Change Coming Back In Single Baht Coins

[bkkmadness]

There's something that really annoys me, and yesterday it happened again.

I was sitting down the Black Swan with a mate, few bitters, bit of food, a lazy afternoon, bill comes, we pay up and are as usual when it comes back we're going to leave the customary 10-20 baht tip.

But it happaned again, open the little black book, and all notes apart from the last ten baht which is all in single 1 baht coins.

This just pisses me off, the service wasn't that great anyway but ok, and I'm alright to leave a tip because lets face it, 10-20 baht isn't much to us, but it adds up to a nice extra sum for the staff in these bars.

But when they purposely leave ten one baht coins to inconvenience me, to try to force me into making tip then that average service has just turned into bad service and I collect all the coins up and leave them nothing.

As far as I can recall this tends to happen more at farang places than Thai places, which just niggles me even more because its just another example of the substandard service that farang often get because its assumed we don't know any better.

I know that most people leave the coins, and this is of course why they do it, but it can't just be me that gets pissed off by this, can it?

Edited August 10, 2006 by bkkmadness

[raybkk]

There's something that really annoys me, and yesterday it happened again.

I was sitting down the Black Swan with a mate, few bitters, bit of food, a lazy afternoon, bill comes, we pay up and are as usual when it comes back we're going to leave the customary 10-20 baht tip.

But it happaned again, open the little black book, and all notes apart from the last ten baht which is all in single 1 baht coins.

This just pisses me off, the service wasn't that great anyway but ok, and I'm alright to leave a tip because lets face it, 10-20 baht isn't much to us, but it adds up to a nice extra sum for the staff in these bars.

But when they purposely leave ten one baht coins to inconvenience me, to try to force me into making tip then that average service has just turned into bad service and I collect all the coins up and leave them nothing.

As far as I can recall this tends to happen more at farang places than Thai places, which just niggles me even more because its just another example of the substandard service that farang often get because its assumed we don't know any better.

I know that most people leave the coins, and this is of course why they do it, but it can't just be me that gets pissed off by this, can it?

It gets worse! Some bars on Silom will give you coins as change wrapped in Scott Tape! Not that I mind leaving the usual Tip.... but this behaviour just suits the cashier and the actuall Bosses are not aware of it!

Not joking! 60 Baht change comes back in scott tape wrapped coins! If it would have been normal notes I would leave it with them. But NO! Not like that... So I proudly stash them in my Pocket.

Time for me to pay the bill in Coins!

[Lacoste]

I know that most people leave the coins, and this is of course why they do it, but it can't just be me that gets pissed off by this, can it?

No mate it's not just you, If they try to pull yhis type of trick i never leave them a thing.

Your dead right mate, respect

[bkkmadness]

Well thank god for that, I thought it was just me! So whats your techniques here lads? Sometimes I take all the single coins, and sometimes I tell them to go back to the cashier and get me my change in the proper demonination before taking it.

I kind of hope the latter method teaches them some kind of lesson and maybe some bright spark will work it out, but I'm pretty sure they just wander off to the other cashiers and call me a cheap bastard farang instead.

I was in two minds yesterday really, I did pick up the coins at first, then put them back down again thinking about this, but I knew it'd just annoy me later if I left them so I gathered them up, mumbling to my mate about starting a thread on TV about this to get the peoples opinion.

[backflip]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

[monsieurhappy]

If the service was OK what are you complaining about? If not, pick up 9 of the coins and just leave the 1 to show them how pissed off you felt!

[Dumbski]

If the service was OK what are you complaining about? If not, pick up 9 of the coins and just leave the 1 to show them how pissed off you felt!

good idea, and I did it once.

[Ulysses G.]

One baht coins are a lot better than satang coins!

[steveromagnino]

One baht coins are a lot better than satang coins!

Actually, leaving a one baht tip, or satung I guess would be viewed as a deliberate insult. This may be what you want to do.

Since the person serving you is not the cashier, then punishing them may not serve the purpose you wish to acheieve.

Therefore...good option to make a snide comment, slip the waiter/waitress a tip into their hand directly and leave 1b for the cashier, and explain to the waiter/waitress why.

Not leaving a tip at all is a bit unfair for the waiter/waitress who is punished for the cashier's scheme (and often the tips given directly are for that person; tips left on the tray are shared with the cashier/all staff).

Realistically, as long as foreigners keep tipping the way they do, then the practice will continue; you don't see this in the Thai places so much because Thai people are less likely to put up with it and are more likely to be repeat customers.

Tipping culture comes from the abroad, and ranks right up there with McDs, Starbucks and TV shows like Full House as a cancer.

[jdinasia]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

cheap whingers will always find a reason not to tip

[guardian]

One baht coins are a lot better than satang coins!

Not leaving a tip at all is a bit unfair for the waiter/waitress who is punished for the cashier's scheme (and often the tips given directly are for that person; tips left on the tray are shared with the cashier/all staff).

Who knows? Probably both the cashier and the waiter/waitress are working hand in hand with this scheme to milk out the tips? Just my 2cents.

Guardian

[p_brownstone]

Maybe they thought you looked cheap and were expecting a 5 Baht tip, so if they gave you a 10 Baht coin you would leave nothing?

Patrick

[moonoi]

At least you got your change in 1 baht coins.....I've been in 2 places that didn't give me my change........I had to go and ask for it...they just assumed that because it was around 30 baht I didn't want it.....cheeky buggers. Both times it was a 2 differant Black Canyon restaurants..the one in MBK and the other at Central World.

I'm happy to leave a tip....but I will decide how much it is and if I want all my change or not.

EDIT: Sorry wanted to add that those times I was on my own. When I've been to those places with my gf then theres no problem.

Edited August 11, 2006 by moonoi

[Ijustwannateach]

I feel sorry for most of the servers. They make so little, and work such long hours. I find it hard to hold these little schemes against them. I tip as usual anyway, assuming service was acceptable. If I have too many 1B in my pocket, I use them for motorcycle fares or try to give exact change or something like that.

"Steven"

[Heng]

Much a whinge about nothing. If you're not happy with the change, just tell them to bring it back as 20's, 50's, 100's, whatever. They serve. It's part of the service. If you're in a hurry, just drop by the register on the way out.

That said, if the service person deserves a tip, I'll give it to them, whatever the change comes back as.

[meemiathai]

This is normal pratice with almost every frickin place I go to! What is all this fuss about?

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

Exactly!

Lucky that I'm not in the service industry. It really sucks.

[Noel]

This practice sometimes irritates me too, particularly if my change includes twenty one baht coins and/or more than four twenty baht notes.

In a bar where all the drink prices end in a five or a zero, I would be interested to hear the owner’s explanation as to why they use one baht coins in the first place...

[Chang_paarp]

Funny when I worked in that industry I used to train wait staff to do just that.

They would give the minnimum nuber of coins and notes. I explained that if they used a few more coins their tips would increase. When they tried it the tips went up.

The practice of giving 10 or 20 coins is a little over the top though. 5x1 (or 1x1 & 2x2), 1x5, 1x10 will give some better results especially from us stingy Aussies.

[bkkmadness]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

By giving change back to you like that they are deliberately trying to inconvenience the customer, why should I tip someone who is trying to inconvenience me for their own benefit?

[bkkmadness]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

cheap whingers will always find a reason not to tip

I of course knew someone would come out with the 'being cheap' comment, I would say I'm a bit surprised its you jdinasia but then I do remember once making a harmless comment about how I prefered Bangkoks old nightlife and you reasoned that was because I couldn't afford to get a taxi to the late night places.

So lets forget the financial apects of whether bkkmadness can afford to leave a 10 baht tip and think about the principle.

You are deliberately given a bad service just so they can make some more money. This practice happens at mainly tourist venues because they can obviously get away with bad service at these places because the average foreigner doesn't know much better (as you don't seem to).

On one hand I'm annoyed to be given poor service, on another hand I'm annoyed that that the poor service is given because I'm not Thai and sub standard service is expected to be overlooked by foreigners (as you do).

I expect you also tip when people start putting out their hand and start screaming "Tip! Tip!" at you.

[steveromagnino]

I expect you also tip when people start putting out their hand and start screaming "Tip! Tip!" at you.

Funny story that.

My Thai nickname sounds almost exactly like that, so therefore, I always thought it was just that a lot of people knew me and wanted to say hello?

Just like my friend Udomsuk, when he is down around the Onnut area, he claims all the taxi drivers and Songtaew drivers know him, and like to call out to him all the time 'Udomsuk, udomsuk!'

Sometimes I just feel that Thailand is simply like Cheers, it is the town where everyone knows your name.

[libya 115]

After settling bills in restaurants or bars in Thailand, I always tip 5%-8% of the total bill, always keep the coins and leave 20-100 baht in notes.

Tips are part of salary here in Thailand, plus if you are a generous tipper, you will be remembered, receive better service and be 'jai-dee' in the eyes of those who serve you.

For those of you who don't tip: then you have your reasons; maybe you are a back-packer on a fixed budget, maybe just naturally mean, maybe you think that 'they are getting one over on you'; maybe you fault the sevice in some way and justify your refusal of tipping.

However; the coins in the change is not exclusive to the L.O.S. that is why it is better to rise above it and leave a proper (paper) tip and keep the coins for songthaew.

[jdinasia]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

cheap whingers will always find a reason not to tip

I of course knew someone would come out with the 'being cheap' comment, I would say I'm a bit surprised its you jdinasia but then I do remember once making a harmless comment about how I prefered Bangkoks old nightlife and you reasoned that was because I couldn't afford to get a taxi to the late night places.

So lets forget the financial apects of whether bkkmadness can afford to leave a 10 baht tip and think about the principle.

You are deliberately given a bad service just so they can make some more money. This practice happens at mainly tourist venues because they can obviously get away with bad service at these places because the average foreigner doesn't know much better (as you don't seem to).

On one hand I'm annoyed to be given poor service, on another hand I'm annoyed that that the poor service is given because I'm not Thai and sub standard service is expected to be overlooked by foreigners (as you do).

I expect you also tip when people start putting out their hand and start screaming "Tip! Tip!" at you.

This just pisses me off, the service wasn't that great anyway but ok, and I'm alright to leave a tip because lets face it, 10-20 baht isn't much to us, but it adds up to a nice extra sum for the staff in these bars.

But when they purposely leave ten one baht coins to inconvenience me, to try to force me into making tip then that average service has just turned into bad service and I collect all the coins up and leave them nothing.

You said the service was OK ---- then got cheap ---- you were going to leave 10-20 baht ---- then got cheap ....

How you are given change ALWAYS makes sense. Many people would think of it as a service to enable you to tip more easily in any amount YOU CHOOSE ... 1 baht or 9 baht ... ... or if you are cheap .... 0

Granted it would have been nicer for them to give you a 5 baht coin and 2 2baht coins and 1 1 baht coin ..... but ...

Then again ... they might have been out of 10 baht coins .... but you didn't ask .... you got cheap!

[bkkmadness]

I'm not sure that I understand your reasoning. You are prepared to leave a tip but, if you get coins as your change, all of a sudden you complain about the service and refuse to leave a tip.

cheap whingers will always find a reason not to tip

I of course knew someone would come out with the 'being cheap' comment, I would say I'm a bit surprised its you jdinasia but then I do remember once making a harmless comment about how I prefered Bangkoks old nightlife and you reasoned that was because I couldn't afford to get a taxi to the late night places.

So lets forget the financial apects of whether bkkmadness can afford to leave a 10 baht tip and think about the principle.

You are deliberately given a bad service just so they can make some more money. This practice happens at mainly tourist venues because they can obviously get away with bad service at these places because the average foreigner doesn't know much better (as you don't seem to).

On one hand I'm annoyed to be given poor service, on another hand I'm annoyed that that the poor service is given because I'm not Thai and sub standard service is expected to be overlooked by foreigners (as you do).

I expect you also tip when people start putting out their hand and start screaming "Tip! Tip!" at you.

This just pisses me off, the service wasn't that great anyway but ok, and I'm alright to leave a tip because lets face it, 10-20 baht isn't much to us, but it adds up to a nice extra sum for the staff in these bars.

But when they purposely leave ten one baht coins to inconvenience me, to try to force me into making tip then that average service has just turned into bad service and I collect all the coins up and leave them nothing.

You said the service was OK ---- then got cheap ---- you were going to leave 10-20 baht ---- then got cheap ....

How you are given change ALWAYS makes sense. Many people would think of it as a service to enable you to tip more easily in any amount YOU CHOOSE ... 1 baht or 9 baht ... ... or if you are cheap .... 0

Granted it would have been nicer for them to give you a 5 baht coin and 2 2baht coins and 1 1 baht coin ..... but ...

Then again ... they might have been out of 10 baht coins .... but you didn't ask .... you got cheap!

You dont seem to understand what I am saying jdinasia, or are just calling me cheap for your own personal satisfaction which I'm guessing is the case.

To be honest I would have much rather left a 10 baht coin there than felt compelled to pick up ten single baht coins. I felt compelled to do this because I understand the difference between good and bad service in Thailand and I'm not happy to accept bad service.

[HarryHacker]

I understand BKK's point, there is a hidden agenda when the change comes that way and that is what is irritating. Another pisser is when you are 4 or 5 10 baht coins in the change where they hope for a 40 baht tip rather than a 20baht tip.

....but I guess there are worse things to worry about.

[jbowman1993]

Doesn't bother me a bit, but then again, when I moved to LOS, I was finally able to relax and not worry about the small stuff. Felt nice to get that stick out of there...

[bkkmadness]

Tips are part of salary here in Thailand, plus if you are a generous tipper, you will be remembered, receive better service and be 'jai-dee' in the eyes of those who serve you.

For those of you who don't tip: then you have your reasons; maybe you are a back-packer on a fixed budget, maybe just naturally mean, maybe you think that 'they are getting one over on you'; maybe you fault the sevice in some way and justify your refusal of tipping.

I do tip in bars, restaurants, taxis and whattever else all the time, but only for good service. Its not hard to give a consitent good service, and when I receive it I am happy to pay a tip.

The single baht coins practice most often happens at tourist venues where foreigners are not expected to know any better.

[Simmo]

Umm .. now I feel ashamed to admit this but I regularly collect all my 1 baht coins around the apartment and wrap them in sticky tape and sort them into 10 baht piles. Usually I'll scavenge around 150 baht doing this every few months. Then I use them to pay for street stand meals and buses who never seem to mind the change.

They don't seem to mind though I've had some chuckles and laughs at me when I've tried it with 50 & 25 satang piles

[jdinasia]

OUCH !! My hands hurt from having to pick up 1 baht coins!!!!! .....

You are right Madness I do NOT understand you ..you said the service was 'ok' ... you were given correct change .. and you chose to get upset and stiffed the service staff because you had 10 one baht coins.

The denominations of the coins or currency that comes back to me does not affect how much i tip ... ever! If the service was "OK" I tip ... if the service was exceptional .. i tip BIG!

[bendix]

I have to say i can't understand where the problem is.

If anything, it works against the staff. If i go out and the bill is, say, 240 baht and the change comes back including 10 one baht coins, they are almost asking me to leave a ten baht tip. Fair enough. If the service hasnt been that great, that's what I'll do cos I dont want that junk cluttering up my pocket.

If the service is deserving, I'll add another one or two twenty baht note to the tip.

We tink too mutt.