Avoiding Bar Drink Scams In Thailand

This guide explains what to know about ladies drinks in Thailand bars, especially in go go bars and beer bars.

It is not always a scam in the strictest sense. A lot of it is simply how the bars operate, but if you are new to Thailand, it can still catch you out and leave you with a much bigger bill than expected.

The Tequila And Red Bull Trick

The first thing you need to know is when you go into a bar and you talk to an attractive young lady and you would like to buy her a drink. The biggest kind of scam that they do is you will agree to buy them a drink, and they will come back with something like a tequila and Red Bull.

The only problem with that is that is not one drink. That is two drinks. If you do not know it, you would look at it and think it is a mixer that goes with the drink. Ladies drinks are very expensive these days. They can be as much as 200 baht for one ladies drink.

The Thai baht is strong against many foreign currencies, so it is no longer cheap to buy ladies drinks. In most bars now, when you buy a ladies drink, it is often more expensive than the beer that you are drinking. That is the biggest one to look out for.

You can ask the waitress if it will be charged as one drink or two drinks, and she will tell you it is two drinks.

A Better Way To Handle One Drink

A friend gets around it in a way that does not cause bad feelings. If the lady says, will you buy me a drink, he turns to her and says, one drink. He makes it very clear that he means one drink only.

Normally at that point, they realize the guy knows his way around, and they will only buy the one drink. Because he does it in a friendly way, it does not cause bad feeling between him and the girl he is talking to.

The main point is simple. If you do buy somebody a drink, make sure it is only one drink.

Why Tequila Drains Your Bill

The second thing is the type of drink they are now buying. In the old days, a drink might be a glass half full of Pepsi or Coca Cola, and that could last 10 or 15 minutes.

With tequila, she can drink it in about two seconds, sit there looking at the empty glass, and want another one. That is another way of maximizing money from drinks.

If you did not know it, they get a percentage of those drinks. Either the bar gets some money, she gets some money, or both. It is a real motivator for her to get as many drinks as she can.

The Disappearing Act

Another thing to look out for is the disappearing act. A girl may seem warm, stay close to you, and encourage you to buy her a drink. The minute that drink comes to the table, she says she has to go to the bathroom, talks to a friend, or makes another excuse.

She comes back, downs the tequila, and wants another one. Do not put up with it if it is obvious what is happening.

In that situation, call the mamasan or the person controlling the girls in that bar. Explain calmly that you bought this lady a drink, she walked off as soon as it arrived, came back, finished it quickly, and you are not paying for it.

If you are not aggressive and not loud, nine times out of ten they will understand. They may knock it off the bill and have a word with the girl.

If it starts to get ugly or loud, just pay and walk away. It is better than getting into an argument, because you will lose and come off worse.

The Bill Pot System

Another thing to watch out for is the bill pot system. In many Western pubs, you pay for each drink up front. In Thailand, it does not work like that.

You order your drink, they bring it, and they bring a small wooden or plastic pot with a bill inside. As the night goes on, every time you have a drink, another bill goes into that pot.

Those bills accumulate throughout the night. If you have had seven or eight drinks, there should be seven or eight bills in the pot.

What you need to watch for, especially if you have had quite a few drinks, is the possibility that one or two extra bills get slipped into that pot.

How To Avoid Bill Padding

There are two ways to avoid bill padding. First, every time the waitress puts a bill in your bill pot, make sure you have actually got a drink that matches it.

Second, when you ask for the bill at the end of the night, count how many bills are in that pot before it goes to the cashier.

A lot of regular visitors count the bills and estimate the total in their head. When the bill comes back, they make sure it matches. It helps you avoid getting ripped off.

Happy Hour Does Not Cover Lady Drinks

Happy hour can be good value for your own drinks. For example, some bars may offer cheap draught beer early in the evening.

But ladies drinks do not usually have happy hour pricing. If you see your own drink is discounted, do not assume a ladies drink is discounted too.

If you buy two or three ladies drinks thinking they are on happy hour, your bill can be much higher than expected. If you challenge it, you will not have a strong argument. There is no happy hour for ladies drinks.

If you go into a bar that has happy hour, your drinks may be discounted, but anything you buy for a lady is usually full price.

Torch In The Beer Bottle Means Service

One final point is about waitresses shining a torch into your beer bottle. Some visitors think this is rude or that the waitress is trying to force another beer.

That is not what it is. In most cases, it is good service. Beer bottles are often green or brown, and the bar is usually dark. The waitress shines a torch into the bottle to see how much beer is left.

If there is only a quarter left, she may ask if you would like another beer. That is normal service, so do not be offended by it.