Another "Rip Off" Restaurant

[GeorgeO]

I would suggest everyone ignores the OP's gripe and find out for yourself. We are talking about miniscule amounts of baht. jeez.

A 39 baht mark up on a 40 baht item is not a miniscule amount, it is a 97.5 per cent rip off.

Extrapolate that to a 400 baht bill and tell me if you're happy to pay 790 baht...??!!

[sbk]

One racist comment has been deleted. Please read the forum rules, cheers

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

[Semper]

Maybe the girl made a mistake and was afraid to admit?

Sometimes we feel mistreated when we are not.

I am not accusing anyone, but I have seen so many Westerners misunderstand such situations and wrongly blame the Thais that I am always skeptical of this kind of claim.

I am not saying that the OP is wrong, but am keeping an open mind.

Yep, I've see the same thing almost every time

Well, here we have one thing you actually have seen.

[bristolgeoff]

thailand is all about trying to reap off the( tourist) white man or falang.whether it is tuk tuks or taxis.restaurants are no different.you always have to be careful.plenty of food places you can go if you feel you are cheated

[Wallaby]

From my perspective, you've basically just advertised a place with nice views and good chicken for 79 Baht.

Might have to give it a go....

Just be careful they don't hit you up for 158 baht.

[uptheos]

thailand is all about trying to reap off the( tourist) white man or falang.whether it is tuk tuks or taxis.restaurants are no different.you always have to be careful.plenty of food places you can go if you feel you are cheated

Tuk Tuks don't rip you off - they ask a stupid fare and then it's down to bargaining - you then know it before you set off and there's no tipping. In my experience, provided your journey isn't complicated, Tuk Tuk drivers rarely refuse money and you can get bargains.

Like everything else you can walk away.

Edited August 15, 2011 by uptheos

[MartinBKK]

Maybe the girl made a mistake and was afraid to admit?

Sometimes we feel mistreated when we are not.

I am not accusing anyone, but I have seen so many Westerners misunderstand such situations and wrongly blame the Thais that I am always skeptical of this kind of claim.

I am not saying that the OP is wrong, but am keeping an open mind.

Yep, I've see the same thing almost every time

The thing that I've noticed when I have misunderstandings with Thais over price is that the misunderstanding never goes in my favor - it always turns out to be more expensive than I thought, not less.

Yes i've noticed the very same thing.

[Loaded]

thailand is all about trying to reap off the( tourist) white man or falang.whether it is tuk tuks or taxis.restaurants are no different.you always have to be careful.plenty of food places you can go if you feel you are cheated

Is that a ladyboy in you avatar?

[Contractor]

If it's the place with the nice view of the lower falls and has a few different levels with views to choose from then I can tell you I've eaten there many times and they do have a menu. The prices are a bit more than standard but that's fair enough because of the view mainly and the food is mostly really good also. I always take friends there who visit.

Maybe your wife just asked for what she felt to eat rather than for a menu? If she asked how much and the waitress gave her a price off the top of her head then could well of just been an honest mistake. 79 bht for chicken sounds about right given the location. Not a ridiculas over inflated Falang price; I can think of many Thai restaurants where they charge similar.

I think the OP should clarify which place he is referring to.

If he is talking about Huen Huay Kaew, then I can say that I have eaten there many times and never had a problem over menu or bill.

Regards

[bdenner]

Spare me days, another cheap charlie belly aching about a few baht and degrading the locals again. Easy, if you don't like it go and eat 'papaya pok pok' with the family or go home!

[alfieconn]

Simple really ! everyone goes there and orders 1 piece of chicken and reports back to tv with there findings,then the talking can stop

Edited August 15, 2011 by alfieconn

[muchogra]

I think it could just be misunderstanding like some posters have alluded to.

I, myself, am not sure what a 1/4 thigh is. Is it just the thigh or the thigh with the drumstick? If it's the latter, it's already B40 at the street vendors, so, B79 bahts at an establishment seems very normal.

The waitress could have quoted B40 for just the thigh (without the drumstick part), but the order came in with the thigh and the drumstick.

So, still puzzled with a 1/4 thigh is!

[muchogra]

My wife always gets fumed when she's overcharged. She thinks she's Thai enough not to get ripped off. For me, I mostly laugh it away if it's not excessive and don't go back there again. In some cases polite talks didn't yield any results I just left what I thought should have been and walked out of there. The last time it happened was with my friend at a seafood restaurant at the CM night bazaar.

[surayu]

Spare me days, another cheap charlie belly aching about a few baht and degrading the locals again. Easy, if you don't like it go and eat 'papaya pok pok' with the family or go home!

Mallyrd you got a friend here! quick quick, or you will lose a chance to get scammed together

[moe666]

I donot know but why do Thais check the bill when it comes because they get ripped off as well. This bellyaching its because we are falang gets old after a bit, yes we do get nicked but donot ever think the Thais get away clean because they donot. I cannot have to much sympathy because, we had concerms about the bill before and you went back. So I guess we got that all cleared up, morale of the story do not eat unless they have a menu to check.

[ikis]

i don't understand how can you tolerate that kind of behaviour and service from the restaurant?

if the waiter says it's 40thb, then it is. very simple and i would never pay the double price, it's that waiters fault not customers.

i've heard about this place and thinking of going there some day, but after this thread i wont go.

[Lizard2010]

I have found that a priced menu is no deterrent to special thai pricing for farangs

the last 99 baht bbq buffet i had cost us 150 baht each...

We just couldn't be bothered arguing about it....food was hardly worth coming back for anyway

9 out of ten times , or more, there isn't a problem

We were lucky our Thai friends paid so we did not get ripped off this time

[nikster]

Maybe the girl made a mistake and was afraid to admit?

Sometimes we feel mistreated when we are not.

I am not accusing anyone, but I have seen so many Westerners misunderstand such situations and wrongly blame the Thais that I am always skeptical of this kind of claim.

I am not saying that the OP is wrong, but am keeping an open mind.

Yep, I've see the same thing almost every time

99% - that's the case, yup

So the girl didn't know the price and gave you a wrong one, so what?

Who's the principal everyone's talking about? Did I miss something?

[nikster]

i don't understand how can you tolerate that kind of behaviour and service from the restaurant?

if the waiter says it's 40thb, then it is. very simple and i would never pay the double price, it's that waiters fault not customers.

Clearly, you have a lot to learn about Thailand.

There's only two things you can possibly do:

A - Realize 79 baht still a good price and consider coming back, knowing full well that it actually costs 79 Baht.

B - Not come back

But one thing you must do is pay your bill. And not go into a flying farang rage. Save that for a more worthy occasion. Or better still, don't do it at all.

:jap:

[hedonist44]

i don't understand how can you tolerate that kind of behaviour and service from the restaurant?

if the waiter says it's 40thb, then it is. very simple and i would never pay the double price, it's that waiters fault not customers.

Clearly, you have a lot to learn about Thailand.

There's only two things you can possibly do:

A - Realize 79 baht still a good price and consider coming back, knowing full well that it actually costs 79 Baht.

B - Not come back

But one thing you must do is pay your bill. And not go into a flying farang rage. Save that for a more worthy occasion. Or better still, don't do it at all.

:jap:

DITTO !

[uptheos]

Clearly, you have a lot to learn about Thailand.

But one thing you must do is pay your bill. And not go into a flying farang rage. Save that for a more worthy occasion. Or better still, don't do it at all.

:jap:

Yep! Walking away in a rage and refusing to pay the bill, can drastically reduce a person's quality of life

[canuckamuck]

If they would just write down what you ordered and have the amount on the bill, then they could just put it on the table when you say your done and not waste your time adding it up by looking at the empty plates.

It is the adding it up while you wait that makes customers expect the errors and question the math.

This would also allow the customer to leave when he liked and not wait around for grandma with the calculator.

[chooka]

I hate it too but once I'm deliberately ripped off somewhere I never return, upon principle and self respect. I'm only happy to find somewhere else to give my business too, if they care or not.

Unfortunately dual pricing is a fact of life in Thailand. A lot of Thais see farangs as dripping in money, it just falls off them. I am forbidden from going to the local markets with my wife for food shopping. If I do go I must wait in the car or walk 30 paces behind because she says when I have been with her the prices suddenly increase.

[uptheos]

I am forbidden from going to the local markets with my wife for food shopping. If I do go I must wait in the car or walk 30 paces behind because she says when I have been with her the prices suddenly increase.

OMG you couldn't write the script!

You must be really enjoying yourself here - getting involved with the locals......the freedom to explore new things etc.

[adder]

I would suggest everyone ignores the OP's gripe and find out for yourself. We are talking about miniscule amounts of baht. jeez.

Yes lets all be mugs like you want (JEEZ is used by MUGS)

[surayu]

You must be really enjoying yourself here - getting involved with the locals......the freedom to explore new things etc.

Well, just denying the sistematic rip off of foreigners is not going to help the OP much, isn'it?

He's lucky enough to be able to see where the problems are and found a way to get what he want for the price everybody else are getting, which is just fair, does anyone want to make compulsory for foreigners to get ripped off?

The usual comment " if you were not here than it would be no problems" didn't appear yet

[adder]

Why do you blame the restaurant? Seems like your wife is one of the main problems here. Did she have a mis-communication with the server? Why didn't she explain this price discrepancy to the owner?

BTW, What kind of lunch did you get? Was it a 40B lunch or a 79B lunch? Considering the location etc, did you actually overpay or is it possible you still got a fair deal?

Also, to all the posters worried about being taken because we are foreigners, he has a Thai wife! There is no way in Hell that my wife will let anyone overcharge me, why would his wife allow it? I don't believe that this is due to him being "white", it was a mis-communication.

So what he has a Thai wife .If anything that makes the con worse as it is more blatent. How long have you been here ? Thais dont do confrontation .

If I was a conman I would activley search out people like you & make them victims .

Edited August 16, 2011 by adder

[uptheos]

You must be really enjoying yourself here - getting involved with the locals......the freedom to explore new things etc.

Well, just denying the sistematic rip off of foreigners is not going to help the OP much, isn'it?

He's lucky enough to be able to see where the problems are and found a way to get what he want for the price everybody else are getting, which is just fair, does anyone want to make compulsory for foreigners to get ripped off?

The usual comment " if you were not here than it would be no problems" didn't appear yet

As an adult - if I had to live in a country where I couldn't at least go to the local market by myself, be instructed to wait in the car or walk 30 paces behind someone (is it exactly 30?).........I'd go home.

I do know that a lot of Thai g/f like the farang to wait behind so he can't see that what he thought was bought by her 'for a bargain 60 Baht', was actually bought for 40 Baht.

Even in my early days here - I can't recall being really ripped off in a local fruit and veg market. If I was, it was negligible, like rounding off 38 to 40 Baht. But once you've been a few times even that stops and I always make a point of taking the change, otherwise you are encouraging higher prices.

Edited August 16, 2011 by uptheos

[garrfeild]

I would suggest everyone ignores the OP's gripe and find out for yourself. We are talking about miniscule amounts of baht. jeez.

Agreed.

If you can't see a priced menu then don't eat at that establishment. The OP's contradiction being that the view and food are both good, So what Price for the view and tasty food?

Edited August 16, 2011 by garrfeild

[CMSteve]

By your way of thinking, cons would be happening everywhere and everytime. If no one is to complain or confront when they are overcharged right????

Seriously, there is the culture of Kreng Jai here, but it only goes so far. And yes, my wife would and did speak up for me when necessary, but as I've been here long enough to speak, read and write the language I can handle these situations on my own.

BTW, welcome to Thailand.

Why do you blame the restaurant? Seems like your wife is one of the main problems here. Did she have a mis-communication with the server? Why didn't she explain this price discrepancy to the owner?

BTW, What kind of lunch did you get? Was it a 40B lunch or a 79B lunch? Considering the location etc, did you actually overpay or is it possible you still got a fair deal?

Also, to all the posters worried about being taken because we are foreigners, he has a Thai wife! There is no way in Hell that my wife will let anyone overcharge me, why would his wife allow it? I don't believe that this is due to him being "white", it was a mis-communication.

So what he has a Thai wife .If anything that makes the con worse as it is more blatent. How long have you been here ? Thais dont do confrontation .

If I was a conman I would activley search out people like you & make them victims .