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| Subject | Date page reviewed | Date page updated | |
| Bar Fines | 30-08-2008 |
One Gogo bar has a sign on the counter which says "Prostitution in Thailand is illegal. Payment of a bar fine is not an invitation to sex".
Everybody has heard of them [Bar Fines], but few know the full reason. In the old days, it was a way of the bar owner getting back the wages he pays the girl when she is out of the bar. It also is to get back some of the money he would have earned if the customer has stayed and drank more. In gogos, other customers may not come in the bar if there are fewer girls to look at dancing. That is why Gogo Bar "bar fines" are higher than Beer Bar "bar fines", because the wages are higher.
Now for the lesser known facts - The owner often sets a target of "Offs" (short-time (in the old days) and long-time) for each girl. Also number of "Ladydrinks" she gets the customers to buy. If she does not make both the targets, he will cut her wages by a set amount for not working hard enough. The system can benefit you, the customer, because if he covered his wage bill, he can afford to hire more girls, so you have a greater choice. But on the other side, out of the tourist season, if a girl gets no "Offs" in the month, she may receive little or no wages for dancing for the past month. She may also lose her job. That is why most staff changes happen a couple of days after pay day, usually due to getting heavily cut wages.
It is normal in all bars to stop a higher rate of barfine to wages for girls that do not turn up to work, saying they must have a private arrangement with a customer who doesn't want to pay the barfine. This is fair as in effect the bar owner has lost the income of the drinks the customer would have bought before bar fining the girl.
Most Gogos also stop bar fine money from a girls wages if she is seen after work with a customer that has previously been drinking in the bar for the same reason.
Three example of how some bar owner cope with
staffing - No Staff = No customers!
Bar 1: The BF is 500 Baht. He stops the
girls 1,000 as either they have a customer or too lazy to come to work.
Bar
2: He pays his girls on a daily basis, as he has a large team. No working out
times and targets - just work and get paid.
Bar 3: Smallish bar but busy.
He hires the first "x" girls that turn up, and the latecomers sent back home.
Tomorrow they will come on time.
PLEASE NOTE that unlike the Philippines, where the Barfine includes the ladies time, in Thailand, you have to negotiate a rate for the ladies' time on top of the barfine.
What is or was a Short-time barfine? Before the "Social Reform" crackdown, in Gogo bars, you could pay a reduced bar-fire for personal recreation purposes, either using their rooms to relax with a girl of your choice, or going back to your hotel, for an hour or two. Now you can still take a girl out for a couple of hours, but the bar insists insists on the full bar fine rate.
Some of the older gogos had rooms above, and now have converted their ST rooms into holiday lets. Ever thought of staying at a gogo bar for your holiday?
Under the Social Reform directive, the police are now enforcing the 30 year old law on closing times and anti-prostitution, which prohibits horizontal entertainment on the premises. However, a few girls do live on the premises and may invite you back to their personal living area, which they rent from the landlord (The landlord is often not the bar owner). But this is now very rare.
Now the "Social Reform" crackdown is over, most bar owners will not go back to ST/LT BFs. However, there is a growing number that now post signs with ST rates in the bar. Others do offer the service, but not display any sign, and thouse usally had a "Inclusive Rate" for my the BF/Room/Lady)
Where to go? To fill the gap caused by the crackdown, some hotels now have short-let rooms available, which are rented by the hour, in case you have reasons for not going back to your hotel or house. They usually charge about 200-300 Baht for the privilege. On Soi 16, Tony's Disco has a large sign saying "Short time rooms 300 Baht". You will see many blatent signs like this elsewhere in Walking Street area.
What does she do after? If you agree Short-time fees with the girl, after the agreed time or action, and as a full bar fine has been paid, what she does is up to her. Usually, they go back to work to hopefully get another barfine, tips or drinks. Remember they have targets to meet! Some bars pay a bonus to the girl to come back and work, as it refills the stage. But maybe she will go home and do her laundry, go shopping or just visit her friends.
Remember to PRACTICE SAFE SEX. UNSAFE SEX? Don't be so stupid.
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