Skipping Out On The Bill!

[DirkGently]

I am acquainted with staff members of a popular bar here in Bangkok and the other night our conversation turned to people not paying their bills.

I would have guessed that some dregs of humanity did it, but I could never have guessed who and how many.

It's not important which nationality does this the most. let us just say that two of the top three are from rich countries with people who should know better. Incidently, the worst group would raise no surprise.

It seems unthinkable to me to tell the staff I'm off to the bathroom and then duck out another door, but it happens. The other method used by these lowlife is to make up a complaint and refuse to pay the bill and bully 50kg girls like the true men they are. One 'gentleman', lets say, Mr Turdsak, refused to pay the bill for his beers and his partners orange juice because, and I'm not making this up, he had ordered still and not sparkling juice. If ever there was a candidate for a Being-Thrown-From-A-Cliff-Athon, it should have been him.

The other trick these pondscum employ is eating the entire meal and then refusing to pay for their meal and drinks after claiming it wasn't what they wanted.

I could only shake my head as story after story was reeled off and mutter "what losers".

When the bill comes to a fraction of what it would in our own countries, why would anyone shame themselves to avoid a bill of B500? I can only imagine stealing money out of the hands of girls that earn 5k plus tips is something they are proud of.

If anybody sees any farang trying to trick or cheat their way out of a bill, speak up. Ask him if he needs to borrow the money. Shame them.

If anyone reading this is one of the aforementioned oxygen theives then I can only say YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE ASHAMED.

[buriramboy]

i can't imagine too many Thais letting farangs get away with not paying their bills, i have seen on more than one occasion in Pattaya the police called when a farang refuses to pay a bill and all that happens is that the farang ends up paying even more.

[kmart]

Might be possible to tie the subject of this thread to the (perceived) escalation of violence towards Westerners especially in the tourist areas? ... Some people just ask for it...

I've seen a lot of people, nationality non-specific, who moan about every little little thing served to them, and are so cheap that they beggar belief. Bill-dodgers just increase the prices for everyone else, and when possible, should be made an example of, imo.

[chevykanteve]

I am acquainted with staff members of a popular bar here in Bangkok and the other night our conversation turned to people not paying their bills.

I would have guessed that some dregs of humanity did it, but I could never have guessed who and how many.

It's not important which nationality does this the most. let us just say that two of the top three are from rich countries with people who should know better. Incidently, the worst group would raise no surprise.

It seems unthinkable to me to tell the staff I'm off to the bathroom and then duck out another door, but it happens. The other method used by these lowlife is to make up a complaint and refuse to pay the bill and bully 50kg girls like the true men they are. One 'gentleman', lets say, Mr Turdsak, refused to pay the bill for his beers and his partners orange juice because, and I'm not making this up, he had ordered still and not sparkling juice. If ever there was a candidate for a Being-Thrown-From-A-Cliff-Athon, it should have been him.

The other trick these pondscum employ is eating the entire meal and then refusing to pay for their meal and drinks after claiming it wasn't what they wanted.

I could only shake my head as story after story was reeled off and mutter "what losers".

When the bill comes to a fraction of what it would in our own countries, why would anyone shame themselves to avoid a bill of B500? I can only imagine stealing money out of the hands of girls that earn 5k plus tips is something they are proud of.

If anybody sees any farang trying to trick or cheat their way out of a bill, speak up. Ask him if he needs to borrow the money. Shame them.

If anyone reading this is one of the aforementioned oxygen theives then I can only say YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE ASHAMED.

Now, the old "I'm off to the bathroom" trick I wouldn't have thought of. Thanks! What did you say was the address of your establishment???

[CymruAmByth]

They are probably the same type of people I have mentioned before on this forum.

The ones that assume you have free cigarettes to hand out when you are in a boozer 20-yards from one of the 3,500 7-11 stores in Bangkok!

[DirkGently]

It does happen Buriramboy, I assure you. In a big and busy bar some take advantage.

I agree with you, Kmart. These people do need to be shown up for what they are. These people are doubtless giving us an even worse name. With the advent of cheap flights even losers can drag themselves here.

As for Chavkansteve! Pull the same stunt in a Birmingham bar and see how funny the staff think you are.

[sinom]

Are these the same people as the balloon chasers in Pattaya ??

[buriramboy]

no, balloon chasers are the old farts who haven't got a pot to piss in and just go looking for free food everynight to have with their one bottle of water.

[sceadugenga]

I saw a 1.5m Lao girl chase 4 or 5 drunken Englishmen down the street in Vientiane one night and come back with the money.

When I complimented her on her dedication to the job she said, "Mr X takes it from my pay if the check bins don't add up at the end of the night."

[PhilHarries]

no, balloon chasers are the old farts who haven't got a pot to piss in and just go looking for free food everynight to have with their one bottle of water.

Whilst waiting for the party punter to ling-a-bell when they'll change to Chivas or Martell.

I've never known cases of this sort of behaviour in restaurants but don't doubt for one minute it goes on.

I have chatted to many barkeeps around Pattaya and the old "I'm just going to the hoorng naahm" is but one trick they pull. A favourite for a guy on a 2 - 3 week holiday is to strike up relationships with a number of bars around town. Occasionaly they're a bit short so "mai mee satang, okay if I pay tomorrow" and sure enough they return and settle up. Then towards the end of their stay they go for the big one, run up a few thousand check bin then disappear.

It never ceases to amaze me how low people will stoop to get a couple of freebees and in most cases they come from relatively rich homelands.

[Axel]

Whenever there is a fire one can read that the emergency exits were locked and management explained this for reasons of stopping customers to leave without paying for the bill.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

A few years ago we had a small shop in Chiang Mai and I remember coming back from work one day and my wife was very upset at the abuse she got from one customer.

His complaint?

He wasn't happy at being charge 25 Baht for a mug of Tetley tea.

I thought it was a bargain!

[rak sa_ngop]

It's true that in many bars/restaurants in Laos and Vietnam, staff have to make up the difference if the customer does not pay the billed amount.

Likewise if the member of staff miscalculates the bill and this is discovered later they have to pay for their mistake. Just as happened in Vientiane when one group of falangs thought they had a real bargain by being charged only 2 nights accommodation instead of 4. the poor Laos receptionist had to grab a taxi and shoot down to the Friendship bridge(20+ km) and intercept them before they left Laos. He got the money in the end but he still had to pay for the taxi himself.

So when you get undercharged and you realise somebody has made a mistake, spare a thought for the poor member of staff who's going to pay for 'your bit of luck'.

[Travel2003]

I must have seen this a 1000 times already, in BKK.

Customers argue over the bill.

Of course we all know that sometimes a beer might be added to the bill.

I don't care, as long as it is not a beer added when I have had only one or two.

Still a lot of ladies think that most farangs are rich.

And this even after the farang tip 5 Baht on a 975 Baht's bill.

Makes me ashamed as a farang from a rich (and blessed) country to witness this.

Sailor

[peter991]

Sad and true. In many cases a bill is placed in The Cup for each drink order a customer receives. I have seen farang check THEIR total bar bill and put a few of the dockets in a Cup belonging to ANOTHER drinker - who is either in the toilet or playing a game of pool. The first drinker quickly pays HIS reduced bar bill and leaves.

It's the OTHER guy I feel sorry for. He is lumbered with HIS own bar bill - plus the bills which the scum bag added to his. Sometimes - after a few drinks, he won't query it. Othertimes, I have see an unhappy customer.

In more than one instance, I have intervened - making sure I have some back-up first.

Peter

[Simmo]

I'd wager the bill padding outnumbers the check bin runners by an order of magnitude. I don't feel sorry for them.

[bangkokrick]

I was in my local bar a few ago weeks ago when a couple and their two young children came in and sat in the restaurant area. They placed their food order which was delivered in a reasonable time. They ate all the food but when the bill came they refused to pay because they said that they did not enjoy the meal.

The young Thai waitress did not understand much English and was very confused by the situation so she asked me to help. The guy saw her doing this as decided to pay up qick time. I can not believe that people can do this and i am sure that if there had not been any other farang in the pub that he would not have paid.

By the way the food in this establishment is excellent whether it be Thai or Farang food.

[GuestHouse]

I was once presented with someone else's bill in a Thai bar. A punter did a runner so the Thai staff decided to pass me the bill on account that I had been speaking to the guy just before he went AWOL.

It took a lot of arguing to get out of that one, including calling the bar owner's bluff when he threatened the police.

[Ijustwannateach]

Somehow even more annoying than the guys who skip out entirely are the ones who short the check. At a group lunch I attend regularly, once (and only once) the bill came up short when a certain person had left his money and left the scene. The price was fixed and very clear. As if we weren't going to notice or figure it out? So he "almost" pays and yet still ruins his own reputation among us. A bit of sociopathy there...

"S"

[enyaw]

I once saw an Irish fella in rosey o'gradys in Pattaya order his food pay his bill and then sneek out without eating it?!

[Head Snake]

I have been guilty occasionally of this when I am drunk. I just up and leave. But, I do pay up and I do ask the bars if I had paid up when I return. I don't mean not to pay, its just drunk thinking.

Even if I don't like the meal or the service, I understand that the restaurant needs to make money from the customers. It makes no sense to purposefully do a runner.

I have on many occasions ran out of money while drinking. I than tell them I have to go to an ATM and return to pay. No problem. I do just that.

Lastly, I learned a very valuable lesson for sales people. Pay for your customers. If you don't, don't be surprised about losing business. It wasn't me who made the faux pas; but I enjoyed the wrath of an angry customer innocently jilted by my boss.

Pay up people!!

[britmaveric]

Thieves and should be treated accordingly - not wise to do this, normally one quick call and you'll have the neighbourhood watch surrounding you.

[mrbojangles]

I'd wager the bill padding outnumbers the check bin runners by an order of magnitude.

Yep, i agree. But it doesn't make it right to do a runner. As for bill padders,well it happened to me and i never went back. They lose out in the long run.

I once saw an Irish fella in rosey o'gradys in Pattaya order his food pay his bill and then sneek out without eating it?!

[farangsay]

As has been mentioned , the worst thing about this sort of of thing is that the shortfall

will be taken out of the staff's wages. One unpaid bill can wipe out a day or two's basic

earnings.

A GF once told me she had a customer in her bar who finished his drink , announced he

wasn't going to pay as he had no money and asked "what're you going to do about it?"

She whacked him over the head with a glass ashtray.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow.

[jfsdoll]

Funny how this kind of Stocholm Syndrome thread repeats around here farang this farang that

trying to justify some people bias towards aliens , i've never tought of leaving w/o paying bill specially in a foreign land but i'm tempted to walk out when i'm treated w/o respect as often hapens lately specially in some big chains , it's like they see falang and they figure you out ... and waist no time to provoque so the usual arrogant falang loses temper ... win/win situation when gutsy feelings are in the way ..

Feel sorry for those staying here but hey just keep feeding them you may eventually be acepted ..big LOL .

Excuse if it sounds raw & rude but better call things by proper name methinks.

[kankaroo]

Seen a few situations like this and also been involved myself a couple of times. A member of staff at a local restaurant looked really pissed off one night and told me that some a-hole farang had skipped on his bill of a meal and also a couple of beers. His boss simply told him that he would have to front the bill or be fired. the bill was almost 300 baht which he told me would take a couple of long days at work with no money. Made me feel sick that these types of freaks are out there.

I myself have also done the walking away from a bar after too many drinks and been chased down the road by a member of staff thingy ! VERY embarrassing but was always resolved with a smile and laugh.

However my worst experience of this was when I ordered a cocktail from one of those roadside mini-bar setups and when I put my hand in my pocket I found nothing but lint. My last 500 baht had fallen out (or was pinched?) I was mortified and tried to sort it out with the girls when some drunken Arnie looking german guy started a massive rant about how people like me were the scum of the earth and were giving farang in Thailand a bad name. He said that he would pay on my behalf and I should get the next plane home. I tried to reason with him and explain my situation but he (thought) he had me pegged. Funny that he was groping two young girls at the time and was pissed out of his mind - but I was the scumbag

[enyaw]

As has been mentioned , the worst thing about this sort of of thing is that the shortfall

will be taken out of the staff's wages. One unpaid bill can wipe out a day or two's basic

earnings.

I remember one time in a Bar in Pattaya a girl in sheds of tears after failing to notice the bin she just checked was missing most of it's bills, the lads had been drinking all day and when it came to settling up the bill they had pocketed most of it leaving it massively short. The low lifes.. they would of saved themselves just a few quid each but the bar girl would of lost out on the best part of a months wages.

[winteragain]

I think there are two types who do this:

1. The cheap, poor, low-class farang with no money and no morals.

2. The not-so-poor farang, with a large sense of entitlement, who enjoys causing a fuss as a guest in a foreign country.

I witnessed an American, probably late 40's in age, at Robinsons, trying to return a bottle of cologne that was 3/4 used up. He was pissing, and moaning to no end that he "didn't like it and wanted his money back" after he had nearly used up the entire thing. All of this over something which cost 760 baht at the most. The same types, upon consumption of an entire meal or beverage, will refuse to pay the bill if they do not "like" the meal. Seeing farang do this drives me crazy. If you take a bite of your food, and it doesn't taste good, just politely ask them to re-make it for you, or get you something else. Don't eat the entire thing and then refuse to pay the bill.

I've had bad food on occasion. I'm not the type to complain unless something profoundly affects my life. I realize that this is Thailand, and that if I don't pay my bill, the poor thai waiter/waitress is going to have to pay it. I realize that 300BHT spent on a bad meal is a lesson learned not to return to that restaurant again. I piss 300BHT, farang should be ashamed to dodge such miniscule bills. I also witnessed an Israeli man hopping the skytrain turnstyle. You can afford a round trip ticket to Bangkok, but you cannot afford a skytrain ticket? If farang or anyone for that matter refuse to pay their bills, this is one circumstance where I support the Thai police being called and further requesting bribes from the offender to avoid being dragged off to jail.

[Pepe']

I'd wager the bill padding outnumbers the check bin runners by an order of magnitude. I don't feel sorry for them.

---------------------

I tend to agree with you but not entirely. There is some truth to what your saying.

I remember once in Hua Hin taxi/pickup was trying to charge me 10 baht more than the Thai price.

My Thai wife just about ripped him a new AH and threw the money in his face.

He looked like he was sorry he came to work that day.

Remember everything is karma...

[scousemouse]

Blame the parents of these check bin dodgers .