the bill. All friends.

there must be a course in PR that farangs could go on

Message understood, except the ass is where the elbow should be and it's not the farangs but the local yokels that need to crash in pr as well as basic as in so fcuking basic you have to be brain dead for it to pass you by business management.

I am not quite sure what you just posted Keda, it seems rather jumbled

I think you said that the farangs are Ok but it is the locals who need the PR course

well, maybe, but if you handle situations like that without getting all uptight and full of anger etc, then they can usually be sorted out amicably

at least in my experience

I do get the feeling that you are taking out some old friends/clients etc, and when something like this happens you feel the need to be the leader and make a strong complaint, you feel responsible.

That doesn't work, as you have found out

Fair points except though I'm the resident I'm also the kiddo they tend to look out for, not the other way, though as mentioned I used to go out of my way to protect their pockets. As to complaining, it's usually me that reminds them they're in Thailand and that for good service they should try Japan at 10x the cost, and getting uptight should be read in the context of never being gratuitously offensive, doing so only to deserving morons, always controlled and with an everbright smile.

That said, there do come points at which you have to dig in, when you know there is no question of who is right and who is trying to steal from who. Call it principle if you like, and sure I know it's gives little satisfaction to stick on principle with head gushing from that cleaver wound in your head, but I have more than once escorted lowlife's to soi 9 knowing the bib will suggest the usual baht structured compromise, that I will play no part in it, and that the bib will eventually get pissed off and tell the prospective scammer to fcuk off, after which we can go for a drink.

Originally Posted by Wally Dorian Raffles

I used to buy beer from the building in my shop every night - untill i found out that i was paying 5baths per bottle more than thai customers. I walk down the street and buy it now.

The money is not the issue. it's the principal.

I think you're being prissy here. The shop in your building is called a 'convenience store' for good reason.

It can't command the same supplier terms as 7-11. Also your building owner is probably shaking them down for high rental.

When you sobered up, Moog, read the post you commented on again.

[quote=keda;315683]
That said, there do come points at which you have to dig in, when you know there is no question of who is right and who is trying to steal from who. Call it principle if you like, and sure I know it's gives little satisfaction to stick on principle with head gushing from that cleaver wound in your head,
[quote]


I agree, but it should not need to come to violence if the problem is handled with care. Nobody, not even a Thai, likes to be called a theif or cheat etc, or have it implied. So a gentle questioning of the bill, with some apologies, usually works well.

"excuse me, Mr Manager, but this item was ordered but never came. Please remove it from the bill"

oh, sorry, yes I will do that"

"Thank you"

that has been my experience and I cannot understand why not yours

unless it went a bit like this...

"Manager, look you fool, this dish never came, we waited for hours and all they did was fukall. This place is getting worse every time I come, I am a regular, you know, so I should be treated better. I dont like being cheated by theiving cnuts, so I am not paying for it"

"you not pay, I call police"

"no, I will not pay for something I never got, idiot"

"police...."

^ Got to agree with the good doctor on this one.

[quote=Wally Dorian Raffles;315241]^ i agree danbo. it could be a cultural difference - back home, if you are 'friends' with someone who runs a pub or bar, you expect a few 'freebies' now and then, where as over here it is impolite to expect anything free from your friends business - infact it's the opposite. Supporting your friends business and spending money is the norm...

Last time I was here I drank and shot pool in a bar on soi 8. Owner was very friendy, and always allowed me to stay around past closingg time, if I wanted. The night before I was flying back to the states, the woman who owns the bar bought me a beer, as a good bye...I have not seen or heard of that in TH before.

poor you

I have had several drinks bought me, even in Johns Place!

it is all about being a good customer, not just an ordinary one

have you ever bought the bar owner a drink?

So-so farang owned restaurant run by his family though he's usually on site to make the farang decisions. Been there many times, fair value, somehow mama would always manage to squeeze us in and with amply elbow room, a popular venue for visiting friends, and still would be if they withdrew their free 11th meal offer, were it not for...

I ordered the duck. It was clearly undercooked, as was that owned by one of my party. We returned our dishes, and after a while they came back, his was borderline but acceptable, but mine was still undercooked and I recognised it as mine by the toothmarks on a large piece, which was occasioned by a feeble attempt to chew on it.

Waited, waited more, and after sending the grudging waitress to the kitchen to check up on it several times, she finally confessed, 'I don't know, it gone.' Further enquiries via the farang owner confirmed that nobody knew what happened to it but that was the last portion, he apologised and asked if I'd like to order something else, but by then I'd already given up and wasn't hungry as I'd been grazing elsewhere along the table and the others were already on coffee and desert.

Moments later, the dastard foul surfaced on a nearby table with a farang complaining that his duck was undercooked - and that parts were also pre-eaten.

That's how my duck came back to me, though it remained uneaten and therefore died for no good cause I can think of, unless, as it appeared on my bill, to demonstrate that not only Thais are terminally decided at grabbing their 100 baht today in favour of thousands tomorrow.