They should be begging the customers for a drink, not the customer begging them.
Just a pleasant greeting such as "how can I help you" would get a response from a customer but to be completely ignored will not get them any tips.
Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
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Gaybutton
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Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
I haven't had that happen to me, but in a way that might work in your favor. They've got you into the bar, but if whoever got you in goes away, now it's much easier to pick whichever boy you like most and have him come to sit with you. But if I've bought him a drink, and then he disappears, no tip.windwalker wrote:but to be completely ignored will not get them any tips.
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Up2u
Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
I go to the Jomtien complex bars to socialize with friends not to sit with boys. The waiters come by periodically and check for refills. If you are single and want company simply ask a boy to sit with you and buy him a drink. The concept is quite simple, the boys call out to you as you walk down the soi and invite you to their bar. The next step, if any, is up 2 you.
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windwalker
Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
Sounds great but not the way it works. Once they get you in they hide away out of eye contact. Sure I could get up and walk over to one and beg him to sit with me but not my style. Maybe because I was with some other farang they considered me an untouchable? Nonetheless did find one bar where I was welcomed with open arms and hands.
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Rogie
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Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
That's ridiculous! What are they doing in their hidey-holes? Are some of them on their phones 'secretly' making dates with a falung to go to his hotel/guest house/condo for a (hopefully) lucrative assignation after he finishes at the bar, or for whenever he's free? Does not the bar manager have some responsibility for ensuring his customers are not being ignored?windwalker wrote: Once they get you in they hide away out of eye contact.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
A couple of comments:
1. I've never had to "beg" a boy to sit with me. Sitting with me is what most want to do. They get their drink, their tip, and potentially an off. I don't walk over to a boy at all. I just signal him, or if he isn't looking my direction, I tell a waiter to bring him over.
2. Rogie's question about a bar manager having some responsibility - the answer is yes they do. The problem is bar managers actually living up to their responsibility. I also think part of the problem might be that these days many of the bar boys are not actual employees of the bar at all. They're freelancers. They show up at the bar whenever they want to, leave whenever they want to, and the bars are grateful to have them. The more boys, the more chances of better customer numbers, selling more drinks, and collecting more of fees.
In any case, the worst that's happened to me at the bars is getting anyone's attention when they're all glued to their mobile phones. And Rogie may be absolutely right about what they're doing with those phones. If you get a look over their shoulders, don't be surprised if they're all on Gay Romeo.
1. I've never had to "beg" a boy to sit with me. Sitting with me is what most want to do. They get their drink, their tip, and potentially an off. I don't walk over to a boy at all. I just signal him, or if he isn't looking my direction, I tell a waiter to bring him over.
2. Rogie's question about a bar manager having some responsibility - the answer is yes they do. The problem is bar managers actually living up to their responsibility. I also think part of the problem might be that these days many of the bar boys are not actual employees of the bar at all. They're freelancers. They show up at the bar whenever they want to, leave whenever they want to, and the bars are grateful to have them. The more boys, the more chances of better customer numbers, selling more drinks, and collecting more of fees.
In any case, the worst that's happened to me at the bars is getting anyone's attention when they're all glued to their mobile phones. And Rogie may be absolutely right about what they're doing with those phones. If you get a look over their shoulders, don't be surprised if they're all on Gay Romeo.
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Doug
Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
How do you know if a boy is a freelancer? If he's at a particular bar, is he considered a part-time employee? Is he compensated by the bar if a customer buys him a drink? Can the bar charge an off fee if you take the boys away for the evening?
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Undaunted
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Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
If he is a "freelancer" or not, the bar wants their off fee. If he screws the bar he won't be welcome back so it really should be of little concern to anyone that wants to off him. These guys come and go where it is most lucrative and as mentioned before they want the freedom to not only look for a punter in a bar but also often check the gay online sites......the more lines you have in the water the better your chance of landing a fish.Doug wrote:How do you know if a boy is a freelancer? If he's at a particular bar, is he considered a part-time employee? Is he compensated by the bar if a customer buys him a drink? Can the bar charge an off fee if you take the boys away for the evening?
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Gaybutton
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Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
I agree with Undaunted's post above.
To answer Doug's question about how do you know if a boy is a freelancer, there are several ways. If you see him at the bar periodically rather than every night, chances are he's a freelancer, not an employee. If you see a boy in a bar one night and in another bar the next night, chances are he's a freelancer. Ask him where his room is. If it's upstairs in the bar, then he's probably a regular employee rather than a freelancer.
Another way is to just ask him. Most of the time they'll tell you - at least they tell me. I've been in some bars where nearly every boy there is a freelancer.
Regarding off fees, yes. If you take him off, then there's still the off fee whether he's a freelancer or not. Many bars pay the freelancers nightly. It's not much - usually 100 baht. But the bar pays him, so that legitimizes charging an off fee. Also, if the bar didn't charge an off fee for a freelancer, whether they pay him or not, then the bar would lose money because you didn't take one of their actual employees off. In my opinion the bar charging an off fee for freelancers is justifiable.
I've even seen instances when a freelancer regards being taken off as secondary to why he's in the bar in the first place. Some have a day job, but nothing much to do at night. They'll go to the bar mainly just to hang out with his friends. He's not necessarily looking to be taken off, but if a customer comes along and wants to take him off, he's probably quite willing to go.
Freelancer or not, the boy does get a fee from the bar if you buy him a drink. Most of the time it's a whopping 20 baht per "drink for boy." In many bars you might notice that when you buy the boy a drink, he is given a small slip of paper. At the end of the night the boy turns in as many of those slips as he's collected and gets 20 baht for each.
To answer Doug's question about how do you know if a boy is a freelancer, there are several ways. If you see him at the bar periodically rather than every night, chances are he's a freelancer, not an employee. If you see a boy in a bar one night and in another bar the next night, chances are he's a freelancer. Ask him where his room is. If it's upstairs in the bar, then he's probably a regular employee rather than a freelancer.
Another way is to just ask him. Most of the time they'll tell you - at least they tell me. I've been in some bars where nearly every boy there is a freelancer.
Regarding off fees, yes. If you take him off, then there's still the off fee whether he's a freelancer or not. Many bars pay the freelancers nightly. It's not much - usually 100 baht. But the bar pays him, so that legitimizes charging an off fee. Also, if the bar didn't charge an off fee for a freelancer, whether they pay him or not, then the bar would lose money because you didn't take one of their actual employees off. In my opinion the bar charging an off fee for freelancers is justifiable.
I've even seen instances when a freelancer regards being taken off as secondary to why he's in the bar in the first place. Some have a day job, but nothing much to do at night. They'll go to the bar mainly just to hang out with his friends. He's not necessarily looking to be taken off, but if a customer comes along and wants to take him off, he's probably quite willing to go.
Freelancer or not, the boy does get a fee from the bar if you buy him a drink. Most of the time it's a whopping 20 baht per "drink for boy." In many bars you might notice that when you buy the boy a drink, he is given a small slip of paper. At the end of the night the boy turns in as many of those slips as he's collected and gets 20 baht for each.
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Jun
Re: Jomtien Complex is Gay Pattaya (if only by default)
This host bar concept might be fine if you're living in Thailand all year. For maximising fun on a 2~4 week trip, I prefer the certainty of gogo bars.Gaybutton wrote:I've even seen instances when a freelancer regards being taken off as secondary to why he's in the bar in the first place. Some have a day job, but nothing much to do at night. They'll go to the bar mainly just to hang out with his friends. He's not necessarily looking to be taken off, but if a customer comes along and wants to take him off, he's probably quite willing to go.
There almost all the staff want an off, they are lined up in their underwear and since they are facing you, the level of eye contact is a good indication of their level of interest.
In host bars the host might spot you approaching, lure you in & then go straight back to drinking whiskey with his mates & a customer on another table.
As for freelancers, presumably they just show up at the bar when they feel like it ?