03/06: That Cursed "Harsh Bock Cafe"
We should have known better; I accept some responsibility. Maybe their marketing works. Going in, I expected to be disappointed, but not nearly this much!
I wanted a Burger. Marie wanted Nachos. It was too hot to stand anywhere outside. We went to Hard Rock Cafe in Bangkok.
Henceforth, it shall be referred to as Sucker Cafe.
Sadly, we had been before.
They have the slogan "no drugs or thermonuclear weapons inside." This was the first time they actually checked bags to make sure you were adhering to that policy. I don't like places that insist on checking my bags, and was considering just leaving then... but I went forward.
Service quality can be tricky in Thailand, but most restaurants can at least train their staff to seat customers when they arrive. Sucker Cafe couldn't even manage that-- having two different groups enter at the same time was just too much for them. The other party just left. We missed another cue.
I ordered my burger, and Marie her nachos. We had some beer too. The quality had actually gotten worse! The food was bad, and the decor was in shambles. We were willing to accept those things... partly to stay out of the heat, and maybe a sense of obligation for finishing our grossly overpriced beer.
We needed to wait out the heat for at least an hour. Marie's phone was dying, and we needed to charge it. We happened to have the charger with us, and there was an outlet next to the table, so we plugged in. Not that big of a deal, an hour or so and we would have enough of a charge for Marie to be able to call her sister.
As awful as the food was, and as dingy as the restaurant was, we could have hung out there until the sun went down. Instead we decided to pack up and brave the heat. The manager had come by, and actually told us that if we want to charge our phone, we had to pay $1.25. I thought he was joking.
He wasn't.
So, we took our bill and were ready to leave. The bill was x,xxx.19 Baht. That 0.19 Baht (about half a penny) should be rounded off, so we just paid x,xxx. They asked for an extra baht (the smallest coin is 0.5 Baht). They didn't give change.
As an American, we use Tips to account for this type of thing. I would have actually left NO TIP. I don't think I have ever done that before. I remember once only leaving 5% and not being able to sleep for weeks. Unfortunately, in Thailand self-claiming premium establishments such as Sucker Cafe add a 10% service charge to the bill (and then add government tax to that!).
No thank you, I didn't get any Service-- can you please remove that charge from my bill?
Anyway, please never eat at Sucker Cafe. The only good reason for us going was to see our friend Teague and Shantytown playing in San Francisco. Aside from that, it's crap...
OK... I got that off my chest. The next post might be more fun.
I wanted a Burger. Marie wanted Nachos. It was too hot to stand anywhere outside. We went to Hard Rock Cafe in Bangkok.
Henceforth, it shall be referred to as Sucker Cafe.
Sadly, we had been before.
They have the slogan "no drugs or thermonuclear weapons inside." This was the first time they actually checked bags to make sure you were adhering to that policy. I don't like places that insist on checking my bags, and was considering just leaving then... but I went forward.
Service quality can be tricky in Thailand, but most restaurants can at least train their staff to seat customers when they arrive. Sucker Cafe couldn't even manage that-- having two different groups enter at the same time was just too much for them. The other party just left. We missed another cue.
I ordered my burger, and Marie her nachos. We had some beer too. The quality had actually gotten worse! The food was bad, and the decor was in shambles. We were willing to accept those things... partly to stay out of the heat, and maybe a sense of obligation for finishing our grossly overpriced beer.
We needed to wait out the heat for at least an hour. Marie's phone was dying, and we needed to charge it. We happened to have the charger with us, and there was an outlet next to the table, so we plugged in. Not that big of a deal, an hour or so and we would have enough of a charge for Marie to be able to call her sister.
As awful as the food was, and as dingy as the restaurant was, we could have hung out there until the sun went down. Instead we decided to pack up and brave the heat. The manager had come by, and actually told us that if we want to charge our phone, we had to pay $1.25. I thought he was joking.
He wasn't.
So, we took our bill and were ready to leave. The bill was x,xxx.19 Baht. That 0.19 Baht (about half a penny) should be rounded off, so we just paid x,xxx. They asked for an extra baht (the smallest coin is 0.5 Baht). They didn't give change.
As an American, we use Tips to account for this type of thing. I would have actually left NO TIP. I don't think I have ever done that before. I remember once only leaving 5% and not being able to sleep for weeks. Unfortunately, in Thailand self-claiming premium establishments such as Sucker Cafe add a 10% service charge to the bill (and then add government tax to that!).
No thank you, I didn't get any Service-- can you please remove that charge from my bill?
Anyway, please never eat at Sucker Cafe. The only good reason for us going was to see our friend Teague and Shantytown playing in San Francisco. Aside from that, it's crap...
OK... I got that off my chest. The next post might be more fun.
