Go Go Touts on Bangla Rd

[joejorob]

Can you really see the police allowing an enormous banner hanging in front of their office warning people off some of their "income streams"!

 

[LittleBitOfSugar]

OK, scrap that idea.

Raw, what would happen if bars were to print up menus, and spread them all around the bar, and maybe hang one up someplace. Anyone going into that bar would "know" the price for a beer (or whatever) before ordering one. Should the police be called in by a tout, the customer would only need to point to the sign, and say that's what I ordered, and that's the price. With the price right there in the open for all to see, that should put an end to any confusion. (The solution can't be that easy - what am I missing?) You wouldn't really need fancy menus; just cards with the name of the bar on one side and a price list on the other should be enough, with one big sign posted somewhere with pricing.

(For bars that DO want or are willing, to work with the touts, this won't accomplish anything, other than to eventually get customers to shift away from bars that charge too much, back to the ones that have fair pricing. There's a sign in your bar that says 120, and the customer is paying 600 in the bar next to you, even after a few drinks he'll probably realize the choice he can make.)

 

[Mark D]

Actually, when I'm over there, I get along fine with just about all of the locals. As I see it, these guys (touts) are no more so "nasty, thieving scum" than anyone else. They're just trying to earn a living, same as everyone else, and they've got their "angle" that they try their best to exploit.

The people I'd consider as "nasty, thieving scum" are the goons who try to pickpocket or steal money from others. They should be punished by someone, and I imagine if they ever get caught, they will be. Any reasonable society would try to its best to eliminate them, and from what I hear, if they get caught in Thailand, off they go to the local jail.

Some people here in this forum try to give me a hard time, saying I think of these people as the "real Thai people". That's not exactly correct, but I do think someone who came to Patong from Issan to try to earn money is "at least as much" entitled to be there than all these foreigners who come to visit or move in. For the most part, THEY are the local citizens, and WE are the visiting guests.

If someone can't stand the touts, the tailors, the tuk-tuk drivers, the motor-taxi drivers, the rental guys (jet-ski and/or motorbike) the street vendors, and all the rest, there are plenty of other destinations to go to. All this stuff together makes up what Patong is today, and what it was ten years ago. It's not all that different, just "more of the same".

Sorry if anyone thinks the above is too simplistic, naive, or trying to preach to others, as it's not intended to be any of the above. It's simply how I see things, and it's obvious that it is very different from the way some other people here see things. However, I'll follow some advice I received in a recent email, and I will refrain from posting any more suggestions about things I know so little about.

 

[phantomcat135]

FFS!!!...............

 

[Dennisse]

Only in "The world, according to Thaicum". 55555:he:

 

[kempo_jujitsu77]

But lets be honest.. there was a few 5 years back.. a small pack 3 or so years back.. and a bloody swam in the last 12 months..

 

[Andrew F]

ha ha ha.. Touts calling in the police over a payment.. LOL.. You really are a crack up.

What world do you inhabit ??

 

[cute-boots]

After finishing yet another trip to Patong I can say categorically that there are definitely more Go-Go touts on Bangla than even on my last trip , having cards shoved in my face is bad enough but seeing them "hassle" parents with kids in tow gives the whole Soi a bad reputation.

 

[Yeaa boiii]

Maybe the barowners/ bm's should start listing bars that DONT allow this practise and we should start just attending those bars or clubs or maybe a sign in the bar saying tout free zone so the fools know not to bother but methinks they are all part of the same business of extracting as much baht from foreigners as quickly as possible...ill tell you this much it wont work with me a fool tried it in patong in January i made sure i asked how much the bar would charge as if they tried adding money on for the thai stood next to me i was off to the next place...simply ask them when you enter telling them you entered because you wanted to and no because the tought escorted you there.

 

[Milli]

Brilliant idea there.

Why hasn't anyone ever thought of that? 555555555:rules:



"Wayne's World".:

 

[SeanA]

You really havent followed other threads have you ??

How about the posts by one of the owners of gogo's on that soi, with the death threats to him and his family, the damage to his property, the delivered 'funeral wreath' etc.

You think the touts are just nice guys collecting commissions ?? Naive isnt the word.

 

[Betty]

Jeffrey will be well pleased - as long as he gets a perceneforum.xxxe :whistle:

 

[Tink]

Which world do I inhabit? Let's see, do I go along with your view, or that from "landofsmiles"? I thought the meaning of what he posted was quite clear. (Whether the touts would actually call the police, or just threaten to do so, would probably be enough to force tourists to pay the inflated price should there be a dispute.)

 

[White Devil]

I think that when these "simple Thai people" exploit their angles, and try to gouge tourists for 4 or 5 times the normal drink price, they are the same as thiefs. In my mind they are stealing...and they know it!

Same goes for tuk-tuk drivers, et al.:grrrrrr:

 

[Ezekiel]

No percent needed..can i buy one?:happyi::happyi:...

 

[Stan P]

They swim??:meuh:

 

[Vampy]

Just reading about these twats makes me crazy. Gas the Touts!:rules:

 

[moosaidthebrit]

Beware off Ladyboys at night on the Beach , they may just be guys dressed as women planning to rob you !!!!!

"The Chick with a D!ck may really be D!ck with a brick !!!!" :

 

[SLINKY 3]

I took Pabs off my "ignore list" because I felt sorry for some of our past discussions, and what I posted. Anyway, I just read the above. I won't agree or disagree. I'll just elaborate a wee bit.

A beer at one of the se GoGos that a tout might bring you to, and where you get to watch a show, is what, 600 baht?

A beer at a bar, where you've got girls and people to sit and talk to is what, 120 baht?

A beer at the 7/11 where all you get is the beer, is 30 baht.



People who go to a bar rather than the 7/11 expect more, and pay more.
People who go to a go-go show expect even more, and pay even more.

To a typical tourist coming in from nowhere, USA, walking down Bangla Road for the first time, he would probably have no idea whatever as to where to go to see a "show". Some 'tout' takes him to the show, and he gets to watch the goings-on, paying a bundle for his drinks.... is he being ripped off, or just paying a lot for the show? These "touts" have been on Bangla with their signs and trying to get people into the shows for as long as I can remember.

Anyone know how much people pay nowadays for the more elaborate shows, such as Phuket Fantasea, or the others? I bet it's well over 1500 baht, and if I remember right, food and drinks are a bunch more. Some tourists will pay plenty for this kind of stuff, even if the local "experts" think it's way overpriced.

(All the above, IMHO.)

 

[tjv189]

How many times does it have to be said that the clubs don`t invite the touts, the touts IMPOSE themselves on the clubs?