canuckamuck

They just need to be more specific. It is a British fantasy food store. I barely recognize anything listed there either.

Canadians would be happy if they opened a Tim Horton's here, other than that we can get most of what we crave.

apparently the OP was raised in a crack house.

Damaged much?

I hear David's avatar is jealous

Clearly the Frolly index is distorted. If you are keeping up with a thread and pop in once and a while. It generally takes a minute to catch up and a minute or so to respond. Occasionally a thread is hot, and it takes a while to catch up if you are late to notice. But that is a once in a while thing, not the norm.

Now, if the Frolly index was reduced to 5 minutes, I am sure there would be some truth to it.

Budgie smuggler

Here is a couple more pics,

Early days

A panaromic but it doesn't show around the corner

Here is a quick lesson for the "number of likes makes poster of the year" fans.

Go find a "paedophile arrested in thailand" thread on the news forum.

Be the first to reply and suggest a rope and a long drop.....hey presto 100 likes.

Yes you have a point. Like mining is a fairly simple process.

But human nature being what it is, I'z sure we would all like to have a few stats to compare. I know this has nothing to do with you Smokey, but I for one would like to see an annual likes per post average. Some of these guys have more likes than posts.

And the higher the price of the meal, the tip goes up. That doesn't make sense either. I like Thailand where the tip is usually not dependant on the bill.

But like most things these days, regular Joes are paying for the excess of fools with more money than brains, trying to prove they got more sausage than the next guy.

I apologize for al the confusion. too much discussion earlier about water supply.

The pond is at the bottom, there is no way to have it higher because the water comes to it from another coulee by pipe but It won't go uphill.

This is a pic of the pond being dug. Pond is full and ready to go.

Banana Hammock

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Does anyone tip when there's a 10% service charge? I don't. Do the staff get this as an extra bonus or does the restaurant owner use it to pay their staff wages.

I'd really like to hear about this from someone in the business.

I have been in the hospitality business in the USA for 14 years and in Thailand for the last 22, and as I have been reading this topic I have read little that I did not expect. For me to try and explain my position as a career F & B worker to most of those who have posted here IMO would be as useless as most BMs here saying it is to tip a Thai. So I won't get too far into that.

To answer the question about who gets the 10% in Thailand I will say from my 22 years of experience in every type of venue from no star to 5 star, from BKK to Pats to Phuket, most hotel, restaurant and venue owners keep the better part of the 10% (if not all of it) and will pass on a few percentage to the staff (if any). So for those who think the staff are getting tipped too much because they see 10% on the bill as a service charge YOU ARE WRONG. FACT.

It is my concerted opinion that tipping is supposed to be an incentive for staff to work well, and IFO would prefer to not have the 10% automatically added to bill, and I would tip what I thought was commensurate with the level of service and quality of the rest of my meal (unlike so many who have posted to this topic). I tip between 10 and 20% dependent on many factors. If it is included and there is a large percentage of service charge related to having purchased some good bottles of wine then I will adjust my tip accordingly (lower) and keep in mind the level of overall service and food, rather than the total of the entire bill.

If I am in an upscale venue and they have already levied a 10% service charge, and I feel I got exemplary service, I will still add what I think would balance out to 15 or 20%. But I have to say that after being in the F & B business on 2 continents for a total of 36 years, most decent, hardworking staffs deserve to get paid a livable wage, deserve to get tipped when it’s commensurate with the level of service they have provided, and should be treated with respect.

But if they are lazy, unfriendly, poor servers, or request/demand to be tipped I do not and I will take the time to let them know why I have not. Many times I will tell management, leave comments on social media pages, or write to management about what I feel is deficient.

IFO thinks it’s all about having a balanced approach and i tip/comment accordingly.

Also keep in mind that in 99.99% of all TH F & B venues any tips/service charge, including those left on the table, will be shared by ALL the staff - front of the house, back of the house, parking/valet, bar, toilet, whatever. The only tip a worker may keep for themselves is the one placed directly into their hand, and most often they will still throw that into the general tip pool for all to share.

Further, to keep this all in perspective I do not tip when I eat on the street or in fast food places. But even in a typical TH shop house restaurant if the service was good I will leave a small tip relative to the cost of the meal, if there was a server, and the service was good/attentive. Being an expat of so many years I typically eat in the same places time and again, and like some BMs have stated, rational tipping goes a long way to getting consistnetly good service, food and beverages as time goes on.

If it’s a bar venue I tip the bartender so that they will remember what I like, how I like it, and so I get a fair pour each and every time. IFO think that those few baht go a long way for me to get what I want and to have a good time.

When I am at work training staff I spend a lot of time on trying to impress them with the fact that customers are not required to leave anything (10% included or not) and that the only way to encourage a customer to tip is to simply provide a high level of friendly professional service. But I also try to teach them not to expect that to yield results either (as shown by many posts on this thread) and to simply provide the best level of service that they can each and every time, and eventually that in and of itself should yield a reward for them.

Contrary to what a lot of people think on this board, having a service job and dealing with the public (and their high expectations and many times plantation attitude), and all the related stress that brings is most often not easy. People who do this work should be compensated accordingly like anyone else who wakes up each day and goes out to earn an honest wage.

And yes, I am an American, and that should have nothing to do with this discussion.

Despite the fact that I don't know who IFO is, I disagree with you, particularly the last part about it being hard work and they deserve it.

Most jobs are hard, most are harder than waiting tables. It is a job for unskilled laborers. So what makes them deserve a tip when very few other occupations are ever tipped. And yes I have also worked in the industry. I was a very good cook at a steak and pizza place, making a lot of tips for the waitresses. They always made sure to bring back the compliments but they kept the cash. And they brought home more money than me.

What gives bacon it's taste?

All of that bacon in it.

Is this visible anywhere else?

No Felix, I am sorry but it isn't.

Ok

(that's not a knife) Sword

Bringing this thread back to life. I got the pond in, it's holding water. I got all the tea planted in the rainy season. and I know my elevations.

This week I need to make a filtration system for the pump.

I have no experience running drip tape, so does anyone here know what type of filtration is required to keep the system from plugging up.

Also any models or images of filtration setups would be greatly appreciated.

Tipping as a way to acknowledge good workmanship, products or service, is a wonderful thing. It is destroyed and meaningless however by having it be expected and even worse by have a predetermined rate.

The restaurant industry has a lot of gall with the way they have turned this reward system into a required tax. I am so happy to be in Thailand where a tip has meaning, and crappy service gets a big goose egg.

Take tipping back I say, stop tipping mediocrity.

I tip by the way, but not always in restaurants, I tip for good haircuts, good construction and mechanical work, and any other place where getting the job done right is important or profitable to me. It isn't that often I am impressed with skill required to write down my order and carry it to the table.

Intersecting

Now you got me looking for my dictum.

I bought a Chinese Konik Quad bike. 150 CC 2WD for 65,000. I bought the Konik because the dealer carries virtually every spare part you are likely to need at good prices. I made the mistake before of buying a cheap Chinese off road bike and soon discovered that I could not get spare parts. The main dealer speaks English and is very helpful, so that is a big plus.

I have not had any problems yet and I am just coming up to 500 Km. I'm told that some wheel bearing might go after a year or two, but they are cheap to replace. I think when you buy Chinese you need to be able to get spare parts. Buying a reliable Japanese or American model are silly prices because of the import. I do not think anybody will worry too much if you use it a little on local upcountry roads. I use ti a lot to tow a kayak. I have been through water up t the floor boards without any problem. I was told to pump grease into the rear bearing after going through water.

quadK.jpg

Your quad appears to share a lot of components to mine. Particularly the plastic body parts, rims and mirrors (can't really tell about the rest). I think these all get made at the same place and assembled with different company names.

Thanks for joining the thread. At least now I can expect 500kms from your evidence.

Tutsi is a legend, but has he put in the time lately, I'm not sure.

We, the ThaiVisa junkies, live to see that red notifications flags with the numbers inside it,

and the more the better, this to attest that our opinions and feedbacks are not for nought,

and maybe, just maybe, we can make a different by displaying our experiences in life

and bestow some of it on other, be it words of wisdoms or a tid-bits of practical knowledge

and assistant...

I agree Ezzra, my self esteem is entirely dependent upon the little red indicator.

Well OK maybe not, but there are posts that you really appreciate getting a like on. Mostly I get likes on things I shouldn't have said.