OK. That makes more sense.

47 minutes ago, Michael said:

Sorry, I wasn't clear. He offered 2-3 days for the 8k total, not per night.

Now that is a bargain at 3 days

I bet he got the 100 baht each way mini bus to BKK!!

42 minutes ago, gerefan said:

I bet he got the 100 baht each way mini bus to BKK!!

No. He took a taxi to Bangkok but not sure how he got back.

3 days for 8000 in Bangkok would be a bargain.    2 days not quite such a good deal, but would be fair enough considering his travel.

 

I just do not understand why boys who earn a lot less than us take a taxi in this kind of scenario.      One to the airport is about 1200 and I thought it was nearer 1500 to the centre of Bangkok.  

He has spent over half of his day's income in a taxi, when the bus & skytrain would take <1.5 hours more and he would be free to read, or surf the internet the whole time.  

He figured its paid for by customer so he would just give in to the luxury of a taxi, somethings he wouldnt do if its from his own money. Same case with boys who prefer to go eat at nice high end restaurant with customer at 3-5k baht when they couldve used that money for something more useful. Or he simply didnt know how to navigate the bus/train? 

To be honest, i myself would take the bus/train combo for much less.

To give him the benefit of the doubt, I imagine he knew Michael gave him that fee with the expectation that he would take a taxi at least one way into Bangkok so he would not miss the appointment. Probably he took a bus return. And Thai boys are conscious about cleanliness, another way of ensuring he arrived looking (and smelling) presentable to the customer.

OK. Confession time.  I paid for the taxi from Pattaya to Bangkok. He was asking about the trip and location and BTS, etc. and I just told him I would send him a car. I would have gotten him one going back as well but he said he was staying over for a bit so I left him on his own for that.

Haha, thats explains it. No need to argue logic then hehe.

7 minutes ago, Michael said:

OK. Confession time.  I paid for the taxi from Pattaya to Bangkok. He was asking about the trip and location and BTS, etc. and I just told him I would send him a car. I would have gotten him one going back as well but he said he was staying over for a bit so I left him on his own for that.

So he was 8k without transport and you paid additional for his taxi?

No judgement at all, it was very considerate of you to give him a comfortable ride.

1 minute ago, hank75 said:

So he was 8k without transport and you paid additional for his taxi?

No judgement at all, it was very considerate of you to give him a comfortable ride.

I gave him two comfortable rides. Both on the same day.

Did you pay anything upfront? I chatted with several money boys from further away, who I have not met before, who asked for an partial advance payment to cover travel expenses. I don't want to be the one to find out that that's a scam, and never did.

31 minutes ago, ChristianPFC said:

Did you pay anything upfront? I chatted with several money boys from further away, who I have not met before, who asked for an partial advance payment to cover travel expenses. I don't want to be the one to find out that that's a scam, and never did.

No, I did not pay for anything in advance. I have never done that in Thailand and never would.  However, with some USA well-reviewed escorts, I have put down a retainer for well-known porn stars and with agencies. But, this was not one of those occasions.

6 hours ago, Michael said:

However, with some USA well-reviewed escorts, I have put down a retainer for well-known porn stars and with agencies. But, this was not one of those occasions.

I say this with respect and more than a tinge of envy...I can see why 8K overnight and two way transport did not faze you! 

3 minutes ago, hank75 said:

I say this with respect and more than a tinge of envy...I can see why 8K overnight and two way transport did not faze you! 

Hank, the rate for escort agencies in 2001 was 300 USD per hour or 2400 USD for overnight.  If out of the area, transportation must be provided. I had friends in the business and they would be booked for two months in Dubai for 2400 a night. Long appointments needed an advance payment for some portion.   When in NYC or LA, a private escort (not agency) will usually be over 200 and usually 300 USD per hour. Thailand is cheap but I do always think that I can often get for an overnight what I can for one hour in NYC and I often know the experience will be far superior.

Somewhere near the top of the rules list is:  NEVER pay in advance. 

The only exception might be when dealing with a reputable business, such as some of those operating in Tokyo, where all fees are paid to the bar before leaving the bar.   No further money changes hands after leaving the bar.  

If some freelancer wants payment in advance, assume he's going to provide somewhere between almost no service and nothing.   Walk.

4 hours ago, z909 said:

Somewhere near the top of the rules list is:  NEVER pay in advance. 

 

while I agree with that entirely I must say that on quite a few occasions when hosting guy previously offed few times I placed agreed amount on the table as soon as we entered room pointing ' this is your tip for the morning' and never money was collected from there until departure time  and only once I felt guy hastened his time of leaving  by 1 or 2 hrs earlier than I expected ( my expected departure time is at breakfast , whatever it means )

5 hours ago, Michael said:

I had friends in the business and they would be booked for two months in Dubai for 2400 a night.

Even in 2019 this is still around the monthly wage for an entry level white collar worker, much less in 2001! 

It makes me wonder...we are often told “oh Thai boys are earning XXX the monthly wage in Thailand”. But quite a few of them are university graduates (or drop outs but still with high school certificates) and qualify for office jobs or other jobs like car or motorcycle salesman, receptionist, hospitality roles in smaller hotels. What really is an accurate Bangkok white collar worker’s monthly wage? If there was truly no other job options open to them, the whole service industry would collapse as the workers went to work gogo. Sometimes I wonder if it is the ease of the work and lifestyle that appeals to them as they are always complaining about still being short of money despite popularity and multiple offs.

Of course there are boys from farming backgrounds or whose education level only qualifies them for 7-11 work, and gogo boy income is an absolute windfall. 

One particular guy i took told me he was an engineer before and join the bar scene simplg because of word of mouth from his friends about how easy it is to get money working as gogo boy. One other guy also have a degree and working in office during the day and just come to bar to earn quick money, to fund his ducati and mazda 2 car. 

On 3/10/2019 at 8:02 PM, z909 said:

I just do not understand why boys who earn a lot less than us take a taxi in this kind of scenario.      One to the airport is about 1200 and I thought it was nearer 1500 to the centre of Bangkok.  

He has spent over half of his day's income in a taxi, when the bus & skytrain would take <1.5 hours more and he would be free to read, or surf the internet the whole time.  

Some possible reasons he took a taxi:

1. He wanted ro

2. He chose to spend his money for this particular type of serviice

Fellow Westerners frequently spend their money on things I deem frivolous: organic products, cigarettes, big cars. But it’s their money to do what they wish with it. My rationale doesn’t count.

Yes, he could have made othe choices but its his time and his money.

I must be missing something here or some members don't read read every post. Michael paid for the taxi. The boy did not spend the money foolishly and I would be willing to bet that he took the Bus back to Pattaya.

Taking the slow train back to Pattaya would be more economical.

31 minutes ago, witty said:

Taking the slow train back to Pattaya would be more economical.

OMG, Witty. A travel tip of the first order: take the slow train and save.

 

13 hours ago, z909 said:

If some freelancer wants payment in advance, assume he's going to provide somewhere between almost no service and nothing.   Walk.

If he shows up at all. I think their way of thinking is rather take the advance (let's say 200 THB sent by online banking), and do not show up, and block the customer on online dating/facebook/Line/phone number.

But that would assume the boy had enough  smarts to get the customer to send him money and then know that he would block him afterwards on every site imaginable . I don't know many 13-15 year olds that would come up with that scheme???