Warning about Pattaya Beer Garden

[pseasnain]

 

Thanks for sharing 555

[robio]

Are we on the set of Resevoir Dogs?

 

Mr. Pink: I don't tip because society says I have to. I mean I'll tip if someone really deserves it, but I mean this topping automatically - it's for the birds. When I order coffee, I want it filled six times. Jesus Christ. I mean these ladies aren't starving to death. They make minimum wage.

 

I'm very sorry the government taxes their tips, that's fucked up. That ain't my fault. It would seem to me that waitresses are one of the many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it, put it to a vote, I'll vote for it, but what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, 'cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin' surprise.

 

 

What we have here is a great example of the gap between the spending habits of a two week millionaire and a fiscally responsible expat.

 

As with everything else in Thailand, tip amounts should be "up to you."

[pseasnain]

Are we on the set of Resevoir Dogs?

 

Mr. Pink: I don't tip because society says I have to. I mean I'll tip if someone really deserves it, but I mean this topping automatically - it's for the birds. When I order coffee, I want it filled six times. Jesus Christ. I mean these ladies aren't starving to death. They make minimum wage.

 

I'm very sorry the government taxes their tips, that's fucked up. That ain't my fault. It would seem to me that waitresses are one of the many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it, put it to a vote, I'll vote for it, but what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, 'cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin' surprise.

 

 

What we have here is a great example of the gap between the spending habits of a two week millionaire and a fiscally responsible expat.

 

As with everything else in Thailand, tip amounts should be "up to you."

 

Yes exactly 'up to you' ...btw I'm not a 'two week millionaire' just someone who believes in fairness and not being a 'cheap chalee' towards the Thais. I don't think stinginess is in any way comparable with being fiscally responsible ...call a spade a spade and don't beat around the bush with semantics. Hey 2 metaphors in one sentence ...not bad eh?

[robio]

Yes exactly 'up to you' ...btw I'm not a 'two week millionaire' just someone who believes in fairness and not being a 'cheap chalee' towards the Thais. I don't think stinginess is in any way comparable with being fiscally responsible ...call a spade a spade and don't beat around the bush with semantics. Hey 2 metaphors in one sentence ...not bad eh?

 

For the record, I am not trying to cause controvery by responding - just some fiendly banter about differing points of view.

 

You must admit that your point of view as a tourist is radically different than the point of view of an expat, and that your definition of "cheap" is thus radically different than that of an expat. I used "fiscally responsible" as a carefully chosen euphamism to ensure that no insult was delivered to mikeinasia, who, in my opinion, is doing no wrong with his tipping stance.

 

By using "cheap", you are implying that there is a character flaw in a person who goes by what he has noted to be normal behaviour in his living environment. I do nt believe that this is fair, but "up to me, up to you", right?

 

An example from my life: I have lived in China for 4 years, and have a cleaner who comes to my house twice a week to keep it looking sparkly. She works for 3 hours each time and is paid a paltry (in Western standards) $2.50 USD an hour. This is an inexcusable act on my part according to my parents and friends in Canada because I am "exploiting" this poor woman. But upon closer review, and with greater understanding of the economic situation here in China, it becomes clear that I am paying her 30% more than my friends pay their cleaners, and at least twice what she would get if she were employed by a local. Hence the word "cheap" becomes completely relative - I am super generous (maybe even stupid) in the cleaner's eyes, and yet exploitive in the eyes of someone who is not in the know.

 

Without mikeinasia's 20 baht, many workers could not make it through the year. Without the generous tips that you choose to leave, the same is true.

 

Sorry for the novel - guess I am bored tonight!

 

Oh, by the way...Beer Garden Rocks!

[pseasnain]

For the record, I am not trying to cause controvery by responding - just some fiendly banter about differing points of view.

 

You must admit that your point of view as a tourist is radically different than the point of view of an expat, and that your definition of "cheap" is thus radically different than that of an expat. I used "fiscally responsible" as a carefully chosen euphamism to ensure that no insult was delivered to mikeinasia, who, in my opinion, is doing no wrong with his tipping stance.

 

By using "cheap", you are implying that there is a character flaw in a person who goes by what he has noted to be normal behaviour in his living environment. I do nt believe that this is fair, but "up to me, up to you", right?

 

An example from my life: I have lived in China for 4 years, and have a cleaner who comes to my house twice a week to keep it looking sparkly. She works for 3 hours each time and is paid a paltry (in Western standards) $2.50 USD an hour. This is an inexcusable act on my part according to my parents and friends in Canada because I am "exploiting" this poor woman. But upon closer review, and with greater understanding of the economic situation here in China, it becomes clear that I am paying her 30% more than my friends pay their cleaners, and at least twice what she would get if she were employed by a local. Hence the word "cheap" becomes completely relative - I am super generous (maybe even stupid) in the cleaner's eyes, and yet exploitive in the eyes of someone who is not in the know.

 

Without mikeinasia's 20 baht, many workers could not make it through the year. Without the generous tips that you choose to leave, the same is true.

 

Sorry for the novel - guess I am bored tonight!

 

No problem or as they say here in Pattaya 'mai pen rai'. I'm quite aware that everthing is relative when it comes to financial issues. But my point was that the Original Post was about being ripped off by a waiter in the PBG. The gentleman in question left a 20 baht tip for the waiter, which is fair by Thai standards. The only problem with this is Pattaya isn't a real example of Thailand and if you look at it's history was a result of American military personnel's need for a bit of R&R during the Vietnam war (or as the soldiers used to say I&I 'Intercourse & Intoxication). It is an artificial Thailand created for Westerners with Western pop music, clothes, mobile phones etc etc. I'd understand tipping 20 baht in rural Thailand where this amount of money is an awful lot, but in Pattaya it's not. And my original comment was that you are setting yourself up to be screwed over by unscrupulous service personnel, who will see you as mean, and therefore, in their own mind justify conning you. I'd prefer to give a fair tip (10-15%) than risk being robbed like the OP. If you read the original posting you will see that the waiter even remarked upon the 20 baht tip which was already in the check bin with the 500 baht for the meal. I'm certainly not a big tipper and I even hate giving the bellboy a tip who carries my suitcase to the hotel room when I was quite capable of transporting it 1000s of miles all by myself! However in a restaurant I will tip a fair amount if the service is good and when I go back I know that if the same waiter/waitress is on that they will bend over backwards to receive a similar tip again. They certainly won't screw me over for fear of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. This is basic psychology and is called Positive Reinforcement and is basic human nature. I'm sure you've experienced this phenomenon yourself coming from Canada which is also a country where people rely on tips to earn a decent wage.

[thalenoi]

Normal practice in Europe or USA. Are you trying to say Thais are not worth it and should only be given the crumbs from the table? Why go to Thailand at all if you hate the Thais so much? You're only asking to be ripped off with an attitude like that. What goes around comes around.

 

In Europe the tip is included in the bill, you want to add an other 17% to that???

In Thailand my wife is responsible for daily expenses, she will nearly NEVER tip local restaurants.

Salaries in service industry are somewhat higher USA/Europe as compared to most types of work in LOS isn't?

When I tip in presence of my wife I get scolded if ever I give more than a 20 baht bill. That's how it goes here.

Edited December 7, 2010 by thalenoi

[Mike Asia]

I would like to add my two cents on the tippng debate.My tgf works in a salon at jomtien,i asked her about tips,she says thais never tip her,ever, unless they are with a farang.She makes about 100bht a day in tips from farang customers, a 20bht tip from farang and this makes her happy,it means she has done a good job and the farang is pleased with the haircut.Once she got a 100bht tip from farang and was so happy,she took me out for dinner.I asked her how much should farang tip,she said 20bht ok,100bht too much,but makes me happy when i get.

The longer i live here,the more i realize,the thais who see us overpay and over tip,don't think we have a jai dee(good heart)but think we are kwai baa (crazy buffalo)

A waitress in a thai restaurant makes about 250bht a day,20 bht tip from every check bin she collects is good for her.

So why does she say 20 baht is good for a farang when Thais tip nothing?

 

Anyway good post mate this is the reality

[cairns8]

So why does she say 20 baht is good for a farang when Thais tip nothing?

 

Anyway good post mate this is the reality

When she gets tipped by a farang,she sees it as a reward for a good job,she says she not want tip if customer not happy with haircut.Why good for farang to tip 20bht and thais nothing,i think she thinks its part of our culture to tip and by saying 20bht is good,means if i want to tip,no need to tip anymore than 20bht.

[pseasnain]

So why does she say 20 baht is good for a farang when Thais tip nothing?

 

Anyway good post mate this is the reality

 

Once again taken out of context. Maybe if you read my last contribution to the tipping debate, you'll get some idea of what I'm getting at. I'll post it here again for your delectation:

 

 

'No problem or as they say here in Pattaya 'mai pen rai'. I'm quite aware that everthing is relative when it comes to financial issues. But my point was that the Original Post was about being ripped off by a waiter in the PBG. The gentleman in question left a 20 baht tip for the waiter, which is fair by Thai standards. The only problem with this is Pattaya isn't a real example of Thailand and if you look at it's history was a result of American military personnel's need for a bit of R&R during the Vietnam war (or as the soldiers used to say I&I 'Intercourse & Intoxication). It is an artificial Thailand created for Westerners with Western pop music, clothes, mobile phones etc etc. I'd understand tipping 20 baht in rural Thailand where this amount of money is an awful lot, but in Pattaya it's not. And my original comment was that you are setting yourself up to be screwed over by unscrupulous service personnel, who will see you as mean, and therefore, in their own mind justify conning you. I'd prefer to give a fair tip (10-15%) than risk being robbed like the OP. If you read the original posting you will see that the waiter even remarked upon the 20 baht tip which was already in the check bin with the 500 baht for the meal. I'm certainly not a big tipper and I even hate giving the bellboy a tip who carries my suitcase to the hotel room when I was quite capable of transporting it 1000s of miles all by myself! However in a restaurant I will tip a fair amount if the service is good and when I go back I know that if the same waiter/waitress is on that they will bend over backwards to receive a similar tip again. They certainly won't screw me over for fear of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. This is basic psychology and is called Positive Reinforcement and is basic human nature.'

 

Pavlov proved Positive Reinforcement worked with his work on dogs, and humans are no different.

 

I'm beginning to get bored of this by now, so hope everyone has a nice time in Pattaya, which is what it's all about at the end of the day.

[DrK]

I dk about Beergarden. I have known Pete for a long time but think things have changed. I ordered a glass of plain (not bottled) water with my meal and Pete got on the waiter for not charging me for a bottle water. This in front of his staff and his wife I've known for 15 years. The day before I had just ordered when he asked me to help shoot a commercial. He had the waitress bring my meal to me again and again until it was stone cold. My reward for this was ..... cold fish.

 

I contrast that with Misty's. Everytime I go to Pattaya I have one drunken round with Andy. He is very generous when it comes to buying rounds. The worst part of the evening is I'm never stable enough to go home with anyone.

Edited December 10, 2010 by DrK

[aussieassman]

Every time i go to Pattaya i go the Beer Garden, its one of my favourite places,i have allways had good service and good food and allways leave a tip and ive never had a problem. I must say that when i go in there at different times of the day i allways pick the section that has the same waitress( the one i fancy) and they know me and see me there all the time. Its not in their interest to get a bad name, most of their customers are farang and if it started to get a bad reputation it wood be their downfall. As someone stated the owner is a PA member and im sure he knows we all talk about his place and word wood get around and he wood loose customers if people were getting ripped of or having abad time there. money does things to PPl and you will allways geta few bad apples. I guess until something bad happens i will keep going there.

[TheLostShark]

Once again taken out of context. Maybe if you read my last contribution to the tipping debate, you'll get some idea of what I'm getting at. I'll post it here again for your delectation:

 

 

'No problem or as they say here in Pattaya 'mai pen rai'. I'm quite aware that everthing is relative when it comes to financial issues. But my point was that the Original Post was about being ripped off by a waiter in the PBG. The gentleman in question left a 20 baht tip for the waiter, which is fair by Thai standards. The only problem with this is Pattaya isn't a real example of Thailand and if you look at it's history was a result of American military personnel's need for a bit of R&R during the Vietnam war (or as the soldiers used to say I&I 'Intercourse & Intoxication). It is an artificial Thailand created for Westerners with Western pop music, clothes, mobile phones etc etc. I'd understand tipping 20 baht in rural Thailand where this amount of money is an awful lot, but in Pattaya it's not. And my original comment was that you are setting yourself up to be screwed over by unscrupulous service personnel, who will see you as mean, and therefore, in their own mind justify conning you. I'd prefer to give a fair tip (10-15%) than risk being robbed like the OP. If you read the original posting you will see that the waiter even remarked upon the 20 baht tip which was already in the check bin with the 500 baht for the meal. I'm certainly not a big tipper and I even hate giving the bellboy a tip who carries my suitcase to the hotel room when I was quite capable of transporting it 1000s of miles all by myself! However in a restaurant I will tip a fair amount if the service is good and when I go back I know that if the same waiter/waitress is on that they will bend over backwards to receive a similar tip again. They certainly won't screw me over for fear of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. This is basic psychology and is called Positive Reinforcement and is basic human nature.'

 

Pavlov proved Positive Reinforcement worked with his work on dogs, and humans are no different.

 

I'm beginning to get bored of this by now, so hope everyone has a nice time in Pattaya, which is what it's all about at the end of the day.

 

Sorry, but its complete bullshit 20 baht tip over a 500 bath bill isnt enough in Pattaya... It's fair amount..

Edited December 14, 2010 by TheLostShark

[pattaya nezz]

WOW, that is very surprising to read.I personaly have had nothing but good experiences at PBG.The staff have always greeted us with a smile and the service , food and drinks have been of high standards.I will be in town next week (arrive late saturday night the 30th july) and will probably head strait to the PBG after checking in to the hotel for a few drinks and to wind down after the flight.I hope this thread will not be a negative for such a good spot, surely the problem can be rectified without causing bad side efects to this establishment- you should realy give them another chance , because one bad is not the end surely ?

And to end $15.oo is not going to break the bank anyway is it?

Cheers nezz.

Edited July 28, 2011 by pattaya nezz

[pubstud]

Seen this sort of thing happen often in Thailand, and other places in SE Asia too, a waiter works out a cute little idea to get some extra dosh from a customer, often easy to do with people who are drinking. I can remember these things happening fairly often in the past but no longer happen since I speak Thai well, I guess they work out if you been here long enough to learn the language then you also learned the tricks. Unfortunately you just got to have your witts about you when dealing with money in these places. Any disagreements and I'd request the duty manager.

[PepeLePew]

WOW, that is very surprising to read.I personaly have had nothing but good experiences at PBG.The staff have always greeted us with a smile and the service , food and drinks have been of high standards.I will be in town next week (arrive late saturday night the 30th july) and will probably head strait to the PBG after checking in to the hotel for a few drinks and to wind down after the flight.I hope this thread will not be a negative for such a good spot, surely the problem can be rectified without causing bad side efects to this establishment- you should realy give them another chance , because one bad is not the end surely ?

And to end $15.oo is not going to break the bank anyway is it?

Cheers nezz.

 

 

Seen this sort of thing happen often in Thailand, and other places in SE Asia too, a waiter works out a cute little idea to get some extra dosh from a customer, often easy to do with people who are drinking. I can remember these things happening fairly often in the past but no longer happen since I speak Thai well, I guess they work out if you been here long enough to learn the language then you also learned the tricks. Unfortunately you just got to have your witts about you when dealing with money in these places. Any disagreements and I'd request the duty manager.

 

Don't get excited, this thread is 2 and a half years old!!!

[swordfish]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worst experience so far in Pattaya. Sadly it took place at my former favourite place. I really can not call it my favourite anymore after todays treatment.

 

Me and my girlfriend, that also happens to have had Pattaya Beer Garden as her favourite place, decided that we wanted to go and have dinner and a few beers at Pattaya Beer Garden.

 

We ordered our food and two beers each and since I had finished my second beer before my girlfriend, I decided to take out my vallet and find the money to pay the bin. The check was for 500 baht so I thought I would give 20 baht extra as tip. I shoved the 500 and the 20 baht bills to my girlfriend and put the money in the bin, so show her that I gave 20 baht in tips. After a while the male waiter that had taken our food order came and took up the money and counted them. He remarked that we had put in 20 baht for tip, smiled and put the money back in the bin. Then he left. I was wondering why he had taken up the money and then just put it back again and left the bin on the table as it was clearly ready for beeing taken to the cashier. But I should soon learn the reason for it.

 

I assumed that everything was in order and me and my girlfriend was walking towards the exit of Pattaya Beer Garden. On our way out one of the waitresses came running after us and claimed that there was only 20 baht in the bin. I thought for a moment that she was joking as the waiter, my girlfriend and myself had seen that all the money was in the bin. I tried to explain to her that the money had been in the bin, but she refused to belive me.

 

I looked around after the waiter that had been messing with our bin and after having found him, asked him about what happend to the money that I had put in the bin. He was the only one that had been messing with the bin and clearly stated that the money was in the bin, but now he had something compleately different to say.

 

Now he was stating that there were only 20 baht in the bin. "How the f... can you state that there were only 20 baht in the bin when you was pleased to find 20 bath tips in the bin", I asked him. I was getting furious at this point as I have never in my life experienced such a behaviour. But now the waiter was acting all innocent and the other waitress seemed to just give a f.....

 

I just had to get out of the place before I would throw the waiter into the sea and found a 1000 baht note that I have to the waitress and followed her to the cashier to get my 500 change back. After that me and my girlfriend just left this place and decided that we would never come back.

 

I am very surprised that this happend to us as I have always been 100 % satisfied with the service at Pattaya Beer Garden in the past, but if it will be a risk to leave money in the bin as the staff might steal them, then I know about 1000's of other places in Pattaya that I would rather spend my money.

 

I can only wonder about the waiter as:

 

Why the fu.. did he smile and comment about the 20 baht in tips in the bin if there was not enough money to pay the check?

 

Why the fu.. did he not take the bin to the cashier, but instead messing around with the money and then put the bin back on the table?

 

My only conclusion is that he made 500 extra tonight, and my visit to Pattaya Beer Garden costed me 500 extra because of dishonest employees.

 

Thank you, but no thank you!!! I will spend my money elsewhere in the future!!!

[swordfish]

Shocked, beer garden, great place, great food, great service and friendly girls.

[Diar]

Original post was 2,5 years ago.....

[St George]

Original post was 2,5 years ago.....

 

Yes BMs must take this into account, as you cant keep slagging off a place based on something way in the past.

 

I have eaten here 3 times in the last few months, the last being for Loy Kratong on the 10th Nov.

 

Although one must always be vigilant, IMO this restaurant has definately moved on since the original OP. The staff have always been friendly and helpful. For example on Loy Kratong, they were so apologetic that my meal was taking slightly longer than my companions meals, and i hadnt even complained. It showed an awareness of how my table was going.

 

I would like to add a thanks to the OP for highlighting a problem, and its good to see that it has been sorted.

[oldaussie]

Although one must always be vigilant, IMO this restaurant has definately moved on since the original OP. The staff have always been friendly and helpful.

 

I must say, very true! Was there for the whole of october 2011 and ate at the PBG virtually every day, sometimes twice a day with some drinks with freelancers at the odd occasion. Had a bit of a problem explaining how Pernod should be served (in the french traditional manner), or that i preferred Cointreau in shot glasses and not mixed with soda, but how whould they know? My favorite waitress was Thip, the older lady with the straw hat. Good English, good service and attention, she even gave me some veiled warnings regarding some dubious freelancers. Food was good to great, although i found serving warm prawns( instead of cold) as standard in a prawn cocktail to be a bit disconcerting. Did send a short review to the owner about this and also some advice on how to tune-up some dishes,

but never got a reply.He gets an "F" for that in my opinion.

[kundai]

Americans tip heavily because they pay their serving staff very poorly, Frrench pay sevice staff well and include service charge 17.5% on the bill the rest of europe varies, Thais rarely nip and if they do only leave the small coins and never notes

[Asswhole]

interesting topic regardless of date

 

either way its still the best place around to eat at reasonable prices

[gerryandannuk]

Noticed they have not updated website for a while.

[casinoclub]

Americans tip heavily because they pay their serving staff very poorly, Frrench pay sevice staff well and include service charge 17.5% on the bill the rest of europe varies, Thais rarely nip and if they do only leave the small coins and never notes

 

Being American, I understand the reason behind the American system. And for the most part, the services I get in restaurants are pretty decent, and I leave a tip knowing that it was a tip well deserved. That said, the French service staff is paid well, and the 17.5% service charge is added in addition to being paid well?

 

Does the 17.5% ALL goes to the particular service staff or is it divided equally? Or does that goes to the restaurant whom in turn pays the service staff well?

 

And in the French system, if the 17.5% service charge is mandatory, what is the incentive to perform well? Or is that 17.5% for doing the job at all and the salary for just showing up? I am just trying to rationalize the logic behind it.

 

I kind of like thinking the 17.5% service charge is similar to pre-paying your ST/LT. :-)

[MrLek]

I am Australian and can never get my head around tipping. It doesn't make any sense to me. Sure i tip someone if something extraordinary happens but why tip for service when you are expecting service? If a country has a culture for tipping then fair enough. "when in rome" and all that but why tip in a country that doesn't have a culture of tipping amongst themselves?