Would You Chip In 2 Get PC Juke Box @ Guess?

[PigDogg]

Part of what made it perfect is that they were playing "your" music.

To me it'd be perfect if they were paying "my" music.

2nd choice after "my" music is Karl's music.

But the main thing is that the music is low enough to have a conversation.

[Guest]

rather than reply to each comment/post that has just come in i will post this catch all:

first of all, it was an idea, and I think some of the respondents are getting a bit to heavy about it. it is just an idea, and it was thrown up for discussion, thus the term €“ forum.

i simply asked  €œhow about regulars€ (implying expats in residence) who go there often would wish to contribute for their, and subsequently, the bar€™s benefit.  granted, she owns a business and should listen to her customers requests, and comply when able, but i covered that with my questions 2, 3 & 4, thinking that some would respond has they have. but if it were done, and it suits our desires, than her benefiting should be a moot point to us.

i never set an amount, i simply said i would ante up 2,000. i think it is a reasonable amount for me to chip in if it means that for several visits per week i can enjoy myself to a greater extent, so be it.

how is a simple request to play something different, after 2 hours of the same loop a complaint? i have lived here for 20 years. I understand the Thai way, and I understand Thai business practices as well as anyone could. there are place that do this, listen to the customer. these places are packed out for the most part, and as a result the staff are happier and better compensated.

my idea stems from seeing places in Phuket that have these set ups and everyone loves it. the girls, the customers and the owners. this is not an original idea and it is one that i see that works. both guys and girls are huddled around the €˜juke box€™ trading songs with each other. it makes for conversation, it breaks down a lot of barriers (like language) and it helps the girls get closer to the guys, who then bar fine them out. this is not a fantasy, I have seen it. and that is what they are there for and how they make a living.

i also suggested that every other tune be of their choosing. in an effort to head off any one thinking that the customers are hijacking the place. plus, the gain can be set on all tunes loaded, and then the volume can also be set and locked. of course it can be over-ridden at anytime with the click of the mouse.

as far as space, you get a small CPU, put it anywhere, a small monitor, all you are looking at is a play list and a control panel, and a small keyboard and mouse that you place on the bar. this is not rocket science.

my consternation about all of this started on 2 occasions where I was THE ONLY one in the place. everyone was complaining to me and asking me WHERE ARE THE FARANGS? i told them that times are not the same, that money is tighter for many, traveling is a major expense compared to a short while ago, and that if they would listen to a few requests, and not hear them as complaints, they might garner a few more steady customers. the girls understood this for the most part (they deal with us on a different level than regular staff), the regular staff do not. And I left shortly after because the music was just to loud to talk to the girls and relax. to say the least, they were bummed to see me go, i was buying them all drinks.

I was also given a bit of impetus for promoting this idea because I saw this poll and I saw the results of it. it was a €˜supply and demand€™ issue for me, that is all. and it is preface with the assumption that Jay actually cared and was listening.

so in closing all I have these two things to say:

1. it was an idea i proffered in response to the poll results and comments (which I happen to agree with).  

2. i will try bring my own disc and see what happens. how that is different from just asking them to play something else, anything else that they already have, I do not understand. so please, someone please clue me in.

[allstar88]

lets pay the electric bill too!?

[Guest]

since joining this forum a few days ago much of what i believe and think has been confirmed.

[mardhi]

The crux of this issue is that Jay takes any critisism very personally. Your on the right page - but SHE needs to change the bar from suggestions - not the other way around. The sentiment is spot on, but its not a Thai way to make it happen, and perhaps more importantly to KEEP it happening. Just bringing in a CD works wonders except almost every CD has no name written on it - so they see maybe 200 blanc CD's and then how do you guess which one is it that has those good tunes on it.

I understand where your coming from - but unfortunately, your solution while being well meant is not going to achieve the result you desire.

Cheers
mardhi

[mardhi]

(stogie bear @ Jul. 15 2008,04:36)

(Snick @ Jul. 14 2008,19:19) I like the music, and if you don't then just burn your own CD and give it to Gong to play.

That's exactly what I did tonight...

I showed up at 7pm with a disc of 3 hours of music that I liked (or - at least - thought that others might not find to strange and/or unusual...

They happily accepted the gift and I sat there for three hours with some great chums listening to great music at a sensible level of volume.

The problem with installing a jukebox is that it will be loaded with all the songs from the night before when all the girls were drunk and dancing to brainless bass riffs.

The answer is to 'BYOM' (bring your own music!)

Tonight was the perfect night in Guess Bar...

The music was not offensive...
The music was not loud...
The girls had their tongues stapled when playing pool...
Nobody hit on me except for the poisoned fembot, Top...
Half a dozen cool guys were there and I could here what they were saying...
(downside is that they all thought Stogie was a total bastard - I was undercover!)

If it was like that every night the I'd go there a lot more often.

Thanks to Gong, Jay, Jay's annoying gg sister and a bunch of others...

And I would hazzard a guess the reason that happened is becuase I was sat talking to you - not because they understood the customer preference. It harks back to the days of everyone check binning in obsession/Cascade when the damn show comes on - they just see it as some kind of farang crazyness - they (the Thai's) have no concept of understanding its people voting with their wallet

Cheers
Mardhi

[Guest]

(mardhi @ Jul. 15 2008,12:39) The crux of this issue is that Jay takes any criticism very personally.     Your on the right page - but SHE needs to change the bar from suggestions - not the other way around.   The sentiment is spot on, but its not a Thai way to make it happen, and perhaps more importantly to KEEP it happening.    Just bringing in a CD works wonders except almost every CD has no name written on it - so they see maybe 200 blanc CD's and then how do you guess which one is it that has those good tunes on it.  

I understand where your coming from - but unfortunately, your solution while being well meant is not going to achieve the result you desire.  

Cheers
mardhi

i appreciate your post mardhi, and no disrespect is intended with the following comment, and i mean that, but ...

i have been hired as a trainer to the hotel/f & b/hospitality industry here for 16+ years. the first contract i had was for 3 years in Pattaya working for a chain of THAI hotels, owned by a Thai, who wanted Thai hospitality and farang management and policy. i had over 500 Thai staff working in my department that i was responsible for. regular staff and 1st and 2nd tier managers. that three year stint set the tone for the next 13+, and my continued ability to find work doing that all over the country, in every kind of venue you can think of. not blowing my horn, just giving some background on where my mindset lies.

what made that all work was that all the managers knew (thai managers, i was the ONLY farang employed) it could if they just put their noses to the grind stone, tempered their lessons with kindheartedness, and a real desire to help those who were subordinate to them. these hotels are packed all the time, are staffed by some of the best i have seen, and everyone makes money. (the GM started as a dishwasher there, have you ever heard of such a thing before in Thailand, i haven't.)

i think that the effort is lacking at Guess from top to bottom (as many have stated and agree upon), and on this forum as well. plus, the concept of positive thinking is fairly non-existent. which to me is buying into the standard Thai logic of 'what farangs think is not gonna work because we are not farangs'. that is bs, and it is self-depreciating and benefits no one.

i am not saying that Thais need to be force fed, not at all, that does not work with anyone. they need to be shown a better way by someone they trust, and they need to see that some folks are willing to stick out there necks, and work along side with them, to get it all done. that is why i suggested 'someone she trusts' and we try to work with her, and not lead or push her. allow her to still be who she is, the owner, save her face, and show her staff that a real team leader can also be someone who learns something everyday, and not just someone who pushes people about and makes uninformed decisions. then in the future when she sets policy and rules, people may actually listen more and embrace the new way.

further, i offered up this suggestion because i think it would be seen as a helping hand, not as criticism. a gift as it were (and would be) that shows that we do care, want to help, and would like to see her improve her business and her lot. if she then balks, i would agree with those who have voiced the opinion that it just can't be done.

there is no denying this fact either - they need to be shown that it puts money in their pockets. that is the number one motivator anywhere, with most any one.

maybe this is   and maybe my altruistic-hippie-ethic of trying to embrace such ideals really did die out in the early 70's, i hope not.  

[donnnnnny]

THE last thing i notice when i walk into guess bar is the music. seems most of you guys have your priorities wrong, and as snick says if you are hung up on music, burn your own disk and give it to gong. I prefer to go to guess bar and fuck the girls there and have a few beers and brag about it afterwards (on the balcony )

[donnnnnny]

ching ching for the guess bar excellent bar with great service and friendly staff

[srb]

(mardhi @ Jul. 15 2008,06:39) I understand where your coming from - but unfortunately, your solution while being well meant is not going to achieve the result you desire.  

Wouldn't work for more than that reason - I've seen them in action (Witches has one, but that's by no means the worst example, though it can get out of control when a 'valued customer' who nobody feels they can upset takes over) and it can be absolutely horrible, especially as the night draws on and whoever has 'control' plays to themselves.

to bkkldby for thinking on it though. I'm sensing a couple of camps in the threads on this; those who want what they want with little empathy for the business itself, or other customers, and those who want to help with good (or bad - but they still want to help) advice.

Take it from me - or dont - the core issue of music (and therefore often trading levels) in bars everywhere is the same. Only when you have a core clientelle that share common musical ground - which often means common age ground - will it ever be full of happy campers. The bars in Guess Bar's situation that dont have the commonality but come over slightly (never fully) on top are the ones that plug more personal service into the equation with music, as I said in the other thread.

To be frank, myself I rarely go into bars in Bangkok - certainly not any other LB ones - mostly because the music is at such a far end of the scale that I hate it. Even when it comes to music I like, they fuck it up - one place plays Jamiroquai ALL night.

At least at Guess I can be sure it'll roam into the middle, and it does. That, coupled with the visible effort made at providing something different in a bar of this kind, and the genuine niceness of both those involved and the customers I've seen so far, means I will always go to it and support it when I am there, now that I have found it.

Some occasionally fucked up tunes is fair exchange for that, believe me. I have very few P4P places to go to in BKK - actually no others - where I feel as comfortable and welcome.

[srb]

(donnnnnny @ Jul. 15 2008,09:59) ching ching for the guess bar excellent bar  with great service and friendly staff        

Well said donnnnnny (had to count the fukin' 'n's there hehe)

[marshal]

(bkkldby @ Jul. 15 2008,06:26) since joining this forum a few days ago much of what i believe and think has been confirmed.

What exactly does this statement mean? Can you explain please....

[Guest]

(marshal @ Jul. 15 2008,18:27)

(bkkldby @ Jul. 15 2008,06:26) since joining this forum a few days ago much of what i believe and think has been confirmed.

What exactly does this statement mean? Can you explain please....

simply, that i approach these matters from a different standpoint than most punters because i have been in the f & b service industry for 25+ years, and i see service related issues differently than most people.  it has been my job to observe, deduct and then 'fix' places that are in need of fixing. i am not saying i am the greatest, but it has kept me above water here since i arrived 17 years ago. so, maybe i have some clue as to what is needed when something is wrong, especially when it deals with Thai staff. i have had hundreds of staff to manage at one time and i know from this experience who is a good worker, and who is a slacker. at times i wish i did not know, it would make going out a heck of a lot more relaxing.

further, relative to the same 'curse', i tend to interact with service providers in a different manner than most punters. regular staff, and sex workers.

and even still further ... i live here, i think most board members probably do not, so that too puts a different slant on my approach to the manner in which hang out, hunt and trap, so-to-speak. i do not have to jam a year's fun into a week or two or even three. so i like to find places that are the equivalent of the neighborhood joint, go there after work and hang. i am not rushed to get in my 'limit' before the season is over.

i hope that clarifies my statement.

[srb]

 I think thats now the third time I've read about how long you've been in the F&B industry bkkldby and how much you know how the Thai working mind ticks! Hope you'll forgive me for saying it - its not meant as anything other than feedback - but you dont need to say it, it just sounds like a pissing contest   . You're coming over as a bit of a control freak, and Im sure you don't mean to; the topic area is your comfort zone.

Its mine too, probably much moreso than yours, but I'm going to add my comments where I think they might be helpful without using a hammer to nail it home...people can take it or leave it. I just enjoy contributing (or have done so far with my 4 posts hehe)

You obviously have a wealth of experience both in your field and in Thailand...as a manager you must know how to get people on your side by skinning the cat in other ways so as not to be misunderstood

[stogie bear]

The problem for The Guess Bar is that 'one night does not a season make!'

At the moment peoples' assumption is that going to this bar is a 'hit or miss' experience and they are right.

The music doesn't have to be what punters necessarily want but it does have to be what they don't find annoying. And it has to be played every single night of the year at the same volume before people become accustomed to expecting nice quiet music all the time.

The music at the supermarket Foodland is great... old 50s songs in the background... It's the same every night of the year at any time of the night or day.

The music at 'Morning Night' in Nana is good old rock and roll but it's cranked up too loud... young people love it and the place is packed. I'll NEVER go there and I have never heard or seen anyone of my age in their either...

McDonald's makes average burgers but they are the same average burgers every time. It's not a crap shoot ordering food there.

What inspires me (and people of my age and disposition) to go to a place regularly is the consitancy of every aspect of the business.

So it's friendly, it sells the beer I like, it's moderately priced, the service is good, but the music is a mystery each time I go there.

Now, last night there were a few customers there... playing pool, lolling around, messing with the girls. for the whole 3 hours I was there NOT ONE OF THEM was forced to leave the bar to sit outside at any time except for two people who went out there to smoke a cigarette then come back in.

It's not rocket science... just a willingness to please and do right by the customer. The Shit Pits are always empty because people go in there to find a shag and leave as quickly as possible. No one in their right mind (unless it was your first time or you'd just been released from prison) would go in there to relax and have a beer.

The Guess Bar are getting it right these days but like all (Thai) people they need constant supervision, an incentive to move a muscle and a pat on the back when they do!