Olddaddy

Like others have advised, you should be tipping them for the opportunity even if they are agreeable to being groped. 
I would also wonder if, these being karaoke type bars rather than gogo bars, there is more resistance to being seen by their mates as the one being groped. Many of them may be straight, and even in such environments, have all sorts of macho hang-ups.
Perhaps the best thing to do is to off the chosen guy anyway and then in the comfort and privacy of your room satisfy your hands. Nothing says that offing must necessarily lead to full blown sex. Naturally, the boy should be compensated with a rate similar to any other off. 
 
 

If you look at  falang visitors as a whole, there is a distinction; many of those who are in BKK at a particular time are there for  a short period...BKK+ CNX + beach, or variations thereof. Not so many BBK tourists stay for a week or more though I know some do . In Pattaya, on the other hand (or Phuket, for example), the beach location results in tourists staying longer. Not many will travel to Pattaya for just three or so days.
There are also business men in BKK who are there for a couple or so nights only and may enjoy a bar or two. Soi Thaniya?
This means that the guys on the scene in BKK and Pattaya may have different expectations, or even hopes and aspirations. In Pattaya, a successful interaction may lead to two weeks of paid employment while a BBK mb will  be less likely to expect a repeat performance.
On balance, I suspect that the Pattaya guy is likely to provide the better service. However, I've read of many falangs who have different experiences. I'm talking in generalities, of course.
Another issue may be that the Pattaya guys often live close together and may even have arrived together as a childhood friends. I'm no expert on the bar-scene of today but my distinct recollection is that the Pattaya bars were more fun, with more inter-dancer interaction, teasing and joking  and so on, compared to BKK, where the guys were more likely to be workmates...not "mates." Sometimes they may live miles away from anyone else in that bar.
Just a recollection, mind you.. 

Scene no but THE LOOK quite possibly yes. After off , particularly more than once,  boy may consider you as customer who owes him off every time he enters his bar. If he moves bars and you happen to be in his new place , same,  same.
While rarely it will lead to anything nasty  you may see him planting beside you uninvited, ordering drink before you were even consulted , in short acting like next off is sure thing in cards so we need to thread carefully not to inject any sense of loyalty unless we wish to. I found that playing diplomatic games won't work but blunt approach 'I will not off you tonight",  " I came today to off XXX " , "I'm not offing anybody " works the best 

Viet boys, both freelancers and bar boys, for whatever reasons, appear to stick strictly to Bangkok. In my 20 years of frequenting both Bangkok and Pattaya, I met just one Viet MB in Cupidol.

Me: Been to BKK, Going to Pattaya 1st time this week.
When I look at the bars in Pattaya and what they put on social media, I just don't get the same excitement as seeing the posts from Moonlight and Jupiter. Eye candy in the planning process is a major selling point. I will say that Dragon Man Club is the exception, and this might be the place that will bring me back time and time again to Pattaya.
However, that's not to say there aren't stunners in Pattaya. It could just be that bars in BKK have to be more adept at social media due to higher rent and overhead. 
As you mentioned, though, Pattaya does seem to be more friendly, and I think that might have a powerful effect on me. Being a vers man myself, I imagine that the twink empire of Pattaya will just put me more in the mood to express my top side, whereas Bangkok is where the bottom loves to come out. I do know there are plenty of twinks who top, though, so please excuse the generalization. 
As I'm in my 30s and am a white foreigner living in a SE Asia country that's not Singapore (the rules are a bit different there), I'll be honest that it's VERY easy to find free hook-ups with twinks, so that's another benefit of Bangkok. (Clarity: I might not love the idea of paying to off twinks when I can just as easily have fun free encounters with local guys who are just as handsome and speak English.) 

Bangkok has a bit of everything all the time. I find muscle boys and twinks in Bangkok but I also found them in Pattaya. For me the main difference is in Pattaya I know the app guys are looking for money, but in Bangkok, it is hit or miss. However, there are still many more guys in Bangkok than Pattaya.
 

I prefer the Pattaya / Jomtien closeness to the seaside - fresh air, and breeze.
The bigness and noisiness of Bangkok stresses me - therefore making the offing guy experience less fun.
So, for longer periods of time I prefer to stay in Jomtien / Pattaya.
For more intense action packed fun for a shorter period of time - then I prefer Bangkok.
For meeting the guys - I am happy with the offerings in both places - especially now with the ease of the apps - but I do like the going out adventure of go-go and or host bar scene.

Buy a bottle of Lactacyd  'Pussy Wash' as used by the girls, gentle, sweet smelling and effective in removing odours  

Good for the boy who brave enough to stand for his right. A deal is a deal. Both party, boy and client should deliver their part of the deal unless one party didnt deliver. Although, since we didnt here from the client's side, i cant really say who is in the right. But i wouldnt want to be in that situation as well, and will just pay up to avoid trouble and put it as a price of learning experience.

I concur with you and @vinapu Tawan is the friendliest gay bar in Bangkok. 

I know Pattaya also has host bars, but I feel like they're not the same model as the ones discussed here. Can anyone share about the Pattaya host bars?

@Boy69 might much younger than us (correct me if I am wrong, sir) and in which case hot guys on grinder are free.

Absolutely, a cop in the small Canadian city where I live told me it could get by with two police officers (instead of 30)  if it wasn't for alcohol. This is the case in many smaller communities in Canada where almost all of the police activity is related to alcohol. The question now is whether legal pot will replace alcohol over time and will crime and police calls go down.

Wow, this is very welcome, but quite surprising. I always thought that Southeast Asia was one of the strictest regions in the world when it came to drug consumption or possession! Hopefully, this becomes a catalyst for more Asian countries following suit, although that seems unlikely for now.

Just reading the latest news on Thailand legalising marijuana this week.
I think it's great that times are changing all over the World .
I'm not into drugs taking of any sort but it's no use fighting a war over a drug that doesn't seem to make people violent.( Unlike alcohol)
I hope the rest of the world including Australia follows suit.
 
 

Here's a graph from Thaiwebsites.com.  The numbers (for quarterly arrivals of tourists) are in millions. The Dec - Feb peak is not pronounced. It's only about 20 percent more visitors than the lowest quarter.
 

Just reading the latest news on Thailand legalising marijuana this week.
I think it's great that times are changing all over the World .
I'm not into drugs taking of any sort but it's no use fighting a war over a drug that doesn't seem to make people violent.( Unlike alcohol)
I hope the rest of the world including Australia follows suit.
 
 

How did the fish get caught.
He opened his mouth. 🙂

in short,  it looks there's no prescription how to tackle the issue and approach needs to be done on individual basis observing reaction for every step, but chasing  can be fun. 
We should not assume that everybody is for sale but also understand that Thai's approach to sex is much less uptight  and for right money or even just for fun options may be there.
Years ago at Raya it was actually employee in the breakfast room who seemed interested in me seeing me breakfasting with different guys daily , we exchanged smiles and winks but when I finally braved to ask him  if we can meet together, he said, 'no,  I'm just jocking" , so he played me that time for a change

I had my experience chasing a guy who know the scene but not into it. My first visit, i barely talk to him but visited the beach area where he work as chair attendance few times. 
Second visits a year or so later, i managed to break the ice, with the help of a host bar boy, who also agree with me that the guy is hot lol. He volunteer to be my wingman, since the guy i have hots for are from the same country as he is. Long story short, we managed to bring him to dinner and gogo bar visits lol. After that, i also arrange a movie night, this time only two of us. 
But it was still very innocent, and i really dont know how to move further hahaha. Im afraid if i want to do more, he refuse and subsequent meeting will be awkward.

I have used Pattaya Limo for a number of years. Always on time and 100% reliable no matter what time of day or night. Don’t let the word Limo put you off, it’s a good clean taxi!
I will be using them on my next trip in August.
Airport to Pattaya 1300 plus tip.
https://www.thelimopattaya.com/booking/

I'm with you....though not about the punch in the mouth! I always needed a "come-on" from my chosen partner- a smile was invariably enough. I recall my second trip in '95; I stayed at Le Cafe Royal and there was a waiter for whom I had the hots. Remember those little white shorts and peach shirts?
I knew he was married and kept my feelings to myself. On the day I left , I was waiting for my taxi and he was working. A falang arrived; his brief conversation amounted to when and where. The waiter told him.
That's all it took. I wish I could say that I learnt my lesson. But I stayed exactly the same. To be honest, we are what we are. when it comes to this issue.

I wish I had enough confidence to ask guys upfront that I fancy.
I know a few other posters I see ( on other boards) who post how they asked the bellboy or the motorbike taxi driver etc and they do it with confidence not concerned how what the reaction would be 
I'm always scared I would get a punch in the mouth or something 😂

ST at Freshboys is 2000 baht. New Twilight was asking for 3000 baht. I haven't visited the rest of the bars yet.