"Vendors" Entering Chiang Mai Restaurants and Trying to Sell to Customers Only

[hellodolly]

There are beggars in the area I live in. My wife knows the real ones from the ones who are scamming for drinking money. I have no problem giving to them. some people think Chiang Mai is like Mai Sai where every kid beggar is a rent a kid for some scammer.

some just don't give and that is their rite others just complain and that is their rite.

Myself I don't worry about it. I would rather have them come into the restaurant begging than into my kitchen.

[laislica]

I have witnessed this all over Thailand. I always wonder why the owner/staff don't intervene and stop them bothering their customers. I have come to the conclusion (after years of observation) that it's a Thai cultural thing. Don't want to confront the beggar/vendor and feel sorry for the beggar/vendor. So just leave them alone, don't cause a fuss, it will all be Ok. Mai pen rai ....

No one been to Spain then?

So called Dumb women, often from Eastern Europe put a begging paper and something like a lighter on your table. The paper has been encapsulated for durability LOL

Others have all kind of thing to sell, sunglasses, watches, toys etc etc.

Why are they often Fat people?

I will give to the Spanish guy on crutches and leg missing at the knee.

or the ex fisherman with a hand or arm missing.

[tpiety2]

Agreed. There are so many other things to worry and complain about

This is the way some folks make a living and I bet they ain't getting rich on what they earn. Every once in a while we buy a flower from a very young vendor at our favorite Japanese restaurant. 20 baht isn't a lot of money. And other times I just say mai aou, krap and he walks on by.

Agreed.... I usually give way to the men/women working for a living whether on the road or sidewalk

and give a no thanks in restaurants. Thai culture takes some getting used to,

begging on the other hand depends on the circumstances.

[Chiengmaijoe]

I always give a small amount usually 20 baht to all disabled people. I feel very lucky that I have had a good reasonably healthy life.Unlike in western countries they receive no government help. What are they supposed to do if they don't beg for help ? Why shouldn't they be able to buy a lottery ticket once in a while and have a bit of enjoyment.

So do I. whats 20 baht? Anyway I think the majority of posters are from tourists locations. Where I liv it it's very rare to experience begging unless at some major market event. We often go to the Cambodian border market at Chong Chom and I always give a few Baht to the legless people. They deserve it after what the the US did and are continuing to do to them.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my original post.

The people who approached me were con artists, not beggars, and had all their limbs. They were wearing some type of phony badge and their sales pitch was in English. My response was directly to the staff, was in Thai, and consisted of much more than "mai aow." They (the con artists) both could earn money by getting real jobs if they wanted to.

I never did anything bad to them, neither did the US government. While I do have a problem with them, I have a bigger problem with the staff that allows them to enter. They only approach customers, never staff.

I now realize the appropriate response after talking to the staff would have been to contact the owner. I'm paying for a meal (or meals), not to be hit with an attempted con with the staff just standing there watching and waiting for my usual generous tip.

The staff aren't going to kick them out unless they have been told to do so by the boss and the boss is present. It involves confrontation and unless it is a big issue confrontation is to be avoided. It's not an issue to Thais and although the boss may have told them to kick them out they'd rather ignore it than confront it. A minor irritation in my books, with no real cause for concern.

[mogandave]

Perhaps the staff are not smart enough to realize it is a big scam. They are probably so stupid they think it is some kind of worthy cause.

Don’t be a doormat and allow this kind of activity. Next time just stand up and knock whatever they were selling to the floor. The nerve of these people.