Last night was a bit brutal. A friend’s last night so we went pretty hard starting in Silom and Patpong for the F1, then to Cowboy, and then to Nana. Pretty standard stuff EXCEPT for the most idiotic and annoying policy I’ve ever heard of in a GoGo.
It seems that the “Arab”’s bars which include Spice Girls, Midnite, Deja Vu, and I believe Black and White are FORBIDDING the use of mobile phones in their GoGo’s. You can’t send an sms or make/receive calls or you will be approached by staff and rudely told to put the phone away or be tossed. This happened to me and my friends in Midnite and Dejavu and I spoke with one of the Spice Girls door girls that I know and she confirmed with a frightened look on her face that this is indeed the new policy. Of course there was no good reason given why. Only that “we have many problems”.
Hey, I understand that some guys will take photos or video and it’s also understandable that a gogo police that but no sms or calls? That’s just stupid. I am certainly not going back to these bars until they change that stupid shit.
I told this to Playskool Pete who owns close to a dozen bars on Cowboy and Nana and he just laughed, as he should. You gotta love competition that implement customer repelling policies like this one.
-pmmp
wow, so it’s a no cellphone rule then eh? so there’s nothing wrong about using walkie talkies or smoke signals?? next time your in a bar take a long a truckers CB and sit in the chair using your specially chosen handle. i’m pretty sure they’d let you use your cellphone after a while of doing that.
View all comments by UnoWetbackConGung
Don’t go in those bars much anyway. Guess that will be never now.
View all comments by Young Royal
I like that! Now we can leave the ugly girl we thought was a stunner (from far and behind) without even paying the bill: “oups! Wait a minute. I’ll be back. Got a phone call!”
View all comments by Suk Psycho
Cowboy is starting to suck… full of arrogant girls, annoying little fuckers trying to sell you flowers, bloody hungry elephants and now the no cell phone policy.
When one of the ‘welcome’ girls failed to pull my buddy and I into Shebas, she called us ‘cunts’!!!
Another one off my list.
Roll on the Big Mango Bar……
View all comments by Daywalker
I’ve been in many bars at Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy where too many western guys are using their cell phones to take photos inside the club. They make a game out of it, showing each other their images.
A real distraction.
And usually the music is so loud you can’t hear anything, and no one on the other end of a cell phone conversation can hear you. I don’t need anyone yelling to their phone next to me in a gogo club.
And its too dark to text message, unless your keyboard lights up, and then its a distraction to the people next to you. If you need to text message, just step outside the club…..
Why not forget about the outside world for a moment, have a beer, enjoy the view and the company that is around you inside the club.
Enjoy the experience.
View all comments by arttv
Interesting take on it arttv. Never really thought about it that way. I guess there are two sides so no real right or wrong here, just preferences so now folks annoyed by cell phone usage have a choice.
For me though, I use sms all the time to locate and be located. Seeing guys getting up all the time to take care of their phone needs would be more of a distraction to me. It is also very annoying and distracting to watch gogo staff busting farangs for using their phones and the resulting back and forth dialogue that inevitably follows.
I don’t think a gogo is such a sacred and serious place where you should restrict all communication but this is probably a case where the few ruin it for the many. Photos, Video, and talking via your mobile don’t belong in a gogo but I think you can post “No Photos/No Video/No Talking” warnings and most guys will respect that. If they don’t then you ask them not to and if they still do it then take their phone and toss them. A quick sms check or send is harmless.
I guess it was just easier for these gogo’s to restrict all access which imho leans towards weak customer service.
View all comments by pmmp
The iPhone can be used in the dark
I was sending a text to tell people where we were to come and join us.
The gogo lost out.
I’ve never seen anyone taking pictures or indeed yelling into their cellphones.
The place is a friggin gogo bar. Not a library.
View all comments by day walker
The bars should get the message when traffic drops off. Aside from the obvious why is it such a big deal to video/photo in the bars and GoGos in the first place? The lighting is such that most cameras take crap shots that are barely visible anyway. Are there laws or is it just a privacy thing? I personally look for footage to gage and choose the places I wish to go to because I don’t live in BKK, so the time waisted stepping in and having a look can really cut into productive party and boom boom time. Hence my readership of this blog, perhaps some of you guys that have more of a working relationship with the management of these establishments may want to point this out and how this may effect the bottom line.
View all comments by NurseRon
Looks like the Pat Pong disease (fuck over the customers at any cost)has migrated from Silom to Nana and now to Soi Cowboy!
Too bad.
View all comments by Khun J
Personally I keep my phone on silent when in go gos but do check it(discreetly) for messages or the time. That said though I’d have no problem with a being asked not to use my phone. Why? Because despite the holier than thou attitude here videos and photos end up on the net. I don’t want to be on You Tube but more importantly nor do those who work in such venues.
View all comments by wenthworth
yeah I suppose the girls do have a right to preserve what little privacy they can?
View all comments by NurseRon
geez, I always get these privacy things wrong at first but will admit that I’m doing a 180 on this. Privacy being the key driver. It seems the inconvenience of not using your cell is well worth the inconvenience if it protects privacy, either mine or the girls. Wentworth’s point about being caught on youtube is a good one.
Okay, I now salute these bars for their groundbreaking policy on protecting privacy.
View all comments by pmmp
“And its too dark to text message, unless your keyboard lights up, and then its a distraction to the people next to you.”
Can’t say I’ve ever been distracted in a gogo by a mobile phone. Girls yes.
View all comments by Young Royal
How am I suppose to take the girls number without paying the barfine ah….. That’s what it’s probably about!
View all comments by Young Royal
i guess the arab’s still experimenting
anyone notice his mamasans getting rotated around his bars and then out? just saw an ex-spice girl at mercury. she didn’t want to talk about it
View all comments by roddy
Does the Arab own Carousel in Nana by any chance?
I text a bitch that works there a few nights back asking if she wants to come to mine so i can push her dinner up for a few hours and some Arab guy rang me on her number threatening to kill me if i text her again.
I said something racist and hung up - probably unrelated
View all comments by Young Penfold
What I think is funny was that last time I was in Cowboy - the girls were actually asking me to get my phone out to show them what time it was!
View all comments by Jase
yp: The Arab only owns Spanky’s in Nana Plaza. Carousel is the Chech guy who own’s Hollywood next door as well. So, unrelated.
View all comments by pmmp
On principle I guess any owner can do what they want. if they want to implement, what I think is a stupid rule, then they can. I think the issue is the lack of any common sense for how to carry it out. I don’t recall seeing signs saying no phones. instead they run over and make a big scene over it. I am also sure if I walked out to make a call they would freak out that I am doing a runner.
I don’t why texting or picking up the phone is a big deal. As always it is they way the carry out enforcement and how they handle the customers is the issue.
View all comments by smitty
and i quote:
“i text a b*tch who works there”
classy
View all comments by jack dawson
JD - this comment is justified as she said for 100baht i could suck lime juice off her tits. 100baht later she said i could finger her brown for 100baht.
Oh what 200baht will get you on the 3rd floor of Nana
View all comments by Young Penfold
YP, So did she make these suggestions or were you just fishing with 100THB in your pocket? Either way dude this gona be f@#king great! did you get the email?
View all comments by rfpeace
I forgot how negotiations began as it was towards the end of a long night, but if i remember correctly i initiated the process. I thought the 100baht to tickle her balloon-knot was too good to resist.
I was lite on cash at the time but she offered 1000baht ST with brown love included. I SHALL return
I was with a fellow poster from this site and shouted him 100baht to have a suckle aswell - afterall…….what are friends for?
View all comments by Young Penfold
Another “grey” issue here. I don’t have an answer when it comes to policy, but maybe this is an Arab thing about being “caught” on video?
If I want to use my cell phone for non-picture type things, including reading an SMS or even playing the snake game then… please let me…
If, however, I am pointing the phone with the obvious intent of incriminating someone else, then toss me out the door.
To me there is obvious difference…
View all comments by John Brown
Aaaah … Young Penfold, the Bard of Bangkok.
“so i can push her dinner up for a few hours”
“finger her brown”
“tickle her balloon-knot”
“brown love”
Hushed Golf Applause.
View all comments by Pants Elk
Daywalker : ‘annoying little fucker’s trying to sell you flowers’
Never seen you with any flowers ?
‘Sheba’s welcome girl called me a cunt’
And ?
View all comments by ChelseaBlue
CB: The flowers were for you.
And as for the ‘cunts’ comment.. she called ‘US’ cunts…. if it were just me, I’d not complain. But as I was with a rather sensitive chap who is not used to this kind of language or treatment, I thought it was out of order.
I hope Jonas is o.k now.
View all comments by Day Walker
If she had called me a cunt id of punched her in the side of the head
Then id ok woken up in a puddle of piss and blood with shattered knees and elbows in the middle of nowhere - well worth it i think you’ll agree
View all comments by Young Penfold
So does this policy include the girls in the bars themselves?
How many times do you see them with their phones in the back of their bikini’s, in their boots etc….checking if their Thai boyfriend ponce has requested some yaba on the way home?
If I had my phone out and was told not to use my phone, I would say, 15 of my friends are on the way to the bar. They just sent me a message. But we will now go elsewhere if we can’t use our phones.
Anyone calling me a cunt would result in me looking at them in the eye and laughing at them.
That would piss them off more than giving abuse back.
What’s up with some of these bars?
My friend was in a bar a few weeks ago. He had been there 3 nights on the bounce (visits Bangkok monthly).
He’s a non drinker and just went to look at eye candy and if the girl is right - barfine.
He had one soft drink and turned away a few girls who asked within 30 seconds for a lady drink.
He is known in there as he has barfined a couple of girls before.
Anyway, the mamasan came over after a while and asked him to either start buying ladydrinks, barfine or leave.
He said if you are going to ask me like that, I’ll leave….
View all comments by Jimmy Cricket
JimmyCricket: There are many bars that just don’t know what customer service is. Your attitude is right on, take your business elsewhere.
Unfortunately, it’s getting harder to take your business elsewhere as the monopolies grow. King’s group monopoly kills Patpong. The Crown group monopoly kills Nana Plaza, and now Soi Cowboy monopolies are starting to hurt Cowboy. Thankfully there are bars like Cactus, Shark, Baccara, Tilac and a few others that haven’t been monopolized yet.
It’s a shame that it has to be like this but there are more scummy bar owner’s who want to monopolize than there are decent one’s that believe in strong customer service. Screwing the customer and corrupt practices are chosen over sound competitive business practices. Welcome to the bar business in Thailand.
View all comments by pmmp
Jimmy C:
You are spot on. When the girl told me not to use my phone, I told her I was arranging to meet people there. I then ‘check-binned’!
To be honest she was a little sheepish, as if embarassed to tell me. My guess is the boss had read them the riot act?
As for the girl calling me and my buddy a cunt… well, she doesn’t know how close she was to having a dream life. Had she have been a nice girl, I might have taken her away to live life like a pop-star!
Instead, I told her boss (who we know) that I shall not becoming there again.
View all comments by Day Walker
Day Walker,
What was her bosses reaction?
View all comments by Spyker
Something along the lines of….
“ha ha fuckin tarts”…….
That showed her.
View all comments by Day Walker
The Thai customer service handbook is not an extensive volume then?
View all comments by Spyker
I just hope those Mango Bar Owners/idiots take note……
View all comments by Day Walker
we took note indeed.
I throw out, right onto soi mango, anyone with an iphone.
can’t stand that shit.
View all comments by smitty
Smitty.. you kill me man.
View all comments by Day Walker