Scams In Thailand

[sanook2me]

hey guys

this is not about that you can afford an overcharged price or not, its about scams the feeling that you have been cheated.

I am living here in Thailand for 23 years , never been scammed but witnessed a lot, you can even get scammed in a road side eatery where you can order a phad thai for 35 baht if you can speak thai or you can pay 65 baht baht if talk in sign language

You've lived here 23 years and the best scam you can talk about from your experiences is a pad thai costing 65 baht and you feel the need to tell the World after all this time..

[p_brownstone]

bangkokscams.com has done a good job. Don't see any need to elaborate.

I agree.

The Webmaster or owner of that site is totally paranoid - more than enough for anyone interested or pre-occupied with Scams here in Thailand.

No need to waste bandwidth here!

Patrick

[phil2]

I saw French speaking Belgian

So, you know this person to be French national? Is it possible a French national could speak Belgian? <deleted> is Belgian?! People in Belgium speak Dutch, French, German and perhaps another 20 languages numbnutz.

Indian looking Nepali's (hmm, why might they look similar who knows... maybe they WERE Nepali? Maybe they were French!

I gave you a great link. Please just go away and read it.

I believe he meant someone from Belgium ( A Belgian ) that speaks French.

[tigerfish]

o.k. to get back on topic, taxi "meter" scams.

there was a youtube link about this one, but i cant find it.

basically it shows a thai guy in a cab questioning the driver as to why the meter is ticking over in such a way, considering that they are not moving or travelling at any high speed. you can quite clearly see the meter turning over in a manner more accustomed to say a cab that is going a long at a rate of say 60 kph, rather than one that is in an almost stationary position.

apparently some of the cabs out here are fitted with a switch underneath the steering wheel that the driver can activate by hand whilst taking a fare.

thats why whenever i take cab i firstly always insist on having the meter turned on (no fixed price haggling) but keep an eye on it all the time. especially if stuck in traffic or travelling at speed. always make a note of the taxis number found either on the passenger doors or back window. turn on my mobile phone film the meter and take a picture of the driver and his credentials. found next to the meter light on the dashboard, bottom left hand side( although the driver isnt always the same guy that is shown in the picture) . and finally knowing bangkok pretty well and having a rough idea of which way i want to reach my destination, i keep an eye out on the route the guy takes to get their. either directing or questioning why he would take a particular road. some, but not all will try and bump the fare up if possible while getting you to where you want to go or they dont know bangkok that well and havent the faintest idea of which is the quickest way.

[sanook2me]

o.k. to get back on topic, taxi "meter" scams.

there was a youtube link about this one, but i cant find it.

basically it shows a thai guy in a cab questioning the driver as to why the meter is ticking over in such a way, considering that they are not moving or travelling at any high speed. you can quite clearly see the meter turning over in a manner more accustomed to say a cab that is going a long at a rate of say 60 kph, rather than one that is in an almost stationary position.

apparently some of the cabs out here are fitted with a switch underneath the steering wheel that the driver can activate by hand whilst taking a fare.

thats why whenever i take cab i firstly always insist on having the meter turned on (no fixed price haggling) but keep an eye on it all the time. especially if stuck in traffic or travelling at speed. always make a note of the taxis number found either on the passenger doors or back window. turn on my mobile phone film the meter and take a picture of the driver and his credentials. found next to the meter light on the dashboard, bottom left hand side( although the driver isnt always the same guy that is shown in the picture) . and finally knowing bangkok pretty well and having a rough idea of which way i want to reach my destination, i keep an eye out on the route the guy takes to get their. either directing or questioning why he would take a particular road. some, but not all will try and bump the fare up if possible while getting you to where you want to go or they dont know bangkok that well and havent the faintest idea of which is the quickest way.

I think you are a bit over the type filming the meter every taxi ride wacko

I saw that youtube video and who knows whats happening it may have been a faulty meter because i can honestly say and its not because i am Thai apologists but i have never had a meter do that as i know the approx cost of travelling in a meter around Bkk.

I do when late at night and normally drunk sms the taxi number that is on the rear doors to my mrs who is expecting me home shortly after the sms, this is just self preservation against an opportunist who may like the idea of mugging me...anyway normally going home my wallet is empty

After i started doing this i read an article in the Bangkok Post that its common for Thai girls to do this when travelling in taxis too to help prevent theft or rape which happens.

[Pacificperson]

Teaching lesson or scam? I came into Bangkok one night after a red-eye and grabbed a metered cab. The driver says 500 Baht for what I know should be about 300 Baht fare. Tired and not in a mood to change cabs, I say OK. I am on a per diem rate and the boss will pay. He starts his meter and throws a towel over it. When we get to my hotel I pay him the agreed 500, and he pulls the towel off. The meter says 285. We both laughed. I had paid too much. Was I scamed? Not realy. The boss paid for me to get a lesson on fares from the airport, and I got to my hotel a few minutes quicker than I would have. The taxi driver got a slightly bigger tip than he would have otherwise.

Edited July 19, 2010 by Pacificperson

[jc7]

Of course you were scammed, and the fact you can't even admit it is even more hilarious.

[Thakkar]

Teaching lesson or scam? I came into Bangkok one night after a red-eye and grabbed a metered cab. The driver says 500 Baht for what I know should be about 300 Baht fare. Tired and not in a mood to change cabs, I say OK. I am on a per diem rate and the boss will pay. He starts his meter and throws a towel over it. When we get to my hotel I pay him the agreed 500, and he pulls the towel off. The meter says 285. We both laughed. I had paid too much. Was I scamed? Not realy. The boss paid for me to get a lesson on fares from the airport, and I got to my hotel a few minutes quicker than I would have. The taxi driver got a slightly bigger tip than he would have otherwise.

You got the convenience (and the lesson), the driver got the cash, your boss got the bill. Someone in this troika was scammed. Fair enough if you'd have done the same regardless of who paid.

For me, if it were an agreed fare before starting off, I generally don't consider it an honest to goodness scam. Sure, in an ideal world, you'd get in a taxi, it would meter-up and take you to your destination via the shortest route. There are places in the world where this does happen, but probably more places where it doesn't.

[Ulysses G.]

Of course you were scammed, and the fact you can't even admit it is even more hilarious.

If you are fully aware that someone is charging you more than the going rate and you agree to it, are you being "scammed". 

[sanook2me]

Of course you were scammed, and the fact you can't even admit it is even more hilarious.

If you are fully aware that someone is charging you more than the going rate and you agree to it, are you being "scammed". 

Its always a scam when talking about Thailand on TV...silly boy thought you'd been here long enough to know that

I have noticed over the years on here the posters who mostly scream "i was scammed" are always new/ish posters. I have hardly ever seen say posters with joined TV times say over 4 years ago.

Is that because the oldies have been scammed to death and don't care about somebody trying to earn an extra few baht.

or are the newbies are just plain paranoid and see scams when they don't exist.

[Pacificperson]

To tell the truth I don't think that anyone was scamed. The driver most likely would have turned the meter on if I had insisted, but he was angling for a little extra money and asked for 500 on a 300 fare. I was tired and lazy. I knew basically how much the fare should have been. I also knew that I would have given him a 100 baht tip for getting me into town in the middle of the night. I have enough discretion that I can spend the extra 100 baht if I want.

To me it was being lazy at the start. Once, he turned on the meter, it became a bit interesting as I was curious about how much I was spending for not having to take the time and effort to force him into using the meter or getting a differed cab. For him, I am not sure whether he was playing "look sucker I got you" or just teaching me a bit of a lesson or both.

One time in Manila where every other cab seems to have a hot meter, I was traveling with my boss and we had a few hours to kill. We went to get a massage and dinner about a half a bock from one of the most expensive hotels in the city. When it was time to go to the airport, he had us walk into the lobby and back out of the hotel to pick-up a taxi instead of getting one off of the street. When we got to the airport, the driver wanted 500 for a 140 fare. My boss gave him 150 and told him if he didn't like it, we would raise a stink with the hotel management and he would not be picking-up fares from that hotel again. No more was said.

Edited July 19, 2010 by Pacificperson

[MrJohnson]

It starts even before that! Seconds after clearing immigration you are already exposed to the scammers: At baggage reclaim the taxi services there want 1200 Baht for what is about 250 on a metered taxi.

Just go up to departures and take a metered taxi for the real price. As everywhere in the world never take any over enthusiastic taxi driver who is waiting at arrivals or outside a hotel, you will end up paying at least twice as much.

It's not a scam, 1200 will get you nice "limo", BMW or the likes and 250 from the que gets you 20 years old corolla. Bit like comparing singapore air business class flight costs with indonesian low cost carrier prices and calling them scammers.

I agree. Good post. If I have been on a long haul, especially overnight, I'm more than happy getting a limo. B1200. Big deal. Cheap compared with Singers or anywhere in the west. That is not a scam. Prices clearly printed. Where is the scam. Cars are clean. Drivers are courteous and can be asked to drive at a reasonable speed. Any problems you can call AOT. I've yet to read any 'Thailand - specific' scams yet. The Grand Palace scam, the card game scam, the jetski scam...all of tehse I have seen in places like India, Vietnam and Bali.

[andyww]

A lot of the so-called scams are not really scams at all, they are just touting. If you go to any concert etc pretty much anywhere in the world you will see ticket touts outside. Likewise at BKK airport you might see taxi touts (although I cant say I ever have). The "Gem scam" is really just a touting scheme. These are not scams, they are just people to be ignored.

I do think that the jet-ski scam is a real genuine scam, or in reality its theft and extortion. This is because no matter how aware you are of not being sold a dummy, (other than if you happen to know from this and other forums not to rent jetskis in the first place) victims are forced to pay up after the event. These people should be treated as thieves and locked up.

[Vertigotogo]

New Scam (New to me anyway!!)

Just got back from a good day out in Khao San Road (some great second-hand book shops there). I hadn't been there 5 minutes when an Indian man called me over. Initially I though he was going to try and sell me a suit but he looked a bit different and his 'patter' was different too. He was wearing a turban (Seikh?) and looked about 55 and he had a huge belly.

I was curious, so I went with him to sit down in an alleyway just behind the main road.

Over the space of the next 20 minutes, he tried his best to coax me out of several thousand Bhat. He did this by saying that he was a 'Yogi' (but I'm sure he has never been to Yellowstone park) and that he could tell me many things about my life. I was even more curious........

He said that he would write down the name of my mother and my girlfriend and would get those names by looking in my third eye (not my Jap's eye). It involved lots of scribbling on bits of paper and getting me to hold those bits of paper tight in my hand and close to my heart. At one point he said to me "excuse me for asking sir, but have you kissed your girlfriend?". "Yes", I said. "Okay Sir, then please stick out your tongue and I will get her name from there". Have you ever tried to stick your tongue out and not giggle at the same time? Lots of theatrical closing of eyes and blowing softly and mumbling in strange tongues (he was probably calling me a w****r under his breath).

"What line of work were you in before sir?". "Military", I said briefly (I thought he had guessed this already because he was calling me 'Sir' all the time). "How long were you in the military?". "17 years" I said (I was dying to say "5 feet 8 inches", but I'm sure he would have punched me).

I was finding this quite entertaining and even gave him 100 Baht because I was enjoying the show. "Sir, if I can correctly get the name of your mother and girlfriend without you telling me, will you give me 10,000, 7,000 or 5,000 Baht". None of those, I said, as I don't have that much money. Well, he did manage to write the name of my mother and girlfriend down on the little bit of paper that I was clutching in my hand and I realised only later how he had done it and made a switch (too complicated to try and describe here, but it was very clever at the time). Then came the crunch. "Sir, you promised me that if I correctly got the name of your mother and girlfriend, that you would give me 5,000 Baht". I told him that I hadn't promised any such thing and that I had travelled the world over, met many people and had been told many things and so I wasn't going to give him any such money.

The tone changed so quickly that it caught me off my guard and I had to ask him again what he had just said, so he repeated it...........

"You b*****d" (said in an Indian voice, cos that's what he had) "you never military, you clean f*****g toilets".

Exit stage left, checking pockets for wallet and phone..............

[surayu]

I am not sure whether he was playing "look sucker I got you" or just teaching me a bit of a lesson or both.

He was just aware that he was breaking the law, if he would got stopped by the BiB and they finded out the meter was not switched on with a customer inside, he would have to bribe them as he was breaking the law, you can even report a taxi meter which is refusing to switch on his meter and hopefully have his license revoked, they are called "taxi meter" for a reason methink

[TheWalkingMan]

I met a guy like the guy in mikearmstrong's post. Only I was not in the mood to play games so I told him to move along.

TheWalkingMan

[skyaslimit]

I saw French speaking Belgian

So, you know this person to be French national? Is it possible a French national could speak Belgian? <deleted> is Belgian?! People in Belgium speak Dutch, French, German and perhaps another 20 languages numbnutz.

Indian looking Nepali's (hmm, why might they look similar who knows... maybe they WERE Nepali? Maybe they were French!

I gave you a great link. Please just go away and read it.

Hey my man,

You need a little bit tution of english

[skyaslimit]

New Scam (New to me anyway!!)

Just got back from a good day out in Khao San Road (some great second-hand book shops there). I hadn't been there 5 minutes when an Indian man called me over. Initially I though he was going to try and sell me a suit but he looked a bit different and his 'patter' was different too. He was wearing a turban (Seikh?) and looked about 55 and he had a huge belly.

I was curious, so I went with him to sit down in an alleyway just behind the main road.

Over the space of the next 20 minutes, he tried his best to coax me out of several thousand Bhat. He did this by saying that he was a 'Yogi' (but I'm sure he has never been to Yellowstone park) and that he could tell me many things about my life. I was even more curious........

He said that he would write down the name of my mother and my girlfriend and would get those names by looking in my third eye (not my Jap's eye). It involved lots of scribbling on bits of paper and getting me to hold those bits of paper tight in my hand and close to my heart. At one point he said to me "excuse me for asking sir, but have you kissed your girlfriend?". "Yes", I said. "Okay Sir, then please stick out your tongue and I will get her name from there". Have you ever tried to stick your tongue out and not giggle at the same time? Lots of theatrical closing of eyes and blowing softly and mumbling in strange tongues (he was probably calling me a w****r under his breath).

"What line of work were you in before sir?". "Military", I said briefly (I thought he had guessed this already because he was calling me 'Sir' all the time). "How long were you in the military?". "17 years" I said (I was dying to say "5 feet 8 inches", but I'm sure he would have punched me).

I was finding this quite entertaining and even gave him 100 Baht because I was enjoying the show. "Sir, if I can correctly get the name of your mother and girlfriend without you telling me, will you give me 10,000, 7,000 or 5,000 Baht". None of those, I said, as I don't have that much money. Well, he did manage to write the name of my mother and girlfriend down on the little bit of paper that I was clutching in my hand and I realised only later how he had done it and made a switch (too complicated to try and describe here, but it was very clever at the time). Then came the crunch. "Sir, you promised me that if I correctly got the name of your mother and girlfriend, that you would give me 5,000 Baht". I told him that I hadn't promised any such thing and that I had travelled the world over, met many people and had been told many things and so I wasn't going to give him any such money.

The tone changed so quickly that it caught me off my guard and I had to ask him again what he had just said, so he repeated it...........

"You b*****d" (said in an Indian voice, cos that's what he had) "you never military, you clean f*****g toilets".

Exit stage left, checking pockets for wallet and phone..............

Hey

Thats what I am talking about. Scams............

not only by locals but.

[thedistillers]

As a person already pointed out, a lot of those "scams" are not really scams but touting.

As for real scams, the majority of them would not happen and scammers would give up if people would stop being responsive when strangers are striking up a conversation. And no this does not mean becoming an antisocial freak; there's plenty of appropriate contexts to talk to people we don't know. And what I find the worst is people who know when it's a scam but play along for a while because they're bored or something, get a hobby please.

[skyaslimit]

As a person already pointed out, a lot of those "scams" are not really scams but touting.

As for real scams, the majority of them would not happen and scammers would give up if people would stop being responsive when strangers are striking up a conversation. And no this does not mean becoming an antisocial freak; there's plenty of appropriate contexts to talk to people we don't know. And what I find the worst is people who know when it's a scam but play along for a while because they're bored or something, get a hobby please.

[Thakkar]

New Scam (New to me anyway!!)

Just got back from a good day out in Khao San Road (some great second-hand book shops there). I hadn't been there 5 minutes when an Indian man called me over. Initially I though he was going to try and sell me a suit but he looked a bit different and his 'patter' was different too. He was wearing a turban (Seikh?) and looked about 55 and he had a huge belly.

I was curious, so I went with him to sit down in an alleyway just behind the main road.

Over the space of the next 20 minutes, he tried his best to coax me out of several thousand Bhat. He did this by saying that he was a 'Yogi' (but I'm sure he has never been to Yellowstone park) and that he could tell me many things about my life. I was even more curious........

He said that he would write down the name of my mother and my girlfriend and would get those names by looking in my third eye (not my Jap's eye). It involved lots of scribbling on bits of paper and getting me to hold those bits of paper tight in my hand and close to my heart. At one point he said to me "excuse me for asking sir, but have you kissed your girlfriend?". "Yes", I said. "Okay Sir, then please stick out your tongue and I will get her name from there". Have you ever tried to stick your tongue out and not giggle at the same time? Lots of theatrical closing of eyes and blowing softly and mumbling in strange tongues (he was probably calling me a w****r under his breath).

"What line of work were you in before sir?". "Military", I said briefly (I thought he had guessed this already because he was calling me 'Sir' all the time). "How long were you in the military?". "17 years" I said (I was dying to say "5 feet 8 inches", but I'm sure he would have punched me).

I was finding this quite entertaining and even gave him 100 Baht because I was enjoying the show. "Sir, if I can correctly get the name of your mother and girlfriend without you telling me, will you give me 10,000, 7,000 or 5,000 Baht". None of those, I said, as I don't have that much money. Well, he did manage to write the name of my mother and girlfriend down on the little bit of paper that I was clutching in my hand and I realised only later how he had done it and made a switch (too complicated to try and describe here, but it was very clever at the time). Then came the crunch. "Sir, you promised me that if I correctly got the name of your mother and girlfriend, that you would give me 5,000 Baht". I told him that I hadn't promised any such thing and that I had travelled the world over, met many people and had been told many things and so I wasn't going to give him any such money.

The tone changed so quickly that it caught me off my guard and I had to ask him again what he had just said, so he repeated it...........

"You b*****d" (said in an Indian voice, cos that's what he had) "you never military, you clean f*****g toilets".

Exit stage left, checking pockets for wallet and phone..............

Not new. This scam's been around for at least twenty years. One of these guys once walked into my office and calmly sat himself down uninvited on a chair in front of me. Started talking about looking into my third eye and whatnot. Cost me the equivalent of 300 baht to get him to leave. I would've thrown him out except that there were suppliers present and I just wanted the guy to leave quietly.

[sanook2me]

New Scam (New to me anyway!!)

Just got back from a good day out in Khao San Road (some great second-hand book shops there). I hadn't been there 5 minutes when an Indian man called me over. Initially I though he was going to try and sell me a suit but he looked a bit different and his 'patter' was different too. He was wearing a turban (Seikh?) and looked about 55 and he had a huge belly.

I was curious, so I went with him to sit down in an alleyway just behind the main road.

Over the space of the next 20 minutes, he tried his best to coax me out of several thousand Bhat. He did this by saying that he was a 'Yogi' (but I'm sure he has never been to Yellowstone park) and that he could tell me many things about my life. I was even more curious........

He said that he would write down the name of my mother and my girlfriend and would get those names by looking in my third eye (not my Jap's eye). It involved lots of scribbling on bits of paper and getting me to hold those bits of paper tight in my hand and close to my heart. At one point he said to me "excuse me for asking sir, but have you kissed your girlfriend?". "Yes", I said. "Okay Sir, then please stick out your tongue and I will get her name from there". Have you ever tried to stick your tongue out and not giggle at the same time? Lots of theatrical closing of eyes and blowing softly and mumbling in strange tongues (he was probably calling me a w****r under his breath).

"What line of work were you in before sir?". "Military", I said briefly (I thought he had guessed this already because he was calling me 'Sir' all the time). "How long were you in the military?". "17 years" I said (I was dying to say "5 feet 8 inches", but I'm sure he would have punched me).

I was finding this quite entertaining and even gave him 100 Baht because I was enjoying the show. "Sir, if I can correctly get the name of your mother and girlfriend without you telling me, will you give me 10,000, 7,000 or 5,000 Baht". None of those, I said, as I don't have that much money. Well, he did manage to write the name of my mother and girlfriend down on the little bit of paper that I was clutching in my hand and I realised only later how he had done it and made a switch (too complicated to try and describe here, but it was very clever at the time). Then came the crunch. "Sir, you promised me that if I correctly got the name of your mother and girlfriend, that you would give me 5,000 Baht". I told him that I hadn't promised any such thing and that I had travelled the world over, met many people and had been told many things and so I wasn't going to give him any such money.

The tone changed so quickly that it caught me off my guard and I had to ask him again what he had just said, so he repeated it...........

"You b*****d" (said in an Indian voice, cos that's what he had) "you never military, you clean f*****g toilets".

Exit stage left, checking pockets for wallet and phone..............

I've seen that guy loads of times.

He's a typical Sikh.. Tall and well built with a belly.

His spot is inside Khao Sarn Rd at the entrance to the alley that has Susie Pub in it (Susie Pub is a new name ..but can't remember).

He has engaged me and i just said no thanks, mai ow krap khorp khun krap and just keep walking...

Same with the Indian tailors don't ever shake their hands as thats the trap..then they've got you trapped in a handshake and total interaction.

Same with street hawkers if they try to hand you what they are selling don't take it too look as they will refuse to take it back and try to force you to buy it..

These are not scams of course just normal sales techniques the World over.

Just keep walking and be polite thats what i do...its quite easy..

[surayu]

Same with the Indian tailors don't ever shake their hands as thats the trap..

These are not scams of course just normal sales techniques the World over.

I was once walking on Beach Rd in Pattaya, just so close to a muslim man renting motorcycles, then this young pakistani or indian man outside a tailor shop grabbed with a much more then necessary force my arm and was not releasing his catch, i never extended my hand or showed any interest in what he was saying to me, i just dismissed politely what he was asking to me but when he grabbed me i told him to never ever try that again in his life or get an "appropriate" counter act for it, the people outside the tailor's shops are some of the more terrible human beings you might come across, then still in Pattaya a baht bus driver grabbed my wrist inside his cabin while i was handing over to him the fare for the ride, it must be a common thing right there.

[kikoman]

Most of the scams people mentioned are not scams to me, I do not talk to anyone trying to get my attention in any big city, I do not buy unsolicited items from a person on the streets, period! When I buy I know what I want and not talked into buying something I have no need for.

It is more your fault for buying into the 3 eye trick, by your stopping and conversing with those people. I politely say No Thanks and keep walking. My wife is the one that dose the bargaining for any item we buy and she will approach these sales persons alone. I have at times asked a person how much for a T-shirt in Pattaya and they reply 400 baht, I just walk off and they would yell "how much will you pay". I have been in Thailand long enough to know the going price for a T-shirt.

These purported scams are not unique to Thailand and are mostly attempted in any tourist destination the world over!

I have been in Thailand long enough to know the cost of a taxi ride and get a price before entering the Taxi. But I have also paid a taxi 2000 baht for a 4 hour drive to my home near Nakhon Sawan and 1200 baht from the old airport to my home in Pattaya. When I am tired and wanted to get home as soon as possible. Again setting a price before those rides!

One leave themselves open to a scam, because of the wish of getting something for nothing, there is no free lunch -you will pay for anything you get.

Cheers:

[Ulysses G.]

Most of the scams people mentioned are not scams to me, I do not talk to anyone trying to get my attention in any big city, I do not buy unsolicited items from a person on the streets, period!

One leave themselves open to a scam, because of the wish of getting something for nothing, there is no free lunch -you will pay for anything you get.

Excellent observations and advice.

[Vertigotogo]

It is more your fault for buying into the 3 eye trick

Cheers:

Read my post again. I quite enjoyed the experience

[KunMatt]

One leave themselves open to a scam, because of the wish of getting something for nothing, there is no free lunch -you will pay for anything you get.

That's not always true, people here will take liberties because they know that farangs will usually part with money to make other people happy or to make themselves look good, which is why Thais know they can rinse a lot of farangs.

I've been with my TGF for a couple of years, lived with her family in Isaan for a while, we now live in Bangkok together. Her aunty has a bar on Soi 22, I'd never met her and my gf has only seen her a couple of times in the last decade apparently. A couple of nights ago we want to go out and play pool so my gf proposes we go to her aunty's bar to meet her for the first time as she had been asking about me at a recent family funeral I wasn't here for. Everything cool, everyone friendly, i buy a round of drinks for all 3 of us, we all have beer and go to play pool. I notice on the bill that her aunty's beer has a 50% markup compared to our drinks, the regular priced drinks weren't cheap either considering the shitty bar. Next round is (of course) me again, I order a beer for me and my gf, I deliberately don't ask her if she wants a drink but she brings my gf a beer and herself one, and then goes back and gets my beer and gets herself another one! So not only amy I paying extra money for her drinks but I'm now buying her more than I'm drinking myself.

I tell my gf to finish her drink and we are leaving asap and that if I owned a bar in Thailand or UK then my family members or friends would not be treated like this, in fact the drinks would probably be on me. I've been in Thailand long enough to know that you don't make a scene or we will lose face but I also know that if pressed on this matter I'm gonna tell how I feel. Even if she had just prced her drinks the same as ours I probably would have staying for a few hours buying her drinks all night but because she's played me for a mug she only got a couple of hundred baht more compared to a whole night's bill.

When bringing me my change she also does the usual trick of breaking the change down to the smallest denominations to encourage a tip, i.e. if the change is 500 then instead of a single 500Baht note it will come as 2x 10 baht coins, and 4x 20 and 4x 100 baht notes so you feel pressured to leave at least 20 or 40 baht tip. I felt good scooping up all that change and smiling at her fat face and I left with no goodbye or intention of ever returning to her bar or speaking to that aunty again.

So what was the right thing to do, lose face or lose money? Personally I don't see the difference as being mugged off like she was trying to do to me is the farang equivalent as losing face as people will just take you for a fool easily parted with his money and you will forever be paying for everyone bills.

Thoughts?

[bkkjames]

One leave themselves open to a scam, because of the wish of getting  something for nothing, there is no free lunch -you will pay for anything you get.

That's not always true, people here will take liberties because they know that farangs will usually part with money to make other people happy or to make themselves look good, which is why Thais know they can rinse a lot of farangs.

I've been with my TGF for a couple of years, lived with her family in Isaan for a while, we now live in Bangkok together. Her aunty has a bar on Soi 22, I'd never met her and my gf has only seen her a couple of times in the last decade apparently. A couple of nights ago we want to go out and play pool so my gf proposes we go to her aunty's bar to meet her for the first time as she had been asking about me at a recent family funeral I wasn't here for. Everything cool, everyone friendly, i buy a round of drinks for all 3 of us, we all have beer and go to play pool. I notice on the bill that her aunty's beer has a 50% markup compared to our drinks, the regular priced drinks weren't cheap either considering the shitty bar. Next round is (of course) me again, I order a beer for me and my gf, I deliberately don't ask her if she wants a drink but she brings my gf a beer and herself one, and then goes back and gets my beer and gets herself another one! So not only amy I paying extra money for her drinks but I'm now buying her more than I'm drinking myself.

I tell my gf to finish her drink and we are leaving asap and that if I owned a bar in Thailand or UK then my family members or friends would not be treated like this, in fact the drinks would probably be on me. I've been in Thailand long enough to know that you don't make a scene or we will lose face but I also know that if pressed on this matter I'm gonna tell how I feel. Even if she had just prced her drinks the same as ours I probably would have staying for a few hours buying her drinks all night but because she's played me for a mug she only got a couple of hundred baht more compared to a whole night's bill.

When bringing me my change she also does the usual trick of breaking the change down to the smallest denominations to encourage a tip, i.e. if the change is 500 then instead of a single 500Baht note it will come as 2x 10 baht coins, and 4x 20 and 4x 100 baht notes so you feel pressured to leave at least 20 or 40 baht tip. I felt good scooping up all that change and smiling at her fat face and I left with no goodbye or intention of ever returning to her bar or speaking to that aunty again.

So what was the right thing to do, lose face or lose money? Personally I don't see the difference as being mugged off like she was trying to do to me is the farang equivalent as losing face as people will just take you for a fool easily parted with his money and you will forever be paying for everyone bills.

Thoughts?

Matt you have been here awhile and no the game - lady drinks cost more. The greed part about assuming she could have another is grade d level shortsightedness on her part (common in service industry here).

The change thing is a little annoying but hardly a scam. I am sure they (like all bars) see enough Cheap Charlies, Davids and Franks who pick-up a 5 baht coin off the tray that they just automatically assume that by breaking it down for you it will 1. make it easier for you to leave 20 baht 2. prevent you for asking them to go get change for the taxi or 3. maybe she didn't have big bills?

[KunMatt]

Matt you have been here awhile and no the game - lady drinks cost more. The greed part about assuming she could have another is grade d level shortsightedness on her part (common in service industry here).

If I was a customer and trying to bang this woman (the thought actually gave me shudders!) then fair enough, or if I was offering to buy her "lady drinks", (orange juice and a splash of vodka I believe) then again, that's fine. But this was her bar and we were just popping in to meet a family member

Like I said, if I owned a bar my friends and family members would get preferential treatment. but for a first time meeting with this woman it was in bad taste and a foolish act on her behalf to treat me like the usual farang tourist and try to blag as many drinks at 50% more cost as quickly as possible from me.

[sanook2me]

The change thing is a little annoying but hardly a scam. I am sure they (like all bars) see enough Cheap Charlies, Davids and Franks who pick-up a 5 baht coin off the tray that they just automatically assume that by breaking it down for you it will 1. make it easier for you to leave 20 baht 2. prevent you for asking them to go get change for the taxi or 3. maybe she didn't have big bills?

Actually that change thing makes it easier to register your level of p1ssed offness.

Like Matt said scooping up all the change empowers you to register your point quietly and without causing a scene.

Don't start me on about customer service it goes as far as their nose which is directly in front of them no thought for the future.