SCAM in Cowboy

[spidermike007]

On 1/28/2024 at 12:47 AM, 2long said:

Warning for all those out there. At least a couple of bars in Cowboy are scamming punters.

I will not mention the names, due to Thailand's laws, but one is a reference to memory in French and the other is a time that 7Eleven stop selling booze.

 

Taking into account that I have been here 24 years and my mates are far from bar novices, and in their 60s. No one was drunk. This is not Patpong....

 

Order a lady drink and she brings two (a shot and a cola). In bars in Nana this is classed as one drink and costs about 200B.

More girls turn up and when you offer/say yes to a drink for the new girl, ALL the girls on the table get a shot and a cola, not just the extra lass. And the price of these lady drinks is 300B each glass, so you're looking at 600B/pop/lady.

There's a chitty/bill that the lady asks you to write your name on, but it's not like a bill in a plastic pot like normal bars. For me, it was in her bikini bottoms.

 

Then when the punters question 'what's going on here?' and it all kicks off, the management say 'you signed for it, and it's all on CCTV'

 

Two mates had one beer each and the bill was 4,300B but I negotiated down to the 3,000B that they had signed for.

Two mates and I had one beer each and the bill was 2,700B.

 

We all know that there are a few options to resolve the situation, and each has his own way. Yes it cost us a lot, and we made our feelings very clear in Thai language, and in a Thai way.

As I wrote, this is not Patpong and we have all been to many many bars before, hundreds of times and none of us were drunk. Yes, we should know better, but if we can get caught, others are likely to as well.

Always call them out by name. Shame them into submission. And anytime they don't put the bill on the table right in front of you that's cause for suspicion. Immediately ask for the bill to be put on your table, and anytime you order a drink and they bring more than one drink, turn it down and say you know that's not what I ordered. 

 

Also many Go-Go bars on the second drink, the lady asks you if you can buy her two drinks. I usually say no you want one more drink that's fine, if not why don't you wander around? 

[bangkok19]

On 1/28/2024 at 7:47 PM, 2long said:

Warning for all those out there. At least a couple of bars in Cowboy are scamming punters.

I will not mention the names, due to Thailand's laws, but one is a reference to memory in French and the other is a time that 7Eleven stop selling booze.

 

Taking into account that I have been here 24 years and my mates are far from bar novices, and in their 60s. No one was drunk. This is not Patpong....

 

Order a lady drink and she brings two (a shot and a cola). In bars in Nana this is classed as one drink and costs about 200B.

More girls turn up and when you offer/say yes to a drink for the new girl, ALL the girls on the table get a shot and a cola, not just the extra lass. And the price of these lady drinks is 300B each glass, so you're looking at 600B/pop/lady.

There's a chitty/bill that the lady asks you to write your name on, but it's not like a bill in a plastic pot like normal bars. For me, it was in her bikini bottoms.

 

Then when the punters question 'what's going on here?' and it all kicks off, the management say 'you signed for it, and it's all on CCTV'

 

Two mates had one beer each and the bill was 4,300B but I negotiated down to the 3,000B that they had signed for.

Two mates and I had one beer each and the bill was 2,700B.

 

We all know that there are a few options to resolve the situation, and each has his own way. Yes it cost us a lot, and we made our feelings very clear in Thai language, and in a Thai way.

As I wrote, this is not Patpong and we have all been to many many bars before, hundreds of times and none of us were drunk. Yes, we should know better, but if we can get caught, others are likely to as well.

Yes.. this and similar scams are becoming widely known either by personal experience, or if you read Stickman.com

[bangkok19]

On 1/29/2024 at 1:06 AM, JimTripper said:

I would not sign anything. It's still a cash society.  If more drinks come then I ordered then get up and tell the manager they were not ordered. Even better, get a drink menu. The price can be whatever they want if you don't have a menu.

 

If they still demand 1k per guy then tourist police settle it.

Somewhere in between the 1st paragraph and the 2nd paragraph you forgot to mention the 'security guards'....  

[bangkok19]

On 1/29/2024 at 12:14 AM, Denim said:

In the old days 40 years ago used to discretely slip the girls 20 baht instead of wasting money on lady drinks. Everybody happy.

 

Then the sex tourists turned up in swarms and the fun went out of it. Not been in a bar for at least 25 years. No need. Better watering holes well away from the tourist traps.

Yes, and rather than pay the barfine you could just arrange to meet up with the girl at the Tip Top Restaurant when she finished work.

 

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

 

 

Edited January 29 by scubascuba3

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Here's a serious question from someone who never frequented the bars. How hard is it for anyone to get off with a lady in a bar without ever buying a lady drink even if they are fat and unattractive?

Ladies won't do anything nor should they without a lady drink, but you can bar fine without, not all ladies bar fine though, many men fall for that

[Denim]

2 hours ago, bangkok19 said:

Yes, and rather than pay the barfine you could just arrange to meet up with the girl at the Tip Top Restaurant when she finished work.

 

Had many late night meals at both Tip Tops , the one on Pat Pong and the one on Sukhumvit. But girls from Cowboy preferred to meet up at Thermaes.

[steven100]

17 hours ago, n00dle said:

 

The nightlife scene is fine and in any cases more vibrant than ever. Sex tourism, the P4P and gogo and beer bar scene have seen better days.

Increasingly the only custom they receive is folks like the op, 60 years old and clinging to a dream of bygone days. Count the folks sub-30 in any beer or gogo bar these days. 
  
There are very few places you can go that do lady drinks where you won't get hosed, racking up bills of thousands in the feeding frenzy buying non-alcoholic lady drinks while drinking 3 or 4 beers at a seemingly reasonable 100-150 baht a pop. 

It really is a mug's game, the whole scene was dying pre-COVID, post-COVID the bars and the women gave up all pretense   

   

each to his own as they say 

[brianthainess]

11 hours ago, jts-khorat said:

what kind of talk can be had with a girl barely able to mumble because of being drunk?

About the same kind of talk when their sober. I had a friend one time had a nice pretty young one sit next to him, He gave her 200b and said 'right I don't want to hear about your family or your kids'  He regretted that she had nothing else much to say 

[smutcakes]

I can get shafted for about 3,000 THB everytime i go to a certain bar there... always say i wont go again, and always go back and the same thing happens:) One day i might learn.

[n00dle]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

About the same kind of talk when their sober. I had a friend one time had a nice pretty young one sit next to him, He gave her 200b and said 'right I don't want to hear about your family or your kids'  He regretted that she had nothing else much to say 

Great story, both generosity and compassion.

 

You must admire your "friend" very much.

 

Edited January 30 by n00dle

[n00dle]

5 hours ago, Denim said:

Had many late night meals at both Tip Tops , the one on Pat Pong and the one on Sukhumvit. But girls from Cowboy preferred to meet up at Thermaes.

 

Now there is some nostalgia.

I haven't set foot in Thermae in 15-20 years, likely more. What great fun it was, then not. When Thaksin and Purachi began their anti-drug anti-nightlife campaign the fun just sort of ran out.

 

Can't even begin to remember the number of times I decided to forgo bringing a date home in favour of a bag o' Thermeae chicken. Pretty frequently ended up with a UK, Aus or Canadian English teacher as she was out with the lads from school. 

Thermae is a fine example of a time I recall as simply more fun. lower Sukhumvit between 99-2010 was a serious blast, it is a very different place now, I wouldn't recognize it if I hadn't lived through the changes. 

 

I realize the fact I was in my early 30's contributed to the fun,  but everything was far less mercenary. Bars would ply us with free booze just to keep us around, and there were no shortage of places to go where you were welcome and didn't get ripped off.     

Edited January 30 by n00dle

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

If so, will they automatically stop the scams after they've recouped their losses? LOL

Capitalism is rife all over the world, the more money business people make the greedier they get, fairness and consideration for customers in any field go right out the window the richer they get.

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, macca3248 said:

The girls working in these bars are paid 8000 baht per month and the rest is in tips and drink commission , One of the girls told me she gets around 40000baht per month including the 8000 baht retainer

.  Just out of curiosity l asked what the bar fine was ,,3000 baht !

Bar fines are OK for the fat and unattractive guys who can afford the 3000Bt and have a big problem with attracting girls otherwise,  a reasonable looking and slim guy will get laid easily here in Thailand without the bar fines and lady drink nonsense. I know from past experience.

[brianthainess]

59 minutes ago, n00dle said:

Great story, both generosity and compassion.

 

You must admire your "friend" very much.

 

No I don't admire him one bit as I said  "I HAD a friend" he ain't no friend of mine anymore.

[JimTripper]

8 hours ago, bangkok19 said:

Somewhere in between the 1st paragraph and the 2nd paragraph you forgot to mention the 'security guards'....  

Pay security if you have too and report to tourist police I suppose 🤷🏻‍♂️. Not much else you can do.

[kingstonkid]

10 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

It basically depends on how much you offer the lady, but there are reports that nowadays some ladies won't leave the bar with anyone, as a few make as much as 147,000 baht (source: Stickman) from only their salaries, bonuses, and lady drinks. - This is like 10x the average salary in Thailand, and, I suspect, most have a boyfriend and husband waiting at home, so why should they bother. Of course, if one offers outrageous sums, one or the other may still be tempted, which might explain the inflation in P4P prices in recent years...

 

LOL I read that too.  As I think a lot of us I have a hard time with her numbers are just not believable

 

6 lady drinks per hour, or one lady drink every 10 minutes, all night long, for 21 nights!

 

 

[n00dle]

29 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

No I don't admire him one bit as I said  "I HAD a friend" he ain't no friend of mine anymore.

 

talk about mixed messaging.

 

  

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

About the same kind of talk when their sober. I had a friend one time had a nice pretty young one sit next to him, He gave her 200b and said 'right I don't want to hear about your family or your kids'  He regretted that she had nothing else much to say 

 

Edited January 30 by n00dle

[n00dle]

9 hours ago, bangkok19 said:

Stickman.com

 

groundbreaking in its time, but just won't die. Very popular amongst folk who believe Private Dancer is an instructional tome, It would seem. 

Edited January 30 by n00dle

[Will B Good]

22 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

I couldn't sleep at night; 100k plus the girls' salaries, utilities, losses due to people helping themselves from the till, brown envelopes, etc., etc. - That's a helluva drinks to sell! Hope, his bar is popular...

We go early doors so hard to tell re popularity....he also shells out 17k a month to the police....one of whom came collecting whilst we were sat there.

 

The little old dear opposite gave the policeman hell......went back a week later and....could be coincidence....her bar was all boarded up.

[proton]

1 hour ago, n00dle said:

 

groundbreaking in its time, but just won't die. Very popular amongst folk who believe Private Dancer is an instructional tome, It would seem. 

 

Funny bloke Stick, described the ex owner of the Eden club Marc as a 'gentleman' and posted an ass licking eulogy on his demise. It's understandable he was scared of the thug when alive, but why still boot licking after he died? Marc for those who do not know was a pimp, blackmailer, convicted drug dealer (Japan) and murderer who ended up gunning down his ex girl friend and his business partner in Sukhumvit a couple of years ago. Luckily the business partner, although shot, got the gun and killed Marc. Top bloke according to stick!

Edited January 30 by proton

[Peabody]

18 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Pay as you go, don't run a tab.

Agree. No stuffed bins.

Just as important, it allows for a rapid exit if/when things go south.

[JimTripper]

An enterance fee like they have for a concert at a club would fix these problems. Fee could cover 2 drinks or so and 1 lady drink.

 

Guys go into these bars and kind of enjoy the neon show and eye candy but don't always pay what the venue requires to stay open. Kind of like walking into a concert, enjoying the music and leaving. Staff motivation could be motivated by getting the drink tickets that need to be spent on someone.

 

I'm sure there's some Thai reason why it's not done this way that I'm not thinking of. Maybe it limits spend as well. People that lose control are limited by the drink tickets to not spend more.

[StayinThailand2much]

34 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

An enterance fee like they have for a concert at a club would fix these problems. Fee could cover 2 drinks or so and 1 lady drink.

 

Sorry, but, on the rare occasion that I visit a bar, I don't want to pay for some bubbly half-full mix-drink for some 'lady', who, nowadays, won't even sit with me for 10 minutes, despite of the lady drink. Such an entrance fee would only encourage me to visit like 'never', instead of 'seldom', meaning the bar would lose the sale of a few beers too...

Edited January 30 by StayinThailand2much

[Irish star]

On 1/28/2024 at 4:01 PM, Celsius said:

I am not a punter, but if I was the last thing I would be doing in Thailand is buying lady drinks.

 

For the love of god, can someone explain it to me what is the POINT?

 

 

I’m not cheap but I hate that Lady drink thing 

[JimTripper]

2 hours ago, Irish star said:

I’m not cheap but I hate that Lady drink thing 

Are you disabled?

[n00dle]

On 1/29/2024 at 1:48 PM, bradiston said:

the other day i offered a girl 100 baht for something, usually accepted

 

do tell.

[n00dle]

19 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

I don't want to pay for some bubbly half-full mix-drink for some 'lady', who, nowadays, won't even sit with me for 10 minutes, despite of the lady drink.

 

I was going to say something snarky, but this does increasingly seem to be the way it works

[n00dle]

20 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I'm sure there's some Thai reason why it's not done this way that I'm not thinking of. Maybe it limits spend as well. People that lose control are limited by the drink tickets to not spend more.

 

It is not "some Thai reason" it is common sense.

They don't do it because nobody would ever pay the cover and even if they did they don't want to limit the amount of money a drunk can spend.

[n00dle]

23 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I know from past experience.

sure ya do,