Swiss Barber Arrested for Illegal Work and Taunting Thai Police

[NorthernRyland]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This man was tearing apart the very fabric of Thai society by working without a permit for his specified job. One cannot even count the number of Thai people that would be lining up for a 500 to 4,000 baht haircut.

 

I wouldn't be caught dead with a 4000 baht haircut. Shameful.

 

My current barber in Chiang Mai just raised the price to 120 baht from 100 which it was for years and I have no complaints ever. Includes a shave even.

[Andycoops]

2 hours ago, BigStar said:

 

Our fave red herring whenever a farang is busted for working w/o a permit. Beside the point. I wish the US would be diligent about enforcing its laws.

 

Anyway, those few Thai people need haircuts, so they'd get them from Thai barbers. Moreover, though our old pensioners aren't aware of them, never paying more than B100 or just using Wahl clippers from Lazada (sorted!), Thai hair stylist shops can indeed offer some expensive doos.

My haircut every 2 to 3 weeks is 60 baht in a local Thai barber shop.

[Kaopad999]

3 hours ago, AnotherOneHere said:

Judging from his Facebook guy is a professional and knows what he is doing. Not some desperate farang giving 50 Baht haircuts to be able to afford the food.

it's illegal none the less.

[Kaopad999]

Pure arrogance from his part. Hope they throw the book at him 

[WDSmart]

My barber charges me 80 baht for my haircut. I give her 100 baht including my tip. 

[WDSmart]

Deleted - a duplicate message... 

Edited June 26 by WDSmart

[thesetat2013]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

This incident sheds light on the stringent regulations surrounding employment for foreigners in Thailand, aiming to protect local job markets.

 

As the situation unfolds, it poses questions about the challenges expatriates face in navigating local laws and the consequences of flouting them.

Are they serious. this guy touts the laws for 9 years.. Most likely making payoffs to avoid problems with the law. Only some complaints got them to take action. So how does this incident shed light on anything? 

[phetpeter]

Thais have to have special haircuts called the wind sept look, it seems to be very fashionable with young Thai men that fly down the road on their micro-thin wheels and unbaffled 2 stokes with no crash helmet

[Crash999]

3 hours ago, renaissanc said:

Hairdressing is one of the jobs forbidden to do if you are a foreigner. If you are a resident here I don't think one needs to explain why.

Plenty of upscale hair salons like Moga employ foreigners. Often Japanese. Not sure how they get away with it but not insulting the police is probably high on the list. 

[couchpotato]

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Love the word "taunting" .. sounds so devilish.

[n00dle]

Damn, a few years back he cut my hair on many an occasion. Interesting fellow. seems to have put on a bit of weight though! 

[save the frogs]

here come the tattoo haters!

 

[Heavy Metal]

2 hours ago, ryandb said:

well he's not bright but honestly getting a good haircut from a Thai is so tedious I got the clippers and learned how to do a fade myself during covid

 

4000 baht isn't crazy either, you are probably talking about full hair and bread treatments with bleaching or something involved or perhaps he does womens hair too and then that can be fairly cheap for them

He could be a Master of the Cut and Blow, possibly encroaching on the job prospects of at least 2 differnt Thai professionals. 

[OneMoreFarang]

I want to look just like you.

Really?

 

[n00dle]

 

 

3 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Who in their right minds pays 4000 baht for a haircut anywhere on earth? You can get a professional cut anywhere for less than 2000 baht, and even a lot less with only cutting done. As far as the barber, he shouldn't be arrogant but apologizing and making sure he doesn't work here illegally again.

 

He is not a barber he is a qualified stylist with credentials and experience out the wazoo.  

 

As for who? Women who want their hair professionally colored pay that much.

 

Proper dye and treatments can easily cost that much, then there is the cost of the expertise required to apply it.

It is a process that involves multiple steps and takes several hours. In the West similar service can cost several hundred  dollars easily

I had a girlfriend whose bi-annual highlights and cut cost over 10k baht in Bangkok a few years ago and she would come home with an additional few thousand baht worth of shampoo to maintain it. She thought it was a bargain compared to what she spent in the UK.

  

[kingstonkid]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

On the ball... not.

The question, though, is how long he was giving haircuts.  If he was doing it for a long time then you have to wonder who he was paying and why the locals did not scream earlier.

 

Hove to think at the rates he was charging there was a lot of money that they were losing out on.

[n00dle]

3 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

With all the customers who abandoned barber shops during Covid, many shops have probably yet to get back to their pre-pandemic incomes. A foreign barber -  charging way above market prices, to boot - would understandably be more than a lot of those guys could take, and it should come as no surprise that local barbers wasted no time reporting him to the police. 

What they dont tell you about is the locals he trained and employed

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, Andycoops said:

My haircut every 2 to 3 weeks is 60 baht in a local Thai barber shop.

 

Which is indeed less than B100. But our DIY barbers have got you beat on a per-haircut basis.

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Who in their right minds pays 4000 baht for a haircut anywhere on earth? You can get a professional cut anywhere for less than 2000 baht, and even a lot less with only cutting done. As far as the barber, he shouldn't be arrogant but apologizing and making sure he doesn't work here illegally again.

 

Well, Trump pays $70,000 a year. Guess it all depends on your means. Our quick-witted posters will pick up on "right mind," but he's done alright.

[fredwiggy]

22 minutes ago, n00dle said:

 

 

 

He is not a barber he is a qualified stylist with credentials and experience out the wazoo.  

 

As for who? Women who want their hair professionally colored pay that much.

 

Proper dye and treatments can easily cost that much, then there is the cost of the expertise required to apply it.

It is a process that involves multiple steps and takes several hours. In the West similar service can cost several hundred  dollars easily

I had a girlfriend whose bi-annual highlights and cut cost over 10k baht in Bangkok a few years ago and she would come home with an additional few thousand baht worth of shampoo to maintain it. She thought it was a bargain compared to what she spent in the UK.

  

I know the costs of salons and barber shops. I have friends in the businesses. I was talking about just a cut, as I mentioned.

[fredwiggy]

6 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

Well, Trump pays $70,000 a year. Guess it all depends on your means. Our quick-witted posters will pick up on "right mind," but he's done alright.

No, actually it depends on your lack of sense. Of course some blow their money because some have more money than they are worth and like to brag. You can get a pro haircut everywhere and pay less than $50 USD, and a lot less if you don't want to spend that much. My friend used to charge $25 and he was one of the best around, with more customers than he could tend to. Trump got where he is because he started as a millionaire with his dad's help. He made millions more with others help also. Not hard to do when you start out with 20 million.

[John Drake]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Speaking candidly, Oliver acknowledged his role, stating that while he had permission to work as the managing director for Oliver Twist Art Co., Ltd., his activities as a barber at Oliver Twist Fashion extended beyond the authorised scope.

 

Can't blame this one on retirement extension either.  Another Swissie with attitude.

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, BestB said:

In addition him being a company some taxes were being paid where as local shop pays 0 and never paid more than 0

I don't suppose that you have any evidence that your allegation against locals that zero tax is, and has never been, paid is correct?   Didn't think so.

[Bundooman]

5 hours ago, AnotherOneHere said:

Judging from his Facebook guy is a professional and knows what he is doing. Not some desperate farang giving 50 Baht haircuts to be able to afford the food.

So?

[impulse]

Take me out back and put me out of my misery if i ever get petty enough to call for someone to be deported for a WP violation.  The guy didn't hurt me one iota.  I doubt he hurt anyone posting here.

 

If he was kicking old ladies, breaking into houses, or making babies cry, sure.  But not for cutting hair.

 

[BigStar]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

Trump got where he is because he started as a millionaire with his dad's help. He made millions more with others help also. Not hard to do when you start out with 20 million.

 

A common myth. He started out with a loan, though the amount is disputed. Many agree with Hillary that it was 14 million. Later he joined the company and built it up so that his net worth is currently $4.9 billion as of June 2024, according to Forbes. Which is a bit more than you've saved, and wisely invested, via cheap haircuts. But it's not so easy as it would be for you (talk's cheap on the 'net), as history's replete with stories of millionaires, notably Hollywood and sports stars, who lost everything. Been some recent examples, but it's off-topic.

 

Point is, if you got a net worth of 4.9 billion, then spending 70,000 a year for haircuts isn't the "lack of sense" issue you wish to imagine. But perhaps you should recommend your friend to Trump. 🙂 

 

 

[Dogmatix]

So he had a WP as manager of his company but is charged with working at a reserved occupation under the 1979 Royal Decree which doesn't stipulate any penalties. 

 

There must be thousands of Burmese and others committing the same offence in hotels, restaurants and shops in the South and many more working in restricted occupations who don't have WPs at all. Working in a retail business is a restricted occupation which means it is illegal to work in a shop or as a waiter in a restaurant.  Last times I went to Samui and Phuket, it was hard to find anyone who could speak fluent working in shops and restaurants.  Those with WPs must have a fake job description in their WPs.  This is also true of foreign lawyers and accountants in Thailand who get WPs as consultants, trainers, adminstrators etc but illegally practice law and  accountancy.  Ironic for the lawyers who are breaking the law every minute of the day.

Edited June 26 by Dogmatix

[fredwiggy]

10 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

A common myth. He started out with a loan, though the amount is disputed. Many agree with Hillary that it was 14 million. Later he joined the company and built it up so that his net worth is currently $4.9 billion as of June 2024, according to Forbes. Which is a bit more than you've saved, and wisely invested, via cheap haircuts. But it's not so easy as it would be for you (talk's cheap on the 'net), as history's replete with stories of millionaires, notably Hollywood and sports stars, who lost everything. Been some recent examples, but it's off-topic.

 

Point is, if you got a net worth of 4.9 billion, then spending 70,000 a year for haircuts isn't the "lack of sense" issue you wish to imagine. But perhaps you should recommend your friend to Trump. 🙂 

 

 

Only an idiot, which he's proven to be countless times, spends that much on haircuts and especially, gets those results. Yes, he did start with money from his father. He belongs in jail, and hopefully for Americans, goes there and doesn't become another disaster president. You start with millions and rape the earth for profit, develop areas that are woodlands and , along with many others, make good investments, and you can become a billionaire.

[soalbundy]

5 hours ago, AnotherOneHere said:

Judging from his Facebook guy is a professional and knows what he is doing. Not some desperate farang giving 50 Baht haircuts to be able to afford the food.

But he reacted like a silly teenager.....'catch me if you can', nothing easier than that and with that remark he's pi$$ed off the BiB.

[john donson]

2024 and still this thai only xenophobic stupidity...

 

so he had a work permit, but officially cannot work as he was STEALING jobs... lol

 

as someone said, maybe reporting some income, as barbers mostly are stupid rich, second holiday homes, very nice cars,  in my home country, but always cry poor...

 

what is not reported goes into the pocket...