Dual pricing: What happened when a Thai was charged the ‘farang price’

[shady86]

I'm fine with dual pricing for locals and visitors from overseas but as an expat who is working here with work permit and paying more taxes than regular people here, I feel foreigners working or staying here deserved better. The 10x entrance fee for National Parks pissed me the most.

[speckio]

In any case, if the dual pricing continues and continues to make headlines I am sure foreigners will get sick and tired of it, and cross Thailand off as their next vacation choice. and the dual pricing won't be an issue anymore. 

[chuang]

Blame the farangs..without farangs, no have farangs' price....

[Lucky mike]

Another great tourist advertisement !

[oldhippy]

48 minutes ago, speckio said:

Disneyland used to do the same shit but was much smarter about it...  ticket prices are what $150? but if you have a local drivers license your ticket would be discounted.. its basically the same thing but with less controversy...

 

I mean if thai shops put 150 baht price on their menu and gave locals a discount would anyone complain?

 

 

Eeeuuuhhh I would complain.

Because in our small town I concider myself to be a local, but I doubt that the Thais see me as a local......

 

During the 6 months we stay in Europe, my Thai wife gets the discount for locals at musea etc in my home town (she has PR), while my sister who lives in a different town, 7 km away, does not get the "local" discount.

 

It is all about the definition of "local"! A farang will never be concidered to be a local - and that is based on race!

[tezzainthailand]

17 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Shame shame shame, I never pay more than 30 baht as a farang to eat the same stuff from a street food vendor, my wife makes sure of that before she orders, good to have a wife with balls when it comes to the old mighty baht and dual pricing...lol

Shame, shame, shame...30 baht meals are so rare these days, 10-15  years ago fair enough, 40 baht is the norm today, and if I get charged 30 baht for a meal and it's good value I give them 40 or even 50 baht.

[chrisandsu]

1 hour ago, Presto said:

You're not well informed apparantly. I'm talking about simple Thai restaurants, big and small, not on the piers and not in the centre. And even in the centre there are enough restaurants that are cheap and don't discriminate. And anyway restaurants have menus, there are prices in there.

40 baht for pad kapao, for me, for anyone else. You should come here sometime!

Was there last week . Was horrific . You should leave sometime ?

[4MyEgo]

4 minutes ago, tezzainthailand said:

Shame, shame, shame...30 baht meals are so rare these days, 10-15  years ago fair enough, 40 baht is the norm today, and if I get charged 30 baht for a meal and it's good value I give them 40 or even 50 baht.

It depends where you located.

 

In the village if I go and pick up my lunch occasionally, its 30 baht, I don't tip them because all the locals eat there, so I do as the locals do.

 

When I dine out at the Thai restaurant some 25 kilometres up the road, I always tip because they have staff and overheads, whereas the local village markets don't have staff and the rent is nominal.

[Borzandy]

17 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Shame shame shame, I never pay more than 30 baht as a farang to eat the same stuff from a street food vendor, my wife makes sure of that before she orders, good to have a wife with balls when it comes to the old mighty baht and dual pricing...lol

I prefer paying 30 Baht more than to have a wife with balls.

[Presto]

4 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

Was there last week . Was horrific . You should leave sometime ?

Where? Eating on the beach? I don't do that anymore. Khao Takiab is ok though.

[chrisandsu]

1 hour ago, speckio said:

 

The point is people are getting charged differently just because they come from someplace different.  Although you are correct there was a story awhile back of a Thai national who happened to be white who tried to enter a national park and the park insisted he pay the white man price even though he could speak perfect thai, was able to read and write thai and had a national ID.

 

but in my Disneyland example if the price was set and he presented his Thai ID for a discount there probably would not have been a problem

 

My take on it is if I went to say khao Yai and the price was 40 baht for locals and 100 baht for me I’d accept that as im

Not paying local taxes ! But if the Thai is paying 40 baht and I’m paying 400 baht that’s ten times the price ! If I visited Disneyland I pay $150 for being a local should a Thai pay $1050? It’s ludicrious to even think it right ? 

Edited January 18, 2018 by chrisandsu

[tezzainthailand]

1 hour ago, Jip66 said:

Thia's that drive Ferrari's & wear Rolax watch's generally don't eat street vender food, they eat in expensive restaurants where EVERYBODY is ripped off ;-)

Don't you hate that?  A Thai friend in Ubon took me to one such place and before we got there I said 'I will pay the bill'  On arriving, the decor and look of the joint said 'You will pay big here'.  For three people a bill of 1400 baht  and some of the blandest Thai food I had ever tasted.  Even my Thai g/f at the time said it was 'mai aroy'...yes, street food can still be pretty good.

[thurien]

17 hours ago, coulson said:

That's the only good time to have a wife with balls 

 

....and: She knows well how to sit down gently and mannerly

[chrisandsu]

7 minutes ago, Presto said:

Where? Eating on the beach? I don't do that anymore. Khao Takiab is ok though.

I try not to do the holiday maker thing but Hua Hin has little other industry so is primarily aimed at tourism . Although I will say I stopped at one of the finest (and cheapest ) restaurants in Thailand called Baan pal coffee it’s just outside of Hua Hin in ban prak nam pran. On the beach with excellent food was thoroughly impressed . Give it a go

[DM07]

13 hours ago, VBF said:

MANY years ago in London, I approached a drinks vendor in  Oxford Street and asked:

 

"how much is a can of coke?"

Quick as a flash, he opened it and said "£2.50".

My reply was "well you can keep it then!"

To which HE said "well I've opened it now"

I said - "well i'll find you a policeman to share it with - he can check your trader's licence at the same time"

The trader's reply is probably best left unquoted! And it's a lie....my parents were married!

 

My point is - yes - it happens all over the world. Had i been a tourist and intimidated by it - guess the rest! 

Oooooh...what a pleasant little story!

Guess what?

I don't give 2 hot $4its about it!

 

What is wrong with you "it happens all over the world"- guys?

What do you want to prove?

 

Here are one or two points to consider:

 

- the name of this forum is THAI Visa!

Who the .... gives a .... about the rest of the world!

We are here to read about and discuss matters that occur IN THAILAND!

 

- if you can come up with 3 stories EVERYDAY about this happening in St. Elsewhere, we MAY have a something like a comparison. 

This $4it happens in Thailand on a daily - I would even guess: hourly- basis, to any number of farang!

From food- vendors to fresh markets to Nationalpark- entries!

 

- yes!

There a whole bunch of nice people in Thailand, who also have pointed out "buy 1- get 2"- offers to me in the Supermarket and I get the Thai- price at any number of outlets, I buy food!

That does not make it right, that other @$$holes overprice foreigners!

By the same token, murder is okay, if only some people do it and others don't!

 

    

[DM07]

9 hours ago, balo said:

Just avoid tourist places , problem solved . I have never been cheated here, 40 baht for most dishes at my local street stall . 

Good and sound advice!

...

...

...

Especially for all the TOURISTS coming here!

Jeeeeezus!

 

[huainnews]

  Why are people so surprised at double pricing, it's the same the whole world over where tourists pay over the norm prices.  You can't blame the traders, they have to make enough profit over four or five months to sustain them over the rest of the year.

  Back in England the cafe where I had my lunch had a menu for the day trippers but, being a regular, I was only charged about 25% less, just the same at my local fish and chip shop where I got discounted prices.

  When I lived in the Mediterranean  it was very similar, I found that if the cafe owner knew you I would get discounted prices, or more often an aperitif before the meal.

[DM07]

3 hours ago, wazzupnow said:

better than europe many times, want to pay 51% tax again to keep the no goods eating?

Yeah...and all the excellent universal health care, the human rights and the formidable infrastructure and top quality education you get here!

Don't forget to mention that!

[FitnessHealthTravel]

This isn't news. If you 'look' like a foreigner, and I do everywhere I go in Asia, you pay more than anyone.

[elgenon]

Didn't the Thai order in Thai? I think the waiter could tell by the accent the customer was Thai.

[balo]

N
Oh no, not another long dual price thread. It has been discussed to death on Thaivisa hundred times before. [emoji42]

[Janner1]

17 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

Not clear if she saw 150 Baht on the menu, nuts for a Khrapao moo kob from a street stall.Equally crazy to order from a menu with no prices.

 

Maybe the whitening cream affected her brain.

 

Everybody likes tourist money but in my country nobody would ever say "here comes a foreigner charge her more". People would be outraged. These racist dual pricing schemes are quite backward and inexcusable

‘ These racist dual pricing schemes are quite backward and inexcusable “

 

But completely endorsed and promoted by the government in every way possible

[BernieOnTour]

17 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

are the Chinese 'farang' now? sounds like it reading some comments in here...

Actually, the vulgar term for Chinese is "djek" 

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, BernieOnTour said:

Actually, the vulgar term for Chinese is "djek" 

Jek, there's no "d".

 

Not vulgar, just over 50 years, an racial terms become derogatory, same as kaek, and now farang.

 

[Neeranam]

3 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

It's an absolute nonsense to say Thai people hate when farangs speak Thai. 

When they give me the price in English sometimes I answer in Thai, why do you speak English, I do not understand this language, with a big smile of course, so they understand I'm joking, and they laugh, we follow in Thai ,where are you from, I was born in London... more laughing. It was always a good experience. 

So I still work learning more Thai every day.

Good for you! So many here don't bother, despite living here for years and start moaning about being treated unfairly.

 

[thailand49]

5 hours ago, Daveyh said:

I've been here 15yrs witnessing all this behaviour knowing full well it will never change. I've also tried on occasions to politely discuss & reason with the perpetrators of this common trend here in Thailand. All that resulted in, was anger, indignant that they were wrong,  "you make problem you go home" rants etc ..... that basically told me to f##k off & if I did'nt like it f##k off again! The dark side of Thailand is always in the background & very little needs to be said before it raises it's ugly head ..... sad. I have very few Thai friends here since arriving in 2003 ;-( ............. I wonder why this is? 

We must be related, I have been here about the same time. I came here like everyone just wanted to be left alone not looking for trouble. I pretty much live with Thais population in the beginning I pretty much kept to myself listening to other expat talk about Thailand people and culture. The longer I stay the more I saw what was going on and it was a matter of time before it hit me too.

For years, I did my best not to get angry didn't want the wife or son to think I hated Thai people but as years gone by they themselves see it more and more from their own people.

Years ago my son and his friend wanted to go inside " believe it or not "  the Thai guy quoted me the price and mines said I was a farang.  I told him off nicely using some simple logic that the operation you work for is Farang owned, should the operation only hire Americans, if you were to travel to the U.S. how would you feel if this same company charge you double for being Thai? 

To save face he said "  if you live here that long show me something like a Thai license "  pop it out he got a bit upset as you noted. By now I just told him seen it before got two tickets and I waited outside for them.

This to me is all label by even one of their former MP,  " the more patriotic the more stupid ".

Sadly, in general is how so many Thai are taught in their government schools it is like they are being brainwashed?

[Neeranam]

55 minutes ago, balo said:

N
Oh no, not another long dual price thread. It has been discussed to death on Thaivisa hundred times before.

I believe there is a choice to read the thread or not.

[Megasin1]

You always have the choice not to buy or enter...use it. Pattaya floating market, a pile of floating crappe shops, don't go there etc. At the underwater world when arguing that my 5 year old daughter was Thai and not a farang I said to her, speak to the lady in Thai and she replied "No!".....LOL. They are always very nice at Keow Keow Open Zoo but generally I will walk away, or wait outside and I know who loses out then and it isn't me. You can only be exploited if you allow it to happen. 

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, speckio said:

 

The point is people are getting charged differently just because they come from someplace different.  Although you are correct there was a story awhile back of a Thai national who happened to be white who tried to enter a national park and the park insisted he pay the white man price even though he could speak perfect thai, was able to read and write thai and had a national ID.

 

but in my Disneyland example if the price was set and he presented his Thai ID for a discount there probably would not have been a problem

 

Please show a link to this story. I don't believe it for a second. Only one place refused me entry for Thai reduction, at phi mai. They said if I had a Thai ID card, no problem.

I'm in the process of becoming a Thai citizen and would cause a riot of this browned to me, as a Thai citizen.

[kurtmartens]

3 hours ago, petedk said:

 

It isn't really a question of an extra dollar or two. (Actually I never pay in dollars... I always pay in Thai baht), but I have noticed that more and more people are trying to charge more for foreigners. If everyone charged me 30 to 100% more than they charge Thais, I wouldn't be able to live here.

 

I used to spend about 100 Baht a day in a little mom and pop store near Silom. One day, the owner was in the back and she saw I bought a bottle of water (7 Thai Baht!) and she shouted out to the young girl in Thai " Farang 20 Baht". Needless to say, I said no thanks and walked out. Now I do my small shopping in 7/11 and support the massive monopoly of CP instead of the local people.

 

Yesterday, I took a motorcycle home from the main soi (been paying 10 baht for years), but yesterday was told "farang 20 baht"

 

Where will it stop?

I hear what you are saying, I really do.  I just don't, honestly, see what the big deal is paying more to live here.  It is still cheaper than most of our home countries.  Paying 20 Baht for a bottle of water doesn't seem excessive to me.  Now, what bothers me is if you are a regular at that store the owner clearly didn't see the bigger picture of keeping you as a customer.