Farang Bar Owner

[bartender100]

I was out on my own last night in Walking Street and popped into a gogo i had not been in for a while, ordered my 4th Sam Mig lite of the night, took a sip instantly knew it was not the right taste, tried a drop more, that was it no way was i going to drink it.

I had decided to leave and just not drink it when the well known Farang owner happened to pass by, so i stopped him and politely mentioned, that although he did not know me i remembered him from another gogo he owned as i had an 18 month "fling" with a girl from there, and then mentioned to him that the beer tasted strange and i cannot drink it.

His attitude really surprised, saying i was mistaken that the beer was brought from so and so place, rejected that it may have been topped up by his staff etc. Sad to say he did not offer to change it, which i thought very odd as i was sober and very polite and he knew i was an expat. What does it cost a bar to replace a beer B26?

So stuff the place, no more business from me, including barfining his girls, i will meet them out of hours.

I have been noticing more and more guys asking to have their beer opened in front of them, something i might start doing in places i don't use a lot

[changnaam]

Mate,

Surely you do not think that a bottle of beer that they buy (as you state for 26 baht) and sell for 100+ in a gogo that they would tamper with it do you? Yes messing with bottles of spirits would not surprise me but you think they have a little man (or lady) in the back filling up empty bottles with yellow liquid and then adding a bit or alcohol and putting the top back on just to save 26 baht.....

I have heard of conspiracy theories but come on.....

Happy new year.... and make sure you check your beer bottle has not been tampered with.......

[changnaam]

BTW the attitude of the bar owner stinks, yes he should have listened to your complaint and a bottle of beer to replace the sub standard one would have been a good and normal gesture.....

but maybe he took offence to the 18 month fling with one of his staff !!

[wobblyjohn]

A few months ago there was a bad batch of San Mig and it got to the point that we checked the date before we let them open the bottle in every bar we had a drink, I can't remember the date but it had a mild taste of battery acid and was undrinkable

Many bars were returning cases to the wholesalers and I assume they returned them to San Miguel, some time later I would get the odd bottle, but the date wasn't the same, they had the same acid taste, I'm convinced San Miguel just relabeled them and sent them out mixed with other batches

I must say every bottle I have had recently has been ok, but I'll never forget the taste, chances are the gogo owner is paying about 35 baht per bottle, so for the sake of loosing 35 baht he has maybe lost a customer, If it was me I would vote with my feet, Pattaya has plenty of other watering holes

[sharecropper]

BTW the attitude of the bar owner stinks, yes he should have listened to your complaint and a bottle of beer to replace the sub standard one would have been a good and normal gesture.....

but maybe he took offence to the 18 month fling with one of his staff !!

Maybe the staff member was his WIFE!

[Semper]

BTW the attitude of the bar owner stinks, yes he should have listened to your complaint and a bottle of beer to replace the sub standard one would have been a good and normal gesture.....

but maybe he took offence to the 18 month fling with one of his staff !!

Maybe the staff member was his WIFE!

Or his daughter !

[johnh101]

Did you check the dates on the bottle ?

I have been served beer that was over 1 1/2 years old.............and that was awful, believe me, thankfully when I pointed this out to the owner it was replaced immediately with an apology.

[onnut]

San mig light is the worst tasting beer I have ever tried. I can't see how it has got so popular. I myself gave up on it after having two or three bottles that were not right.

But the manager should have replaced yours!

[neverdie]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

[Tolley]

It doesn't surprise me at all.

What would have surprised me was him replacing the bottle and apologising!

Sadly a lot of expats here are infected with the same mean mentality of many of the local business people.

[pjclark1]

There can be only one ........CHANG

[stiggy]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

Neverdie absolutly spot on....Seriously do you really expect anything more ?

What other country would you get a different answer from a pimp

Maybe you should wright to consumer affairs !

[Boater]

i have had many bottles of beer that dont taste right, it does happen ! ..

[Thailaw]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

["Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein.]

Your post is one of the best examples I have seen of the second item in AE's quote -- well done!

[Mobi]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

Neverdie absolutly spot on....Seriously do you really expect anything more ?

What other country would you get a different answer from a pimp

Maybe you should wright to consumer affairs !

Rightly or wrongly in all the countless years I have been a 'regular' at literally dozens and dozens of bars, never once has any a manager or owner put his/her hand in his or her pocket and bought me a drink. As has been pointed out in this thread - why should they?

But on several visits to another city full of bars masquerading as whore houses, Angeles City in the Philippines, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the owners and managers who are always buying me free drinks, and quite often offering free food as well. Angeles City is a similar scene - whorehouse-wise - to Walking Street, but there is a totally different attitude on behalf of the owners and managers and I must say, much more pleasant and much more likely to attract me back again to spend yet more money.

I am a Brit but I do wonder if isn't a cultural thing. Most of the Angeles City bars are run by Yanks and most of the Pattaya bars by Brits.

Coincidence?

[Jingthing]

Interesting. That's my brand too and I have noticed a bottle or two that have been really off. But I drank it anyway and I'm still alive!

[neverdie]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

["Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein.]

Your post is one of the best examples I have seen of the second item in AE's quote -- well done!

that could be taken two ways

[Thailaw]

Rightly or wrongly in all the countless years I have been a 'regular' at literally dozens and dozens of bars, never once has any a manager or owner put his/her hand in his or her pocket and bought me a drink. As has been pointed out in this thread - why should they?

But on several visits to another city full of bars masquerading as whore houses, Angeles City in the Philippines, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the owners and managers who are always buying me free drinks, and quite often offering free food as well. Angeles City is a similar scene - whorehouse-wise - to Walking Street, but there is a totally different attitude on behalf of the owners and managers and I must say, much more pleasant and much more likely to attract me back again to spend yet more money.

I am a Brit but I do wonder if isn't a cultural thing. Most of the Angeles City bars are run by Yanks and most of the Pattaya bars by Brits.

Coincidence?

Interesting observation, but I think that the real difference is in the character of the clientele, and not in the bar owners. Bars of all kinds are a "for profit" business for the owner(s). They will do what is required to bring customers in the door and encourge them to come back. I think that there are too many one timers and scamers in Pattaya looking for the lowest possible price (and "free" if possible) for bar owners to spend much money to encourage customes to return -- Pattaya really does attract some of the worst tourists in the world from all countries of origin. Most of the bars are dumps with no decor. The only factor that seems to make a difference in attracting customers is the appearance of the female hostesses and their attire (the less, the better). The beer bars do on occasion offer free food, but I suspect that it does not attract the kind of customers (spenders) that will add to a bar's bottom line or to encourage those same customers to return when there is no free food offered. The bars order beer from the local distributor, chill it, open it and serve it -- not much they can do in that process to mess things up. The profit margin, especially during happy hours, is pretty small. If you go to the Marriott or the Dusit and pay B175 for a small Singha and complain that the beer is bad, provided that you haven't consumed 90% of it, I am sure that you will get an apology and a new cold beer in seconds -- entirely different kind of customer and an entirely different response from the bar/restaurant. Perhpas Angel City has a better (more stable/established) sort of customers than Pattaya has.

[mr.buffalo]

No such thing as a bad beer, only a good beer and a better beer.

[bdenner]

i have had many bottles of beer that dont taste right, it does happen ! ..

Certainly does, the wholesalers sell out of date stock to the little family corner store retailers at reduced prices and they pass it onto unsuspecting consumers. That sort of business principle is carried out with scum bag bar owners as well.

[bartender100]

Interesting comments, i am not really bothered on way or the other, but the point is if you buy any beer from a shack on the beach to a 5 star hotel, if its off it should be replaced , particularly as the owner was involved. As one poster pointed out, there has been a problem with SML recently, the owner would have surly known this.

Should i name the bar?

[neverdie]

You could name the bar and then the mods will delete it & close the thread.

Theres a name and shame policy here at Thai Visa. You no can do.

[thaibeachlovers]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

Well if that's true, all nightclubs everywhere are likewise, as it's where guys go to pick up a score for the night.

Anyway, to the point of the post, it's a business to make a profit, and pissing off customers doesn't help the bottom line. Every angry customer will tell all their friends, so it's not just one lost customer, but many.

It's just bad business, but perhaps that's why so many Pattaya bars fail- bad owners/ managers.

Long ago I had a similar incident happen to me in an hotel, over bad breakfast orange juice. Think I'd ever go back there, or recomend the place? of course not!

Edited December 31, 2010 by thaibeachlovers

[Jimmyd]

Can anyone explain to me why people can't expect quality service in a whorehouse?

[Ulysses G.]

I think that there are too many one timers and scamers in Pattaya looking for the lowest possible price (and "free" if possible) for bar owners to spend much money to encourage customes to return -- Pattaya really does attract some of the worst tourists in the world from all countries of origin.

I have a lot of friends with restaurants and they get a constant stream of scammers complaining about items that are perfectly fine or about meals that they have already finished. They demand cash back and will cause a scene unless they get it. These con artists are not always tourists.

I can see how the OP would be offended that the owner did not believe him, but a few bad apples always ruin it for the honest folk.

[Rimmer]

[Wallaby]

I've found that if beer is chilled then let to go warm then chilled again it has a tendency to go off.

[rgs2001uk]

This thread is all about quality. Expecting quality service in a whorehouse = PRICELESS

Neverdie absolutly spot on....Seriously do you really expect anything more ?

What other country would you get a different answer from a pimp

Maybe you should wright to consumer affairs !

Rightly or wrongly in all the countless years I have been a 'regular' at literally dozens and dozens of bars, never once has any a manager or owner put his/her hand in his or her pocket and bought me a drink. As has been pointed out in this thread - why should they?

But on several visits to another city full of bars masquerading as whore houses, Angeles City in the Philippines, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the owners and managers who are always buying me free drinks, and quite often offering free food as well. Angeles City is a similar scene - whorehouse-wise - to Walking Street, but there is a totally different attitude on behalf of the owners and managers and I must say, much more pleasant and much more likely to attract me back again to spend yet more money.

I am a Brit but I do wonder if isn't a cultural thing. Most of the Angeles City bars are run by Yanks and most of the Pattaya bars by Brits.

Coincidence?

Thought you were talking about Washington Square for a moment there Mobi, it has a simlair laid back attitude and owners with business sense enough to take care of their regulars.

[smedly]

Mate,

Surely you do not think that a bottle of beer that they buy (as you state for 26 baht) and sell for 100+ in a gogo that they would tamper with it do you? Yes messing with bottles of spirits would not surprise me but you think they have a little man (or lady) in the back filling up empty bottles with yellow liquid and then adding a bit or alcohol and putting the top back on just to save 26 baht.....

I have heard of conspiracy theories but come on.....

Happy new year.... and make sure you check your beer bottle has not been tampered with.......

what happens is they serve a customer the wrong beer (which I see happen more and more recently) then customer says I didn't order that, the beer goes back and gets the top pushed back on without seal beer goes flat quickly and tastes different, new customer comes in and gets the flat already opened beer............................

[davyboy]

Mate,

Surely you do not think that a bottle of beer that they buy (as you state for 26 baht) and sell for 100+ in a gogo that they would tamper with it do you? Yes messing with bottles of spirits would not surprise me but you think they have a little man (or lady) in the back filling up empty bottles with yellow liquid and then adding a bit or alcohol and putting the top back on just to save 26 baht.....

I have heard of conspiracy theories but come on.....

Happy new year.... and make sure you check your beer bottle has not been tampered with.......

what happens is they serve a customer the wrong beer (which I see happen more and more recently) then customer says I didn't order that, the beer goes back and gets the top pushed back on without seal beer goes flat quickly and tastes different, new customer comes in and gets the flat already opened beer............................

Yes, I've seen that happen many times!