Do Tips in Bars go to the Staff?

[Mancs]

I recall reading on here that tips left in the folder often go to the bar, not the staff. Is this the case in most gay bars in Thailand? I have started to put the tip under the folder as I hand it to the waiter. This seems to get an appreciative response. I know of one restaurant worker near bkk who tells me he gets paid 250 baht a day for a long shift, plus 30 or so baht a day from the shared tips. I gather 300 baht a day is the minimum wage now but clearly reality is different.

[TOQ]

As far as bars go if you leave the tip in the folder it is pooled and is split between the waiters , bartender and usually the manager. If you give the tip under the folder or directly to the waiter then it is all his. I usually tip directly to the waiter then a smaller tip in the folder so the bartender does not lose out. This is case in most of the bars visit.

[RatThai]

TOQ, my understanding is the same as yours, I always leave a courtesy tip inside the folder for the bar and slip a larger paper tip under the folder for the waiter. You often see a quick movement of the hand as that note is slipped in the pocket before he reaches the bar. Occasionally as I exit the bar I might sip a note into the waistband of a pair of tight white briefs that attracted my interest.

[latintopxxx]

if this split system is indeed true then I find it rather unfair..takes a team to enable success...this syrem will not motivate staff not in contact with custmers and will tempt waiters to steal...

[timmberty]

would not staff who dont interact with staff earn more, or have some kind of bonus system?
even if they didnt does the fact they dont work out front matter?
if the staff who deal with customers do such a good job, then they will get repeat business thus more work for those behind the scenes.
i would hate to work in a bar/resturant and work like a trojan every night, while my fellow waiter/worker did the best part of nothing all night, then got to take half of my tip money.
so inside the folder share, in the hand goes to that member of staff gets my vote everytime.

[timmberty]

would not staff who dont interact with customers ********

[gaymandenmark]

I think that if some of the tips are shared it is just fair.

To say that no other of the staff, than the waiters, are not important, is a very wrong way to see it.

in some bars the bartender makes the drinks and the waiters serve them, the same with the people, that makes the food.

This people are just as important as the waiters. Poor drinks, poor food and bad cashiers, who can not count=no customers.

Believe me the bartenders, the cooks and the cashiers are not overpaid, but if you think they do not deserve more than their daily salary, just give all of your tip in the hand of the waiter.

But maybe we are talking about different bars, "normal" bars versus gogo- and host bars. If it is the last I agree that all the tips should go to the boy, if you just want to look at the flesh, he is trying you to off him and you turn him away.

BTW the tips in the folder do not go to the bar, but to the staff, and how else should they do it in busy bars, with a lot of staff like Balcony and Telephone in Bangkok?

[Patanawet]

staff[/b], and how else should they do it in busy bars, with a lot of staff like Balcony and Telephone in Bangkok?

In the bar that I frequent most, terrace waiters share equally the folder tips. Bar staff, cashier etc. share equally any tips in folders paid by customers at the bar.
Kitchen staff receive a higher salary to compensate for no shared tips.

All tips handed personally to staff are for themselves.

Depending on the turnover that night, bonuses can be paid.

[Nirish guy]

wow - from 2013 !! you had to dig deep to find THAT thread Im guessing !

[Smiles]

Old but true, but a good idea to run the process by any newbies in the field.

(1) Off Fees goes to the bar. **

(2) The tip in the folder is divided between the whole staff.

(3) If you wish to give a tip to a specific young man then do that discreetly ... don't make a big deal of it. Such a tip is strictly between you and the guy..The other guys in the bar, including the boss, know exactly what's going on, and no jealousy or hard feelings will happen.
For instance, when I go to a bar I often play pool with some or any of the boys. I enjoy that, and they definitely enjoy it as well. On leaving the bar I always give my opponent 100 baht in-the-hand if we have played more than one game.
That's on top of a few drinks bought.

(** If I am incorrect regarding #1, please don't hesitate to right me.)

[Nirish guy]

On leaving the bar I always give my opponent 100 baht in-the-hand if we have played more than one game.

But tell the truth, that's not so much a tip more just as your paying the bat as they beat you hands down ever single game eh !? :-)

[Jellybean]

Old but true, but a good idea to run the process by any newbies in the field.

(1) Off Fees goes to the bar. **

(** If I am incorrect regarding #1, please don't hesitate to right me.)

Ah, this thread is definitely a blast from the past, or a raise from the grave, however you want to look at it.

Smiles, I was under the impression that the go-go boys received a small percentage of the off-fee. Maybe somewhere between 20 and 40 Baht. I am not absolutely sure of my view and would therefore not bet my life on it.

[Smiles]

" ... I was under the impression that the go-go boys received a small percentage of the off-fee. Maybe somewhere between 20 and 40 Baht.Jelly, that could certainly be the case. I shall sashay my way across Petchkasem Rd tonight and ask the owner of 'New Guy Bar" wazup regarding an Off Fee. This time from the horses mouth.

[arsenal]

At Krazy Dragon the boys were entitled to 100 baht of the off fee. The proviso was that they had to be there at 8.00pm the next evening to collect it as a sort of incentive. Mark told me that they rarely bothered to turn up at that time but it was there if they chose.

[dinagam]

My experience at Dreamboy Pattaya.
Off fee quoted 500 baht. I asked for a discount, and got 100b off.
But I was reminded by the staff that the 100b discount was deducted from the boy's entitlement.
You could reimburse the boy after the action back in the room. Up to you.

[Daveuk]

My understanding is that tips given directly to a boy are his to keep. Such as given to him after sitting with me in a Gogo (the amount could vary depending on the degree of interaction) or maybe into the waist band of a dancing boy’s briefs. General tips left in the folder after check bin are shared between the boys not offed when the bar closes.
Several boys have told me that they get a small proportion of the off fee and a small amount for each boy drink they “sell”.
I even heard that boys in some gogos are given monthly targets for boy drinks and if they fail to reach this a “fine” is imposed by deduction from their salary. This might be difficult to reach in low season or for less attractive boys.

[joe552]

A genuine question. Say I'm sitting in a bar and I call a boy over and buy him a drink. I decide not to off him. Should I tip him as well as buying the drink?

[Patanawet]

A genuine question. Say I'm sitting in a bar and I call a boy over and buy him a drink. I decide not to off him. Should I tip him as well as buying the drink?

Yes I think so. A drink doesn't help pay for his room. Usually he will be given a very small percentage of the drink price by the bar.
Same goes for meals, shirts trainers etc.

[joe552]

Thanks Patanawet. I generally off the first boy I sit with, so it doesn't arise.

[Nirish guy]

.... I generally off the first boy I sit with,.

SLUT !!! lol

[arsenal]

Joe wrote.
"A genuine question. Say I'm sitting in a bar and I call a boy over and buy him a drink. I decide not to off him. Should I tip him as well as buying the drink?"

No debate about it. You absolutely must tip him. 100 baht is a reasonable amount for about 30 minutes of company or 200 if you've had some illicit fun. However, if the after buying him a drink he tells me he doesn't go with customers or that he doesn't do ANYTHING then I don't tip him because he's a 'bait boy' and it's basically a total con.

[Jellybean]

Thanks Patanawet. I generally off the first boy I sit with, so it doesn't arise.


SLUT !!! lol

With several novels under your belt, I know you’re now a professional writer joe552, but you have to admit, NIrish-guy also has a way with words. Perhaps he too is a budding author in the making?

By the by, I gave him a ‘like’ for no other reason than he literally made me laugh out loud. :)

[Jellybean]

A genuine question. Say I'm sitting in a bar and I call a boy over and buy him a drink. I decide not to off him. Should I tip him as well as buying the drink?


No debate about it. You absolutely must tip him. 100 baht is a reasonable amount for about 30 minutes of company or 200 if you've had some illicit fun. However, if the after buying him a drink he tells me he doesn't go with customers or that he doesn't do ANYTHING then I don't tip him because he's a 'bait boy' and it's basically a total con.

An informative post, arsenal. By the way, it's the first time I have heard the expression "bait boy". I'm not sure I've ever been enticed by trickery to part with a drink and a tip by a go-go boy who openly admits in the bar that he does not do what most of us would expect him to do given his chosen occupation. Well, not that I can remember. ;)

[AsDaRa]

We talk many times about tips and I have a fairly good understanding what are the normal rates to tip boys in various circumstances (short time, long time, having him sit with you and not off him, massage without happy ending, massage with happy ending, etc).

But this thread reminds me there is one type of tip that is rarely discussed. In restaurants when you get the bill for the food/drinks, or in gogo bars when you get the bill for the drinks, they return you the money in the folder. The idea is you leave a tip in that folder. What is considered a normal tip here? I tip boys very good (I think above average), but tips in folder I do only 20 baht. Irrespective of the bill amount. They never look very happy so I guess I tip too low here? But isnt it ridicolous to tip 100 baht for a 80 baht or 350 baht drink?

[joe552]

NIrish, I thought you'd pick up on 'it doesn't arise'. An opportunity missed.

[joe552]

AsDaRa, as a professional cheap charlie, I never leave less than 40Bt in the folder, even for just one drink. In restaurants, I operate on the 10% rule, with perhaps a personal tip for the waiter if the service has been good.

[gerefan2]

. What is considered a normal tip here? I tip boys very good (I think above average), but tips in folder I do only 20 baht. Irrespective of the bill amount. They never look very happy so I guess I tip too low here? But isnt it ridicolous to tip 100 baht for a 80 baht or 350 baht drink?

IMO 20 baht is enough for a drink bill.

Different in a restaurant where the waiter takes an order brings food, sauces, drinks, cutlery and so on. Also clears up after you too then sorts your bill.

It might be that the drink waiter would prefer you give him the tip rather than putting it in the folder...but 20 baht is ok for a small drink bill!

[Asia Traveler]

Agree 20 for one drink is fine. Restaurants I also use the 10% as there always seems to be a service charge as well these days. Tip as you like but remember these folks don’t have a lot and depend on our generosity.

[snotface]

Tip as you like but remember these folks don’t have a lot and depend on our generosity.

I think those who suffer most from lack of tips are the room cleaners in hotels. They work hard but more often than not get nothing. I'm often guilty myself if I don't see my regular cleaner(s) when checking out (often the case). I could just leave a tip in the room and have occasionally done so, but there's always a chance it will go to someone else.

[arsenal]

As an aside. A scene In the documentary series Big Trouble in Thailand. Some unfortunate farang is running away from a 'hell hath no fury like a Thai woman untipped" because he hasn't given her the expected cash. His plaintive "I bought you a drink" cuts no ice as she rattles the windows all the way down Walking Street.

[gerefan2]

Restaurants I also use the 10% as there always seems to be a service charge as well these days.

Im afraid I don’t tip anything if there’s a service charge. Isn’t that what it’s for?

[joe552]

Im afraid I don’t tip anything if there’s a service charge. Isn’t that what it’s for?

At least in Ireland, a service charge goes to the restaurant, not to the staff. I don't know how it works in Thailand.

[neddy3]

That being the case, it is just a way for the restaurant to make their prices look a bit lower.

Isn't the idea of a service charge to be a 'required tip'?

[Patanawet]

I think those who suffer most from lack of tips are the room cleaners in hotels. They work hard but more often than not get nothing. I'm often guilty myself if I don't see my regular cleaner(s) when checking out (often the case). I could just leave a tip in the room and have occasionally done so, but there's always a chance it will go to someone else.
Maybe I'm a bit mercenary but I leave a tip daily for the room maid. Leave on the pillow. Mercenary because she will see that I'm grateful for her services every day and not just after I've left, probably never to see her (usually a her) again.

[arsenal]

Jellybean wrote.
"An informative post, arsenal. By the way, it's the first time I have heard the expression "bait boy""

There's a few of them around. The tall one who sometimes has blonde hair in Eros springs to mind. The most notorious of this ilk plies his trade in Jomtien. He can be seen nightly laughing and dancing and flicking his hair and having drinks with customer after customer after customer after customer ad infinitum. Almost never offed because he doesn't do ANYTHING. Like I said, something of a con. .

[christianpfc]

...but you have to admit, NIrish-guy also has a way with words. Perhaps he too is a budding author in the making?
NIrish-guy and words? Alphabet soup?

Re Tipping. I only tip people I have something sexual with.

Re Bait boys. The first time I encountered a bait boy was in 2013 in Scorpion bar in Soi Twilight, and it hit me hard. A practice I disapprove of and would avoid bars that are known for boys who don't go / go only with women / ask for high tips.


The tall one who sometimes has blonde hair in Eros springs to mind. The most notorious of this ilk plies his trade in Jomtien. He can be seen nightly laughing and dancing and flicking his hair and having drinks with customer after customer after customer after customer ad infinitum. Almost never offed because he doesn't do ANYTHING. Like I said, something of a con. .

I don't recall a tall sometimes blonde boy in Eros. Only "Blondie" who has been around for years. Any more information about the one in Jomtien, so I can avoid him?

[arsenal]

The one in Eros appears sporadically, presumably when he needs some money. Bait boy Jomtien is floppy haired, Cambodian and acts for all the world like he does. But he doesn't.

I never tip anyone in my hotel except the guy who shows me to my room upon check-in. It's impossible. Everyone from the manager to the reception staff to the room cleaners are wonderful so I either tip everyone or no one. No one is simpler and cheaper.

Many years ago some of the staff used to hang around outside Dave Man's Club and I would chat with them sometimes. One night on my last evening in Pattaya I gave three of them 20 baht each missing out number 4 as he was nowhere to be seen. The next trip he totally blanked me and refused to speak to me. Lesson learned. Keep tipping simple.

[frequent]

Bait boy Jomtien is floppy haired, Cambodian and acts for all the world like he does. But he doesn't. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail sprang immediately to mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PagrKSaUZQ4