Customers refuse to pay, what to do?

[Paangjang]

So i was in my friends bar last night. It's a bit of a backpacker sort of bar. There were these 2 young English girls in there drinking nothing but cocktails the whole evening. They treated the bar lady to 1 also. The cocktails they were drinking ranged from ฿99 to ฿149. Note that the drink they baught the bar lady was sold at the standard price, its not a girlie bar.

Anyway, 2am rolled round and the girls asked for one bill between them which they would share. It came to just under ฿1780. They said this was way too much and that they hadn't realised the price's were so high. My friend (the foreign owner) went though the bill with them and they all agreed the bill was correct and it hadn't been padded, that wasn't the issue.

These two 21 year olds were persistent they were not going to pay.

"I won't pay that, that's way too much, i don't."

They were asked how much they were willing to pay.

"I don't pay."

With this the idiot bar lady told them to <deleted> off. The worst thing to do. They both left. What A** holes these 2 were.

What could we of done, call the BIB? Great idea, not... What would you of done? Bear in mind this is Thailand...

Cheers

[wym]

certainly threaten to call the plod

Take their clothes?

[chrisinth]

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

Edit: If your friends bar staff are not up to speed about what to do in this sort of situation, I think it is a good time to get them up to speed. Otherwise, he won't have the bar for much longer..............

C

Edited January 31, 2014 by chrisinth

[Tywais]

Photograph/video them and then inform them that the police are being called. Would suspect they would have second thoughts about non-payment.

//edit - of course if the owner doesn't have a WP then just feign calling.

[Paangjang]

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

C

Re read the OP, he wasn't serving. Why on earth do you think he deserved it? Weird, unkind reply...

[HooHaa]

i think he deserved it simply because he let it happen.

when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round

posting prices also helps, no way they can say they were unaware of the cost.

or, if they were fit he might of offered them an alternative way to pay the tax.

Edited January 31, 2014 by HooHaa

[negreanu]

Use some of the legendary Thainess. Shoot them.

Edited January 31, 2014 by negreanu

[FiftyTwo]

Stop the money from the Thai serving girls wages.

Her job to collect the money, she didn't do her job.

[Paangjang]

Stop the money from the Thai serving girls wages.

Her job to collect the money, she didn't do her job.

My advice to him also.

[tom21]

do what they do in a thai bar. get the motorsy drivers to kick shit out of them

[mikebike]

Call the BIB, split the bill with them and have them give the silly twits a fright. Owner covers expenses - freeloaders learn a lesson. Simps, no?

[Brevity]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

[FiftyTwo]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

backpacker types.

[pancakeman]

Stop the money from the Thai serving girls wages.

Her job to collect the money, she didn't do her job.

This.

All of a sudden the "clueless" staff will not be quite to clueless and certainly customers will end up paying (one way or another).

Edited January 31, 2014 by pancakeman

[JesseFrank]

I had a bar once, and at one time we had a similar situation with a German guy. Since negotiations didn't bring any result because he plain refused to pay, for some unknown reason the shutter went down.

When it opened again a German was seen leaving wearing his nickers only.

[zeichen]

If his paperwork is in order, IE working legally with the right business permits etc. then yes he should have called the police. I also think that collecting money each round would be a better system unless, it is a regular. Also if they had been drinking that many drinks 10-15, their brains might not have been in the right space. Collecting money while they are sober is probably better.

Next time have more Thai staff, have one follow anyone that rips you off to their hotel.

It is customary to deduct the wages from Thai staff that are actually responsible for any losses.

[FiftyTwo]

Wouldn't be surprised if 'clueless' arranged the whole thing in the first place.

Edited January 31, 2014 by FiftyTwo

[h90]

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

Edit: If your friends bar staff are not up to speed about what to do in this sort of situation, I think it is a good time to get them up to speed. Otherwise, he won't have the bar for much longer..............

C

Maybe the owner has no work permit.

[inzman]

Call the cops, press charges, they'll think twice next time.

[Berkshire]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

I agree that this is outrageous and no way I'd even consider reducing the bill. Would you do that for every customer that refused to pay? But not for the ones that dutifully pay? Regarding "what to do," I'd imagine pretty much every restaurant (especially one that serves alcohol) would have a contingency plan for this sort of thing. You would have to prevent them from leaving, try to get some sort of ID (license plates, etc.), and absolutely call the cops. This is clearly a criminal offense.

[steve down under]

Hmmm I reckon thats a cheap night out if they were drinking cocktails all night a total of just over AU$ 61 between 2 of them ,I think in any bar in Australia they might have been lucky to get maybe 2 drinks each for that !

My guess is they probably didnt have and money and decided to see just how much they could get away with !

[prestburypark]

Cheap drinks for cocktails, couple of scammers had your mate over...surely a procedure in place for this kinda thing?

I know hotel owners have to be on their toes about chargeback fraudsters, this must be common in bars? Looks like they weighed the place up as an easy target, sorry they were english.

[chrisinth]

Paangjang, on 31 Jan 2014 - 13:49, said:

chrisinth, on 31 Jan 2014 - 13:42, said:

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

C

Re read the OP, he wasn't serving. Why on earth do you think he deserved it? Weird, unkind reply...

If he wasn't serving then what is the problem?

He deserved it because he didn't control his staff and let the customers walk without paying, nothing unkind about it, just the truth. In almost 13 years running a bar here in Thailand this never happened, not once.

This is the edit to the above post (you may have answered before I edited):

Edit: If your friends bar staff are not up to speed about what to do in this sort of situation, I think it is a good time to get them up to speed. Otherwise, he won't have the bar for much longer..............

Believe me, that is a very kind reply.

Edited January 31, 2014 by chrisinth

[chrisinth]

h90, on 31 Jan 2014 - 15:09, said:

chrisinth, on 31 Jan 2014 - 13:42, said:

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

Edit: If your friends bar staff are not up to speed about what to do in this sort of situation, I think it is a good time to get them up to speed. Otherwise, he won't have the bar for much longer..............

C

Maybe the owner has no work permit.

It doesn't matter, the bar won't be in his name anyway. Get the staff to call the police and let them sort it out, all he has to do is step out while that is going on. The reason I suggested he gets his staff trained up so they know what to do. Every time I had an 'incident', that is what I used to do...............

The police will help with the disturbance if they are called, and depending where you are, there should be no kick-backs necessary. That was my experience anyway, with incidents including a farang with a gun and machete looking to kill one of the customers. They even got the ambulance for him. But that's another story.

There should be no reason for him to get involved (with the police anyway).

[Brevity]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

backpacker types.

Oh good

That makes a lot more sense, but I really didn't know who "that demographic" was.

[RandomSand]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

backpacker types.

Oh good

That makes a lot more sense, but I really didn't know who "that demographic" was.

Naive newbie tourists who have never drank on a tab.

[donniereadit]

I agree that this is outrageous and no way I'd even consider reducing the bill. Would you do that for every customer that refused to pay? But not for the ones that dutifully pay? Regarding "what to do," I'd imagine pretty much every restaurant (especially one that serves alcohol) would have a contingency plan for this sort of thing. You would have to prevent them from leaving, try to get some sort of ID (license plates, etc.), and absolutely call the cops. This is clearly a criminal offense.

Seems like the police may view it as a civil matter???

[MAJIC]

Why would you not call the police?

If your friend is stupid enough to be the only one there serving, then, unfortunately, he deserves it. If he has Thai staff, call the police and let them deal with it.

Edit: If your friends bar staff are not up to speed about what to do in this sort of situation, I think it is a good time to get them up to speed. Otherwise, he won't have the bar for much longer..............

C

Maybe the owner has no work permit.

You may be right there,I can't see a Bar owner being compromised in this outrageous manner,without there being a good reason,for allowing it to happen!

[MW72]

I can't believe that they wouldn't even agree to a reduced bill -- what azzholes!! That is just sleazy and dishonest.

I hope for their sake they don't try that in bar owned and run by Thais. I am pretty sure that within about 10 seconds after leaving the bar, they would be beaten bloody and the bill plus a generous tip removed from their purses.

BTW, I am curious about this: "when you are dealing with that demographic it is a good idea to make them pony up every time the bill hits a grand, if not every round" posted by Hoohaa. Which demographic is "that demographic"? -- girls, English people, or English girls?

backpacker types.

Oh good

That makes a lot more sense, but I really didn't know who "that demographic" was.

Naive newbie tourists who have never drank on a tab.

Most bars in UK are pay as you go. I have a habit of paying my tab every few drinks so I don't get a shock at the end of the night, especially if I've had a skin full.

Sent from my KFTT using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[barmatt]

No doubt these two slags will be boasting of their exploits to their mates and other backpackers on how to get free drinks all night.

May I suggest your mate introduce a cap of 500 or 1000 baht on drink bins and once reached the bin is settled and a fresh bin is started that way he will reduce his loses in the future.