Am I A Cheap Charlie If I Don't Tip?

[MJCM]

Not sure of the relevance of petrol prices. You can't be CC since no service was accepted and performed, and no tipping issues.

The excuse for petrol sorry diesel prices was used by them to justify their price.

[tropo]

I had the Sophon Internet guys around today installing a new internet connection. They had to fix the outside lines down the street to get it working. When they'd finished that about 6 or them came into my bedroom and made themselves at home while one of them checked the connection on my computer. They hardly made any attempt at communication and came across as very unfriendly. Initially I led only two of them up to my room but the others just let themselves in later on, walking through my house and upstairs as though it was there own place. It felt like a home invasion, Only one person was required for the job and the rest could have stayed outside. I couldn't wait to get rid of them.

Anyway, I paid the bill which was 4870 baht, handing the cash to the leader and he asked for a tip. I said "no, it's already overpriced" and they took off without any further communication. What a bunch of rude a****s

What do you think? - I was cheap charlie?

Edited December 11, 2012 by tropo

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Strange. I've had SophonBB in 3 times. Once for the initial internet connection, once to change the modem which had stopped working and once to fix a fault in the cabling.

Each time it was either one or two technicians, never more. Each time they were perfectly polite and pleasant, and never did they ask for anything.

[tropo]

Strange. I've had SophonBB in 3 times. Once for the initial internet connection, once to change the modem which had stopped working and once to fix a fault in the cabling.

Each time it was either one or two technicians, never more. Each time they were perfectly polite and pleasant, and never did they ask for anything.

I've had good visits too - last year. They must have a fast staff turnover because all the staff are new from last year. This was an occasion where they had to get line engineers out to repair the lines. The first visit in the morning was only 2 staff. With the line guys it became 6. I didn't expect them all to raid my bedroom - I thought that was very rude - walking unaccompanied through my house and upstairs. I should have told them to get out. Perhaps they went upstairs to make sure they got their share of the tip.

Edited December 11, 2012 by tropo

[toenail]

Asking for a tip is one big turn off for me especially in a country where the locals don't tip. Yes, I will tip if I think the service is above the norm or the person has gone out of his/ her way to assist me. I was at Starbucks a few weeks ago (the one down the street from Royal Garden on the corner) and was amazed, SHOCKED of the friendly, good customer service I received from the two clerks there. I left them a good tip because it was refreshing to see well trained, intelligent employees act like they really knew what they were doing; meanwhile, the day before I ate at the Green Tree Restaurant and the service was slow, no greeting, or smile from their waiters. Then when I paid the bill and the waitress brings me my change, she stands there (now she pays attention to me!) waiting to see if I leave any tip money. NO I didn't because there was a "service charge" and the service there was poor.

[wedders]

I dont use these cheapo massage places, as I mentioned earlier most of these girls are clueless.

Actually that is incorrect. It's hit and miss, but cost isn't a major factor. I've had very many excellent Thai massages at prices near the bottom end of the scale, and some godawful massage sessions at so-called spas where I've paid two or three thousand for a variety of treatments including massage, over three or four hours. Come to that, I would hesitate to call them "girls". If you pick an establishment with sexy girls parked outside, then you're pretty naive if you think you'll be getting a real massage. You want a proper massage? Go for the places with the middle-aged women with large muscles outside.

Mostly you pay for ambiance and decor in the classier places, there isn't a great deal of difference in the quality of massage you get even at better spas and standard cheap massage shops.

As mentioned before, I'm a qualified professional masseur myself, so I'm referring as much to the technical standards of the girls as to levels of effort and care, and last but not least, their ability to 'read' the customer and his needs.

[HLover]

Remove massage lady from the equation and replace with spare parts random at a Ford dealership I just spent Bt.10000.00 at. what tip should I provide given the excellent service received ?

I chose zero and paid what was on the invoice but what do you peoples reckon, am I a cheap charlie for not tossing her some coin, after all she only did the job she her employer is paying her to do.

No, your not a cheap charlie-but your probably wishing you didn't buy a Ford.

[Jayman]

I had the Sophon Internet guys around today installing a new internet connection. They had to fix the outside lines down the street to get it working. When they'd finished that about 6 or them came into my bedroom and made themselves at home while one of them checked the connection on my computer. They hardly made any attempt at communication and came across as very unfriendly. Initially I led only two of them up to my room but the others just let themselves in later on, walking through my house and upstairs as though it was there own place. It felt like a home invasion, Only one person was required for the job and the rest could have stayed outside. I couldn't wait to get rid of them.

Anyway, I paid the bill which was 4870 baht, handing the cash to the leader and he asked for a tip. I said "no, it's already overpriced" and they took off without any further communication. What a bunch of rude a****s

What do you think? - I was cheap charlie?

Absolutely not. It was quite rude of them to ask actually.

[Ulysses G.]

The Cheap Charlie thread never gets old!

[carmine]

Tipping is a gratuity and should be earnt by giving good service.

Mindyou a friendly smile is generally good enough for me as thats becoming more of a rarity in the tourist areas.

[tropo]

The Cheap Charlie thread never gets old!

It never will. It's a daily concern.

[ThunderDuck]

Am I A Cheap Charlie If I Don't Tip?

yes you are

No ... your not American.

oh.. then you are Cheap Charles

So you are attempting to replicate a flawed economic system

where workers are underpaid and rely on gratuities to earn

a living wage.

Jayzus ...

[petermik]

Last week a friend of mine called into PP massage on soi Honey (he,s 79 years of age and due to the heavens opening up he dodged in here rather than Preecharoom round the corner on soi buk,his regular place) the lady was in her late 30,s and her asked for a straightforward oil massage-no hanky panky-upon completion of a satisfactory massage he gave her 200+50 baht tip to which her reply was"tip not enough"he calmly said ooh not enough and took all the money from her hand and said sorry we start again OK? he put a one hundred baht note back in her hand followed by another and said"this is for massage ok" she nodded in agrement and then put the 50baht note in his pocket to which she replied"where is tip"and he simply pointed to the tip of his nose-I dont know if she properly understood but he said the look on her face was priceless-she was gobsmacked LOL

p.s. he,s back in uk now so won,t have to bother about walking past again for a while

Edited December 14, 2012 by petermik

[Honkie]

The massage girl would get either 1 or 50 baht, depending how badly i want her next time.

I would make a deal with the caddy beforehand, how much his/her wage will be,

unless the caddy is included in the fee.

Obviously i won't tip a waitress, lest she does something not related to bringing me the beer/food i'm expected to pay.

Think about it for a second: You order a beer, lest that beer is handed to you,

there isnt anything to pay for, so they have to bring that beer, or i didnt get what i ordered,

and i get me beer elsewhere.

The massage girl would get either 1 or 50 baht, depending how badly i want her next time.

I would make a deal with the caddy beforehand, how much his/her wage will be,

unless the caddy is included in the fee.

Obviously i won't tip a waitress, lest she does something not related to bringing me the beer/food i'm expected to pay.

Think about it for a second: You order a beer, lest that beer is handed to you,

there isnt anything to pay for, so they have to bring that beer, or i didnt get what i ordered,

and i get me beer elsewhere.

Guess you never worked in a service industry , have you ?

[tropo]

p.s. he,s back in uk now so won,t have to bother about walking past again for a while

Unfortunately, rather than learn a lesson, she's just been given another good reason (in her head) to dislike Farang and she'll take out her frustrations on the next one that walks through the door.

She just cannot comprehend the rudeness of her behaviour. Perhaps she cannot comprehend rudeness, period.

She maybe thinking - "hmmmm - my next door neighbour (in rural Isaan) got a house - I can't even get a decent tip - this is harder than I thought".

Edited December 14, 2012 by tropo

[Jayman]

Well, the Massage parlors on Soi Honey Inn are all about the "extra" services. That is not the street I would be going to for a proper massage. I'm sure those girls always get high tips for oil massage as they tend to ALWAYS include extra service.

And I'm not a oil massage guy but 200thb seems pretty cheap to have a Thai woman rub oil all over your naked body.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Jayman

[petermik]

Well, the Massage parlors on Soi Honey Inn are all about the "extra" services. That is not the street I would be going to for a proper massage. I'm sure those girls always get high tips for oil massage as they tend to ALWAYS include extra service.

And I'm not a oil massage guy but 200thb seems pretty cheap to have a Thai woman rub oil all over your naked body.

If you read my post properly it states that he only went into PP because of the torrential downpour-normaly he uses Preecharoom or Good Day round the corner-he has been coming to Patts since 1977( he,s 79 years young but as sharp as a button) and knows full well about soi Honey and he explained to the lady it was for a straightforward massage ONLY and she understood this-it was her sheer greed and impoliteness that was the problem-and she ended up with nothing as a tip,maybe she may learn from this but I doubt it-when he told me I couldn,t stop laughing. This is Thailand LOL

[Potosi]

Tips for Thais? Never. They don't deliver good service, with the notable exception of prostitutes, so they don't earn it. Go to a restaurant and watch the staff, they shout at each other the latest gossips, old grandma and grandpa sit in a corner with the feet on a table, couple of screaming toddlers there as well, a TV playing dreadful Thai music or soap opera a volume max, they just don't give a crap about giving the costumer a good time.

[wedders]

Yawn, yet another simplistic stereotype of an entire nation.

[tropo]

Yawn, yet another simplistic stereotype of an entire nation.

Stereo type or not, I find Thai people in Pattaya are not very polite. Perhaps they have an attitude here and it's different elsewhere???

I've had to reduce my politeness to a lower level to cope because I don't like greeting people who completely ignore me.

[spidermark]

Let's break this down for you. You are paying $3.30 for a one hour massage. So yes, you are a fabulously cheap Charlie if you do not have the heart and soul to give this gal a tip. Would you work for 50 Baht per hour? And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

[tropo]

Let's break this down for you. You are paying $3.30 for a one hour massage. So yes, you are a fabulously cheap Charlie if you do not have the heart and soul to give this gal a tip. Would you work for 50 Baht per hour? And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

Here we go again.... Someone relating the price of a service in Thailand with the same back home. I imagine a one hour massage will cost you about 3000 baht back at home, so I hope you're paying that much when you get a one hour massage in Pattaya. Anything less could be considered exploitation.....

Edited December 14, 2012 by tropo

[MTH]

Let's break this down for you. You are paying $3.30 for a one hour massage. So yes, you are a fabulously cheap Charlie if you do not have the heart and soul to give this gal a tip. Would you work for 50 Baht per hour? And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

You are breaking what down? He’s not paying $3.30 for an hour massage, he’s paying 100 Baht. What does the $ have to do with anything?

As for your other question, there are quite a few Thais that would be more than willing to work for 50 Baht an hour, do you even know what the minimum wage is in Thailand?

However I do agree that the OP is quite stingy, not to tipping after a massage, unless of course it’s been unsatisfactory. But that has nothing to do with other world currencies or salaries.

Sent from my Desktop.

[tropo]

As for your other question, there are quite a few Thais that would be more than willing to work for 50 Baht an hour, do you even know what the minimum wage is in Thailand?

50 baht per hour is a pretty good wage for unskilled work. On the building site next to where I live they're earning 200 baht per day working from 8am to 6pm with an hour for lunch. What's that? 22 baht per hour.

[MTH]

As for your other question, there are quite a few Thais that would be more than willing to work for 50 Baht an hour, do you even know what the minimum wage is in Thailand?

50 baht per hour is a pretty good wage for unskilled work. On the building site next to where I live they're earning 200 baht per day working from 8am to 6pm with an hour for lunch. What's that? 22 baht per hour.

Yes, it definitely is! My girl's son just quit school at 17 and is now making 220 a day helping out in a carpenter shop. Hopefully he’ll be back in school next year again.

<Edit, grammar and spelling>

Edited December 14, 2012 by MTH

[Jayman]

Let's break this down for you. You are paying $3.30 for a one hour massage. So yes, you are a fabulously cheap Charlie if you do not have the heart and soul to give this gal a tip. Would you work for 50 Baht per hour? And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

Here we go again.... Someone relating the price of a service in Thailand with the same back home. I imagine a one hour massage will cost you about 3000 baht back at home, so I hope you're paying that much when you get a one hour massage in Pattaya. Anything less could be considered exploitation.....

Where exactly is he comparing anything here to another country? All he did was list the price in another currency. He didn't compare it to what it would cost in another country.

The point he made is extremely valid.

And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

I think most expats here would have a hard time arguing that the 40-50 baht means more to them than to the massage girl.

[tropo]

Where exactly is he comparing anything here to another country? All he did was list the price in another currency. He didn't compare it to what it would cost in another country.

The point he made is extremely valid.

And does that extra 40-50 Baht mean more to you, or to the massage gal?

I think most expats here would have a hard time arguing that the 40-50 baht means more to them than to the massage girl.

I disagree. If you state the price in USD you're making a comparison with US prices. 200 baht is the going price in Pattaya - the USD price is totally irrelevant.

This expat can easily argue that 50 baht means more to him than the massage girl. There could also be other expats who save their extra cash for their extended families who could be more needy than the massage girls.

You're assuming that most expats have a lot of free cash to splash around on tips.

[Jayman]

The topic is not about the income level of expats or what they can better do with money. The topic at hand is tipping a massage girl for service that you decided to use. Under that circumstance, I still believe if you feel that the 50thb means more to you that the person your hired to massage you then you need to re-evaluate your situation and whether you truly can afford this lifestyle.

[tropo]

The topic is not about the income level of expats or what they can better do with money. The topic at hand is tipping a massage girl for service that you decided to use. Under that circumstance, I still believe if you feel that the 50thb means more to you that the person your hired to massage you then you need to re-evaluate your situation and whether you truly can afford this lifestyle.

We're just going around in circles here. I'm sure people who consider a 50 baht tip (25%) too generous have already "re-evaluated" their situation and that's why they don't tip. By not wasting money they can truly afford this lifestyle.

You do percentage tips in America - now that's crazy. It's really a surcharge, but you call it a tip. Perhaps many non-tippers are Americans enjoying a break from that "responsibility".

It's really a personal choice. There's no need to insult non-tippers as they all have their reasons. As for me, I'll decide where I spend my spare cash.

Edited December 14, 2012 by tropo

[Ulysses G.]

50 baht per hour is a pretty good wage for unskilled work.

That might be true if they were working 8 hours per day, but they don't. They spend a lot of unpaid time waiting for a customer with no compensation at all.

When I am broke, I avoid places where a tip is expected - just like I did in the USA. If one can not afford a 50 baht tip for massage, they should skip the massage until they have more money.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Ulysses G.