If you’re a bar hopper who buys a drink for the boss, we’ll let you in on a secret: They don’t want it.
For go-go regulars, especially expats who’ve seen it all, a trip to Walking Street, Soi Cowboy or Nana often may be more about hanging out with friends, managers or owners than with the Issan farm girls on stage. It commonplace to buy a drink for the boss.
There are some managers/hosts who have a large following online (or off) and, on big nights – especially things like organized birthday parties – rounds (and rounds) of shots and drinks can cross the table, including more than one drink for the boss. But the truth is most of them don’t want you to buy a drink for the boss.
Alcohol Comes with the Job
In the bar every night, it’s hard to stay away from alcohol. It’s a frequent lament that drinking comes with the job. If someone offers a drink for the boss, they feel like they can’t say no.
“If a customer buys you a drink and you order club soda, they’re not very happy,” said a well-known Pattaya Walking Street manager.
Hoping to politely discourage people from plying him with alcohol, the owner of one Walking Street go-go – not the one in the photos accompanying this story – has introduced new pricing his drinks: Lady drinks top out at 230 baht. But a drink for a manager or mamasan is 250 baht and a drink for the boss is 350 baht.
“Hopefully, the price stops customers from trying to kill me with alcohol,” he said, only half-jokingly.
A Drink for the Boss Will Cost You
When the new pricing for a drink for the boss was introduced, a drink for the boss actually was 500 baht, but there were too many cases of sticker shock when it came time to pay the bill. So, he lowered it to 350 baht for a drink for the boss.
Some customers understand why a drink for the boss was priced higher, but said they should have been warned when ordering.
In a discussion on the Dave the Rave Facebook page, commenters – many of whom are keyboard warriors who engage in non-stop racist rants about Indians in Pattaya and pine openly for the 500-baht short-times of 20 years ago – didn’t think much of people who buy a drink for the boss, or the higher prices.
Facebook Keyboard Warriors Scoff
“Anyone buying ‘manager drinks’ is a mug,” wrote Jeremy Kirchner.
“🦬💩 Must be an oddball buying the manager a drink,” agreed Stu Smith.
“Bosses don’t need your drink,” wrote Ricky Chow, who entirely missed the point that guys hanging with the guys aren’t there for the girls. “Smart ones buy for mamasan and she will help you get the best girls.”
Some comments stuck in the past were harsher.
“Sounds like twaddle to me, an excuse to cover his greed at charging outrageous prices for ‘lady drinks’,” commented Des Davis, who seems happy to have girls scrounging for 20-baht drink chits.
“I miss the good old days when a lady drink cost a little more than yours, she got half or 20 baht. And it was a drink in those days, not colored water.”
Drink prices remain one of the most contentious issues among bar fans, even when it involves pricing aimed at protecting bar workers’ health.
