Price Of A Soft Drink

[kedawi]

Do regular visitors to Pattaya consider this reasonable?

i bought a soft drink on soi buakhao the other day and was given a glass with some ice but no bottle. I looked at the bill and saw it was 75 baht. I assumed I had bought the whole bottle and I asked where the rest of the drink was and after some denial and bluster was eventually given the bottle I'd purchased. On the top of the bottle was the price "17 baht" and (I think) - "Foodland". When I suggested that this was an unreasonable mark-up - about 440% - I was asked to leave.

this seems rather poor behaviour to me. Is this maark-up normal on drinks in Pattaya?

[britmaveric]

Normally like 20bht or tad more for bottle of coke. Prob just that particular place having a good laff at your expense.

[poshthai]

Totaly out of order.why dont you name and shame the bar because i will not go in there and tell my many friends not to go in.

[kedawi]

Normally like 20bht or tad more for bottle of coke. Prob just that particular place having a good laff at your expense.

so throwing me out is "a good laff"?

I would name the place but quite frankly I fear for my safety as I stay near the place and they might "get heavy"

[britmaveric]

Taking the piss with the price, doubt they are laffing really - anyways by chance what were their other prices?

[Phil Conners]

75 for a soft drink is not unusual in gogo bars. You didn't mention what kind of establishment you were in.

[NotNew2You]

I never understand people who piss and moan about the price of something after they have ordered it at any establishment. Yes, B 75 for a "glass" of soda is ridicuolous. No, you should not argue about it but pay for what you ordered. If price is a concern for you, just ask the price before ordering or ask to see the menu. Is that so hard? Most bars have prominent signs advertising how cheap their drinks are...why not patronize them instead. Or better yet, buy a can at "7" for B 14 and drink it at the curb.

[buckeroo2]

75 for a soft drink is not unusual in gogo bars. You didn't mention what kind of establishment you were in.

Try any of the go-go bars in Boyztown - a glass of coke, some bars give you just the glass and some give you the bottle, costs anywhere from 150-180 baht - I have a Singha and then a Coke - bar tab is always between 350-400 baht - when I talk to managers or mamasans about prices they tell me I am paying for entertainment and in true Thai fashion that business is so slow they have to raise prices to make money - I go out a lot less than I used to - I speak with my wallet.

[Sommaz]

Whilst some establishments in Soi Buakhow can be a bit 'intimidating' for a mild mannered soft drink lover, I've never come across someone who fears for their safety for something so trivial. Yes, they should have given you the full bottle, they were wrong not to do that. You can moan about it all you want, but at the end of the day nothing will change - just move onto somewhere else instead.

[Mobi]

Whenever I am in one of my many 'dry' spells, it never ceases to amaze me that most bars will only charge me between 20 and 35 Baht for a soda, diet coke or bottle of water, as opposed to 60 - 75 Baht for a beer or local whisky, and often over 100 Baht for imported whisky.

These bars are in business to make money and they employ girls, and have music (sometimes live) for entertainment, and the owners have invested money to provide you will an ambience and a setting for your enjoyment.

They are not Thai noodle shops or concrete seats on the side walk.

If I was charged 75 Baht for my soda, I would have objections - as I am paying for the 'experience' not the drink. When the soft drink prices are very low, I usually try to compensate by buying a few girls drinks.

In any event, I would think the mark up on a Sangsom soda, or a Black soda (which is probably fake) is every bit as high as that done to the OP. Only beers have a relatively low profit margin.

[Cuban]

At an open air cafwith no 'extra' female/male staff to entertain you - seems steep.

At an enclosed venue with many 'extra' staff to amuse you - seems fair.

Where you looking for a drink or something else?

[britmaveric]

Really need to know the name of the establishment to really be faire about this.

[Mobi]

Really need to know the name of the establishment to really be faire about this.

Agreed.

Or the type of establishment - outside beer bar, go go bar, short time/BJ bar etc.

[kedawi]

I would have thought that regardless of the establishment, a mark on ANYTHING of 440% is unreasonable.

The bar BTW was not a go-go - although I fail to see what difference that makes.

A "girl" drink was 150 baht and a bottle of Chang 60 baht.

Apart from the price...and I DID know before purchasing - The fact that I agreed to purchase one drink at that price is not part of the issue - it doesn't alter the mark-up - I consider the practice of withholding 2/3 of the bottle (OISHI) somewhat suspect too.

[wolfmanjack]

I would have thought that regardless of the establishment, a mark on ANYTHING of 440% is unreasonable.

The bar BTW was not a go-go - although I fail to see what difference that makes.

The type of establishment makes a huge difference. Look at the prices at the airport, room service at posh hotels. Some discos are 200 baht or more for one beer.

I would expect to pay more at a nice night club than i would in a working mans bar.

[crudy21]

For 500 baht you could always get a group of Thai guys to beat the manager up!

[Beacher]

The high price of sobriety -- worse than your 75 baht soda.

A few years ago, a couple of friends and I went into one of Pattaya's go-go bars where they had a 49 baht draft beer special. My friends wisely ordered the draft, but as I didn't feel like drinking that night I ordered a glass of soda water. About halfway through my soda, I thought to check the bill and was not pleased to see that I was charged 119 baht for it (probably about 1/2 a 5 baht bottle). I knew that it would be no good to raise a stink about the situation, but I did ask if the bill was correct, thinking that maybe they put the wrong check my cup. The waitress confirmed that soda water was 119 baht. Needless to say, I have never been back into that bar again. Actually, I'm so tired of this type of thing happening that I quit going to any bars in Pattaya some years ago.

[Familyonthemove]

A restaurant owner once said to me, when I asked about his mark up .....

"You are not paying for the drink, you are paying for the leisure experience"

[plasticpig]

For 500 baht you could always get a group of Thai guys to beat the manager up!

Top post Mr crudy21.

Could be the quote of the week winner, this one

Edited August 4, 2008 by plasticpig

[poshthai]

I would have thought that regardless of the establishment, a mark on ANYTHING of 440% is unreasonable.

The bar BTW was not a go-go - although I fail to see what difference that makes.

A "girl" drink was 150 baht and a bottle of Chang 60 baht.

Apart from the price...and I DID know before purchasing - The fact that I agreed to purchase one drink at that price is not part of the issue - it doesn't alter the mark-up - I consider the practice of withholding 2/3 of the bottle (OISHI) somewhat suspect too.

i can see your point,its not about money but principle.Some of these posters seem to want to show how much money they have and infer you meant a gogo bar.Must be too much sun on the bald patches to critisise you for this post.

[Basil B]

Yes, depends where you are, if you are in a GoGo bar that dose not charge entrance fees, they have a lot of over heads so soft drinks are normally same as beers so if you go when they have the "xyz beer, B45" boards out a beer can be less than half the price of a coke.

Basically you are paying for the service(s) as well, believe me Thailand is not the only country that can make astronomical mark up on soft drinks.

BB

Edited August 4, 2008 by Basil B

[plasticpig]

Agreed, so what are the poor people up to now days in pattaya.

[CHdiver]

A restaurant owner once said to me, when I asked about his mark up .....

"You are not paying for the drink, you are paying for the leisure experience"

In that case was he asking the same price for all different drinks?

[poshthai]

i went into a bar in pattaya last week and after about 10 sangsoms i noticed the bill was 750 baht.i asked if this was right,75baht and the lady said we have sexy lady to look at.i said where,i can see a couple of over the hill birds whos feathers have long gone.then she said you have free pool,i said well get some frigging queues with tips on then.

AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL SERVICE,and a big deliberate stitch up,typical of the area.up2you bar on second rd north has 55 sexy girls,charges me 55baht and also gave me a free tshirt for bringing in 4 of my mates for drinks.now thats a decent guy and not AWFUL

[PeaceBlondie]

I used to go to a show in the entertainment district. A real show, fully dressed dancers, choreography, sound and light system, etc. No cover charge, but 250 baht for each drink, whether it was whiskey or water or Coke. Fair enough.

[Tolley]

Do regular visitors to Pattaya consider this reasonable?

i bought a soft drink on soi buakhao the other day and was given a glass with some ice but no bottle. I looked at the bill and saw it was 75 baht. I assumed I had bought the whole bottle and I asked where the rest of the drink was and after some denial and bluster was eventually given the bottle I'd purchased. On the top of the bottle was the price "17 baht" and (I think) - "Foodland". When I suggested that this was an unreasonable mark-up - about 440% - I was asked to leave.

this seems rather poor behaviour to me. Is this maark-up normal on drinks in Pattaya?

If you go around Pattaya worrying or complaining about all the rip offs you will never get a moments sleep.

Yes it probably is excessive but if you are really worried about the prices always check before you buy.

There are plenty of places in Pattaya that charge too much and plenty that are very good value.

I remember a few years back having a drink in Bahrain in the hotel bar (3star nothing flash) and they were charging 120 baht for a can of coke that you could buy down the road for 10 baht. I didn't buy it but that was over 1000percent mark up and no girls in sight!

It is part of the learning curve I suppose.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Tolley

[basjke]

Do regular visitors to Pattaya consider this reasonable?

i bought a soft drink on soi buakhao the other day and was given a glass with some ice but no bottle. I looked at the bill and saw it was 75 baht. I assumed I had bought the whole bottle and I asked where the rest of the drink was and after some denial and bluster was eventually given the bottle I'd purchased. On the top of the bottle was the price "17 baht" and (I think) - "Foodland". When I suggested that this was an unreasonable mark-up - about 440% - I was asked to leave.

this seems rather poor behaviour to me. Is this maark-up normal on drinks in Pattaya?

What kind of bottle was it that they gave you with a price of 17 baht attached?Because for 17 baht you can nowhere buy a 1,25 liter bottle and it would be way to much for a 33 cl bottle.

[toptuan]

In Southeast Asia, I've always learned to ask "How much?" up front, especially in the absence of a menu price.

If I don't ask, and get overcharged, I grin and bear it. My fault.

Simple step, but will save you a lot of expensive surprises.

[kedawi]

Do regular visitors to Pattaya consider this reasonable?

i bought a soft drink on soi buakhao the other day and was given a glass with some ice but no bottle. I looked at the bill and saw it was 75 baht. I assumed I had bought the whole bottle and I asked where the rest of the drink was and after some denial and bluster was eventually given the bottle I'd purchased. On the top of the bottle was the price "17 baht" and (I think) - "Foodland". When I suggested that this was an unreasonable mark-up - about 440% - I was asked to leave.

this seems rather poor behaviour to me. Is this maark-up normal on drinks in Pattaya?

What kind of bottle was it that they gave you with a price of 17 baht attached?Because for 17 baht you can nowhere buy a 1,25 liter bottle and it would be way to much for a 33 cl bottle.

Why would I buy a litre and a quarter of drink in a bar?...do people do that here? I have no idea what the exact size of bottle is...but I fail to see the connection between that and mark up...

I expect you are the kind of doubting Thomas that without concrete evidence assumes everyone is a liar.

well in that case we will have to assume that for reasons only known to myself I decided to waste my time making up the story, finding a web site on Pattaya and then posting it....but then I gues you are the sort of person who wouldn't believe that either.

my question however is "Do regular visitors to Pattaya consider this reasonable?"

it would appear the answer is "yes"

PS - I didn't realise here was a means test on this web site.

Edited August 4, 2008 by kedawi

[Cuban]

This thread has troll written all over it.

17 Baht would be for a 330ml bottle of soda.

In a gogo you get a 500ml or litre of water for 95 Baht where 330ml beers are going for 70 Baht in happy hour - cheaper to drink alcohol that remain sober.