Why Do Hostesses Keep Lurking Around?

[garrya]

So what's with those hostesses in pubs being keen on filling beers into the glasses. I guess that most of us, or at least a good few people, visit pubs or bars in Thailand.

I normally drink beer what I order from the hostess lurking around my table. After I got my beer the hostess takes my beer aside and wait until I start sipping my beer. I can hardly put my glass down when she turns up as a stroke of lightning and fills it up again. lol. This keeps going until I finish my beer then they ask me if I want to order more. I see the locals just love this and take advantage on this but I, on the contrary, find this really annoying but don't want to be rude or insult them as I don't know what is behind this kind of selling method. I tend to move my glass to an unreachable part of the table and I also don't like the feeling that I am constantly monitored. Furthermore, I don't like when my beer is not in my periphery.

So let's get this right. Do these hostesses get commission after each sold bottle? If yes, how many percent would that be?

(I wanted to find this out tonight BUT because of the tomorrow's election, all the entertaining venues are closed)

P.S. No, this is not a bashing thread, Please

(edited typo)

Edited July 28, 2012 by garrya

[BookMan]

The constant refilling of the glass and attendance to fresh drinks is certainly noticeable in Thailand.

And boy do I love it!

[maxme]

The constant refilling of the glass and attendance to fresh drinks is certainly noticeable in Thailand.

And boy do I love it!

You don't happen be part of the bunch the cabbies were waiting on outside Suan Lum Night Bazaar on a Friday night?

[BookMan]

The constant refilling of the glass and attendance to fresh drinks is certainly noticeable in Thailand.

And boy do I love it!

You don't happen be part of the bunch the cabbies were waiting on outside Suan Lum Night Bazaar on a Friday night?

no! and you have lost me!

[Heng]

Hostesses or 'cheer beer' girls? The latter do get a commission of 10 Baht or so per bottle cap. Tips as well depending on the place. The 'luckier' ones land whales.

:-)

[maxme]

The constant refilling of the glass and attendance to fresh drinks is certainly noticeable in Thailand.

And boy do I love it!

You don't happen be part of the bunch the cabbies were waiting on outside Suan Lum Night Bazaar on a Friday night?

no! and you have lost me!

They hang around that area waiting for poor sods who fell for the hostess trick

[BookMan]

The constant refilling of the glass and attendance to fresh drinks is certainly noticeable in Thailand.

And boy do I love it!

You don't happen be part of the bunch the cabbies were waiting on outside Suan Lum Night Bazaar on a Friday night?

no! and you have lost me!

They hang around that area waiting for poor sods who fell for the hostess trick

. Well maybe that has been me on occasion

[meand]

I think we need a thread on the girls that stand there and look at you to no end when you are trying to pick between a few products in a mall or other shopping area.

[jubby]

Women are OK but you can't beat the real thing. ...

Domino's !?

[yankee99]

i guess you could order draft or drink from the bottle. problem solved

[meand]

^or, if you are somehow able to politely convey they will get no tip, they will bugger off quite rapidly. There really are a lot of paradoxes in life.... being a good tipper can harm you, being a good worker will make the boss come to you more etc. I don't know, I do hope the op gets this dilemma solved though. I think he could slap one on the ass and that would end the "problem" quickly.

[7by7]

It seems a universal thing these days. When eating in many restaurants in the UK waiting staff have a habit of coming up to the table to ask "Is everything to your satisfaction?" or similar.

My response is "No, our waiter keeps interrupting our conversation with stupid questions! If something is wrong rest assured I'll ask for the manager."

[JurgenG]

It's unfortunately more and more common everywhere. Waiter are not waiter anymore, they are sales people. And it's part of their job description to push you to drink (spend) more.

Edited July 28, 2012 by JurgenG

[DrTuner]

Part of the culture these days. I very hazily seem to remember it's an import from China. Up in northeast drinks are usually brought to the end of the table, where one of the attending party busies with serving glasses. Because of this it's a good idea to make a strategical survey once the battleground has been indicated, you'll want to be close to the source of ethanol and ice, but not too close or you'll end up filling glasses

[MrMuddle]

It seems a universal thing these days. When eating in many restaurants in the UK waiting staff have a habit of coming up to the table to ask "Is everything to your satisfaction?" or similar.

My response is "No, our waiter keeps interrupting our conversation with stupid questions! If something is wrong rest assured I'll ask for the manager."

You're a braver man than I !

I've heard too many tales of what restaurant staff do to complainants food, to ever complain until I'm finished.

Completely off topic, but I once went with a girl I was at university with, to her parents for Sunday lunch. Her Father was talking about an article in the local paper, about a pizza restaurant where the staff had been masturbating into the pizza sauce, and the place had been closed down, by the public health department.

"I've had lots of Pizzas from there", said my friend, "and they didn't taste salty to me."

The look on her father's face was priceless.

[nocturn]

the kingdom is truly fraught with pitfalls.

they are employed by the evil ice monopoly to do exactly what they are doing, and they are paid by the cube. last i heard 1 baht for every 5 was the going rate.

the tight dresses they wear help them slip between tables efficiently.

I too am annoyed by attentive service and much prefer trying to catch the attention of an indifferent waiter who is intently ignoring me by plucking nostril hairs in the nearest mirror and surreptitiously digging for earwax with a meticulously cultivated pinkie nail.

when they stress me out i generally retreat to the nearest urinal for a calming neck massage.

----------------------------------------

or, if you dont want her to fill your beer, place your hand over your glass and politely then take the beer from her hands and place it on the table in front of you.

Edited July 28, 2012 by nocturn

[brotherother]

What's always puzzled me is when you're drinking with a friend and you both have, say, an inch of beer left in the glass and there's about half a glasses worth left in the jug / bottle, then more often than not the girl will fill up one of your glasses and leave the other persons almost empty, instead of sharing it 50/50. What's all that about? Do they hope you'll buy another jug / bottle to even things out? Does the person she perceives to be of higher status (the bill payer) get their drink topped up? Does she give it to the one who's been drinking at a faster pace? Can't see the logic.

[SukhumwitSoi22]

What's always puzzled me is when you're drinking with a friend and you both have, say, an inch of beer left in the glass and there's about half a glasses worth left in the jug / bottle, then more often than not the girl will fill up one of your glasses and leave the other persons almost empty, instead of sharing it 50/50. What's all that about? Do they hope you'll buy another jug / bottle to even things out? Does the person she perceives to be of higher status (the bill payer) get their drink topped up? Does she give it to the one who's been drinking at a faster pace? Can't see the logic.

I know what you mean. I think they do it because they're thick.

[Satcommlee]

I don't like it but it is very common in the more traditional Thai places, like restaurants, karaoke's, disco's (OK not that traditional)..

The one thing that annoys me most is looking for my drink and after 10 seconds of sheer terror only to find that someone is topping it up.

[brotherother]

What's always puzzled me is when you're drinking with a friend and you both have, say, an inch of beer left in the glass and there's about half a glasses worth left in the jug / bottle, then more often than not the girl will fill up one of your glasses and leave the other persons almost empty, instead of sharing it 50/50. What's all that about? Do they hope you'll buy another jug / bottle to even things out? Does the person she perceives to be of higher status (the bill payer) get their drink topped up? Does she give it to the one who's been drinking at a faster pace? Can't see the logic.

I know what you mean. I think they do it because they're thick.

Ha ha, nice one.

Yeah, pretty sure you don't need brains for that job.

[BoonToong]

I would always get wet.......

If I am in a bar in UK, for example, I have a back-of-my-mind idea of the level of drink in my glass. For the first few sips I raise the glass carefully and slowly to my lips to avoid spillage. After that I can raise the glass pretty quickly to my mouth without really thinking about it.

But if some helpful lady fills my glass again whilst I am distracted (e.g., boring the bloke next to me with my latest bar story), I invariably end up spilling a lot of my expensive 100 pipers down my front.

Figures :-)

[cdnmatt]

Makes me uncomfortable too. I'm a big boy, and can pour beer into a glass just fine, thank you! Now go away, and quit watching over me while I'm trying to enjoy the conversation and my beer.

Another thing that irks me a little is how no Thais will never say thank you. I know I'm being an out-of-place idiot by saying thanks when I get filled up, but I don't care, I'm white, I'm allowed to be a bit stupid. In Canada, it's just common to say thanks whenever your server brings something for you, or helps you. I find it a little rude to just ignore them, as if they don't exist.

Edited July 28, 2012 by cdnmatt

[Beetlejuice]

It seems a universal thing these days. When eating in many restaurants in the UK waiting staff have a habit of coming up to the table to ask "Is everything to your satisfaction?" or similar.

My response is "No, our waiter keeps interrupting our conversation with stupid questions! If something is wrong rest assured I'll ask for the manager."

I see your point, but being a waiter or waitress is an extremely difficult job and customers really should not give them a hard time.

My daughter once took on a temporary waitress job during her school holidays at an Italian restaurant in Chiang Mai. She was meant to work there for 6 weeks, but gave it up after only 3 weeks.

My daughter told me that whatever she done; she just could not do it right by many customers. Customers would either complain that she was too attentive, or not attentive enough, too fast with the bill after the meal, too slow presenting the bill after the meal and so on. My daughter was only 16 at the time and looked about 13. She told me that really gross old men, mostly farangs would try to touch her up or ask her out. Women customers would scream their orders at her like a dog. And all this for 120 baht per day on an 8-hour shift. The boss made his staff rely on tips and thought he could get away with paying breadline wages. Sometimes the boss would insist the staff worked longer hours for no extra pay, plus all the staff had to clean and tidy up after closing time before they could go home, again with no extra pay.

So please consider this next time you visit a restaurant or bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTUP7v-0Gw

Edited July 28, 2012 by Beetlejuice

[edwinclapham]

It seems a universal thing these days. When eating in many restaurants in the UK waiting staff have a habit of coming up to the table to ask "Is everything to your satisfaction?" or similar.

My response is "No, our waiter keeps interrupting our conversation with stupid questions! If something is wrong rest assured I'll ask for the manager."

I see your point, but being a waiter or waitress is an extremely difficult job and customers really should not give them a hard time.

My daughter once took on a temporary waitress job during her school holidays at an Italian restaurant in Chiang Mai. She was meant to work there for 6 weeks, but gave it up after only 3 weeks.

My daughter told me that whatever she done; she just could not do it right by many customers. Customers would either complain that she was too attentive, or not attentive enough, too fast with the bill after the meal, too slow presenting the bill after the meal and so on. My daughter was only 16 at the time and looked about 13. She told me that really gross old men, mostly farangs would try to touch her up or ask her out. Women customers would scream their orders at her like a dog. And all this for 120 baht per day on an 8-hour shift. The boss made his staff rely on tips and thought he could get away with paying breadline wages. Sometimes the boss would insist the staff worked longer hours for no extra pay, plus all the staff had to clean and tidy up after closing time before they could go home, again with no extra pay.

So please consider this next time you visit a restaurant or bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTUP7v-0Gw

This must have been exceptionally hard for you to listen to Beetle as a father, sitting here reading this makes me feel very very angry!

If any member of a party of mine frequented any establishment and behaved like this, he/she would be be frogmarched out!

[NanLaew]

I usually drink my beer out of the bottle and as such, I am bereft of the fawning, over-attention by the comely wenches that oddly seems to irk most of the posters herein.

[daoyai]

It used to annoy me a bit but I have gotten used to it, "Heng" said the commision for "deg cheer beer" was 10B per bottle, I heard 3Baht, he must go to more expensive, higher class places than me. I have been guilty of choosing my beer brand by which "deg" had the nicest costume, best body, so it is good marketing.

[Ulysses G.]

What's always puzzled me is when you're drinking with a friend and you both have, say, an inch of beer left in the glass and there's about half a glasses worth left in the jug / bottle, then more often than not the girl will fill up one of your glasses and leave the other persons almost empty, instead of sharing it 50/50. What's all that about? Do they hope you'll buy another jug / bottle to even things out? Does the person she perceives to be of higher status (the bill payer) get their drink topped up? Does she give it to the one who's been drinking at a faster pace? Can't see the logic.

I know what you mean. I think they do it because they're thick.

I hate to admit it, but I think that you might have stumbled upon the truth of this particular situation.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[Sharp]

What's always puzzled me is when you're drinking with a friend and you both have, say, an inch of beer left in the glass and there's about half a glasses worth left in the jug / bottle, then more often than not the girl will fill up one of your glasses and leave the other persons almost empty, instead of sharing it 50/50. What's all that about? Do they hope you'll buy another jug / bottle to even things out? Does the person she perceives to be of higher status (the bill payer) get their drink topped up? Does she give it to the one who's been drinking at a faster pace? Can't see the logic.

I know what you mean. I think they do it because they're thick.

Ha ha, nice one.

Yeah, pretty sure you don't need brains for that job.

Lmao

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[TommoPhysicist]

In Thailand it's a womans duty to serve the man.

These girls are employed to pour drinks and sell ice.

If you have a girl sitting with you at your table then the pouring girl lets her do it and moves to another table.

It's just the Thai tradition, I quite like it, and the girls are always pretty.

[necronx99]

Oh the horror of being forced to have a pretty young girl attentively tending to your drinking needs!

Those evil stupid Thais are at it again.....