The annoyance of the ++ prices

[Nick Carter icp]

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 Plus in the US waiters etc., who will demand an extra 10 - 20% tip, they believe it's their right regardless of the level of service they have given. I've heard stories of waiters who follow diners to the car park to demand a tip. Wow. 

 

   Hi, we are talking about Thailand and what happens in Thailand .

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, Davedub said:

I'd always assumed it was an American import - I remember my chagrin at what felt like deception during my first US trip when I found out all the prices in the supermarkets were incorrect - what you actually pay at the checkout has state and some sort of federal tax added.

Coming from a country where the price you see is the price you pay, it seems like a very strange, unnecessarily complicated practice -  please just tell me what the thing actually costs ffs, life is complicated enough!

A Federal tax on groceries? Even Taxachusetts doesn't have that one. 

[Irish star]

On 9/20/2024 at 3:42 PM, Foxx said:

Isn't this even worse in the United States? Go to a supermarket and often surprise taxes are added - state sales tax, county sales tax.  No clear pricing.

Future President Kamala stated those  extra fees will be eliminated 

[Nick Carter icp]

7 minutes ago, Irish star said:

Future President Kamala stated those  extra fees will be eliminated 

 

    That maybe in the future , but the current P.M Shinawatra could address the issue now rather than wait for Kamala to become President 

[Scouse123]

On 9/20/2024 at 3:16 PM, MalcolmB said:

Thankyou for your question.

 

VAT registered businesses can offset the VAT paid against their on VAT with their tax return. Not every business is VAT registered so it is to let you know.

 

The service charge is there so you do not have to bother leaving a tip. Makes it easier. 

 

 

 

True to a degree, but then you also get them, not only in Thailand, expecting tips on top of the service charge or dropping ' not so subtle '  hints that they don't get the service charge

[Irish star]

3 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Hi, we are talking about Thailand and what happens in Thailand .

Well it seems everyone is talking about everywhere 

[Scouse123]

4 hours ago, Davedub said:

I'd always assumed it was an American import - I remember my chagrin at what felt like deception during my first US trip when I found out all the prices in the supermarkets were incorrect - what you actually pay at the checkout has state and some sort of federal tax added.

Coming from a country where the price you see is the price you pay, it seems like a very strange, unnecessarily complicated practice -  please just tell me what the thing actually costs ffs, life is complicated enough!

 

 

I think you are more or less right.

 

Thailand never used to have a tipping culture at all, now it is everywhere, even tip tins on the counters at hotel receptions and in the space between front and back of taxis.

[Nick Carter icp]

1 minute ago, Irish star said:

Well it seems everyone is talking about everywhere 

 

   Some people just seem to be able to talk about the USA , and are oblivious to their current surroundings 

[Scouse123]

I hate both the practice of adding GST etc. on bills and the so called 15% - 20% tips that are more or less compulsory in the USA and Canada.

 

I am also not interested in the excuse how poorly US waiters etc. get paid, or that they rely on tips to make a wage, take it up with your employer.

 

That is between them and the establishment in which they work, it should not be on the customers toes.

 

Prices marked on goods, should be the price you pay, anything else is misrepresentation.

[Irish star]

9 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Some people just seem to be able to talk about the USA , and are oblivious to their current surroundings 

I saw Europe being discussed 

[Irish star]

5 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I hate both the practice of adding GST etc. on bills and the so called 15% - 20% tips that are more or less compulsory in the USA and Canada.

 

I am also not interested in the excuse how poorly US waiters etc. get paid, or that they rely on tips to make a wage, take it up with your employer.

 

That is between them and the establishment in which they work, it should not be on the customers toes.

 

Prices marked on goods, should be the price you pay, anything else is misrepresentation.

$2.50 an hour and you want them to discuss lol

[Scouse123]

Thailand now has got so bad, old women expect tips for giving you an expensive beer in a condom holder at a counter bar.

 

It's nonsense.

 

Far better value for money in South East Asian countries away from Thailand, which is now a rip-off and just price gouges foreigners at every opportunity.

 

 

They have an overinflated idea of the country compared to other destinations.

 

People are now deciding with their feet and air tickets as to where to spend their money.

 

The outflow starts as a trickle, then a river and then a tidal wave, as people race to the exits.

[Scouse123]

1 minute ago, Irish star said:

I saw Europe being discussed 

 

And so it should be, people are just naturally pointing out what goes on in their own countries, we don't have to ensure every single thing we type is about bloody Thailand.

 

Besides, it's good to get background knowledge on what happens in other countries.

[Scouse123]

3 minutes ago, Irish star said:

$2.50 an hour and you want them to discuss lol

 

 

Whose fault is that?

 

I'll tell you whose fault it isn't, the customers.

[Irish star]

Just now, Scouse123 said:

 

And so it should be, people are just naturally pointing out what goes on in their own countries, we don't have to ensure every single thing we type is about bloody Thailand.

 

Besides, it's good to get background knowledge on what happens in other countries.

I agree he said American, I said I saw euro being discussed , it was not just a Thai discussion 

[BigStar]

15 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Some people just seem to be able to talk about the USA , and are oblivious to their current surroundings 

 

We need to give talking about the UK a rest sometimes.

[Irish star]

Just now, Scouse123 said:

 

 

Whose fault is that?

 

I'll tell you whose fault it isn't, the customers.

It’s been a century, you want to change it overnight 

[Nick Carter icp]

Just now, Scouse123 said:

 

And so it should be, people are just naturally pointing out what goes on in their own countries, we don't have to ensure every single thing we type is about bloody Thailand.

 

Besides, it's good to get background knowledge on what happens in other countries.

 

   But doesn't everything have to be compared to the USA or what would happen in the USA ?

   Ask a question about anything and the reply will be : "In America blah blah blah "

  Lets try it "

Should Thailand have universal health care ?

 

[Irish star]

8 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Thailand now has got so bad, old women expect tips for giving you an expensive beer in a condom holder at a counter bar.

 

It's nonsense.

 

Far better value for money in South East Asian countries away from Thailand, which is now a rip-off and just price gouges foreigners at every opportunity.

 

 

They have an overinflated idea of the country compared to other destinations.

 

People are now deciding with their feet and air tickets as to where to spend their money.

 

The outflow starts as a trickle, then a river and then a tidal wave, as people race to the exits.

Keep shopping at 7/11 and leave us alone , btw I overtip just to annoy the Poms and Skippys , I worked as a bartender it’s a karma thing 300 b a day I will Tip , surely 

[Irish star]

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   But doesn't everything have to be compared to the USA or what would happen in the USA ?

   Ask a question about anything and the reply will be : "In America blah blah blah "

  Lets try it "

Should Thailand have universal health care ?

 

They do already 

[Nick Carter icp]

2 minutes ago, Irish star said:

They do already 

 

  Well done, you answered without mentioning  the USA .

I am surprised by that 

[Irish star]

5 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  Well done, you answered without mentioning  the USA .

I am surprised by that 

I discuss all , I was a newspaper man , I’ve been all over the world, you should get a passport , I can give you some tips 

[BigStar]

On 9/20/2024 at 2:52 PM, Dirk Z said:

In many Thai establishments, in Bangkok even the vast majority, there are prices on menus that change according to the small print at the bottom: "10% service charge and 7% VAT will be added."

Since this is a fixed increase it is hard to understand why the prices cannot already be shown as the final amount needed to pay, instead of everyone having tho make the the calculation themselves or getting an unpleasant surprise when the bill comes up.

 

As posters have pointed out, happens in other countries as well. Nothing wrong with showing the price of the goods as the price of the goods. Technically, neither the service charge nor the VAT is the goods.

 

Better establishments list them as you've indicated and calculate them for you. You don't have to calculate them yourself. Before you go into such an establishment, check to see that you can really afford to do so. Thai street food might be more appropriate.

 

Since you're informed in advance, via the note at the bottom, that they'll be added, you can make a rough estimate before you order and thus easily avoid what to you would be "an unpleasant surprise." You can also calculate the exact total yourself on your mobile phone's calculator. Otherwise, man up and just roll with the flow, a key to successfully adapting to Thai culture and realizing this is such a non-issue.

 

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

3 minutes ago, Irish star said:

I discuss all , I was a newspaper man , I’ve been all over the world, you should get a passport , I can give you some tips 

 

   A British man in Thailand, being told by an Irishman that he should get a passport .

   Did you think that through before you posted it ?

Like, I would need a passport to get to Thailand , wouldn't I 

[Irish star]

Just now, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   A British man in Thailand, being told by an Irishman that he should get a passport .

   Did you think that through before you posted it ?

Like, I would need a passport to get to Thailand , wouldn't I 

I thought you were Burmese Clown 

[Nick Carter icp]

1 minute ago, Irish star said:

I thought you were Burmese Clown 

 

  But I would still need a passport if I was 

[Irish star]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  But I would still need a passport if I was 

How the hell would I know your birth place lol

[NoshowJones]

On 9/20/2024 at 8:52 AM, Dirk Z said:

In most European countries prices for goods must be shown as what they actually are. No surprises when the bill arrives. In many Thai establishments, in Bangkok even the vast majority, there are prices on menus that change according to the small print at the bottom: "10% service charge and 7% VAT will be added."

Since this is a fixed increase it is hard to understand why the prices cannot already be shown as the final amount needed to pay, instead of everyone having tho make the the calculation themselves or getting an unpleasant surprise when the bill comes up.

Although the prices seem lower, there is unpleasantness in the end, so I don't see the upside of this way of presenting a menu. Or can anyone enlighten me?

If I am not a regular customer in a restaurant and there is the small print of 17% added to the price that I am not supposed to notice, I just pay the price before the 17% extra, and just say, "Oh I never noticed the small print that I am not supposed to notice".

[Bill97]

On 9/20/2024 at 5:04 PM, KannikaP said:

Say it was advertised at Bht 9999, but they asked for 11600, what would you do?

The op objects even when the menu states clearly that vat and service will be added.  The answer to your question is that you pay the price including the vat and service.  That is what you agreed to do ordering from the menu.  The menu did not advertise a price without vat and service, that is your misinterpretation. Troll

[bigt3116]

On 9/20/2024 at 2:52 PM, Dirk Z said:

In most European countries prices for goods must be shown as what they actually are.

 

In UK the price tag is an offer to sell it to you at that price, that is why mispriced goods do not have to be sold for that price. Maybe do you homework before you make blanket statements that are not true.