Bar Manager in The Complex asking questions

[PK82]

The boy drinks at my place are 150. The extra 50 baht goes to the boy at the end of the night so if you get him 2 he'll get paid 100 at the end of the night. To be honest it's a key way of making money for them so that's why they can be so pushy. It's a turn off, I know but it's what they have to do.

Some things can't be helped, but at least can be explained. Many who are asked to buy "Drink for boy" have no idea the boy gets part of that. Why not just put some sort of notice on the tables that explains the boy gets 50 baht for each "Drink for boy". Now the customer knows why "Drink for boy" is more expensive than his own drink.

Out of the suggestions and ideas posted so far, which ones are you are seriously considering trying?

Hey there, yeah we do put it clearly in the menu at my bar. I feel it should be on the menu and brought to everyone's attention to avoid confusion

[PK82]

they usually get 50-60 baht per drink in Jomtien. Plus customer tips.

You're correct . We charge am extra 50 and the boy gets that . We even say that on our menu to avoid confusion.

[Jun]

All right. Don't have a conniption fit. Since you're talking about the past few weeks, I'll take your word for it.
Now, back to the topic and let's stick with the topic. This one is too important to start going off on tangents.

How is reporting what I see in the bars a "conniption fit" ?

Anyone managing a bar in 2023 needs to manage a bar for the current market. So observing what goes on is a key part of that.

Not everything that worked 25 years ago works today. VHS rental shops used to be a good business, but they were killed off by digital distribution.
Similarly, much of the money boy trade has moved on line, as you know well. This appears to be reducing the number of offs from bars, as people now find a lad online. Again based on observations, as a regular bar customer in recent years, plus discussions with other people.

People going to a bar to off boys usually sit with them. Howrver, if they are going to socialize with other farang, the expense of boy drinks and tips is optional. That's probably why I and other board members mostly see farang sitting with farang at the bars.

The whole bar market has changed and I suspect it started when Steve Jobs got on stage to launch the iPhone in 2007.

Anyone running a business will be making such observations at their own bar and the competition. Bar managers will also have access to the till data, which ought to show the number of customer drinks, boy drinks and which boys are selling the boy drinks.

I guess the data won't show which boys pull groups of farang into the bar to drink amongst themselves, but the bar manager can keep a discrete count.
I'm guessing the boys don't have a direct financial incentive to do that, but they still need to be motivated.

Incidentally, I forgot to mention comfortable seating earlier. Once I see a bar with cute smiling boys and a tolerable music volume, I want a comfortable chair. Most Jomtien bars manage this.

[Undaunted]

Keep the skinny fem boys away, have masculine boys straight or gay that are willing, don’t allow the staff to have a phone until they leave, keep the age of the staff 25 and under. There is no shortage of gay sissy boys in the bars offer an alternative.
Post a sign “If your here to play bingo your in the wrong place”!

[Gaybutton]

Keep the skinny fem boys away, have masculine boys straight or gay that are willing

I disagree with that part of your post. If possible, I think there should be a mix. Maybe you don't like fem boys and prefer the masculine type, but that does not apply to everybody. There are also those, such as me, who prefer the fem boys. Maybe you should be the one who has to go to other bars to find the types you like.

[Undaunted]

Keep the skinny fem boys away, have masculine boys straight or gay that are willing

I disagree with that part of your post. If possible, I think there should be a mix. Maybe you don't like fem boys and prefer the masculine type, but that does not apply to everybody. There are also those, such as me, who prefer the fem boys. Maybe you should be the one who has to go to other bars to find the types you like.

You rarely if ever see a bar with both as for the complex 80% or more are fem sissy certainly enough for those that prefer that sought.

[Gaybutton]

You rarely if ever see a bar with both as for the complex 80% or more are fem sissy certainly enough for those that prefer that sought.

If that is correct, then 20% of the bars have the type you are looking for. For me, it is not only the type, but whether the bar is one I can actually enjoy rather than merely tolerate.

I don't understand your position - masculine boys only. What is wrong with having several types, something for everyone? That way there would be boys you prefer, boys I prefer, and perhaps other boy types too. Why should I, or you, have to go to other bars to find the boy types we like? If the bar itself is one I like and the boy type I like can also be found there, guess which bar I'll go to - at least for the evening's first stop - maybe the evening's only stop,

Seems to me Paul K is trying to find ways to please as many of us as possible. Of course, he won't be able to please everybody, so compromises will probably be necessary. In any case I believe it would be a mistake, a mistake I doubt Paul K will make, for any bar in the complex to be looking to hire only one boy type, even if it's my type, that is going to please one set of people to the exclusion of others. I wouldn't see that as a way to attract customers, even if the type one is looking for can easily be found in every other bar in the complex.

My guess is most bars in the complex will hire any boy who walks in and wants to work there, no matter what type he is.

I'm curious as to whether most boys working in the complex bars these days are hired and salaried or are freelancers.

[Jun]

Keep the skinny fem boys away, have masculine boys straight or gay that are willing,

Most of the boys in Jomtien are skinny and masculine. With a relatively small number of exceptions at the open fronted bars.

If you mean muscular, well there's usually some of that in the gogo bars near Boyztown. As far as I can tell, most farang choose to go to Jomtien instead, so there must be limited demand for muscular guys.

The show bars regrettably follow the unimaginative formula of always including lady boys. A problem easily solved by avoiding those.
One innovation would be a showbar with zero lady boys, which would at least provide some choice for customers. However, that's just a general observation and one that isn't suited to a compact bar like Coqtales.

[Gaybutton]

Most of the boys in Jomtien are skinny and masculine.

I'm going to go with Jun's observations. Apparently he has been going to the bars almost every night whereas I haven't been to the bars to see for myself in months.

[Jun]

I get by visiting the bars 2-3 times per week.

Besides, we know the "effeminate" and "cissy" descriptions are part of a much repeated wind up routine that stopped working years ago.

Of course, a bar manager who happens to have some of the few effeminate staff in Jomtien will be in the best place to see how it works.