Firstly, I agree that a farang who has spent money on a flight and is spending several thousand baht per day on his holiday should not be offering 500 baht for a short time off with full service. [It is, however a perfectly normal tip for adding a HJ to a massage that you have already paid for]
However, I wouldn't want to overdo the sympathy.
The boys who are nicely groomed and make sure they deliver a good service seem to be doing fine. Even to the extent where the most successful FLY home every few weeks. So it's possible.
Incidentally, the ones doing well also seem to ask questions and even act upon advice received.
From what I see, reasons why they have financial problems include:
(i) Wasting money. Examples include partying, drugs, tattoos, and in some cases, high end phones (which get broken). To be fair, it is only a minority who seem to have the $1000 phones, but I have seen it.
(ii) Providing below average service, so they get a 1000 baht minimum tip ONCE per client and no repeat offs. These people typically contact me on the app several days latter, begging for another off. However, they blew their chance first time.
So I would suggest the working lads need to show some initiative and either make a success of their chosen career, or take advantage of near full employment in Thailand and get another job. They are young, male & need to take responsibility for their lives. They might not have the fine opportunities some of us had early in life, but there are still people worse off than them & they need to make the most of what is available to them.
Incidentally, I wonder how many would get more off's if they took just a little bit of care with their appearance. Shave, DON'T waste money on tattoos and keep in good shape.
So instead of the sympathy, I draw the line at tipping fairly, treating them well and for the minority who even ask questions, I try to give them the best possible answers and advice.
