Cheaper Getting A Thai To Do It?

[tk47]

Curious.....

When ordering food, drinks or whatever, is it cheaper to let your Thai companion do the ordering than us Farangs?

[Upcountry]

Certainly safer....

[Thaddeus]

Certainly safer....

And faster (or not )

[the swagman]

in a word, NO.

[lannarebirth]

I wouldn't say it's cheaper, as when the gf orders ALOT of food shows up. BUT, it is more adventurous. Most of the Thai dishes I've come to love, I might never have ordered off the menu if my girlfriend hadn't said "this is delicious, you HAVE TO try it".

[astral]

It is always good to let a Thai check the bill at the end, before you pay!

[h90]

It is always good to let a Thai check the bill at the end, before you pay!

thats true had a former staff who liked to do that and he always found something we never had.

[Upcountry]

Thai or not, if the wrong thing is served and you send it back you still pay.

[Neeranam]

Thai or not, if the wrong thing is served and you send it back you still pay.

No I don't.

It is always good to let a Thai check the bill at the end, before you pay!

I prefer to check it myself.

[IMA_FARANG]

Thai or not, if the wrong thing is served and you send it back you still pay.

When I'm out with my Thai G/F and family she is the official "food orderer" and explains to the waiter how we/I like the food cooked. (She has an ulcer, and doesn't like very spicey food. Imagine how that goes over with the staff, the Thai doesn't like the food hot, and the Farang does.) My son is the official bill checker since my G/F eyes are not as good as they used to be. And what restaurant do you go to that charges for food you send back? My G/F wouldn't accept that unless it was her error. I've had to return mistaken orders (their mistake), and never had to pay for them.

[BKK90210]

Well I always eat where the thais eat and quite enjoy ordering my own foods actually. I have found that those hardworking-lower tier sellers are more down to earth, more honest, and friendlier than those in some posh restaurants. It’s also more adventurous, delicious & I don’t have to pay a penny more than the thais.....AND I'm still alive to tell the story!

Edited September 28, 2006 by BKK90210

[Beavis and Butthead]

I have found it doesn't matter who orders. If an unscrupulous Thai is going to rip off the farang, he will do so regardless who orders and in some cases the Thai partner will do nothing about it

[OneeyedJohn]

I always feel slightly embarrassed when my wife finds an error

on the bill, ( 9 times out of 10 ) can't blame them trying tho if they think

the farang is too pissed to know

How can u check the bill if u don't read Thai ??

[h90]

Thai or not, if the wrong thing is served and you send it back you still pay.

definitlly not....

[Neeranam]

If an unscrupulous Thai is going to rip off the farang, he will do so regardless who orders and in some cases the Thai partner will do nothing about it

because they're doing exactly the same

[kiakaha]

Curious.....

When ordering food, drinks or whatever, is it cheaper to let your Thai companion do the ordering than us Farangs?

where are we dining ?? Street vendor or Celadon at The Sukhothai Hotel?

[Noel]

Thai or not, if the wrong thing is served and you send it back you still pay.

If you are serious, you need to grow a spine...

[meadish_sweetball]

Well, some places do practice two-tiered, three-tiered or four-tiered pricing (not as many as some people like to think though), so when I want to buy something I will usually let my wife check it out first and establish a price as well as ask whether a discount is possible. That way we have a good bargaining position afterwards.

In restaurants when sitting at the same table, we order interchangeably. We always ask for the Thai language menu if we are given an English one.

She checks the bill, and she is adamant not to let any mistakes slip. The service people lie on the floor whimpering and quivering for mercy when she is finished with them... I usually have to drag her away while she is still chewing froth.

[judge thread]

to get the local price for most things it must be ordered/asked for with you nowhere to be seen. Send in the local/wife/gf and after ordering/payment appear and see how gutted the somchai looks. very effective in buying larger items!

[samran]

I'm a really nice guy, who, when I go to a restuarant in Thailand turn in a rude prat to the waiters. This is partly because I have numerous Thai family who have trained me, and partly because, if you let them know who is boss they won't dare cross you.

Now, I think I am not bad at putting on the this facade. But my mother and one of my uncles, are excellent at it.

To be fair though, I don't think many are out there to rip you off. It is more to do with getting good service, as well as what you ordered.

[Upcountry]

If you are serious, you need to grow a spine...

<deleted>. - quoting from another one of your lame comments from another thread.

You need to grow a thinking head instead of a beer head.

I think Bangkok and places where there are lots of farang are different from more provincial places. I've wanted to object to this, but my wife who speaks more Thai, has told me that once something is opened or prepared there is usually no point in demanding that it be taken off the bill.

If it can politely be suggested that the food was brought to the wrong table, fine, but if you plan to order more food from them and maybe return another time it's not a good idea to give these provincial folks a hard time. This may be more about face (for both parties) and the consequences of creating loss of face, than anything else. Plus, given the Thai tendency to get back at someone quietly behind their back (while smiling to their face), maybe we don't know what they'll do to your food in the kitchen!

So it's more about picking your fights and understanding the cultural nuances than just being a victim. I do hate it though. Debating the bill is another story, however, as mistakes are often made there, and it is understood that the customer can politely ask for corrections.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Upcountry

[the swagman]

to get the local price for most things it must be ordered/asked for with you nowhere to be seen. Send in the local/wife/gf and after ordering/payment appear and see how gutted the somchai looks. very effective in buying larger items!

What 'larger' items are you buying prey tell?

Restaurants, on the whole are pretty kosher when it comes to settling the bill.

Always get the gf to check as well.

In my case, I suggest, the wife and child suggest, we all order something and then she checks, I pay.

It works well.

[Neeranam]

I think Bangkok and places where there are lots of farang are different from more provincial places. I've wanted to object to this, but my wife who speaks more Thai, has told me that once something is opened or prepared there is usually no point in demanding that it be taken off the bill.

If it's something you like the look of, why not say to put it in a bag and you'll take it home with you.

[Lacoste]

If an unscrupulous Thai is going to rip off the farang, he will do so regardless who orders and in some cases the Thai partner will do nothing about it

because they're doing exactly the same

Someone will be on shortly claiming the waiter is probably her Thai husband

[Patex]

Streetvendors? Never any probems - Restaurants with a menue card, keep the same card at your table ALL the time; if the waiter is asking for the card to hand it out to other customers REFUSE! or you may have to "check bin" with a more expensive "Edition" ... Menue without prices?? Leave!

Wrong dishes? You are not going to pay for it, aren't you ? The right dish but the "fish" is "dead too long"? You are not paying for poision you, aren't you ?

[Maizefarmer]

That may well be the case in tourist areas - I dont beleive its a problem in rural areas - where you will find the local folk a very diffferent type of animal - they not out to "hussle & hassle" farangs, and on balance you are going to charged the same as a Thai would be charged - and you are less likely to be patronised in the process!

Tim

Edited September 29, 2006 by Maizefarmer

[Lacoste]

If you are serious, you need to grow a spine...

<deleted>. - quoting from another one of your lame comments from another thread.

You need to grow a thinking head instead of a beer head.

I think Bangkok and places where there are lots of farang are different from more provincial places. I've wanted to object to this, but my wife who speaks more Thai, has told me that once something is opened or prepared there is usually no point in demanding that it be taken off the bill.

If it can politely be suggested that the food was brought to the wrong table, fine, but if you plan to order more food from them and maybe return another time it's not a good idea to give these provincial folks a hard time. This may be more about face (for both parties) and the consequences of creating loss of face, than anything else. Plus, given the Thai tendency to get back at someone quietly behind their back (while smiling to their face), maybe we don't know what they'll do to your food in the kitchen!

So it's more about picking your fights and understanding the cultural nuances than just being a victim. I do hate it though. Debating the bill is another story, however, as mistakes are often made there, and it is understood that the customer can politely ask for corrections.

Some good valid points there

[ohzonator]

hmmm. guess i'll add my 2 cents:

1) i memorized the Thai script in just a few short days -- don't believe anyone who moans about how impossible it is -- now i refuse to order off of an English lang. menu - but if i notice that there's two-tier pricing, i'll leave before ordering and explain why. only after a large meal (many people, many dishes - can't calculate approx. total in my head) i'll ask for a written receipt and i check it with Thai friend.

2) if i am over-charged, i tell them to correct the error with a big friendly smile and promptly look away, resume conversation with friends, etc. -- end of debate. bill not correct, don't pay a single baht. also, i never leave a tip if they attempt to over-charge, even in a fancy place where tipping is more expected than not.

one of my good buddies, "You can smell the money coming, but can you smell it walking out the door?"

[Nimzo]

yes,is important to check the bill before paying.i and my gf have this 150 baht++ lunch,and early on we do a mental calculation how much it will be when need to pay the bill.and when the bill come,it is extra 100 baht .and my gf ask them why so much,and calculate for the waiters.and as usual they show a 'Oh,a mistake'.....######...

[petedk]

I don't think the girlfriend will get food cheaper than I do but I have noticed another way of getting money out of farangs.

Often the waiters in the restaurants will talk quietly to the girl and press some of the most expensive dishes on her. They never tell her the price but just say that it's delicious, not expensive and one of the most popular dishes. An example of this was the other day when she "ordered" a shrimp dish thinking it was some kind of fried rice with shrimps. It turned out to be river prawns costing 450 baht a portion. They also tend to ask if we want a "large" portion. (obviously costs more). My girlfriend used to fall for some of the tricks but is now getting more wary. (Either that or she is fed up with me getting angry when she doesn't eat it all).