Thailand, kathoeys, Franck & the whole damn thing

[thaibound]

(Sombat @ Jan. 06 2008,00:05) I have heard of 6 people meeting up accidentally in the bar to survey their investment and discover that they each own 50%!!!!

hmmm... same little old ladies who bought 2000% of 'springtime for hitler' in 'the producers'?

[Snick]

Damn you Thaibound --- That was my next great idea

selling 100, 50% stakes in a Pattaya LB Bar
Why'd you have to go spill the beans, you know better than that !!!

I was going to paint the place in Dayglow colors, play only rap music, charge 200 Baht for a beer, Barfine of 1000 Baht (950 after 2am), and hire all the girls from Triple-X

After a month I could declare bankruptcy.

[Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!)]

How do us regular nice folk get a slice of this action? Or is it only open to your friends?

[thaibound]

(Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!) @ Jan. 06 2008,01:02) How do us regular nice folk get a slice of this action? Or is it only open to your friends?

i'm sure he'd let you in on it, grumpy.
after all, wouldn't do him much good to sell 50% to just one person would it?

[rossco]

Yes there are others owed money. One an Australian guy who was staying in Dynasty Inn in mid August.

Franck initially asked him fro 20K and left a Copy watch as surety. He returned a few days later asking for 60K for a boob job. He left a Chinese copy mobile as surety! He was not repaid. The LB he was with, from 131, was getting 3000 a day to stay - Franck advised him to only pay 1000 baht per day. I suppose this was Franck being "noble" and correct and helpful - only to the out of pocket of his loyal staff.

Some other posts allude to Trusting a bar owner - yes I agree that there are good and bad in all walks of life. By contrast a bar owner in Naklua gave Sam a great deal of advice on "running" a bar and even shared his book-keeping to illustrate. It is this bar owner's information that has enabled Sam to have a proper accounting system in place and a stock control that minimises "losses". The system takes account of the "thai" way of doing things so is not difficult for the staff to use.

Franck used to "buy" more beer than he "sold"! So the bar showed his partner a loss - the "excess" stock was probably sold on to one person's benefit.

Karl and Bob and Jim are of a different mould to Franck. Bob and Karl hold parties for their staff which they foot the tab for. I have heard Franck "threaten" his staff re a party - not a hostile threat but certainly bullying.

Franck a congenial guy with an acute addiction without the funds to support it. That does not excuse "ripping" off customers, staff and friends.

If he has been unwell etc I wish him good health but I certainly find it difficult to trust what he either says or does. Plenty of good hospitals in Bangkok/Pattaya with operations at a fraction of the cost of Europe.

[Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!)]

Plenty of good hospitals in Bangkok/Pattaya with operations at a fraction of the cost of Europe.

I wonder if they can perform cash extractions...

[pacman]

(Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!) @ Jan. 06 2008,14:28) Very nice, and it's a shame that Franck doesn't reciprocate this friendship in any way.

Your 'friends' do not try to swindle you out of cash.

You continue to believe that Franck is your friend and that circumstances have ganged up on him to prevent him paying back ANY money that he owes. You still believe that his stories have merit and that he feels bad abot being a crook.

 THIS IS WHY HE CONTACTS ONLY YOU

YOU are the only one left who still believes his bullshit!

Plenty of people have stepped up to the plate to share their stories and there are plenty more left silent. Do you still insist on taking the line that poor Franck regrets his behaviour and is making an effort to pay back even one baht of the money he stole?

He isn't. He's a conman and he's NOT your friend! Damn - someone needs to give you a reality slap!  

I love this post from My Grumpy. You have a good job there Mr G, getting everyone worked up, venting your spleen hither & yon.

Franck's not my friend! Indeed! You'll be denying the existence of the Easter Bunny next.

Is it just me or has the entire tone of this thread on the Devil's hand servant - Franco Miguel, taken a turn for the better? I mean first Mr G says he doesn't actually dislike him, then Rossco posts his best ever article without resorting to hyperbole in laying out a clear, concise & rational account of Franck's behaviour in Pattaya. OK he wasn't exactly putting him up for the Nobel Peace Prize but you get the drift.

I'll be nominating him for that just as soon as I get paid.

Now I will take full responsibilty for whom I call friend. Franck may not be young, may not enjoy the best of health, in fact he is down right dishonourable but until I make the decision to kick him out of my life, sod off & leave me alone.

This is becoming high farce, imagine anyone liking the bastard after such a public dissection of his worst traits. Teaches me never to cross someone on line. But there is another dimension to this whole story & it is worth telling.

Every last one of you reading this now or at any time in the future one day will need a friend such as I!

No it won't be me, I have my hands full with the best bunch of friends any man could ever wish to have, but eventually each & every one of us is going to find themselves in trouble. The type of trouble that needs more than good wishes, you will want a mate standing alongside you who's only thought is to help you.

So stick that in your pipe & smoke it.

Now this reality slap I need, any chance I can get more than one & can I select which of the La Bamba staff is to give it to me?

Oh fuck it, I'll take them all!!

[Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!)]

Every last one of you reading this now or at any time in the future one day will need a friend such as I!

See... You are still confusing 'friendship' with this one sided relationship you have with Franck!

Do you ever imagine that he would ever have done for you what you did for him, even if he had had the funds to do it? Like fuck he would!

You are a man in serious denial. A bar owner in Pattaya quickly marked you out as a target and talked you out of a fairly large sum of money over several months. He made up plausible reasons to you and at the same time worked the same con using different reasons with many, many others. In addition to that he attempted to scam numerous others also with equal or limited success.

but until I make the decision to kick him out of my life, sod off & leave me alone...

Sure we need friends from time to time to bale us out of difficult situations. Sure we need the companionship of our peers and associates to help us coast the bonhomie of modern life... but these people to whom we rely on as 'friends' also have obligations beset to them as laid out in the historical relationship that exists between men...

...and that is - Don't fucking rip us off!  

You've posted your story and now that some of us have tried to set you straight you want us to "sod off and leave you alone."

OK. I will. You have the facts at your disposal. Nothing else that any of us says will make you see the reality of your situation.

As long as there are people like you there will be people like Franck!

[Guest]

(pacman @ Jan. 06 2008,14:14) because up till the 1st of Jan no-one here had ever heard of me.

Damn why the hell isn't time travel available yet.

[pacman]

(Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!) @ Jan. 06 2008,16:24)

Every last one of you reading this now or at any time in the future one day will need a friend such as I!

See... You are still confusing 'friendship' with this one sided relationship you have with Franck!

Do you ever imagine that he would ever have done for you what you did for him, even if he had had the funds to do it? Like fuck he would!

You are a man in serious denial. A bar owner in Pattaya quickly marked you out as a target and talked you out of a fairly large sum of money over several months. He made up plausible reasons to you and at the same time worked the same con using different reasons with many, many others. In addition to that he attempted to scam numerous others also with equal or limited success.

but until I make the decision to kick him out of my life, sod off & leave me alone...

Sure we need friends from time to time to bale us out of difficult situations. Sure we need the companionship of our peers and associates to help us coast the bonhomie of modern life... but these people to whom we rely on as 'friends' also have obligations beset to them as laid out in the historical relationship that exists between men...

...and that is - Don't fucking rip us off!  

You've posted your story and now that some of us have tried to set you straight you want us to "sod off and leave you alone."

OK. I will. You have the facts at your disposal. Nothing else that any of us says will make you see the reality of your situation.

As long as there are people like you there will be people like Franck!

Oops! Forgot the smiley faces.

"sod off & leave me alone" should have been
"sod of & leave me alone "

Is all forgiven now grumpy-bum?

Mr G, I know what I am doing, you know that I know what I am doing & for anyone not following me send me a message.

I aint going through your post, it's too hard to understand. I mean confusion, denial, what are you trying to say?

"As long as there are people like me there will be people like Franck"
Don't you mean "as long as there are people like me there will be interesting threads"

At least I've enjoyed myself. Same-same for you, grumpykins?

[pacman]

(Sombat @ Jan. 06 2008,13:40) I write in support of Pacman.

Sombat, God bless you!
I thought someone is going to pick up my drift & come to my aid here. Though really it is the negative comments that I have the most fun with, but apart from that awful Mr Grumpy, they have all deserted me.
Anyway Som old pal, you are my new best buddy. Let's see, that's you & Franck.
We can start our own website & spend all day posting messages telling each other how good we all are.
Maybe not Franck & as I really don't know you, maybe I should do all the sending.
Sounds good, eh?
It'll be great! In the famous words of Franck - trust me.

[johnlbx]

This has indeed been an interesting thread and it looks like there's no resolution in sight.

I only started getting involved in LBs a few months ago so I never met Franck and I never visited 131 (R.I.P.). However I have been reading this and other forums and I came across the (in)famous Franck's Diary thread.

Say what you will about the man but he knew how to market a bar, and in town with tens of thousands of bars marketing is important if you wish to grow your business.

People are attracted to celebrities. If you said "there goes Bob's neighbor" no one would be very excited but if you said "there goes Britney Spears" then people would get up to get a look themselves.

Franck started a diary thread which in effect created celebrities out of him and his girls and his club. It was his celebrity status that then helped him to borrow money from people. It's a fact that celebrities who usually are very rich are often given freebies where ever they go. But that's another topic and not the point I'm trying to make.

I think that bar owners can learn from Franck's marketing genius (or maybe it was just a fluke). If I owned a bar I'd reguarly publish articles about the goings on with pictures of the ladies (as pictures are going to attract more readers). Yes as a bar owner you're thinking "every day's pretty much the same and the girls look the same so I'll just post for special events". If you think that way you're not the marketing genius that Franck was.

The key is to create celebrities and to create a buzz about your bar. Your audience is a bunch of guys in farangland who only get a few trips over to Thailand a year. You want them to think that your bar is the hottest place in town. You want them to think your girls are famous. The more pictures they see (over a period of time) the more famous the girls will appear to be. To some extent Mardhi does this for the Guess Bar but he could do a lot more.

I know that the typical bar owner is too busy to deal with taking pictures and making posts. They want to spend their time doing things that will make money in the short term (e.g buying beer and other spirits to sell at the bar). However I'd advise them to think longer term consider marketing as something to which they should devote an hour or so a day.

With all the negative things written about Franck, and what was going on in the background, after reading his diary thread I still find myself wishing I had discovered LB's a year ealier so I could have visited 131 during its brief golden age. That should attest to the power of his marketing message.

[Monkey]

(johnlbx @ Jan. 06 2008,11:09) Say what you will about the man but he knew how to market a bar, and in town with tens of thousands of bars marketing is important if you wish to grow your business.

All the best marketing in the world don't mean shit if you can't run a business.

From what I've heard it sounds like it was ran as a hobby.

[Sombat]

Hi Pacman

Thanks for your kind response.

You realise, of course, that I could only really trust you if a board member, in good standing, could guarantee that you are a certified bar owner and brother keeper.

If you are not yet infact a genuine bar owner, then you can make me an offer on my place or even to to Snick!!

[pacman]

(Sombat @ Jan. 06 2008,19:23) Hi Pacman

Thanks for your kind response.

You realise, of course, that I could only really trust you if a board member, in good standing, could guarantee that you are a certified bar owner and brother keeper.

If you are not yet infact a genuine bar owner, then you can make me an offer on my place or even to to Snick!!

Hey Sombat.
Bar owner - stuff me! Of course I will buy your place, name your price. I have done my share of high rolling in Pattaya, buying into bars from Portuguese emigres.
Naturally that experience has held me in good sted & having learnt from the best I am ready for the difficult part of negotiating terms, etc.
What do you want - cheque or cash?
That wasn't so hard.
Hey, where is it & what's it called?

And johnlbx, I used the very term you did to describe Franck to Sam & Rossco.
Marketing genius. Ask them & they will confirm.
Marketing on the net, excellent, everything else, oh dear!