6 minutes ago, kokopelli3 said:

Regarding giving a tip to the boy or buying him a drink, the owner of Winner Bar in Sunee Plaza put it this way, "the tip helps the boy, the drink helps the bar".  So best to buy the boy at least one drink plus give him  a tip; everybody is happy!🤑

Except, if it's a spirit, it will not be the same strength as yours -- in some cases only Coke.

9 hours ago, vinapu said:

they will organize bottle of gin for you

That would work!

I think one of the most iffy things you can do is leave a review about a bar or massage shop on your Google account. Those never go away.

 

4 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Thanks for your comment - but please re-read what I wrote higher up in this thread.

1.) no pointing of camera to the stage - as phone or camera is not required,

2.) no possibility of secretly taking pictures,

3.) no need to be shy - as everything is private as you would be using the SAME GLP (green laser pen) that the mamasan is using.

 

I am somewhat technologically outdated but i thought the purpose of a QR-Code is to be scanned by a scanning device like our beloved smartphones, not to actively scan something else (the laser pointer)?

#duplicate post#

On 10/1/2024 at 11:41 AM, bkkmfj2648 said:

This process was painful as you could see the 2 women speak into the ear of the male manager to try to establish which guy was of interest and sometimes he would point the green laser light pen to the wrong guy.

For some reason this reminded me of an embarrassing moment I once had in Tawan bar.

When I was leaving the bar and already outside, one of the staff asked me if there was no boy inside I liked. I described one boy that I might be interested in, and this staffmember told me he knew who I was talking about and convinced me to go back inside so he could "match" me to him. I sat down, and moments later one of the Tawan boys showed up. But... This was not the boy I was talking about at all. It was hard to find an exit out of this situation without being painful or awkward for me or the boy...

Why resort to laser pointers, or causing embarrassment to customers, as @emiel1981 experienced?  What's wrong with a low-tech solution like wearing numbers?  Why dispense with it?

45 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

 What's wrong with a low-tech solution like wearing numbers?  Why dispense with it?

There was a law at sometime that all bar and restaurant staff had to wear a name or number badge.

4 hours ago, Patanawet said:

There was a law at sometime that all bar and restaurant staff had to wear a name or number badge.

Shame the law didn't say that it had to be worn on underwear!

20 hours ago, 10tazione said:

 

The real issue is that pushy/unfriendly mamasans can keep customers away from the bar and I wonder why owners dont care.

and as example we had very recent report of if happening in The One (Tawan) bar

18 hours ago, Patanawet said:

When they get individually served drinks, they have virtually no alcohol in them.
 

that may be for design as , considering amount of alcohol they are pushed to consume, may serve their liver well being quite well

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

that may be for design as , considering amount of alcohol they are pushed to consume, may serve their liver well being quite well

555 yes the bars are all heart.

7 hours ago, vinapu said:

that may be for design as , considering amount of alcohol they are pushed to consume, may serve their liver well being quite well

adulterated liquor which kills the liver even faster 😬

On 10/1/2024 at 10:27 PM, Marc308 said:

Oh gosh I rarely disagree with Vinapu and Omega, but hey guys, technology can be our friend! For one, the dating apps freed us from the boring bars and pushy mamasans, oh wow that was a great technological advance. The Line menu of available masseurs was a massive improvement over the old way of "hoping for the best" when going to a massage shop.

Whether MFJ's idea of attaching QR codes instead of numbers would work is an open question, but at least you could learn something about the boy by getting some immediate feedback ("name", age, T/B, language proficiencies, size? ...)

Technology has made Lazada possible, Bolt possible, ghost kitchen meal delivery possible...

Someone clever will surely come up with a better way to breathe new life into the dying go-go bars. If not, the next generation (or current generation!) will put a nail in their coffin for sure. We, the retired and near-retired expats residents/visitors, do not have the financial profile nor the actuarial longevity that the industry needs to thrive.

Technology is great. I'm very tech orientated.

I don't think technology will save the bars. Those that thrive are adapting to the changing customer desires. Those that don't adapt will die with their loyal clientelle.

Sadly for us Farangs, the adaption for the bars is accomodating the desires of Asian customers.

49 minutes ago, omega said:

don't think technology will save the bars. Those that thrive are adapting to the changing customer desires. Those that don't adapt will die with their loyal clientelle.

Agree +1

 

49 minutes ago, omega said:

Sadly for us Farangs, the adaption for the bars is accomodating the desires of Asian customers.

It depends on what sort of bar we're referring to. If it is drinking bars (with or without hosts) then yes, these are semi-social places and therefore culture-dependent. It's not a simple Asian-Farang divide. A bar that caters to Chinese tastes will look and feel different from one that caters to Japanese tastes or Indian tastes. And does "Western taste" include Country-and-Western American tastes?

As for gogo bars, these places are more about flesh than culture, and flesh is flesh. The gogo bars of Bangkok have equal appeal, I think, to gay men of any culture. See my story about the Chinese visitor in Fresh Boy in my story https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2024/09/27/pouffes-ahoy-at-fresh-boy/ This guy took to things like duck to water.

However, when the gogo bars put on shows, then the question of cultural taste kicks in. What kind of show? What sort of humour? What genre of music? What situational references? What sensitivities to avoid? 

I am pretty sure that the invitation to women in bars is driving much of the adaptation in less-than-positive ways. Much has been said about their preference for clothed men rather than naked men since they enjoy the company of men for the illusion of romance rather than the carnal; with that, there follows a bias towards just sitting and chatting instead of offing and bonking. W hen host/bar boys can earn enough out of tips for charming the girls at the sofa, they become less interested in being off'd by men.  For a glimpse into what girls (Japanese girls in this case) want out of a boy bar, see this post: https://shamelessmacktwo.travel.blog/2024/04/18/host-bars-that-arent-for-us/  As Thai bars adapt in a similar direction, it's no wonder we feel frustrated with them.

22 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Why resort to laser pointers

The said laser pointers were introduced by the managers in Jupiter.  The managers were using these laser pointers to help the customers to pinpoint (hone in) on the desired guy(s) that the customer wanted the manager to bring them over to their seat.

I had never seen these laser pointers before and I saw the difficulty that the manager was having in trying to get the descriptive words out of the 2 female customers about which guys they wanted - as there seemed to be a communication problem when the manager would point the green laser light on what he thought was the desired guy that the customer wanted and it wasn't.

So, my idea was, why not just give the laser pointer directly to the customer and streamline the process instead of trying to communicate in a noisy bar during a show with an intermediary (the manager mamasan) who may or may not understand which guy it is that you want.

The way that the Jupiter shows work - the guys do not always have their numbers on their bodies - hence the need for the manager to use a laser pointer.  The Jupiter management only allows for the numbers on their bodies at certain set intervals - so if a customer wants to have the company of a guy or to off a guy he/she needs to involve the manager - as there is no other way available to make the transaction happen.

 

On 10/3/2024 at 4:31 PM, floridarob said:

adulterated liquor which kills the liver even faster 😬

I meant adulterated as in diluted to little or no alcohol.

10 hours ago, Patanawet said:

I meant adulterated as in diluted to little or no alcohol.

I mean it as this....I got my 1st bottle of fake alcohol in Rio a few weeks ago, is more prevalent in Thailand...mafia/drug lords make a lot of money distributing fake alcohol at a reduced price ... since I only drink Bacardi, it's very obvious to me when it happens. Not sure the bar boys could tell whiskey from rubbing alcohol and since they drink a good amount of it, don't realize the harm they are doing to themselves.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Illicit-goods/Shop-safely/Unsafe-alcohol

On 10/3/2024 at 5:11 AM, bkkmfj2648 said:

So, my idea was, why not just give the laser pointer directly to the customer and streamline the process instead of trying to communicate in a noisy bar during a show with an intermediary (the manager mamasan) who may or may not understand which guy it is that you want.

Keep in mind that lasers can be dangerous -- if pointed haphazardly at someone's eyes you can literally blind them (burn their retina). Giving the laser to an inebriated customer might not be a good idea, alas. 

31 minutes ago, floridarob said:

I mean it as this....I got my 1st bottle of fake alcohol in Rio a few weeks ago, is more prevalent in Thailand...mafia/drug lords make a lot of money distributing fake alcohol at a reduced price ... since I only drink Bacardi, it's very obvious to me when it happens. Not sure the bar boys could tell whiskey from rubbing alcohol and since they drink a good amount of it, don't realize the harm they are doing to themselves.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Illicit-goods/Shop-safely/Unsafe-alcohol

Lao Khao instead of imported gin, which boy is going to complain?!

9 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

Lao Khao instead of imported gin, which boy is going to complain?!

I'm not a spirit drinker but it always amazed me that the Thais much prefer Johnny Walker Black rather than Red and then drown it with Coke or even Coke and Soda.

14 hours ago, floridarob said:

I mean it as this....I got my 1st bottle of fake alcohol in Rio a few weeks ago, is more prevalent in Thailand...mafia/drug lords make a lot of money distributing fake alcohol at a reduced price ... since I only drink Bacardi, it's very obvious to me when it happens. Not sure the bar boys could tell whiskey from rubbing alcohol and since they drink a good amount of it, don't realize the harm they are doing to themselves.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Illicit-goods/Shop-safely/Unsafe-alcohol

Good point  to make. 

13 hours ago, Patanawet said:

I'm not a spirit drinker but it always amazed me that the Thais much prefer Johnny Walker Black rather than Red and then drown it with Coke or even Coke and Soda.

What’s the difference?

1 hour ago, Shonen said:

What’s the difference?

The better whiskey's are meant to be straight or on the rocks, sipped....if you're going to mix them, no sense in paying a premium and losing the taste of the higher end ...this goes for any liquor.

24 minutes ago, floridarob said:

The better whiskey's are meant to be straight or on the rocks, sipped....if you're going to mix them, no sense in paying a premium and losing the taste of the higher end ...this goes for any liquor.

Not fir gin, as far as I am concerned, I like it 1/4 gin and 3/4  tonic. I accept that when I order a gin and tonic in a bar, outside, that is, that it's weaker than that, but it's only 150baht! And you have things to look at!  In the USA it's 20$ once you add tax, etc. In the UK, a Navy drink was pink gin, gin and bitters, but I never liked that. I'd rather have a weak G&T, than some of the questionable wines on offer!