tax at murphs

[dozer]

I think that is all a bit of a fallacy that “expats can be the bread and butter of a bar in low season”, as the resident expats that frequent the place now will continue to do so and if anything El Murphy’s will gain through threads like this.

Hell, I might even drag my sorry ass out and visit.

[chelsea]

Call me stingy, OK fine, but why should I pay twice?

Stingy? No way. It's a matter of principle. Wherever you go you should be aware of what's it going to cost you up front. You then have a choice. Take it or leave it.

Pat Pong (BK) is guilty of this. Go to a bar for a drink and walk out having been hit by an entertainment allowance.

Murf should get on this thread and spell it out otherwise he is going to lose valuable customers who are hesitant about his place. We all need clarification.

Maybe he is doing so good business wise he doesn't care a sh1t. Stupid if he thinks that way. Too many bar owners think ' we don't need the resident expats, they are cheap charlies'. Expats can be the bread and butter of a bar in low season. The secret in running any business is good will. Lose that and you are sunk

Richard
The music charges etc was all explained in a previous post. Here is an extract from it

The music.
Since we reopened in Dec 2009 we have put a charge on drinks (20b-Singha 90b)during show time.(We have never charged a cover charge even on New Year etc.1st come 1st served).The band do not play for free, they are talented artists and are paid as such. Over the course of a year this charge covers 45% of their salaries and we pay the rest.It also covers new sound equipment etc,etc.Other music venues in town and Thailand charge 80b more on their drinks all day(Singha 170+).It is our mission to provide the best entertainment while keeping our costs to you down.

The sport.
While the music is our main activity we also show a huge array of live sporting events.The timing for the E.P.L. and some northern Rugby events clash with the band-but in our smoking room we show the main games with sound on a 50"flat screen.

Tax.
Over our door by law in white is our holding company name,we are a registered limited company and we pay our taxes accordingly,we also pay employee tax,employee insurance,full entertainment licenses etc.We are required by law to show vat on all bills,this is totally out of our control.Most other bars operate as sole traders and there turnovers are under the required amount as S.J. stated.Also for our permits we must pay vat from the 1st baht we earn.In Bangkok most themed or bigger bars charge this also as do 7/11 etc.
But we do not charge for service as we leave that to you.

Why request he comes and explains again when it is there in black and white previously. From my experiences, I have been into Murfs pub and do not have a problem with it or his pricing structure. I also used to drink in Ken's pub before it was O'Neil's when he 1st opened it up and JW's when I was over.

The small amount extra you may play in places like that are far outweighed by the facilities that are provided there. Clean toilets, lovely cold air conditioning, decent food and none of the problems that appear in a lot of other bars in the area.
Places of that calibre have the option to charge a cover charge, but chose not to and have every right to recoup their outgoings how they see fit.
Any business any where in the world that does not cover its costs will go bust very very quickly.

In may other places in Thailand that I have visited, I have seen many times the note on the bottom of each menu page that the price advertised either does or does not include 7% VAT and 10% service charge, so I cannot see what the problem is here. Is not as though this guy is the only one in Thailand operating in this way.

Have just booked a holiday to Kota Kinabalu and all of the hotel menus we looked at charged 7% VAT and 10% service charge on top of everything on the menu's and is shown at the bottom of the menu page, same as it is done in Thailand.

Here in Australia most bars do not have price lists for beers or spirits in the bar so until you purchase a drink you do not know what you are paying, and with some imported beers at over 15AUD a pint, it can come as a bit of a shock.
Most food on menu's have GST included in the prices, but a lot of places here charge a 15% surcharge on the bill for weekends and public holidays to cover the penalty rates that they have to pay the staff (and is not always clearly shown). But once you become aware you can always check first before your order.

So moaning about a 65cent surcharge per drink to listen to a good band in a safe pub seems a bit over the top.

Locals and expats should be very appreciative of the work that Ken in the past and now what Murf and JW have done to their bars to give us all a clean and safe place to enjoy ourselves, not nit picking over minor things like this.
If that is all you can find wrong with the place, either put up and shut up, or go and find another pub to drink at and that way no one will have to listen to petty arguements and will make the bar owners life a lot more pleasant.

In finishing, there is a guy who owns a very good bar and hotel in Phuket that gets regularly slated on the local forum for exactly what has been said on here.
Has he changed his business practices?? (No), is his business very successful (yes), is his hotel rooms and bar full most of the times (yes),
There is an old saying that goes if it is not broken why fix it, to me that applies to both Murf and the guy in Phuket.

Murf
Put a big banner up behind the bar that says "To all the tightwads (you know who you are) we charge 20baht a beer extra when the band is on". That should fix em.

[richard]

Chelsea

BUT punters should know what they are paying for so a BIG sign is need to clarify it

Don't think it has anything to do with being a cheap charlie. It's just a case of feeling whether one has been conned or not

[E-Dork]

BUT punters should know what they are paying for so a BIG sign is need to clarify it

[dozer]

El Murphy’s seems to be one of the few bars in Bintabaht that is run as proper on-going business concern.
As for the others, apart from the 2 or 3 Thai owned and managed bars, they are just in it primarily for the lifestyle and they are only just able to make ends meet.

[littlebird]

This thread is going around in circles
I suggest a simple answer from Murphs could end this
Is the price displayed price that the customer will pay ?

[E-Dork]

This thread is going around in circles
I suggest a simple answer from Murphs could end this
Is the price displayed price that the customer will pay ?

I'm just about losing it now

I simply can't look at this thread anymore after this post.

IT"S A FEW F#*&^$#G PENNIES FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! USE YA F*&%&ING HEAD AND WORK OUT THE TAX WHILE YOU ORDER THEN IN THEORY YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR PAYING, DON'T YOU????

Over and Out

[littlebird]

Due to abusive comments posed above by spitfire I feel that the administrators should close this thread

[E-Dork]

My name is E-Dork, darling!!

[littlebird]

apologies to spitfire

[chelsea]

Chelsea

BUT punters should know what they are paying for so a BIG sign is need to clarify it

Don't think it has anything to do with being a cheap charlie. It's just a case of feeling whether one has been conned or not

Richard
I am sorry, but from what i can see you have lived in Thailand long enough to know how it all works out there. If you still haven't grasped that fact I don't know what to say.

I have never lived there but have picked up what you are going on about, so every time I go out or book a holiday, I look and see what is included. If I cannot see an answer I ask. If I don't like the deal I go somewhere else simple.

If you do not like what Murf does, go drink somewhere else. It is his business and can run it how he see's fit to, and seems to be successful enough without you baht going through his till

[E-Dork]

Sorry about me little outburst back there.

We all know how damn hard it is to keep any kind of establishment up and running in Hua Hin. Murf IMO puts on a hell of a good show and we pay that little bit extra for it. It frikkin get's to me when we have guys on here whinging about a couple of baht when we should be applauding Murf for the establishment he is able to offer us at pretty damn reasonable prices.

Yet here we are, the expat community, picking at another expat for the smallest of things.

[STEVE G]

Yes, it's absolutely no different from drinking in every hotel bar in SE Asia that I've ever visited.

[Super Joe]

BUT punters should know what they are paying for so a BIG sign is need to clarify it

Which other bars is it exactly, that let's you know upfront what you are paying, or have big signs?

It's just a case of feeling whether one has been conned or not. Pat Pong (BK) is guilty of this. Go to a bar for a drink and walk out having been hit by an entertainment allowance. Murf should get on this thread and spell it out otherwise he is going to lose valuable customers who are hesitant about his place. We all need clarification.

This has already been clarified before by Murf, or now in this thread With no band surcharge anymore and VAT clearly shown on the billls, how would anyone feel 'conned', as you dramatically put it.

Went Murfs yesterday, seen eddy asked about if there was a surcharge and he said there has not been one in place for months.

We are required by law to show vat on all bill

Maybe he is doing so good business wise he doesn't care a sh1t. Stupid if he thinks that way. Too many bar owners think ' we don't need the resident expats, they are cheap charlies'. Expats can be the bread and butter of a bar in low season. The secret in running any business is good will. Lose that and you are sunk

Sunk by what exactly Richard... the weight of all that coin you're suggesting he's getting. That sounds a bit stupid.
And AGAIN, this has already been covered in this thread before your post, and you can see these signs from the road ...

Popped in there the other night, and there are still loads of signs on the walls about 'credit crunch lunch' deals and what-have-you. They, like their competitors in that price/quality range, all seem to have made an effort to offer value to customers during the past couple of years of hard times. The way I look at it these places have been loyal to us, so I'll be loyal to them

If you don't really know what a place does or doesn't do, or can't be ar$ed to read the posts in the thread, don't you think it'd be a bit fairer not to criticize it publically.

SJ

[richard]

SJ as usual and many other posters are missing the points I've made

Off this thread now. Ta Ta