bumblebee Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Another riveting installment in our world famous "What's the story series....?" and this time we are asking the experts, yes that is you guys, the buzz question of our time, what's the deal with guys who buy bottles and have them in the bar ready to drink whenever they are on the premises. How does the bar make money and how do you feel about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimslim Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You must be bored I've seen a few guys do this and I take your point the bar makes nothing apart from the mixers . The key is though they become a captive audience and buy drinks for others . Any of the guys I've met who buy their own bottles are heavy drinkers who rarely see sunlight and are not shy at buying a round for whoever passes by . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumblebee Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 You must be bored The subject just came up over a few drinks and thought best to get the input and views of the guys who were not at the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdogg Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I suppose bar policies vary widely on this practice. Often there is a corkage fee. One of the best deals was in the now defunct Corner Bar where the corkage fee was 300 baht and they also provided free ice. I guess Crabby the owner figured that most guys are not going to drink alone, so if an expat on a budget goes to a bar because his bottle is there then perhaps his friends will join him. Or as Jim said, maybe the guy will be buying ladydrinks. I am still amazed how many "ladyboy loving guys" would show up at that bar given that it was a gay bar, albeit with a few popular LB servers most notably Aun (now at Fantasy Bar) and Ning, now back home. This certainly didn't happen before in Sunee and hasn't happened after. I think one night we may have had 16 customers at our table, both guys and guys who brought along their ladyboys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luung Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Ask PDogg Edit: OOOOOOPS... PDogg just posted at exactly the same time as me... FFS.. He's just killed my post 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xyzzy Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I suppose bar policies vary widely on this practice. Often there is a corkage fee. One of the best deals was in the now defunct Corner Bar where the corkage fee was 300 baht and they also provided free ice. I guess Crabby the owner figured that most guys are not going to drink alone, so if an expat on a budget goes to a bar because his bottle is there then perhaps his friends will join him. Or as Jim said, maybe the guy will be buying ladydrinks. I am still amazed how many "ladyboy loving guys" would show up at that bar given that it was a gay bar, albeit with a few popular LB servers most notably Aun (now at Fantasy Bar) and Ning, now back home. This certainly didn't happen before in Sunee and hasn't happened after. I think one night we may have had 16 customers at our table, both guys and guys who brought along their ladyboys. I know several well known BMs that use to keep a bottle at Corner Bar. A couple of guys had live ins at the time so they usually didn't go to LB bars except maybe for parties. In the prime of Corner Bar you could drop by late on any given night, without any advanced notice, and run into BMs. I drank there often and didn't keep a bottle behind the bar. As pdogg pointed out they made a lot of extra money from those few bottles kept behind the bar from others buying booze and food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiamSam Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Ah fond memories of good old Corner Bar. Great era for that bar when Aun and Ning were running the joint. I ran into Aun the other night at Fantasy. She told me Ning was back up country but would soon be visiting her in Pattaya. Then she hit me up for a drink, you know… for old time's sake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenton42 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I wouldn't say I'm a heavy drinker, but I like what I like, and my favorite expat hangout doesn't stock it, thus I keep two bottles behind the bar. Cost is 500 THB for the first night, which includes ice and mixers. Subsequent nights they charge for mixers but not ice. There's no way I'm drinking 500 THB of Diet Coke that first night, so the bar must be making something. Maybe I save at the end of the day, but given a choice, I'd rather they stock the good stuff. Have a couple English friends that like to buy bottles. My observation is they do so because they don't like to be hounded for drinks. They usually pick a bar and stay there all night. Keeping the dekserves away really does make a more pleasant evening. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soiboy Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Interesting observation. I first noticed this a few years ago in Phuket where a business owner, usually a farang, would keep a bottle at his regular nearby bar/restaurant. Because his particular business would potentially generate revenue for that place by steering customers it's way, I assumed it was a quid pro quo sort of thing. In particular, I know a couple of dive shop owners who keep a bottle at a nearby place they tend to steer their clients to. It seems like they pay just for mixers for their drinks. So, yes, in Thailand one hand indeed washes the other. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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