Cheap Charlie Farangs that expect service but do not want to pay

[zombie nights]

 OP: Thank you for this interesting thread. Although I have not read each and every reply part of the problem seems to be that there are literally thousands of farangs staying or living in Thailand with insufficient money or hardly any money.

In most cases they are losers yet prefer Thailand to their own country and they will do anything to stay which includes haggling  unfairlyover prices or in effect stealing like not paying bills for services etc.

Maybe the Thai immigration must to more to get rid of the low life farang....

 

Edited January 7, 2018 by zombie nights

[transam]

2 minutes ago, zombie nights said:

OP: Thank you for this interesting thread. Although I have not read each and every reply part of the problem seems to be that there are literally thousands of farangs staying or living in Thailand with insufficient money or hardly any money.

In most cases they are losers yet prefer Thailand to their own country and they will do anything to stay which includes haggling  unfairlyover prices or in effect stealing like not buying bills for services etc.

Maybe the Thai immigration must to more to get rid of the low life farang....

 

Hey, leave me outta this......

[jenny2017]

2 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

 

Spending Spencer is the term that you are looking for.

 

Please ask a Thai person what they prefer. A person who's Kee Niaou, or somebody with the financial status of Kee Nok. Please ask them what they prefer to be.

 

        Kee Niaou seems to be the equivalent wording for a Cheap Charlie in our language. But if somebody's calling you a Khun Kee Nok, you're naked without any money.

 

       And considering that we're in Thailand, I prefer to be called a Cheap Charley and i always have cash, rather than being one of the cashless beggars.

 

     To get back on topic, it's a huge difference when someone is renting the whole Songthaew for the whole, or at least a half day and others who are passengers of a Songtaew that is driving the route a few times a day.

 

  I've just read the original post once more and it seems that the OP was on about some guys who basically chartered the Songtaew driver's pick up for the day. So 1,200 baht is in no way too much if waiting time is included !!

 

   I wouldn't do that for 1,200 for people I don't know using my own pick up. It's already around 300 - 400 baht for Diesel oil

 

 

 

  

Edited January 7, 2018 by jenny2017

[elektrified]

7 hours ago, radiochaser said:

Off topic but in response to the bill for a heart attack hospitalization.  
 

I thought I was having a heart attack about 15 years ago, in Pennsylvania, U.S.  I went to the emergency room, then was kept overnight before being discharged about 30-33 hours later.  

Total bill was 975,000 baht!  I remember that they charged me 1,625 baht for a baby aspirin, which is 81 mg in size.  

I have found that hospital costs in Thailand are much, much cheaper than here in the United States.  I almost died from lack of proper treatment by a medical doctor and have had several bad treatments by doctors here.  

So far, I have had good results with minor problems, illness' and a couple of emergency visits to a hospital in Bangkok without the high charges.  

It cost my friend a total of 350,000 Baht for 4 days in the CCU and ambulance from Suvarnabhumi Airport (he had the heart attack in a JAL airplane while on the tarmac). I believe he had a procedure as well. I can't remember now but I don't think it was a balloon or stent, but some other cardiac procedure. They would not even admit him until he was able to get someone on the phone to put a 175,000 Baht deposit on their credit card. But they did treat him in the E.R., provide medicine, oxygen, etc.

[jenny2017]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Hey, leave me outta this......

Now you've left me quite confused. 

[MaeJoMTB]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Hey, leave me outta this......

Yes, it always surprises me the number of people who think rich foreigners come to live in Thailand.

If I were rich, there are plenty of other countries I would choose to live in.

I live here because I'm poor.

[pgrahmm]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

Hey, leave me outta this......

Comes with your fancy new - slightly used Tiera big boy...

 

[homeseeker]

5 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

 

I live here because I'm poor.

So tell us how you as a poor person can live here when there are minimum financial requirements (for retirement, marriage etc) to enable a foreigner to stay long time in the land of smiles?

[poanoi]

10 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

So tell us how you as a poor person can live here when there are minimum financial requirements (for retirement, marriage etc) to enable a foreigner to stay long time in the land of smiles?

americans are only required to do a scouts honor proof

[MaeJoMTB]

11 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

So tell us how you as a poor person can live here when there are minimum financial requirements (for retirement, marriage etc) to enable a foreigner to stay long time in the land of smiles?

There are no financial requirements for a marriage VISA.

(apart from the 5,000bht yearly VISA fee)

[connda]

There is more to it than the sad Songtaw driver's story.  The first couple of years in Thailand, being married to a Thai, I understood the price structure for local transportation. Songtaw trips within the local radius of Muang Chiang Mai were 20 THB.  I remember loading up a Songtaw with a group of expats for a trip from Thapae gate just past Chang Puak gate.  The driver tried changing 60 THB for each person.  I intervened, told the group the going price, and we paid him 20 THB per person which at the time was the fair and going price.  "But you didn't negotiate a price up front."  Thais don't "negotiate a price up front" because they know the going rate. 
So unfortunately there are opportunistic Thais who will scam, and their are Richard-headed farangs. 

Dining and dashing is a crime; stealing is a crime; obtaining service and refusing to pay is a crime.
A lot of this is solved by posting prices upfront, paying upfront, and issuing receipts as proof of payment.  And if dining and dashing is become such a huge issue, then the local restaurants and the BIB should work together in order to catch and prosecute people who do it. 

Most Thais are not scammers; most farang and foreigners are not non-paying jerks. You have to keep it in perspective.  Op is cherry picking on this particular farang bashing campaign.  Cheap Charlies.  Gotta love that pejorative!  I always wonder who these people who use the term think they are?  Who says that only Thais are status conscious? 

Edited January 7, 2018 by connda

[poanoi]

Just now, MaeJoMTB said:

There are no financial requirements for a marriage VISA.

(apart from the 5,000bht yearly VISA fee)

yes there are, 400k yearly  income or in bank

[elektrified]

2 minutes ago, poanoi said:

americans are only required to do a scouts honor proof

It is NOT as Scouts honor. It is a declaration under penalty of Federal perjury!

[poanoi]

1 minute ago, connda said:

There is more to it than the sad Songtaw driver's story.  The first couple of years in Thailand, being married to a Thai, I understood the price structure for local transportation. Songtaw trips within the local radius of Muang Chiang Mai were 20 THB.  I remember loading up a Songtaw with a group of expats for a trip from Thapae gate just past Chang Puak gate.  The driver tried changing 60 THB for each person.  I intervened, told the group the going price, and we paid him 20 THB per person which at the time was the fair and going price.  "But you didn't negotiate a price up front."  Thais don't "negotiate a price up front" because they know the going rate. 
So unfortunately there are opportunistic Thais who will scam, and their are Richard-headed farangs.  Most Thais are not scammers; most farang and foreigners are not jerks.  You have to keep it in perspective. 
 

wow, a sensible post + rep

[MaeJoMTB]

9 minutes ago, poanoi said:

yes there are, 400k yearly  income or in bank

a 'VISA extension for reason of marriage' and a 'marriage VISA' are not the same, and have different requirements. I have a 'marriage VISA' and there is no financial requirement attached.

Edited January 7, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[poanoi]

Just now, elektrified said:

It is NOT as Scouts honor. It is a declaration under penalty of Federal perjury!

no, i know many americans, they never had to bring letter from pension fund,

just a simple statement (x) from the embassy that didnt need to be backed up

[transam]

3 minutes ago, poanoi said:

yes there are, 400k yearly  income or in bank

That is an extension, not a visa...

[elektrified]

2 minutes ago, connda said:

There is more to it than the sad Songtaw driver's story.  The first couple of years in Thailand, being married to a Thai, I understood the price structure for local transportation. Songtaw trips within the local radius of Muang Chiang Mai were 20 THB.  I remember loading up a Songtaw with a group of expats for a trip from Thapae gate just past Chang Puak gate.  The driver tried changing 60 THB for each person.  I intervened, told the group the going price, and we paid him 20 THB per person which at the time was the fair and going price.  "But you didn't negotiate a price up front."  Thais don't "negotiate a price up front" because they know the going rate. 
So unfortunately there are opportunistic Thais who will scam, and their are Richard-headed farangs.  Most Thais are not scammers; most farang and foreigners are not jerks.  You have to keep it in perspective. 
 

Although I can't think of anyone in my wife's family who rides a songtaew anymore as they all own automobiles now; but 8-10 years ago when I rode in a songtaew with some of them, they ALWAYS asked the fare up front - every time without fail.

[MaeJoMTB]

6 minutes ago, connda said:

There is more to it than the sad Songtaw driver's story.  The first couple of years in Thailand, being married to a Thai, I understood the price structure for local transportation. Songtaw trips within the local radius of Muang Chiang Mai were 20 THB.  I remember loading up a Songtaw with a group of expats for a trip from Thapae gate just past Chang Puak gate.  The driver tried changing 60 THB for each person.  I intervened, told the group the going price, and we paid him 20 THB per person which at the time was the fair and going price.  "But you didn't negotiate a price up front."  Thais don't "negotiate a price up front" because they know the going rate. 
So unfortunately there are opportunistic Thais who will scam, and their are Richard-headed farangs.  Most Thais are not scammers; most farang and foreigners are not jerks.  You have to keep it in perspective. 
 

 

20bht fee is set by the Chiang Mai authorities, the red Songtaw drivers have no options to charge any other fee for the standard journeys. All the out of town coloured songtaws also have fixed fees, and they are usually posted on the rear of the drivers cab in Thai.

 

Private hire of the entire Songtaw, or off route journeys are paid after negotiation.

Edited January 7, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[gandalf12]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

But that goes both ways.  Back then, there weren't as many opportunistic vendors that flocked to the tourist areas to prey on them, either. 

 

It happens all over the world- a friendly village becomes a destination for adventurous tourists.  Then the spiral where it gets easier and easier to get there, drawing less adventurous tourists, and all that money attracts less and less savory vendors.

 

That's why I enjoy places like Songkhla so much.  With the nearby insurgency, it's still a little off the beaten path and that whole tourism eco-system is decades behind .  It hasn't lost its "friendly village" aura.  I'm sure there are many other places today that are like Songkhla, and like Pattaya was back then.  And I hope we don't hear about most of them- lest they start on that spiral.

 

A couple of years ago I got a taxi into Bangkok. The driver did not hsve change so I asked him to take me to a bank Ian's i would get change to pay him. He told me there was a bank around the corner and he didn't want to come with me. I got the change went back to the taxi paid the fare and gave him a good for being such a decent person

[jenny2017]

17 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

There are no financial requirements for a marriage VISA.

(apart from the 5,000bht yearly VISA fee)

Let's hope that it stays that way. I knock on wood!!

[F4UCorsair]

On Saturday, January 06, 2018 at 10:45 AM, observer90210 said:

Unfortunately in today's world, ripping and cheating comes from both sides...the Cheap Charlie on one side...and the Cheat Somchai on the other....

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

The world Is certainly a less honorable place than It was 20 years ago.

[steven100]

3 hours ago, newatthis said:

An interesting read this over a Sunday coffee.

You may be right steven100, but there are many Thais offering a 3  star service and wanting a 5 star payment.

Did some home improvements and I paid very good money to a recommended tiler to get a new roof put on. A week later, we got a storm and it leaked like a sieve. "Please come and have a look?" "Sorry, no can do. Finished now."

 

After the flood, the wife and I decided to invest in upgrading the front garden to protect it in the future, A neighbour and his wife came along and offered for him to help. My wife said they were struggling financially so I offered to pay him 400baht a day [paid daily] to help me. Hours 8.30 to 4.00 and he can go home for a hour for lunch. He would turn up at 10.00am, talk to the next door neighbour for about an hour, then do a little bit of work. My wife had to stand over him the rest of the day. ["You're too jai dee"]

He turned up the next day and I said: "Right, we're going to do this, this and this today and we'll finish." "No, no,, no. I like to work at my own pace. It'll take us 3-4 days to do that." Sent him packing.

There are cheap Charlie Thais, too

interesting and take your point ....  I guess it's good in hindsight,  but you should have got the roof tiler to guarantee the job with no leaks for 6 months or something...  but the problem is getting someone cheap enough to draw up a contract like that.  As for the garden, we had similar with our builder although not as bad and i think he was 300 per day. He did finish the house but some days slow, some days ok.

I learnt that now I only get things done getting an all in completed price or per meter rate ....  and only pay progress payments. And you have to write down ALL that applies. eg .. no leaks for 6 months, and so on.  But easier said than done and especially if your out of town.

[steven100]

2 hours ago, Russell17au said:

Thank you for judging me and branding me as cheap, especially since we have never met and you don't know me, I am a farang and I find that your branding all farang as cheap is only showing how judgemental, ignorant and arrogant you are and I personally find your comment quite insulting.

how did I specifically say you are cheap ?   I said  ' There's so many cheap charlie farangs in Thailand  "

[connda]

22 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

There are no financial requirements for a marriage VISA.

(apart from the 5,000bht yearly VISA fee)

5000 / 1900 = 2.6

MaeJoMTB you lucky guy.  Married to 2 Thai women and no doubt Thai immigration gives you a discount (0.6) on Marina! 

[connda]

32 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

a 'VISA extension for reason of marriage' and a 'marriage VISA' are not the same, and have different requirements. I have a 'marriage VISA' and there is no financial requirement attached.

Ah hah!.  Kowjai.

Edited January 7, 2018 by connda

[MaeJoMTB]

2 minutes ago, connda said:

5000 / 1900 = 2.6

MaeJoMTB you lucky guy.  Married to 2 Thai women and no doubt Thai immigration gives you a discount (0.6) on Marina! 

You're not comparing like with like, try adding the re-entry fees to the extension cost.

I don't have to pay any more.

[suzannegoh]

 
Employees are a different deal.  There's some really dysfunctional (to my western sensitivities anyway) dynamics that go on between bosses and their employees here in Asia- and it's not just about the money.  And don't even get me started on how they often treat their business suppliers.  ("A lot like Trump" comes to mind.)
 
It's very different than their personal, day to day dealings with vendors and service people.  With them, they are very generous.  But keep in mind, I don't know more than a couple of dozen truly rich Asians, and just a few of them are Thai.
 

Depends what you mean by "service people" and maybe upon what counts as "rich". From what I've seen Lanna hi-so's treat maids, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, etc like shiite.

[connda]

27 minutes ago, elektrified said:

Although I can't think of anyone in my wife's family who rides a songtaew anymore as they all own automobiles now; but 8-10 years ago when I rode in a songtaew with some of them, they ALWAYS asked the fare up front - every time without fail.

I'll drive in from Lamphun, park the car in a secure parking lot for 30 THB, and I tend to take Songtaews locally (or walk) to go shopping and to hang out in downtown CM.  Parking on many of the streets is a totally pain in the derrière, so using local transport in the city just makes good sense.  And, I pay the going rate which is now 30 THB. 

[Grumpy Duck]

A simple fix, use the meter as required by law. I refuse to negotiate any taxi fares, I pay the meter or get out. I always tip at least ฿20 unless someone tried to cheat me. I often shy away from pink taxis the very few bad experiences I had were pink taxis.