Chang Beer Girls

[gerrythepoet]

Last saturday night at a sit out bar in Ubon there are 3 girls who came in advertising their companies products on their tops. Two of them were promoting Chang and the other Cheers.

After a while the Cheer girl came and chatted then went away targeting those who drank Cheers or asking them to try that sounds fine no problem gave her 20 baht said thanks for chatting.

The two Chang beer girls stood while the owner was about to clear a table when he had to serve some customers that had walked into his shop and were buying bottles to take away, the gilrs just stood there and did not contemplate to clean the table as the cloth was sitting on the table. I watched and thought its got to get done so I went over cleaned the table and after wringing the cloth called out to the owner to catch the cloth. He smiled, caught it and I went over to my table. The four chairs around the table just needed to be put under the tables, a few seconds of a job but the girls just stood there, I went back put the chairs underneath so any other customers coming would be able to sit at the empty table. Well the girls were extremely pretty but so hollow in the brain.

I bought a packet of crisps and gave each girl a packet. One of the girls opened it the other discreetly threw the packet into a bin. I walked past her saying goodnight and was quite taken back by throwing the packet away.

If you do not want something then give it back or take it into the shop and change it for something you like.

Perhaps being pretty in Thailand has become synonymous to bad manners and decent well mannered attitudes no longer exists in a society that accepts a do not care attitude.

[chrisinth]

The girls are not fully employed by the bar; they are there to promote whichever beer they are dressed to promote. That is why they are all lookers, something that would no doubt be classed as extremely un-PC in a lot of 'better' countries.

I am a bit surprised at the girls reaction to your present. You don't normally see this from them (or any other Thai girl) as their smiles, assets and charm are main points in their arsenal..................

Maybe took offence at you working without a permit ( ) and shaming them? Don't know.

[joeaverage]

i don't get it. why are tipping beer girls 20 baht for a moments chat, and bussing tables?

Edited June 17, 2013 by joeaverage

[Bluetongue]

Think you might be over reading the situation. Two girls get contracted to go into a bar and look pretty and remind customers to drink Chang. I don't think wiping down the tables and moving the chairs as a favour to the owner would seem like part of the equation to them. In fact this might be someone else's job and such generosity might be considered unusual in this hierarchical society. As for the packets of crisps, I personally think that is an unusual thing to buy two pretty beer promotional girls. I'm not surprised one rejected the gift, its hardly the thing to take a packet of crisps back to the 7/11 and say some oddball farang bought me these could I swap them for an Oishi please.

I've seen some bad mannered people here, enough to know they come in all shapes and looks. Maybe the problem here lies elsewhere.

[pattayadingo]

As they often get paid per bottle top too, I'm surprised they did not try to sell more beer.

The Cheers girl certainly seemed the one with the most cheer

[boosta]

93% of communication is non-verbal.

You seem to have been under the mistaken impression that it was part of their job to bus the tables, while of course they would perceive that as a tremendous insult, their job is to look pretty and encourage beer sales full stop.

Your buying them a packet of crisps under those conditions may have been perceived also as an insult, since if they're going to be tipped it should be in cash. Your gesture could be interpreted as if they could not afford to buy their own, many of these girls do very well indeed, making more than most English teachers.

Plus this is very fattening food, which they can't afford to gain.

[citizen33]

I've always thought these young ladies are an interesting phenomenon. My Thai friends tell me they are known as sao BG beer chang (etcetera depending on the beer), and you may remember a Carabao song about them. They are all young and many are students working part time. As far as I know BG stands for bar girl, but these are completely different from the type of bar girls usually discussed by westerners. While educated Thai friends tend to look down on the latter, many seem to see sao BG as prime targets for chatting up. They are happy gossiping about a conquest, which they certainly would not do if they had a liaison with an ordinary bar girl..

[Upnotover]

I still don't get the crisps bit, clarification of the motivation to do that please.

[joeaverage]

I still don't get the crisps bit, clarification of the motivation to do that please.

he wants people to like him, same reason he busses tables.

however he does not realise his behavior is is inappropriate and becomes offended when it is unappreciated and writes it off as something odd exclusive to thailand.

he overlooks however that the the behavior is inappropriate everywhere and and would be looked at as irritating and an interference or an outright slight in most restaurants.

Edited June 17, 2013 by joeaverage

[uptheos]

" Well the girls were extremely pretty but so hollow in the brain".

Pretty Vacant + Sex Pistols seems to fit here.

Edited June 17, 2013 by uptheos

[Morakot]

no problem gave her 20 baht said thanks for chatting.

Pushing out the boat, big time!

[boosta]

he wants people to like him, same reason he busses tables.

however he does not realise his behavior is is inappropriate and becomes offended when it is unappreciated and writes it off as something odd exclusive to thailand.

he overlooks however that the the behavior is inappropriate everywhere and and would be looked at as irritating and an interference or an outright slight in most restaurants.

-

Yes you're right a customer "helping" this way would at a minimum be considered eccentric (farang baah), and not only being publicly critical of the girls (quite rightly) standing around, but also of the restaurant's level of service.

Key thing with Thai culture is everyone in their place, doing the things they're supposed to do and in the normal way. Departing from your pre-assigned "rôle" is fraught with potential misunderstanding and conflict, like a teacher being too exuberant in their games with students, being seen as inappropriately undignified for his social position.

Edited June 17, 2013 by boosta

[Hedghog]

Op.

Is cleaning tables and moving furniture,a particular fetish of yours?

A most unusual one I must say.

[David48]

no problem gave her 20 baht said thanks for chatting.

Pushing out the boat, big time!

I haven't hear that turn of phrase before ... you've added to my vernacular ...

,

[uptheos]

no problem gave her 20 baht said thanks for chatting.

Pushing out the boat, big time!

I haven't hear that turn of phrase before ... you've added to my vernacular ...

,

Sounds painful!

[boosta]

>> Pushing out the boat, big time!

I haven't hear that turn of phrase before ... you've added to my vernacular ...

-

What does it mean? I'm guessing "being generous" seeing that it's likely sarcastic and many people believe in tipping - and no I don't want the thread to go off on THAT tangent, let's talk about whether farang is derogatory or not instead please.

Edited June 17, 2013 by boosta

[David48]

I wish I could have 'discreetly spat that silk worm into a bin'.

-

I've never had any problems politely with a smile declining such delicacies - "farang gin mai ben", understanding smiles all 'round.

Same with sitting on the floor for extended periods, just let them know my old bones ache and they're happy to let me sit in a chair, even though it's above them, I just keep a few meters away from the group so I don't tower directly over them.

They know we're ill-mannered buffoons ignorant of real manners anyway and very tolerant that way.

I understand ... just that they were genuinely relishing eating them (the silk worms) ... so I thought that they couldn't be so bad ... lesson learnt ...

Yeh ... 15, maybe 20 mins on the floor does me in. But my experience is that they never worry when we (Farangs) have to stretch our legs.

Hardest thing is where to place the wallet as it always seems to be a point of discomfort when resting on that side.

Could always give the wallet to the Lassie to keep safe ... hang on ... scratch that Idea ...

.

[Morakot]

no problem gave her 20 baht said thanks for chatting.

Pushing out the boat, big time!

I haven't hear that turn of phrase before ... you've added to my vernacular ...

,

Sounds painful!

Can indeed be painful for some people.

[To spend generously. To spend more than one is normally accustomed to doing, often to mark a special occasion.]

Edited June 17, 2013 by Morakot

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Sorry, the OP sounds like a right weirdo.

Leave the girls along, they don't like elderly foreigners trying to grope/help them.

Interacting with beer girls, buy their beer, let them order whatever food they like at your expense.

About 6 plates of assorted food at your table is a good start. Learn to bait your hook properly.

Edited June 17, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[boosta]

Hardest thing is where to place the wallet as it always seems to be a point of discomfort when resting on that side.

-

Never used a wallet for exactly that reason, cash folded in the pocket, everything else in some sort of man bag, belt pack or small backpack.

[boosta]

Sorry, the OP sounds like a right weirdo.

Leave the girls along, they don't like elderly foreigners trying to grope/help them.

-

Or even leering at them, OK for Thais they know how to do it discreetly but foreigners doing it just makes them feel like a hoor.

[Morakot]

Hardest thing is where to place the wallet as it always seems to be a point of discomfort when resting on that side.

-

Never used a wallet for exactly that reason, cash folded in the pocket, everything else in some sort of man bag, belt pack or small backpack.

I keep lots of crisps in my man bag for feeding the Chang Beer Girls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdlgbwDAAM4

[canman]

Pictures, we need pictures!

[Wavefloater]

The OP definitely made some cultural mistakes. I almost cringed reading it when he talked about clearing the tables to accommodate the next customers to come along -- would certainly be considered quite strange here. Perhaps in his hometown, there are waitresses who truly appreciate this guy pitching in when the local pub gets busy, but he's not in Kansas anymore. He should take some time to learn the ropes about Thai culture (and what Thais expect of us as farang).

And When he mentioned giving the girls packets of crisps, perhaps he didn't realized that people give food to the poor (or monks, who live a life of austerity and poverty). I feel a bit sorry for the guy as it's pretty clear that his heart was in the right place, but he certainly should have done his homework before heading out for the night.

(I talk about this guy in the 3rd person because it doesn't seem he's come back to rejoin the discussion. Hopefully, he's reading it and learning something, though.)

[arthurwait]

So anyway. How far was the gap between the bra padding and her actual knockers ?

[mogandave]

So did you wash your hands after bussing the table and handing out the crisps?

Maybe the girl checked the date before she threw them out.

[marstons]

Ladies such as these superstars are so special they don't even have bowel movements, far to disgusting for the likes of them. like us all they come into the world with nothing and will get into their 30's with nothing.

[katana]

Maybe the OP felt slighted that the 2 Chang girls didn't pay him any attention so attempted to interact via the crisps and table cleaning activity.

[boosta]

Yes we're seeing the same frustrated-spoiled-child reaction in the comments too.

News flash guys - we farang aren't the pinnacle of desirability among all the ladies of Thailand.

Those that are of the type Thais and other Asians consider gorgeous will usually not even consider being overtly friendly with us in public because the Thais watching might think they are as low as the skanky upcountry peasant girls usually associated with us.

And that's not even taking the sex-worker stigma into account - the beer girls already are a bit touched by that historically so many will be doubly-vigilant to ONLY be professional with farang, in fact possibly even ice-queen style forced smiles.

There are exceptions of course, in a context where they can be sure a given well-dressed polite (in their lights) farang is a true international executive businessman type or other assured high-status "catch", but run-of-the-mill situations the desirable girls know that 99% of the time they can do much better than the average westerner without all the social stigma.

Bottom line - at the high end - tall white-skinned Thai-standard beauty-queen - even the most young and attractive of us have a hard time competing with the wealthy Thais, and in many cases Japanese Korean Chinese.

Never mind the usual fat old leering guy dressed for a tip-picking session.

[watcharacters]

Ladies such as these superstars are so special they don't even have bowel movements, far to disgusting for the likes of them. like us all they come into the world with nothing and will get into their 30's with nothing.

.

I'd agree with all of your post except the part about "will get into their 30's with nothing".