Overcharged, Even With A Menu

[Morty]

Thanks for painting all of us with that broad brush!!

For your information, I'm scandinavian, Norwegian as a matter of fact, and rest assured I don't pay "anything they want"

But then again I don't act like a tourist, I live here.

My experience is that if you get ripped of, it's because your behavior indicate you are not familiar with the "Thai" way of doing things.

BTW I have never threatened anyone with the police to get my way, and I can assure you that's not the "Thai" way of doing things .

Not anti-scandinavian and not tarring you ALL with the same brush, but it's just the pound for pound, you guys probably earn the most money in Europe, so when you come here, paying an extra 40 baht each time over the odds is ABSOLUTELY nothing to you! It's not worth arguing over. When i was travelling, i was limited to 500 baht a day. For everything. Getting ripped off for 40 baht was a big deal for me.

The reason i said call the police is that the song thaew in Lanta, with stated prices painted on it ( i think 40 baht), stopped on a jungly track in the middle of no where, the driver got out and said, Ok, you pay me 80 baht now. All the scandinavians paid up straight away. I dug my heels in and refused. The driver and co-driver started to get aggressive. I said call the police then and he backed down. And i dont give a <deleted> if you think it's not very Thai. I'm not Thai. And what the driver and co-driver did wasnt very Thai either. Frankly i'm sick of people saying this isnt the Thai culture or whatever. Thai's are human beings - they dont act as one, they act as individuals. And there are bad apples amongst them.

Sorry - i dont get ripped off anywhere. And if someone gets aggressive with me in a remote area then i'm gonna fight back when i know i'm in the right.

My point is that this guy has done this probably hundreds of times. It's because people keep paying up that he keeps doing it. And suddenly the official price will rise up to meet the rip-off price, and the rip-off price will go even higher.

Well, I don't want to get into an argument with you about how you solve your problems with songteows in Thailand, there has already been a lot of good advice on this site explaining how to get out of these situations without making someone loose face (witch you might know is more important to Thais then us), but being confrontational will get you into those situations. Digging when your are in a hole won't get you anywhere but deeper into the cr@p. But then again each to their own I guess

And please stop blaming other nationalities for your misery

[kmart]

is that an insult sir?............lol.

you tell me if you agree or disagree. my feelings have been hurt as ive been accused of being negative.......lol.

im quite a jolly fellow, dark humour is hard to understand.

LOL!

Edited May 4, 2007 by kmart

[uptou]

i believe there must be some tight fisted scandanavians around,seing as i dont think ive ever had one buy me a beer. but i suppose that was mixing in backpacker circles.sweden looks like quite a big country.possibly bigger than a songtaew.

[nick2k]

people bash cabbies yet they round down. seems cabbies here are misunderstood......lol. im getting the vibe from farangs that its a good idea to keep thais poor.

in an earlier post, I asked you if you were anti-american. and you replied - that you were american. it appears you are not only not american, but also anti-american.

I welcome your participation in this forum because I think foreigners need to know just what they are up against here in thailand. and who better to educate them - then "people like you." carry on.

[buggsychang]

I was over-charged once in thr Farang Connection in Surin. I didn't know anything about it till the next day when the governor, Marty, gave me 100 baht back and explained the girls had made a mistake the night before. Such is life.

[Morty]

I was over-charged once in thr Farang Connection in Surin. I didn't know anything about it till the next day when the governor, Marty, gave me 100 baht back and explained the girls had made a mistake the night before. Such is life.

I felt kind of cheated as well, when I was there, I had come up from Pattaya, driving all night, to attend in a funeral, the following evening I decided to go over there to say hallo to Martin, and he was not there Anyway since I hadn't slept for a good 30 hours, and had my share of the customary Lao Kao in the village during the day, I got royally pissed in there. So bad I had to get my brother in law to come and pick me up and drive me to Thong Tarin but as far as I know there was no overcharging, except me "overcharging" myself. Well I will try it again, maybe I will be luckier next time .

[blizzard]

can you please tell me nikk2k where i made a post resembling anything anti america. i f you have e passporte i send a few butts your way.

IM ANTI SILLY FARANG. AKA STOOPID FARANG.

let me see here guy eats at restaurant, feels he been cheated, want to go back to prove he was cheated first time...........................HUH, i dont get it.

i confess, im norweegian from norweegia..............lol

Edited May 4, 2007 by blizzard

[qwertz]

can you please tell me nikk2k where i made a post resembling anything anti america. i f you have e passporte i send a few butts your way.

IM ANTI SILLY FARANG. AKA STOOPID FARANG.

let me see here guy eats at restaurant, feels he been cheated, want to go back to prove he was cheated first time...........................HUH, i dont get it.

i confess, im norweegian from norweegia..............lol

Try to focus a little here, blizzard. You must know we do get overcharged there and it doesn't help to shrug and say it's still cheaper than back home. If you keep sitting still for it you're making everything dearer for the next batch of farangs and ultimately for yourself. I think this addresses the OP's question more directly.

[GracelessFawn]

A year ago, my bestfriend and I visited an unassuming seafood restaurant somewhere in the Night Bazaar vicinity. We had them cook us some mussels, prawns, fish and crabs. The food was decent, but we almost puked it all out when we got the bill. They wanted us to pay 6,800 Baht (including tax and service charge). The place is a small shanty and it looked like some sort of improvised tent from the outside. We tried to fight back........ we checked-out the price tags for the mussels, prawns, fish and crabs and I noticed the added zero in the price tag. We asked for the menu again and we were handed a different one. That was really a bummer. We ended up paying the bill because we didn't want any trouble.

A ride in the Big Ferris Wheel saved the night, but barely!

[kratindaeng]

A year ago, my bestfriend and I visited an unassuming seafood restaurant somewhere in the Night Bazaar vicinity. We had them cook us some mussels, prawns, fish and crabs. The food was decent, but we almost puked it all out when we got the bill. They wanted us to pay 6,800 Baht (including tax and service charge). The place is a small shanty and it looked like some sort of improvised tent from the outside. We tried to fight back........ we checked-out the price tags for the mussels, prawns, fish and crabs and I noticed the added zero in the price tag. We asked for the menu again and we were handed a different one. That was really a bummer. We ended up paying the bill because we didn't want any trouble.

A ride in the Big Ferris Wheel saved the night, but barely!

no worries, only 6,800b for seafood. Just pay it and then the restaurant will try to make the next farang in the line pay the same as you! You paid and didnt want any trouble? That makes it all alright then? Some people would say you are a little bit niave to let people take advantage of you like that, but then again what would they know?

Edited May 4, 2007 by kratindaeng

[Jingthing]

Yep, those seafood places are the worst. I always ask how much each item is. I like it when you can pick out the creature, watch them weigh it, and verify the price right there. In a case of highway robbery like that, what can people do? Would calling the tourist police provide any relief?

[Ijustwannateach]

The above is a good example of why I don't go to seafood places in tourist areas, or in which the bulk of the customers are not Thais.

There's a good one (at last glance called Lek's, but been a year or so since I went) at the base of the Chong Nonsi BTS station, for example- too far away from touristland for most Bangkok newbies to know it; the menu is reasonable for the food and consistent.

[torrenova]

Chinese restaurants in Chinatown in London rip you off. They write it all down in chinese so you cannot read it then they add on a service charge of say 10%. Your credit card slip comes open with somewhere to leave a tip. So you are charged a tip on a tip. Query it and they will admit it but say they cannot change it. <deleted>, they set it up that way.

However, theft from overcharging is rampant here in Thailand. From baht buses to restaurants, street side vendors and loads of bars etc. it is seen as perfectably acceptable to rip the foreigner off. Often there is also a threat of violence or the use of indirect force such as police intervention etc. Corruption exists from top to bottom, from Taksin to the false street beggar.

So how do you deal with it ? well I act on principle and will not frequent a place or use a service again even if I have eventually got the correct price. I view it as theft and do everything to discourage it. I do not see tourists or foreign residents as lambs to the slaughter.

In the case in question from the OP, I would have paid only the correct amount. I have not had this happen in a restaurant where I have noticed it but I have had it happen in bars and I am sorry to say largely in Thai owned and run places.

If something is sold at a cheap price then so be it, charge more if you need to or can do, just don't try to rip me off.

[qwertz]

I wouldn't pay those prices for seafood in Germany, let alone Thailand.

[mosquitoman]

I know of one restaurant that has a menu printed in Thai and a menu printed in English and of course the English version is more expensive.

I recently challeneged the owner of this restaurant about this, and she told me that the portions of the English language menu were bigger, however when my bill arrived she had charged me Thai menu prices.

MM

[nick2k]

when people try to cheat you, they are trying to tell you indirectly that they don't like you. so, the next time someone tries to cheat you, remember that fact. ..they don't like you.

[philliphn]

is that an insult sir?............lol.

you tell me if you agree or disagree. my feelings have been hurt as ive been accused of being negative.......lol.

im quite a jolly fellow, dark humour is hard to understand.

Since English is obviously not your mother tongue I will not even try to understand how you thought it was an insult.

I'll just put the question in slightly simpler form...

Why do you think falang's want to keep Thai people poor?

Soundman.

It is not that Farangs want to keep Thai people poor. I love Thailand. However, I treat people fairly. I don't try to rip them of wether they are poor or rich. If I go to a restaurant in the U.S.A., I will not be charged more if I am a foreigner, or am rich, or poor.

Edited May 4, 2007 by philliphn

[Ulysses G.]

However, theft from overcharging is rampant here in Thailand.

I hardly ever get ripped off in Thailand. Only the baht busses in Pattaya that charge me 10 baht instead of 5 baht, but they charge EVERYBODY 15 baht in Chiang Mai where I live, so it doesn't bother me.

[markg]

Well, I don't want to get into an argument with you about how you solve your problems with songteows in Thailand, there has already been a lot of good advice on this site explaining how to get out of these situations without making someone loose face (witch you might know is more important to Thais then us), but being confrontational will get you into those situations. Digging when your are in a hole won't get you anywhere but deeper into the cr@p. But then again each to their own I guess

And please stop blaming other nationalities for your misery

I wish people would get it into their thick skulls that most of this Thai losing face is boll@ocks and it doesnt apply in ALL circumstances. If someone is ripping you off - you can make them lose face. It doesnt matter.

What are you going to do when someone puts a gun to your head, fool? Nothing in case they lose face?

What about making ME lose face by ripping me off. If its so much part of Thai culture then it works BOTH WAYS !

I wasnt being confrontational sitting on a songthaew. I paid my fare up front. HE stopped the bus after a few kilometres and DEMANDED more money from all the passengers. I was just sat there minding my own business ! And digging my heels in about something that is plainly wrong and ILLEGAL didnt get me into more trouble - i didnt pay more. But all the scando's did.

Look i live in Phuket, in high season it's full of Scandinavians. I know loads of business owners as my g/f and her extended family are involved with the tourism business.

Mate - they are laughing at you! They know they can rip the Scandinavians off the most because they dont complain. The people i know compare notes and play this as a game! AT YOUR EXPENSE BUDDY. They know you wont compain because you read in the lonely planet that you shouldt make a fuss.

. But they darent try it on with the Russians. Thats because the Russians just wont accept it.

Work it out yourself mate.

[blizzard]

im not naive to think tourists OR ANYONE dont get overcharged.

BUT COME ON IF YOU KNOW YOUVE BEEN JOBBED WHY THINK OF GOING BACK.

i guess im different i go to mainstream places where prices are set, no problems. i ride buss non air in bangkok im charged 7 baht like a thai, same same.

air con buss i offer more than necessary as price varies according to distance travelled, change lady dont rip me off.

i go to bars in patpong, never been jerked around. i dont go to the dodgy ones where they do rip you off.

[Morty]

I wish people would get it into their thick skulls that most of this Thai losing face is boll@ocks and it doesnt apply in ALL circumstances. If someone is ripping you off - you can make them lose face. It doesnt matter.

What are you going to do when someone puts a gun to your head, fool? Nothing in case they lose face?

What about making ME lose face by ripping me off. If its so much part of Thai culture then it works BOTH WAYS !

I wasnt being confrontational sitting on a songthaew. I paid my fare up front. HE stopped the bus after a few kilometres and DEMANDED more money from all the passengers. I was just sat there minding my own business ! And digging my heels in about something that is plainly wrong and ILLEGAL didnt get me into more trouble - i didnt pay more. But all the scando's did.

Look i live in Phuket, in high season it's full of Scandinavians. I know loads of business owners as my g/f and her extended family are involved with the tourism business.

Mate - they are laughing at you! They know they can rip the Scandinavians off the most because they dont complain. The people i know compare notes and play this as a game! AT YOUR EXPENSE BUDDY. They know you wont compain because you read in the lonely planet that you shouldt make a fuss.

. But they darent try it on with the Russians. Thats because the Russians just wont accept it.

Work it out yourself mate.

What's wrong with you pal? did someone pee on your breakfast this morning. I couldn't care less about how you behave yourself in Thailand, but again you are blaming me personally and ALL Scandinavians in general for your trouble. As I have said in an earlier post, I live here with my wife and kids, I don't go on holidays to Phuket, and I don't get ripped of either. As far as I can understand, you sir, are an accident waiting to happen. And if you don't think face is an issue, you can tell that to the poor Welshman, who was attacked by a tuk tuk driver in Phuket, for trying to do what you suggest is the "proper" way of handling the situation. As for you not grasping the face factor, is a totally different issue.

BTW. the OP was asking advice on being ripped of at a restaurant, not about what nationalities he should blame for it.

If you can't contribute to that, I respectfully suggest you <deleted>, and crawl back under your rock.

Morty

[lazeeboy]

I wish people would get it into their thick skulls that most of this Thai losing face is boll@ocks and it doesnt apply in ALL circumstances. If someone is ripping you off - you can make them lose face. It doesnt matter.

What are you going to do when someone puts a gun to your head, fool? Nothing in case they lose face?

What about making ME lose face by ripping me off. If its so much part of Thai culture then it works BOTH WAYS !

I wasnt being confrontational sitting on a songthaew. I paid my fare up front. HE stopped the bus after a few kilometres and DEMANDED more money from all the passengers. I was just sat there minding my own business ! And digging my heels in about something that is plainly wrong and ILLEGAL didnt get me into more trouble - i didnt pay more. But all the scando's did.

Look i live in Phuket, in high season it's full of Scandinavians. I know loads of business owners as my g/f and her extended family are involved with the tourism business.

Mate - they are laughing at you! They know they can rip the Scandinavians off the most because they dont complain. The people i know compare notes and play this as a game! AT YOUR EXPENSE BUDDY. They know you wont compain because you read in the lonely planet that you shouldt make a fuss.

. But they darent try it on with the Russians. Thats because the Russians just wont accept it.

Work it out yourself mate.

What's wrong with you pal? did someone pee on your breakfast this morning. I couldn't care less about how you behave yourself in Thailand, but again you are blaming me personally and ALL Scandinavians in general for your trouble. As I have said in an earlier post, I live here with my wife and kids, I don't go on holidays to Phuket, and I don't get ripped of either. As far as I can understand, you sir, are an accident waiting to happen. And if you don't think face is an issue, you can tell that to the poor Welshman, who was attacked by a tuk tuk driver in Phuket, for trying to do what you suggest is the "proper" way of handling the situation. As for you not grasping the face factor, is a totally different issue.

BTW. the OP was asking advice on being ripped of at a restaurant, not about what nationalities he should blame for it.

If you can't contribute to that, I respectfully suggest you <deleted>, and crawl back under your rock.

Morty

if you go to a farang restaurant you pay what the menu says so why not in a thai restaurant if it says 40b you pay 40b end of .if they get shirty tell them to call the police and let them give the police some b-ll about old menu .its not the price its the principal ,this kind of double standards really pis-es me off .if you can speak some thai it doesnt happen

[farangconnection]

I was over-charged once in thr Farang Connection in Surin. I didn't know anything about it till the next day when the governor, Marty, gave me 100 baht back and explained the girls had made a mistake the night before. Such is life.

Still not sure who you are,except you use our internet cafe as well.( you stayed logged on once)

That has happened a few times. I check the bills five or six times a day, and if I see someone has been overcharged, I make a note to pay them back. A bigger problem with my grils is UNDERCHARGING customers. Lots of times it has been the other way round, and a customer has said to me. " That's not right. Too little"

Of course it all boils down to the fact that the Thais believe what's on the calculator. If 6x2 comes up as 120 then that's the bill. I once had something ridiculous like 5 x 150, came to around 130. And that was the bill I intercepted on it's way to the customer.

[qwertz]

I was over-charged once in thr Farang Connection in Surin. I didn't know anything about it till the next day when the governor, Marty, gave me 100 baht back and explained the girls had made a mistake the night before. Such is life.

Still not sure who you are,except you use our internet cafe as well.( you stayed logged on once)

That has happened a few times. I check the bills five or six times a day, and if I see someone has been overcharged, I make a note to pay them back. A bigger problem with my grils is UNDERCHARGING customers. Lots of times it has been the other way round, and a customer has said to me. " That's not right. Too little"

Of course it all boils down to the fact that the Thais believe what's on the calculator. If 6x2 comes up as 120 then that's the bill. I once had something ridiculous like 5 x 150, came to around 130. And that was the bill I intercepted on it's way to the customer.

I think you've hit it there. I'm not the brightest lamp in the ceiling when it comes to maths but I'm a genius among the average Thais. It's no wonder you have to keep check.

[in2it1]

Ah Asia, world of wonderment, so nice to know things are not all that different depending of where we go. Was in Beijing with my GF at the time. Decided to dine on some Mongolian style food, I got one menu, she got another, very different ofcourse, espeically the prices. My quiet GF, whew! and that poor resturant manager. Now he has two of what he sits on.... Ahem!

[uk_falang]

I went to a restaurant recently, at at the bottom of the bill there was a 50 baht "Air Conditioning" charge.

Recently, I found a new restaurant on a quiet soi not far from my apartment. It's an Isaan restaurant, serving such tasty treats as som tam, kao moo yang and nom took moo. The tables are spread out in a banana grove, providing a relaxing, private atmosphere with the sounds of birds chirping instead of engines revving.

Today I went there for lunch with my girlfriend. When we received the bill, we were surprised to see a different total than what we'd expected. It wasn't much higher, but enough to catch our attention.

My girlfriend asked why the prices on the bill weren't the same as the prices on the menu. The waiter clearly was caught off guard, and spewed out some bs story about how it was an old menu from an old restaurant, and the prices were different now. We knew that was crap for many reasons, and my girlfriend politely told him that he shouldn't charge a different price than what was on the menu. And in fact, on our previous visit they hadn't. But this time they smelled farang money and got greedy, and tried to overcharge us in spite of having prices clearly written on the menu.

Now, it's not the money that bothers me. The difference was only about 40 baht. But it's the principle of being ripped off. I just can't understand people who have such a petty mentality. By attempting to steal 40 baht, they've now lost my future business. I probably would have gone there a few times a week, and I always tip . But now I'll never go back.

This is not a unique experience. This happens more often than I'd like to admit, and it's beginning to drive me crazy! Anyone else have similar experiences?

[PeaceBlondie]

Pardon me for not reading all 988 posts on this thread, but part of the problem is that Thai staff in restaurants and shops understand that we are filthy rich. If we live in tourist areas, dress fancy, drive a big new car, swagger in and order high price items off the menu - we're asking to be overcharged, because we're telling the world that we throw money around.

Like I said yesterday on another thread, try riding in on a motorbike, two people, in the rain, in sandals but wearing decent, simple clothing. Show respect for the wait staff without waiing them, behave yourself, order the regular stuff on the menu, and think of something humble to say, such as "I'm just a simple teacher of English." Show that you notice prices, even making a show of it "kaow phat gai, sow baht, nga?" Then go home and clip your bond coupons.

[Bjorn]

Well, things like this seems to happen now and then. When it happens to me and I know it's not just a mistake by the waiter/waitress, I will add the place to my own "black-list".

Why not having a list somewhere on this forum listing all restaurangs, bars, hotels, etc trying to rip us off?

As said before in this thread, it's not only about money, it's the principle.

[mosquitoman]

Like I said yesterday on another thread, try riding in on a motorbike, two people, in the rain, in sandals but wearing decent, simple clothing. Show respect for the wait staff without waiing them, behave yourself, order the regular stuff on the menu, and think of something humble to say, such as "I'm just a simple teacher of English." Show that you notice prices, even making a show of it "kaow phat gai, sow baht, nga?" Then go home and clip your bond coupons.

I think I would rather be over charged

MM

[TAWP]

To some extent PeaceBlonie is very much correct. Many here want to act like rich farangs, as long as it doesn't bring all the other points that this behaivior leads too.

I'm not saying that ripping anyone off is fair or correct, but it's more likely to happend if they think they can get away with it since the target is rich enough to not feel the sting of the money (and wont reflect on it, just pays and are happy) or completely oblivious to how much things costs. As relatives that asked me if it was normal for taxi to never put on meter and then charge 300 for driving them 1 kilometer here..ARGH!