The music in Guess Bar poll - Please vote!

[Guest]

i have been going to Guess bar regularly for about 6 or 7 months. i find the music to be most of the time very loud techno or disco that is , IMHO, not fitting for a lounge, the size of the space, the acoustics of the place, having a conversation, or the age group of the clientele.

on one particular evening i was the only customer in the place (including the outside) and i politely requested that they please vary the music a bit and try to play something a bit more conducive to holding a conversation with the 2 girls i was talking to. both of the girls remained quite and i immediately knew that they did not wish to make that request on my behalf.

i then asked to pay my bill because i found i could not relax. one of them then went to the bartender (realizing that the only customer was leaving) and asked him if he could play something else and he basically told her to not interfere and that he would play what he wanted. i left and did not return for a month.

then on another occasion the same thing happened and the owner was there. so i asked again if they could vary the music (notice i use the term vary). one the girls i was with called over a girl who works behind the bar and asked her to please play a little of something else every few tunes. (i speak thai and i know what was said.) this girl then went to the owner and i have no idea what she said, but her body language made it appear as if she was not transmitting the message as it was given, nor did the look on the owner's face when she was spoken too.

the owner then basically said that she would not and she made no effort to come and speak to me about it either. on this particular occasion there were only 3 or 4 customers there. i paid and i left.

i find most customers at this bar to be over 40. rarely do i see the place really packed out, if ever. all the girls talk about wanting more customers or having them stay longer. i always point out that most of them probably leave because the mood is to raucous, the music is crap and to loud, and they probably cannot relax after a long day at work, nor can they have a conversation because the music is too loud.

most of the girls seem to care, but the bartenders and service staff, and obviously the owner, do not.

i still go there regularly, i spend half of what i would, i leave a 20 baht tip for the bar, when i usually leave a hundred for every 500 i spend, and i never recommend the place to anyone. (i do tip the girls that sit with me and they know i am not kee-nee-ow and would tip the bar more, but understand why i do not.

it could be a great place if they would fix a few elements and turn the spotlights away from the seating area as they shine directly into your eyes when you sit on the lounger in the back part of the room.

i find the girls to be super, beautiful, good-hearted and a lot of fun. too bad the owner does not understand that the customer should come first in matters like these.

i have never demanded, nor have i ever specified what too play, only to vary the music for all tastes and to turn down the volume when it is not packed out and a party mood.

i have been in the food and beverage business for over 25 years and i find this to be a big problem anywhere, not just Thailand and not just guess bar. certain staff, or managers, take control of the music and the video and they cater to their own tastes exclusively. this can kill a joint in no time. it appears to be killing guess bar.

[Guest]

(pacman @ Jul. 11 2008,10:19) Damn !!

Now what have we got to complain about ?.....      

        ... beer not cold enough?

actually the beer is quite cold, something not easy to find in the Nana area.

[Road Runner]

Hello Bkkldby,

Welcome to the forum.         and a good first post!

I pretty much agree with what you say.
I have found that if I go and see Gong (the bar manager) or Pong (the cashier) that they will turn the music down.
However I know Mardhi and Jay so I guess they pay a bit more attention to me.

I've never tried to get the music changed but I do know what you mean about Jay
 -  fortunately I think she is starting to get the message about the music.
I did say starting!

RR.

[Guest]

(Road Runner @ Jul. 13 2008,11:18) Hello Bkkldby,

Welcome to the forum.         and a good first post!

I pretty much agree with what you say.
I have found that if I go and see Gong (the bar manager) or Pong (the cashier) that they will turn the music down.
However I know Mardhi and Jay so I guess they pay a bit more attention to me.

I've never tried to get the music changed but I do know what you mean about Jay
 -  fortunately I think she is starting to get the message about the music.
I did say starting!

RR.

RR - thanks.

i just stumbled upon this forum tonight while surfing up some other stuff, that is usually the case.

i really do try to like guess bar and i find it could be a great departure from all the other same-same go-go bars of nana. i like that it is a lounge atmosphere and not a grandstand/bleachers layout like so many others where you watch the girls as they do their turn 'not dancing'.

i also like that it opens early on the weekends. 4 PM.

as i have stated, i have been in the f & b / hospitality business all of my life. i am at the point where i help people by consulting on new projects and ones that need sprucing up. it is hard for me to sit in any venue and see them losing business, regardless of the reason or the kind of place it is. i firmly believe that the business depends on more places being better, and that the more of them that are, the standard rises for all.

i just hope they read these posts and understand that most of them are not vicious or ill intended, simply guys who wish the place could be a bit more 'user friendly'.

as it is, the quality of the girls is what draws me there. i probably pay 3 bar fines a week on average, i would think that someone would take notice of that and actually ask me how things are going and what i really think, rather than just assume i am a horny guy that just runs off to rub uglies (when actually many times we just go somewhere more conducive - and then go do the horizontal bop). but, after 16 of my 25+ years of this kind of work being in Thailand, i know not to expect that too often.

so, i go - i have for as long as i can take the noise, i pick a buddy for the evening, and i scoot.

[jimslim]

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,12:13) RR - thanks.

i just stumbled upon this forum tonight while surfing up some other stuff, that is usually the case.

Yeh yeh , nice try

You looking a DJ job

[Guest]

(jimslim @ Jul. 13 2008,18:46)

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,12:13) RR - thanks.

i just stumbled upon this forum tonight while surfing up some other stuff, that is usually the case.

Yeh yeh , nice try  

You looking a DJ job  

i realize i have just joined this forum, and many may think i have yet to 'make my bones' here but ......

gimmie a freakin' break, looking for a dj job?  

why is it when you first join a forum (any forum), and post, someone immediately calls you out as some kind of huckster or prat? is that some kind of bs initiation or canine related territorial pissing fit? i realize that you have posted quite a bit here, but does that mean you are some sort of sherlock holmes who can deduct such things from a single post?

not that i have anything to say about DJs, other than it is a respectable profession, i am not one. as i have stated, i am a hotelier and f & b person by trade.

how else would i find this forum or any other? i GOOGLED it up it when looking for pics of a certain ladyboy who just so happens to work at guess bar .............. please go and peddle your weak *ss sh*t somewhere else. somewhere where that being inhospitable is the norm.

ps - you might wish to check your grammar before you post.  

[kahuna]

Jimslim is just joking with you mate...See the wink...

Mr. Jimslim is the resident jokster...

[pacman]

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,13:05) ...... please go and peddle your weak *ss sh*t somewhere else. somewhere where that being inhospitable is the norm.

ps - you might wish to check your grammar before you post.  

   oh for goodness sake! They don't come any nicer or more decent than our Jim.

Such an innocent little tease isn't meant to be taken as some shot at you. It's a friendly remark that did not need retaliation.

Welcome to the forum bkkldby, you made very pertinent points about your own experiences at the Guess Bar. The whole point of this thread is to get the message through to the owner that attention to the music would help her business.

After such an auspicious debut, please don't spoil it by taking offense at a throw-away comment that was meant purely to be amusing.

That slimjim sometimes fails to meet the high comic standards demanded of our Irish contigent is a personal problem that he is working on.

My only other advice would be to say that criticising others grammar requires you to be beyond reproach in that regard yourself.

Hence I leave that subject well alone      

[mardhi]

Sounds like some similar experiences to my own especially when I mention it Jay

Having said that, i was in the bar couple times in last week and music had changed (the music was never so much the issue, more just the volume and how it sounded) - they have the ability to adjust it, but what I have wondered was it just done to shut me up or is it a continual 'policy change' - and I say policy change knowing full well what is normal practice (i.e play it for 1 night, then revert to old ways ).

Would be interesting to see if Bkkldby has been in the bar within the last week since Jay supposedly changed everything.

Having said all that, Rome was not built in a day, and I would suggest to people that if Jay is in the bar, when you check bin, you tell her soemthing all the lines of "I'd love to stay, but its too loud/techno and doing my head in so I am leaving" or equally if they have continually changed it and lowered volume that you also tell her "great improvement, much better music and much better at a reasonable volume".

Cheers
Mardhi

[PigDogg]

(kahuna @ Jul. 13 2008,03:03) Jimslim is just joking with you mate...See the wink...

I just realized why a long ago you thought I was ripping on you and I couldn't figure out why for the life of me.

When I first saw this emoticon it looked to me to be a guy scratching his chin deep in thought, so if I was pondering something I'd use this.

So i probably have lots of misunderstood posts from the old days.

[Guest]

(pacman @ Jul. 14 2008,00:35)

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,13:05) ...... please go and peddle your weak *ss sh*t somewhere else. somewhere where that being inhospitable is the norm.

ps - you might wish to check your grammar before you post.  

   oh for goodness sake! They don't come any nicer or more decent than our Jim.

Such an innocent little tease isn't meant to be taken as some shot at you. It's a friendly remark that did not need retaliation.

Welcome to the forum bkkldby, you made very pertinent points about your own experiences at the Guess Bar. The whole point of this thread is to get the message through to the owner that attention to the music would help her business.

After such an auspicious debut, please don't spoil it by taking offense at a throw-away comment that was meant purely to be amusing.

That slimjim sometimes fails to meet the high comic standards demanded of our Irish contigent is a personal problem that he is working on.

My only other advice would be to say that criticising others grammar requires you to be beyond reproach in that regard yourself.

Hence I leave that subject well alone      

if it were meant as a joke or a poke, than i totally missed it. where i come from the first thing someone does when they meet someone they do not know a thing about is to say hello and welcome, as did RR, and then after they get to know you they goof about.

if anyone takes the time to know me they will see that one of the few things that sets me off is someone not being polite. it is probably my biggest button and it is right in the middle of my forehead, and when someone even gets close to it, the hair on the back of my neck goes up. reason, its so easy to be polite, it is just a matter of wanting to be.

i felt like i was in one of the prison movies where some newbie is tested by the hard cases to see if he'll get down on his knees and submit or stick up for himself, whether a beating ensues or not.

if that is the case, and he was just taking a humorous poke, than i apologize. i would also simply suggest he either hone his comedic skills or stick to easy going salutations until he gets to know someone a bit better.

as i said, in every forum i have ever joined there is always some troll sitting and waiting for 'fresh meat', i assumed he was the troll. sorry for assuming.

BTW - you spelled contingent and criticizing wrong, or your spell check is set to a different dialect of English than mine.   just joking, only kidding, meant nothing by it.  



so, hi everybody, greetings from the new old guy on the block.

[PigDogg]

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,06:01) i felt like i was in one of the prison movies where some newbie is tested by the hard cases to see if he'll get down on his knees and submit or stick up for himself, whether a beating ensues or not.

That's not till we meet you in person!

Just joking mate, welcome to the Forum!

[Guest]

(mardhi @ Jul. 14 2008,00:49) Sounds like some similar experiences to my own especially when I mention it Jay    

Having said that, i was in the bar couple times in last week and music had changed (the music was never so much the issue, more just the volume and how it sounded) - they have the ability to adjust it, but what I have wondered was it just done to shut me up or is it a continual 'policy change' - and I say policy change knowing full well what is normal practice (i.e play it for 1 night, then revert to old ways   ).

Would be interesting to see if Bkkldby has been in the bar within the last week since Jay supposedly changed everything.      

Having said all that, Rome was not built in a day, and I would suggest to people that if Jay is in the bar, when you check bin, you tell her soemthing all the lines of  "I'd love to stay, but its too loud/techno and doing my head in so I am leaving" or equally if they have continually changed it and lowered volume that you also tell her "great improvement, much better music and much better at a reasonable volume".

Cheers
Mardhi

i work 12 to 14 hours a day. my day ends at between 11:00 pm and midnight. i would guess that 2 to 3 nights during the week, i will go over to guess and have a chat with the girls and a beer to unwind before going back home to get ready for the next day. on the weekends i am so happy they open at 4:00, and i take advantage of that by being there bar-fining a girl by 5:00. the reason being, many are very popular and i like my friends to be fresh as a daisy, and raring to go. many times i call ahead to let them know i am coming, and i am fining them out when i do arrive. i always pay the fine whether i am in the bar or they are meeting me elsewhere. i am not one to try and beat the system, and i understand all this form 20+ years of living in BKK.

so to answer your question, i have been there in the last week, frequently. and i am sorry to say, once again, that it is always too loud and the same loop of numbing techno and bad disco (there actually is some good disco despite all the jokes that have been going around since the '70's. every once in a while they will stray from this routine, but only for one cut or two, and then it is back to the same-same mind bludgeoning noise.

i have had very little luck, as i stated before, getting anyone, even jay, to respond to a simple request for variety and less of a decibel count.

in regard to the mentions i've read about the girls with the shrill voices who incessantly call the chickens to dinner while playing pool, that is an entirely different matter and one that is equally as bothersome.

what i do not understand is that they go to a lot of trouble and expense to appear to be the perfect woman, yet they diminish all of that effort when they emit such sounds. i for one will not go with these girls, as well as not liking smokers. granted, these are personal peeves and idiosyncrasies of mine, and i know that. i think the smarter girls (like vivian and nan) realize that older guys probably do not enjoy that sort of behavior so they act like mature individuals rather than kids in a school yard. everyone likes to have fun, but it doesn't need to sound like a ten wheel truck applying the air brakes.

on a different note, whenever a girl i know, who works elsewhere, tells me they are not happy where they are working, i suggest they go to guess and talk to the girls there and meet with jay and see about joining the team. i explain that it is a low-key, lounge type atmosphere where they can just be themselves in a low-impact scene. sure, that can be a bit self-serving, but it is also helpful to those who feel they just cannot get up and face the day if it means mindless go-go dancing for hours on end in a bar with a mamasan who is the spawn of an ex matron from Auschwitz.

but all of this is just my opinion which i am most often alone with .................................................

[Guest]

(PigDogg @ Jul. 14 2008,03:06)

(bkkldby @ Jul. 13 2008,06:01) i felt like i was in one of the prison movies where some newbie is tested by the hard cases to see if he'll get down on his knees and submit or stick up for himself, whether a beating ensues or not.

That's not till we meet you in person!    

Just joking mate, welcome to the Forum!      

thank you. now

not a bad little forum, seems that people participate and not just lurk about.

[Road Runner]

If you don't come round for your beating BAM tracks down your address and we send the gang round to throw stones at your windows!

RR.