A Jordanian tourist and a barber shop employee became involved in a physical confrontation in Patong, Phuket, on August 31, following a disagreement over an additional charge for hair services.

Patong Police attended a report of a fight near the end of Soi Bangla, where officers found the tourist and the employee grappling with each other. The case was resolved after the tourist agreed to compensate the employee for damaged glasses, with neither side pursuing further action.

Dispute followed extra hair services

The incident first drew attention online after a Facebook post alleged that a foreign tourist had refused to pay for a haircut before punching the barber. Social media posts initially falsely identified the visitor as Israeli.

According to the initial police inquiry, the tourist and the shop had agreed a price of 700 baht for a haircut. He subsequently received additional hair services, which led to an extra charge being added to the bill.

Picture courtesy of MGR Online

When the work was completed, the tourist reportedly wanted to pay only the originally agreed 700 baht and attempted to leave the shop. The barber shop employee followed him and asked for payment of the outstanding amount.

Glasses reportedly damaged

The argument escalated into a physical struggle, with the tourist and employee grabbing at one another. During the confrontation, the employee's glasses were reportedly damaged.

Police brought both parties together to discuss the matter. The tourist eventually agreed to pay compensation for the damage, and neither the tourist nor the employee chose to take the matter further.

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2 September 2026

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700 baht for a haircut? I'll say no more.

700 THB for a haircut??? I could 7 times to the barber for that price... and than the greed is not enough and they add more to the bill.. No wonder problems occur. The greed and scamming are tremendous in Thailand this is another proof.. And what shops like this don't realize is that they kill their own tourist industry

Pay the bill and get on with life.

17 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

700 THB for a haircut??? I could 7 times to the barber for that price... and than the greed is not enough and they add more to the bill.. No wonder problems occur. The greed and scamming are tremendous in Thailand this is another proof.. And what shops like this don't realize is that they kill their own tourist industry

I remember getting stung for about 500 baht for a simple haircut in Patong Beach being a complete newbie to Thailand back in 2000. The norm was about 50 to 200 baht in those days.

Such petty things people get physical about here. Agree on a price and pay it.

One of first things I learn't in Thailand is to pay up and completely avoid going back to that shop again. They aren't smart enough to realise that eventually they are the loser when they over charge. One other thing I've noticed is that Thais think that all farangs in tourist areas are tourists. So they don't care if they over charge for there services as they'll probabaly never see you again. Milk the cow whilst you get your chances. By the way he must've been one hairy SOB to get charged 700 baht.

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There has long been a problem with tourism and providing services to tourists in Phukhet.

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

When the work was completed, the tourist reportedly wanted to pay only the originally agreed 700 baht and attempted to leave the shop. The barber shop employee followed him and asked for payment of the outstanding amount.

700 Baht is already exorbitant for a haircut to begin with.

I have a barber story. I had my chest shaved. We agreed on the price - 200 Baht.

Then she wanted to shave my back. But my back only has a tiny amount of bodily hair. I do not have a hairy back. She proceeded to add an additional 200 Baht to my tab for shaving a few back hairs without telling me first.

I just paid and didn't argue. She needs the money more than I do and it's not a massive amount.

฿700 does seem to be a bit excessive. I pay ฿300 for my haircuts in BKK.

It would be interesting to know what the extras were (and their cost)!

If he agreed to the original price then that’s on him. If he wanted extra done then he should’ve just paid and left. I mPay 350 plus tip. I know there are cheaper places, but it’s my choice. If he thought it was too much he should’ve moved on and found a cheaper place. It’s not like they are hard to find.

The barbers a scammer that’s it

People should know better than to argue with a merchant on their own turf in a foreign country. If you don't want to get ripped off it's easy enough to find out what the going rates are for whatever you buy. Everybody gets ripped off at one time or another, but you learn if you're not stupid. It's never worth trying to walk out on a bill or get into a brawl. He learned, probably paid at least a few thousand baht including the glasses. I pay 100 baht for simple haircut in Makkasan, Bangkok. Support the local shops. The lady knows me and knows my haircut

Edited Wednesday at 01:14 AM2 days by Jonathan Swift

He appears to have agreed to pay a very high price for a haircut at a shop with grossly over inflated prices. So the argument must have been over a very paltry additional amount for something like a trimmed beard or another service.

The bottom line in Thailand is that you never are able to win a fight. If you beat the guy up you lose, and if he beats you up you lose, so it's always better to avoid physical confrontation here.

My barber charges 120 for a haircut. But then another 200 to remove ear, nose, eyebrow and lower neck hair 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

...kidding .all included....and a two minute shoulder massage

He should probably try a little harder to enjoy his vacation......😆

A flippin man's haircut in Orlando is about $30/1,000 baht...AND they expect a tip, so call it $35/1,162 THB.

I'm 59 now, so looking for ear and nose waxing (Old Man Hairs)......Hell yea I'll have to pay extra.

Thailand is still cheap. I've been to Jordan. Beautiful place and pretty women. Never had my hair cut there though.

There are a lot of extras that could make a haircut B700. Shaping, fading, shampoo, beard trim, hot-towel shave, scalp massage, facial, nose wax, ear-flame etc.

My regular barber is B200, but I had the "Istanbul Special" package at Terminal 21 once, it was B950, took two hours, and it was great.

"Social media posts initially falsely identified the visitor as Israeli."

Now that's a shock

2 hours ago, TedG said:

Pay the bill and get on with life.

While this may be a good approach when it comes to petty arguments, in this case the customer is being ripped off. They agreed to a more than fair price for a haircut of 700 baht. The ungrateful barber took advantage of tourist who did not know he could go to the police and raise a stink.

I pay 100 in Kalasin Province. My qualified sister-in-law charged 50 but I got tired of her only opening her hair dressing business when she wasn't rice planting or running a school van service or whaever. The new place is more professional, and because he cuts shorter I only go there half the number of times I did to the sister in law. So I win.

Wife charges me about 15k baht a month for haircut (half our monthly expenditures), AND, I have to be at her beckon call for sexual services.

Damn senior citizen abuse if you ask me.

Although, she does throw in for FREE: chef, maid, home maintenance, greenhouse & landscaping duties

Edited Wednesday at 01:33 AM2 days by KhunLA

Some people get highly affronted when they get overcharged, some when they get underpaid... problem is when they meet. Agree price first is best approach in Thailand... and like the songtaew/ bahtbus driver, don't talk to him again!

2 hours ago, anchadian said:

700 baht for a haircut? I'll say no more.

A very high price for a haircut, but the Jordanian agreed to it, then refused to pay for the haircut and the additional services. He is entirely at fault in this case.

Edited Wednesday at 01:35 AM2 days by Thingamabob

2 minutes ago, riverhigh said:

While this may be a good approach when it comes to petty arguments, in this case the customer is being ripped off. They agreed to a more than fair price for a haircut of 700 baht. The ungrateful barber took advantage of tourist who did not know he could go to the police and raise a stink.

What is your claim based on? The customer may have asked for additional service(s).

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There is absolutely no excuse for abusive behavior.

Saying 700 is too much for a haircut is the same as saying 700 is too much for lunch.

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

700 THB for a haircut??? I could 7 times to the barber for that price... and than the greed is not enough and they add more to the bill.. No wonder problems occur. The greed and scamming are tremendous in Thailand this is another proof.. And what shops like this don't realize is that they kill their own tourist industry

Unfortunately many Thais live in the present and have short term memory. If they rip off a customer they seldom think of the future consequences. They see foreigners like buses that come every 5 minutes. Rip off one customer and another one will arrive in store 5 minutes later. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

If you believe you are being ripped off, don't pay, and when they say they'll call the police, sit down and tell them to call them.