One Thief Spoils It For The Rest

[G54]

After a relatively good night out with the g/f, I got the bill. That was checked by me and all was in order. I counted the bottles to make sure, as we know mistakes happen. Bill was 665 Baht.

Yet, when the man brought the change back and I took the 200 Baht off the folder and left the 35 Baht tip, I suddenly realised I was 100 short. But he had wandered off quickly.

The g/f soon rectified that by talking to the man in question who brought the 100 back with no questions asked. He KNEW what he had done.

On the way out, the Boss was sat there. The g/f knows him from before and had a word.

Will anything happen? I doubt it. After all, what is 100 Baht. But, the male staff member knew what he had done. And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

It is not the 100 Baht, but the principle.

A similar thing happened at the Pimarn Hotel over a year ago. The lady took 1,000 Baht off me for a 450 Bhat bill and gave me change for 500. I know it was 1,000 I handed over for the bill because I had been to the bank earlier and the ATM gave 1,000 baht notes. I had no 500's. Yet the cashier counted the receipts and the till money to find nothing amiss. (Of course not). The money was pocketed.

I defected from the Pimarn for 6 weeks and was asked back loads of times. But while she was still working there, I refused to go.

Both thought I was drunk. Foolish them

As I said, it is not the amount of money, but the principle of it. If they are (or one is) going to rob me of 100 Baht or more and get away with it, what are they going to do to others, Thai or Farang. Also, I tip every time I go. And it galls me to think one would thieve and put tips for the others in jeapordy.

[philliphn]

I am sorry for your loss.

[canopy]

I have had this happen, albeit in Bangkok at establishments with mostly Thai clientelle. Exact same situation: after a drinking session 100 baht is missing from the change and when detected a 100 baht note is immediately placed on the tray no questions asked. It is equally important to check your change as it is to verify the bill is right. It's also wise to always know how much an establishment charges for something before you order instead of just assuming it will be ball park range.

[G54]

It is annoying to have one who will do this deliberately. Though I doubt if they see it as anything other than a game. And I doubt if the other staff will feel awkward at my double checking everything.

Now I understand why the Thai customers check everything so rigorously when they get a bill.

For me it goes against the grain to have to check and double check after being used to more 'honest' service.

And the g/f was not a happy lass at all with the staff member, that is why she had a word with the boss whom she has known a lot of years

It does not really do a lot for an establishment to have people who are ripping off their customers, be it the staff or the bosses / owners. I know of one place that has not recovered 18 months later after the owners decided to raise their prices beyond what was reasonable. The customers left in droves and most have never been back.

[sbk]

And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

Singling out all the male employees because of one? I fail to grasp the logic in this at all. If you were going to punish the staff, which is, IMO, a foolish move, why only the men? Why not all of them?

I've seen some interesting conclusions on ThaiVisa over the years, but I gotta say, this one takes the cake.

[G54]

And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

Singling out all the male employees because of one? I fail to grasp the logic in this at all. If you were going to punish the staff, which is, IMO, a foolish move, why only the men? Why not all of them?

I've seen some interesting conclusions on ThaiVisa over the years, but I gotta say, this one takes the cake.

Bold should have been female staff, but not to worry.

Maybe because the female staff have never ripped me off in 3 years of going there. In fact they have been very helpful previously on sorting out any problems. Discrimination? Maybe. Not the 1st time I've had problems with male staff there and money and service. But I tip every time and it is my tip to give to whom I wish. OK?

And I don't care what you think, or if it takes the cake

Edited September 17, 2009 by G54

[charlie1968]

And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

Singling out all the male employees because of one? I fail to grasp the logic in this at all. If you were going to punish the staff, which is, IMO, a foolish move, why only the men? Why not all of them?

I've seen some interesting conclusions on ThaiVisa over the years, but I gotta say, this one takes the cake.

Bold should have been female staff, but not to worry.

Maybe because the female staff have never ripped me off in 3 years of going there. In fact they have been very helpful previously on sorting out any problems. Discrimination? Maybe. Not the 1st time I've had problems with male staff there and money and service. But I tip every time and it is my tip to give to whom I wish. OK?

And I don't care what you think, or if it takes the cake

well said mate

[Garry9999]

I eat out in Nakhon Sawan a lot, and I can't say I've every been short changed at a restaurant. I did get ripped off by a certain car showroom a couple of times, I don't get my car serviced there anymore.

[sbk]

And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

Singling out all the male employees because of one? I fail to grasp the logic in this at all. If you were going to punish the staff, which is, IMO, a foolish move, why only the men? Why not all of them?

I've seen some interesting conclusions on ThaiVisa over the years, but I gotta say, this one takes the cake.

Bold should have been female staff, but not to worry.

Maybe because the female staff have never ripped me off in 3 years of going there. In fact they have been very helpful previously on sorting out any problems. Discrimination? Maybe. Not the 1st time I've had problems with male staff there and money and service. But I tip every time and it is my tip to give to whom I wish. OK?

And I don't care what you think, or if it takes the cake

clarity in posting is such a helpful thing, isn't it? So, now you say you've never had problems with the female staff but have with other male staff. Silly me, I took your OP at its word.

Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff

In the future, I will be sure to read between the lines and not make assumptions that what you post is what you mean

[daisychains]

After a relatively good night out with the g/f, I got the bill. That was checked by me and all was in order. I counted the bottles to make sure, as we know mistakes happen. Bill was 665 Baht.

Yet, when the man brought the change back and I took the 200 Baht off the folder and left the 35 Baht tip, I suddenly realised I was 100 short. But he had wandered off quickly.

The g/f soon rectified that by talking to the man in question who brought the 100 back with no questions asked. He KNEW what he had done.

On the way out, the Boss was sat there. The g/f knows him from before and had a word.

Will anything happen? I doubt it. After all, what is 100 Baht. But, the male staff member knew what he had done. And I will make sure, in future, I do not tip any of the male staff while he is still working there. If the other male staff give me any quizzical looks, I will explain it to them. Never had a problem in 3 years with the other staff.

It is not the 100 Baht, but the principle.

A similar thing happened at the Pimarn Hotel over a year ago. The lady took 1,000 Baht off me for a 450 Bhat bill and gave me change for 500. I know it was 1,000 I handed over for the bill because I had been to the bank earlier and the ATM gave 1,000 baht notes. I had no 500's. Yet the cashier counted the receipts and the till money to find nothing amiss. (Of course not). The money was pocketed.

I defected from the Pimarn for 6 weeks and was asked back loads of times. But while she was still working there, I refused to go.

Both thought I was drunk. Foolish them

As I said, it is not the amount of money, but the principle of it. If they are (or one is) going to rob me of 100 Baht or more and get away with it, what are they going to do to others, Thai or Farang. Also, I tip every time I go. And it galls me to think one would thieve and put tips for the others in jeapordy.

Always check your change when paying with a 1000 baht in 7/11 too they have tried it on with me many times. i might be a girl but im not an idiot!

[IanForbes]

I understand what you are saying, G54. I've had a similar circumstance with one particular staff at a bar I frequent in Chiang Mai. For sbk's sake I won't say male or female. Previous to that person working in this particular bar I had NEVER had a problem. I'm a regular there and sometimes I went off without paying and they notified me the next day.

I NEVER drink to excess and I always limit myself to just one or two drinks, but, I usually buy a drink or two for some of the staff, so it's easy to keep track. I'm NOT a big spender and I do keep track of each drink I buy. It's quite easy to add up the total at the end of an evening. Chang beer costs me about 60 baht. The lady drinks vary from 90 baht to 120 baht. I just average everything out to 100 baht each and keep a running total in my head. As I said, I never had a problem until this person started working the bar tabs. I began noticing I was always paying for one more drink than I actually had bought. It ONLY happens when this particular person is on the till.

Now, if that person is on the till that particular night I buy only one drink for myself and just one or two drinks for my special lady. No more drinks for any of the other staff.

[sbk]

I understand what you are saying, G54. I've had a similar circumstance with one particular staff at a bar I frequent in Chiang Mai. For sbk's sake I won't say male or female.

Seems you didn't read my post clearly or in its entirety.

[xerostar]

I leave all the checking to my TW - she studies the bill in detail before paying, for anything.

A bit embarassing sometimes ..

This method seems to ensure correct change is given.

As for me, I don't even think about losing a little money otherwise it would ruin my day!

Since living here for only a year I've found many occasions where I've had to bite my lip

and learned to say Mai Pen Rai .. and try to keep calm ..

Cheating (AKA dishonesty) seems to be a way of life here.

The children learn it at school and it's considered quite normal and nothing to get upset about.

I know from marking their homework - they all give the same wrong answer to questions ..

What to do?

You can't change Thailand or the way people behave here, no matter how much you protest.

"Don't sweat the small stuff" some people say.

Just keep a low profile and enjoy all the good stuff - like incredibly low prices!

e.g. Today I had a haircut - the lass wanted only 40 Baht!

She gave me an expert cut too!

In Oz it would have cost me 425 Baht minimum, more like 725 Baht!

That's in Perth - probably more in the Eastern states.

Every day is a BIG rip-off living in Oz. e.g. the ridiculous price of phone calls, parking meters,

health care, pharmacy bills, bank charges, food prices etc etc.

I feel like I'm way ahead by living in Thailand and very thankful for being able to retire here.

Even if I do get a little "ripped off" here and there ..