No big issues as such, just general observations when chatting to Beer, the owner. He has always gone out of his way to take me aside for a general chit-chat about other bars and his. We have known each other for so many years we find it difficult to put a first date on it, certainly a dozen years or more. We usually sit outside behind the doormen after I have paid a visit inside with him. He is normally 'sighing' about this and that as you would do as a bar operator, this time he was 'sighing' more than usual but not in a negative way, as he is happy that customers are coming regularly but needs a reliable stable of lads to service them and keep them coming. Apparently getting man-boys to turn up regularly and on time daily is a bit like herding cats....when he gets them there it's fine as they just get on with what they are good at. But he's got to work hard to get them there in the first place for various reasons.
Then there are the alfa-male internal conflicts between 'personalities', recruiting new reliable lads and then holding on to them when you have customers willing to visit your bar is probably the main challenge. Gay/Femme/twinky boys tend to rely on each other become friends easily and bond, man-boys often see each other as rivals and don't particularly like being told what to do in this day and age. Of course there are the common-for-bar-industry challenges along with that in the form of hard drinking and 'stimulants' not in themselves serious but more just not helping with the reliability aspect. But I think Beer is doing a great job this past while, his bar is popular with good reviews and more Asian customers are dropping by with iPhone in hand and google maps finding their way there, and this all against the difficulties of the GoGo Bar Vs Online Apps.
I don't think that being 'manhandled' is an issue at all. The boys who are shy simply don't offer the goods up as readily as some, but tips for manhandling is what it's about, also some boys are not that bothered if they're taken off or not, if the drink and tips are flowing many are perfectly happy with their 'live for the moment' attitude to enjoy the sanook as long as there's enough tip money to survive, and here as in Winner I see many farang customers very generous in tips and drinks. Most boys are well up for gropes as that is where the tips are, which is another slight bug-bear of Beer's, small but frustrating is that he needs to keep on top of the way they present themselves on stage sometimes. Other GoGos like BBB, Cupidol, Toyboys, Dreamboys etc have a fairly strict rotation and place on stage which the boys themselves police, but in Nice Boys if there is a generous customer at one side of the stage the boys have the habit of clustering over near that customer often leaving 4-5 customers at the other side with no attention, well that was a reason for a few 'sighs' the night I visited and caught up with him. Haha.
As for not 'keeping it up' on stage, i'm amazed at how well they do manage it, if they're on stage at 9pm and you visit 10pm, or 11pm or 12am or 1am that's a long time to have to keep getting it up on demand depending on customers numbers over that time. I don't think the boys of Nice Boys get 'anything' up based on the age or looks of a male customer, Korean or not, if they're straight no other male is going to do the trick, their youth of naturally having erections every 2 minutes along with closed-eyes fantasies and porn coupled with what ever they've drank/taken should normally do it...however what they've drank/taken can easily work against them later in the evening! The drink is what often gives the place it's unique 'fun factor' so it's a fine line between just enough and too much!