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What do any of us know about running a business in Thailand? Not much I imagine but my own education has been boosted these past two weeks with the opportunity to meet the people behind the Penthouse Suites & their associated bars - the Kitten Club & Obsessions.
Having followed my thread with interest, they were happy to set the record straight about their business model & give their side to the story.
I sat down one morning & emailed them my own observations. Some good, some bad, plus the allegations that were leveled against them here in the forum, with the club accused of being a clip joint, a crap hole, rip-off joint, etc.
"Who do believe to be the most important person in the bar?" I was asked.
"Easy" I replied "it's always the customer."
"Half right, remember you are in Thailand & here the staff's interests must be respected or before you know you will have no staff. Now what will the customer do if I have no staff?"
Hmmmm, I thought, "they won't stay?"
"Correct, then what do I have? An empty club that takes no money, Now remember I am a farang & I have less rights than the beggar in the street so I do need to listen to their demands. Your first point about the music volume has occurred regularly, I order it down to a comfortable level & next thing I have some of my best girls leave because they can't dance if it isn't loud enough. That may sound like a minor problem but it is always my top girls who can get a job anywhere who will leave. They are considerably harder to replace than the next customer"
I had suggested that there were too many people working in the place, that the pressure for tips came from too many wanting too much from too few.
"That is a problem I am happy to have. Ask any bar owner what he would most like more of & it is top girls. When things are busy & the bar has had 10 barfines before 8pm, it can look very dead inside."
"10 barfines??" I said incredulously.
"Easy, we have many regulars who fly in 6 or so times a year & will book out the pool & take the best 10 or 20 girls out of the place for 3 or 4 hours."
"That must be expensive?" I said.
"Yes but then again these are not people who need to check the price of a Tiger beer before they can order a drink."
"Well" I continued "what about the continuous requests for lady drinks, tips for the entertainment, the feeling of pressure to pay up?"
"A few points - where do you go where the girls don't want a drink, where they don't ask for tips? And if it is annoying, just say no. Call Pat the manager & ask him to help. He is also the person to speak to about queries with the bins. We don't have a policy of overcharging, my problem is keeping the staff in line. The question of the 149 baht lady drinks (with alcohol) versus the 99 baht Kitty Colas comes up because the commission is higher on the first then the second. I have asked Pat to keep a watch on it."
"Another thing, how can we be singled out for being expensive when we offer draft beer for 79 baht, two for one happy hours, & have you ever been somewhere comparable in Hong Kong or Singapore & seen what they charge there?"
"Well that really isn't the point" I said "we are here in Pattaya & the other LB bars are cheaper."
"Kitten Club is a GoGo with some of the best talent here beautifully presented in bikinis, with a spa bath, a private pool, 30 to 40 girls available every night, what exactly am I guilty of? A few guys think I should charge less because they can drink cheaper? I am not running a meeting place for guys to gather & talk, I would love to entertain them when they are looking for some nice company. We can't be everything."
So there in a nutshell you have it. It is your money & you get to decide where to spend it. The club won't be changing for our personal preferences which is good news for La Bamba, Ezy Bar, Stringfellows, Pook Bar, etc but there comes a time in your visit where you just might want to do something else.
Bear it in mind, remember to speak up if you feel you are being robbed, check out the talent, join them in the pool if you wish, take them upstairs, jump in the spa, it's a good place if you are not counting pennies, or even if you are.
Having followed my thread with interest, they were happy to set the record straight about their business model & give their side to the story.
I sat down one morning & emailed them my own observations. Some good, some bad, plus the allegations that were leveled against them here in the forum, with the club accused of being a clip joint, a crap hole, rip-off joint, etc.
"Who do believe to be the most important person in the bar?" I was asked.
"Easy" I replied "it's always the customer."
"Half right, remember you are in Thailand & here the staff's interests must be respected or before you know you will have no staff. Now what will the customer do if I have no staff?"
Hmmmm, I thought, "they won't stay?"
"Correct, then what do I have? An empty club that takes no money, Now remember I am a farang & I have less rights than the beggar in the street so I do need to listen to their demands. Your first point about the music volume has occurred regularly, I order it down to a comfortable level & next thing I have some of my best girls leave because they can't dance if it isn't loud enough. That may sound like a minor problem but it is always my top girls who can get a job anywhere who will leave. They are considerably harder to replace than the next customer"
I had suggested that there were too many people working in the place, that the pressure for tips came from too many wanting too much from too few.
"That is a problem I am happy to have. Ask any bar owner what he would most like more of & it is top girls. When things are busy & the bar has had 10 barfines before 8pm, it can look very dead inside."
"10 barfines??" I said incredulously.
"Easy, we have many regulars who fly in 6 or so times a year & will book out the pool & take the best 10 or 20 girls out of the place for 3 or 4 hours."
"That must be expensive?" I said.
"Yes but then again these are not people who need to check the price of a Tiger beer before they can order a drink."
"Well" I continued "what about the continuous requests for lady drinks, tips for the entertainment, the feeling of pressure to pay up?"
"A few points - where do you go where the girls don't want a drink, where they don't ask for tips? And if it is annoying, just say no. Call Pat the manager & ask him to help. He is also the person to speak to about queries with the bins. We don't have a policy of overcharging, my problem is keeping the staff in line. The question of the 149 baht lady drinks (with alcohol) versus the 99 baht Kitty Colas comes up because the commission is higher on the first then the second. I have asked Pat to keep a watch on it."
"Another thing, how can we be singled out for being expensive when we offer draft beer for 79 baht, two for one happy hours, & have you ever been somewhere comparable in Hong Kong or Singapore & seen what they charge there?"
"Well that really isn't the point" I said "we are here in Pattaya & the other LB bars are cheaper."
"Kitten Club is a GoGo with some of the best talent here beautifully presented in bikinis, with a spa bath, a private pool, 30 to 40 girls available every night, what exactly am I guilty of? A few guys think I should charge less because they can drink cheaper? I am not running a meeting place for guys to gather & talk, I would love to entertain them when they are looking for some nice company. We can't be everything."
So there in a nutshell you have it. It is your money & you get to decide where to spend it. The club won't be changing for our personal preferences which is good news for La Bamba, Ezy Bar, Stringfellows, Pook Bar, etc but there comes a time in your visit where you just might want to do something else.
Bear it in mind, remember to speak up if you feel you are being robbed, check out the talent, join them in the pool if you wish, take them upstairs, jump in the spa, it's a good place if you are not counting pennies, or even if you are.
well done pacman, nicely put together and well thought out. 
This was a top level response from a shrewd businessman who knows where his real income comes from, the private sector who want to remain private and willing to pay accordingly for this privilege. 
so you mean to say it gets done on purpose? or probably the owner asks the staff to rip you off?
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