As a regular traveller to Thailand I thought that I'd share this with anyone who is interested or who will be dinning out with a group of people. On our last trip a few months ago we decided to take our parents with us along with a few friends so there were about 7 of us eating out. We stayed in Lamai and this happened in a few restaurants. We ordered our food & a few drinks each and checked bin and when the bill came we paid it, no problem. However one of our friends had heard of by some other friends how they were charged for meals and drinks that they did not have so she checked the bill carefully and we found that there had been 4 extra meals added on to our bill along with various drinks (e.g gin & tonics etc.) that none of us were drinking. Our friend, not being one to hold back, asked for the manager and after a lot of confusion and getting a calculator out (ok it was a bit embarrassing at the time) we realised that we were overcharged by nearly 1,000bht now in my currancy thats quite a bit of money if your on a budget and especially if it happens every evening. In fact it happened to us approximately 5 times in the 3 weeks that we were in Lamai/Chewang. So for fellow travellers/holidaymakers make sure you check your bill at the end of meals as it all adds up. However, I'd just like to point out that even though this happened to us and some other people we spoke to, it only happened in the farrang restaurants and not the local thai places you go to eat and only in limited places. Maybe it was a genuine mistake but we all smiled at the end as there is no point in losing face in Thailand as it won't get you anywhere.
They try it quite a lot in my experience. So many tourists pay the bill without checking I bet they get away with it loads.
Never had a problem in a restaurant in lamai in 23 years.
Don't know about Chaweng though, because I never go there.
happens all over the world, this was tried on us in a tapas place in south london, now i always check the bill.
Would not call it "scam" as lots of restaurants do not have staff who can calculate (with a calculator - for sure!) - AND check the plausibility of the amount in their head. It is always better to check the bill and to know the approximate amount in advance. Happened also in Lamai that I had to claim a bill as I had two beers instead of only one.
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<hr>Maybe it was a genuine mistake but we all smiled at the end as there is no point in losing face in Thailand as it won't get you anywhere. <hr></blockquote>
Yes it will, it will get you your money back and make the restaurant owners uncomfortable about ripping off the very tourists they depend on in future.
If everyone made a scene they would stop instantly. This 'oooh, don't offend the locals' rubbish is exactly why you got fleeced. Make as much noise as possible. They tried to steal from you and all you were worried about was them not losing face. Next time someone steals from you make them squirm and shriek in front of you.
"Would not call it "scam" as lots of restaurants do not have staff who can calculate (with a calculator - for sure!) -"
Oh boy, really, we are talking about a restaurant here, not some accounting firm ! Surely they are fully capable of writing down the meals/drinks they served and at the end calculalte the corect amount.
It IS a scam allright, I mean according to the OP there were like 4 dishes on the bill, which they didn't order/get.
Saving face has nothing to do with being ripped off. Surely if it was just one drink, I would let it go, but assuming the OP was correct, I too would demand an explanation and a correct bill.
Completely agree with #7 and #9. Whether I made a big fuss about it depends on how much I was being ripped off and what mood i'm in, but I certainly wouldn't let it go. People who let it go out of politeness/unwillingness to cause a scene are the reason they still do it.
Just to confirm & make it clear, we didnn't let them off. We all smiled because we got our money back & manager apologised.
#9 - Imagine a job interview on Samui: "Where did you work, what did you work, why did you leave the job?" And when you get only some "oohs" and some smiles you employ a person without even asking for the name as you NEED staff. There are so many hotels/restaurants now and way too less people who deserve to be called "qualified". It is still mainly the boss who has to be involved that the business is going.
In this regard PaulineandMatt please send me a pm with the names of the restaurants.
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