Query at Tuskers

[kharmabum]

So, a couple of nights ago I stopped by tuskers for the first time. I ordered a large change draft(80 baht) and springrolls(60) baht. when i went up to the bar to pay my bill the waitress hands me a bill for 180 baht.(beer 80, springrolls 100). I pointed out to her that on the menu the springrolls are 60 baht. she says that thats for 4, but she gave me 6, so it's 100 baht. Not even wanting to get into the absurdidy of the math(4 for 60/6 for 100), I say that I never asked for extra, I just pointed to the menu and said "spring rolls", which are clearly marked 60 baht. anyway, we're both just standing there, kind of not saying anything, all akward like, when I figure, what the heck, it's only 40 baht, and pay her 180, but obviously NOT a penny more for tip.(I was originally planning to leave a 20 baht tip on the 140 baht bill), and tell her so. She says, all akward like "oh, i think you won't come back here again". you got that right, sister, I thought to myself, but at that point had no intention of writing this post. Then today, while at the pc room, i remember that tuskers is an advertiser on thaivisa, and their menu with prices is online, so i check it out. and it says that 6 SPRING ROLLS cost 60 baht! so i'm writing this. I don't know if the owner of tuskers is farang or thai or if he reads this board. But if he does, i just wanted to let him know that by scamming me out of 40 baht(actually 20 since i was going to leave a tip) his waitress has lost him a customer and probably a couple of thousand baht in future business. No biggy, the foods better at dukes and changmai saloon anyways!

[Jingthing]

I would have insisted on paying 60 baht and also not tipped for the bother. If I can refer to a menu with a price, I will never budge. It does sound like the waitress was scamming and skimming. Hopefully, the owner will know who this is and take action. It helps if you have exact change, just leave the correct amount and walk away. Do you really think the scam artist will make a scene?

A common game is to tell you that your ordered from the old menu. If they give me a menu and I order from that menu, that menu is not an old menu.

Edited January 26, 2008 by Jingthing

[Jandajoy]

Well done mate, you were absolutely right in the stand you took and right to post.

Good on ya.

Geoff

[Lobin]

its farang owner, and there is certainly much better places to eat and drink, been there a couple of times and didnt leave a lasting impression.

its seems on TV there some people cant get enough of the place, but then maybe they are on commission!

[Ulysses G.]

Try as they might, many Thai workers are hopeless dealing with farangs - especially when they first start a job. Is it possible that the worker was totally at fault?

Did you ask to speak to the owner? From everything that I have seen, I have no doubt that he would make it right.

[sweetchariot]

If the bill was for that amount then it is unlikely she was scamming as the bills would have to be reconciled at the end of the night.

Sounds like she made a genuine cock up, but being Thai of course, would never admit to making a mistake.

I know how you feel though, even for trivial amounts it is bloody annoying, but unfortunately happens all too often.

[Jingthing]

I have been to places where the waiters write the phony inflated bill on a spare piece of paper.

[tijnebijn]

That's the danger of advertising your business on the Internet .

Its got its positive and negative comments , the danger of getting

a bad name on an open forum .

Anyway , the OP should not have paid the bill , even if it is such a small amount .

I for instance should be angered if I'm the owner , its creating a bad name , on perhaps

a misunderstanding . For example if the prices went up , it should be put new on the menu ,

if not you should still ask the old price , its very annoying .

I am not attracted so much by Tuskers , never been there , drove past it a couple of times ,

very empty with no entertainment , perhaps when having a live band ( not to loud ) it could

attract more customers , Thai and farang .

Maybe when having a pissup there it could be interesting , but me not being an Aussie or English ,

doubt it would make me feel comfortable in the first place , not being used to any 'pub' culture .

Not in the need to meet farang in the first place .But who cares about what I think anyway .

[tracyann]

I also had a bad enperience at Tuskers. I went in on a Friday night and had a Long Island Ice Tea. The owner of the bar is a falang and he charged me 200 bath for the drink. To the best of my knowledge thats the highest pirice in Chiang Mai. I have the same drink at the Interbar ( which has a live band ) and paided 140 baht. Note: The interbar has just raised their price to 150 Baht. The Number 1 bar in Chiang Mai has a special drink called the Number One Cocktail which has the same if not more alcohol then a Long Island Ice Tea, and its only 140 baht. I don't unstand why Tuskers keeps over charging some of its falang customers.

[rrose070]

Oh! I feel for you; I've had this and worse happen before. Especiall disappointing when you've let your guard down, since you're in the Land Of Smiles. But I can assure you, I know the owners, and this would never be a mistake they'd allow to continue to this conclusion. I'm half-sad and half-happy to say that somebody's goint home without a job tonight. I don't mean to billboard, but I know, know, know that this was not intentional - at least not a symptom of the place. All the other commenter's comments aside, and I'm not going into any of that, the owners are honest and surely would hope to emp;oy only similar-minded staff. As best they could. My 2 baht...bring it on, flamers!

[rrose070]

Dang! Mushy keyboard.

[tigerbeer]

i find chas and rachele to be very honest people and do their best to bring in about a nice place to have a drink and make friends. things happen whether or not intentional by staff in any establishments and its not right to bash a place like this on this forum. perhaps you could have brought it up to the owner instead like a mature adult.

ps. i have no business associations with the owners of tuskers. just pointing out how something like that can hurt a business. everyone needs to make a living.

[damian5000]

I've heard enough. You won't find my ass sittin there. Falang owned businesses are driving up prices, not helping keep them down. 200 baht for a cocktail? Everyone needs to make a living doesn't cut it. If the menu said 60 and she tried to charge more than that, it's a hustle. Whether it was her or the owners, doesn't matter. They should be hiring people who can do math and cooks who know the menu.

[Ulysses G.]

I also had a bad enperience at Tuskers. I went in on a Friday night and had a Long Island Ice Tea. The owner of the bar is a falang and he charged me 200 bath for the drink. To the best of my knowledge thats the highest pirice in Chiang Mai. I have the same drink at the Interbar ( which has a live band ) and paided 140 baht. Note: The interbar has just raised their price to 150 Baht. The Number 1 bar in Chiang Mai has a special drink called the Number One Cocktail which has the same if not more alcohol then a Long Island Ice Tea, and its only 140 baht. I don't unstand why Tuskers keeps over charging some of its falang customers.

Isn't the Interbar that real dump near Thapae Gate?

Anyway, having higher prices than the Interbar doesn't mean they are "overcharging", it simply means that you don't like their prices.

Have you been to the restaurant at the D2 Hotel? Nice place, and I guarantee that they charge more for a Long Island Ice Tea than Tuskers!

[mallmagician]

Good lord. The lynch mob are out in force!!

I have met Chas and Rachel numerous times, and would vouch for their integrity and honesty. They are both charitable people, and are involved heavily in elephant conservation projects.

OP, I'm sure this was either an honest mistake by the waitress, which was handled incorrectly when the error was shown to her. Rather than start a thread with "Scammed at Tuskers" as the title, you could have contacted the owner through this site, or merely stated what had happened, and allow Chas time to respond.

For the cocktail prices its simple. If you are ordering from a cocktail menu, you can see the price, and choose to order one or not. If the bar does not have a cocktail menu, you should expect to pay the prices of all the spirits and soft drinks that go into the making of the cocktail. Its the same the world over. In this case, Tuskers Charge 70baht Vodka, 70baht Gin, Tequila is 100baht, and rum 100baht. So thats 340baht of spirits at their individual price. So 200baht is cheap!

Just my 2 pennies worth.

Phil

Edited January 26, 2008 by mallmagician

[miltonbentley]

I own Tuskers and will try to address all the issues raised.

Firstly I apologise unreservedly to the OP clearly there was a problem with the bill.

I assure you Tuskers does not scam people it is something totally alien to our nature and it is simply bad business practise. In the long run dishonest behaviour can only cause harm. Also I believe that my staff are trustworthy and that this is likely to have been a totally honest mistake and not a scam. Could you please PM me Kharmaburn and give me more details, what day you came in, approximately what time and exactly what you ordered. We keep all the bills and everything is replicated on the till so I can run a complete back check on the bill and who was responsible. I will then report back fully to you and will in any event refund the total amount.

Secondly, did you ask to speak to me or if I was absent my manager who is extremely competent and speaks fluent English? I know she will be horrified by reports of overcharging and would certainly have spoken to me about it. If you have a genuine grievance we will always make every effort to deal with it to the customers satisfaction even if it means a total refund. It would have been nice to have had an opportunity to have dealt with your issues before you went public with such a serious accusation.

Thirdly, TracyAnn you have made 3 posts on TV in the 18 months since you have become a member. Two of them have attacked Tuskers. You ordered a drink with 5 measures of spirits and two other ingredients. Our charge for that drink is 200 baht. I sent you a detailed PM at the time explaining and you chose not to respond.

Fourthly, to all those that have added to the thread stating their dislike of Tuskers, we accept that we cannot please everyone but we endeavour to provide the best service possible to every customer that comes through the door.

We are a small team at Tuskers and everyone has been working very hard to build the business. Accusations of dishonesty will cause great distress to all the staff and we will investigate it thoroughly.

Chas

[bergen]

I have nothing bad to say about Tuskers, but when myself and 2 friends was CM in November last year, we tried 3 visits to Tuskers, but we where either to early (19.30) - or too late (23.00).

So we where not able to try this TV sponsor, which some members had recommended.

I guess we just missed the opening hours?

[Contractor]

IMHO

Tuskers is just another farang bar with farang prices.

I have been there, and experienced nothing to justify them.

However, I wish the owners all the best.

[Donnyboy]

I went in on a Friday night and had a Long Island Ice Tea. The owner of the bar is a falang and he charged me 200 bath for the drink. To the best of my knowledge thats the highest pirice in Chiang Mai

it aint

amari hotels

[Jingthing]

Good answer, Tuskers boss.

I think this could have been resolved on the spot by holding ground and demanding to speak to a manager.

[Donnyboy]

Good answer, Tuskers boss.

I think this could have been resolved on the spot by holding ground and demanding to speak to a manager.

Agreed, it would have definately been better to resolve the issue at the time. Im sure it would have been settled amicably without resorting to mudslinging