Info on X Boys

[Nikom]

Any current info on X boys?  I stopped going there several years ago because of that strange man/mamasan who insisted that I could not talk with the boy unless I bought them a drink.  I like to see a boy, call him and ask top or bottom or both, and how much his tip.  I don't need to buy him a drink - I need to off him!

Is this still what is happening at X Boys?

 

[vinapu]

Which XBoys? Bangkok or Pattaya one?

Sure you don't need to buy boy  a drink  but if you want talk to boy , whatever subject would be , it's part of bar liturgy to conduct conversation over  a drink. Otherwise whole experience will be more like buying t-shirt on the market. Spend money on drink and you will have a chance to sense if guy is interesting in you or shiver anytime you will try to touch his knee or something.

If you know boy already , than it's nothing wrong in calling him over , asking if he wants to go with you tonight and skip the drink part.

Pushy mamasans are part of bar culture   because their job is to generate offs and drink sales , our well being being their very distant concern, however shortsighted it may seem to be.

[hank75]

I am with vinapu on this one. The bar makes no money off the boy’s tip, so the mamasan’s job is to ensure drinks and off fees at least are racked up. Don’t forget this keeps a roof over boy’s head and a stage under his feet. Of course you are welcome to take issue with mamasans who refuse to take no for an answer or force unwanted boys on you. 

Also I quite like buying boy a drink which gives us at least a 15-20 minute window to chat at leisure and asssess each other. A courtship ritual  which only a bar environment permits. He feels good knowing that money has been spent on him (serious customer) and regardless of the outcome, will receive his drink token. I feel good knowing his undivided attention is on me as his prospective “One” for the evening. Without this small social nicety, we may as well be haggling on a street corner. 

[Guest]

The whole gogo bar business runs on the assumption that you buy a drink for yourself and any boy that sits with you.   They have to fund the premises and staff somehow.

Also, judging by the number of bar closures in the last few years, it's not exactly a gold mine.

However, X-boys Pattaya charges 280 baht for a drink, which is quite a high price for Pattaya. Winner boys charges as little as 79 baht.   X-boys had about 20 boys, but none of them met my definition of a perfect twink, so I was saved from purchasing any boy drinks.  I don't ever recall doing any trade here, so will probably give it a miss for a couple of years.

If you want to find out what a boy does before buying a drink, one option is too look for his profile on the phone apps and discuss it before visiting the bars.

The other option is to accept that bars are expensive, so spend the money & if you are going over budget, use the phone apps on some other nights to save money.

[DivineMadman]

A couple of the mamasans at X-Boys (BKK) have definitely secured the title for most odious mamasans on Soi Twilight (formerly held by several over at Classic Boys).  

Nothing would surprise me about the mamasans at X-Boys, but some mamasans even at other bars will insist that the customer buy a drink for his cutie if the mamasans (or manager) think the customer and the guy are abusing the system.  So if you regularly and repeatedly go sit with a regular guy(s)  but slip a bigger cash tip instead of buying a drink, the mamasans may start insisting on buying drinks.  (The old "Why buy a drink for 350 when I can just tip the guy 150 and we're all happy.")  Obviously not buying the drinks is bad for the bar and not really the host bar "deal" so the boss or mamasan may try to police it - or at least get their share of the gold.  But in my experience I think it has to be a repeat offender for this to happen.  (Are you reading this Paulsf???). And if the mamasan thinks you are sitting too long with a guy without buying a drink he may start getting more pushy because it's also part of his job to make sure you are fair to the guy you're sitting with, and in that world that means you buy the guy a drink so he gets his 40 baht commission PLUS a tip for his time. 

Back to the original question - X-Boys is not doing all that well.  The good news from the perspective of the guys who work there is that they have started paying the guys 300 baht a night, up from 250.  There are signs outside advertising this and there's often a rather forlorn mamasan (usually the nice one) sitting at a table outside hoping to get some recruits.  It's all a bit sad.  That word I got got from a good friend who works there is that X-Boys had to raise what it was paying because business was so bad that guys were fleeing the bar.  Speculation is that word got out among the customers, which means especially the Chinese customers, that the mamasans at X-Boys are horrible.  Not all of them are so obnoxious, but the main two are just so horrible that they do really hurt business.  The bad X-Boys mamasans also regularly play favorites and will steer customers to certain guys.  

Having said all that, there are some cute guys there and of course some customers most of the time.   Some guys are very happy with the 300 a night, with a little less competition than Fresh Boys, and maybe a little more flexibility with nights off (for Hornet or Grindr  customers) than they would get at Fresh Boys.  And you only need one (or two on your birthday).

[hank75]

I feel like “Mamasans: The Good, The Bad and the Outright Despicable” could warrant a thread all to itself, except none of us can be bothered to start one. This view is not limited just us customers. A bar boy friend of mine loathes all mamasans, even those that I deemed to be okay from the bigger bars. 

[1moRussian]

To add something on BBB Pattaya - a waiter told me 'second drink for 160 only (a customer drink; first was 350 if I am correct) - good move. The same 160 as in their Boys Music club.

The bad move - again very pushy with a boy drink, bring them without asking the customer. I am still with "I'd better give 100 baht to the boy directly, then buying overpriced drink he will not drink finally' idea. We spent another 15 minutes in a bar waiting for a bill, sending the drink back, etc. And I surely got downgrade in the boy's eyes, hope giving him 100 baht later removed some downgrade (didn't helped eventually - the boy was sent back from my room).

I understand they need to make their leaving, but I am more for kind of a ticket system (first drink is a kind of ticket, next ones are cheaper). And I am sure there is so big room for improving efficiency in Thai gogos costs management... 

By the way, on my second visit Boy Music has a better show - no drugqueens lipsinc, just B-boys (weaker then at the first visit), really nice athletic show and nice boys dancing show. To my surprise there were 'please give some tip to our artists' part only after B-boys. As their show was weak this day, I would tip more gladly the athletic team and the dancing team - if they had a pause for it

[Guest]

There are some evil mamasans around.  I did meet one very nice lad at Fresh Boys who moved there after the despicable mmamasans at Classic Boys tried to charge him 2000 for taking a holiday.   He told them to stick it and moved bar. Correct response.

Some bars manage perfectly well without them, such as Kawaii boys.   

Winner boys also seems to have none, although that can be near anarchy with boys who I am not remotely interested in sitting down and asking for a drink (which he doesn't get).   I would still rather tell a boy to move on than go to a bar with too many mamasans & have to persistently ask them to go.

Screwboys seemed to have almost 1 per table on one visit.   1 per bar is quite enough.

[Nikom]

Ok, so let's do this over.  I go in to XBoys and enjoy one and sometime two bottles of beer checking out which boy(s) I like.  I call the boy over and I want to know:

1.  top, bottom, both, other 

2. his tip. 

That is all I want to know.  The bar gets the funds from the beer and from the bar fee for the off.  So why is this silly man telling me that this can not be done; that in order to take a boy off you have to buy him drink! 

The result is that I have not been back.  No wonder they are having problems there. 

GET RID of this demanding man!

[colmx]

2 hours ago, Nikom said:

.  I call the boy over and I want to know:

1.  top, bottom, both, other 

2. his tip. 

 

I think you have missed a trick here....

I'm no of fan of mamasans either... but they are there to answer those exact questions... its their purpose in life!

If you aren't prepared to take a chance on a boy drink, you ask the mamasan what they will do and how much they will need. Good mamasan tells you straight away, bad mama asks on your behalf....

No deal, ask about another... Simples!

[DivineMadman]

3 hours ago, Nikom said:

Ok, so let's do this over.  I go in to XBoys and enjoy one and sometime two bottles of beer checking out which boy(s) I like.  I call the boy over and I want to know:

1.  top, bottom, both, other 

2. his tip. 

That is all I want to know.  The bar gets the funds from the beer and from the bar fee for the off.  So why is this silly man telling me that this can not be done; that in order to take a boy off you have to buy him drink! 

The result is that I have not been back.  No wonder they are having problems there. 

GET RID of this demanding man!

Last thing in the world I want to be is a defender of mamasans, but do note that they pay the guys who work there.  The bar's net on the bar fine is not a lot.  Example at X-Boys might be let's say a 500 bar fine (off fee) minus the 300 they are paying the guy you off'd = 200.. You bought a drink/paid your cover charge of 350.  That's not enough to pay for the bar, the show and all those hungry mamasans and waiters.  (Don't forget, there are some people who don't tip the waiters.). The bars make their money on the drinks.  drinks drinks drinks  

X-Size at one point had a fairly sensible rule.   The bar fine was, I forget exactly, let's say 400 regular or 550 if you didn't buy the guy a drink.  Maybe a trasnparent rule like that would make more sense.

And having said all that, i and many others have off'd guys by just walking in (or to the door) and picking up a regular and paying only the bar fine.  I think it depends on the bar, mamasan, how business is, are you a regular,or not,  blah blah.  Certainly your experience at X-Boys confirms why many of the guys hate the mamasans and left.  The mamasans put the bar's short-term needs first.  

[1moRussian]

Hehe, nice discussion we are having here, guys, thanx. Actually, based on it I decided not just to pop up yesterday to Xboys for a simple question to #42 'long time / no long time?', but to check in for a bottle of beer too.

On drink prices: what is the price for a beer in normal bars? Could locals help me? The last time I checked the prices was 2013 and the price was something like 70 baht per bottle. And those normal bars are alive. So move your business model a bit to volumes, not to a bottle marginality.

@Nikom: mamasans could be useful, but their primary concern is not you, but the bar or their own profit. So:

• ask her top/bottom and gay/straight and short/long time questions. But ask it in open question, not yes/no questions (ex: is he top or bottom or both?)
• but at the 2nd or 3rd your question mamasan could sense what you want and will try to say it about particular boys (who was not offed recently and needs living or who share his tip with the mamasan etc)
• so always check it with the boy himself later (if mamasan tells 'the boy doesn't do it' - it could be true, could be a lie too)
• on normal tips: ask this info here - in the bar the higher end of the range will be announced 

[jason1975]

I never had any problem with bothersome mamasans at X-Boys Bangkok. Maybe it’s because everyone there knows I have a regular boy (Thai boy named P). The Vietnamese mamasan (who started off as a waiter and worked his way up and got promoted) takes very good care of me. He even messages P to let him know I am in town.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, colmx said:

Good mamasan tells you straight away, bad mama asks on your behalf....!

A good mamasan tells you the right answer straight away, some ask the boy and a bad one tells you he does everything, without checking if it is true.

I've seen mamasans say anything to get an off to friends of mine who use them.  Although to add a bit of balance, I have no idea what percentage behave like that & am just identifying another risk.

[hank75]

14 minutes ago, z909 said:

A good mamasan tells you the right answer straight away, some ask the boy and a bad one tells you he does everything, without checking if it is true.

The worst kind tells you the boy you are after is “no good” in hopes that you will off the boy they recommend....who is usually sharing the tip with them. True story.

[vinapu]

I can use mamasan to call boy over or translate conversation but would not ever dream about asking him what boy does or does not - that is for boy to answer in my world.

But some mamasans can be fun or even flirty and I'm certainly not their enemy, rather I bypass them in my dealings with bar and boy 

[colmx]

11 hours ago, hank75 said:

The worst kind tells you the boy you are after is “no good” in hopes that you will off the boy they recommend....who is usually sharing the tip with them. True story.

Yes unfortunately some of the mamasans are useless!

one of the mamasans in Nice Boys (Pattaya) told my farang friend that the "straight" boy he liked would do "nothing" in bed

Another farang friend (and also his friend) had the same boy and he bottomed for both!

So definitely some mamasans can not be trusted at all

Perhaps we should have a mamasan rating site like tripadvisor!

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, colmx said:

 

Perhaps we should have a mamasan rating site like tripadvisor!

our time will be better spend NOT worrying too much about mamasans

[hank75]

2 hours ago, colmx said:

Perhaps we should have a mamasan rating site like tripadvisor!

This could get ugly, very quickly! 

[Nikom]

Thanks to a message I received from one of the posters apparently the person who is enforcing this rule of buying a drink before offing a boy is not a mamasan but the manager.  Short thin guy who runs up and down all the time.  Really does not know how to treat someone who wants to off one of his boys!

[paulsf]

Ignor him.  He’s not going to throw you out and have you arrested.   

[ChristianPFC]

For X-Boys Pattaya I have recent experience that you can have a boy sitting with you and get away without buying a drink. That's not my normal mode of operation, but here how it came:

I'm not a fan of X-Boys Pattaya and haven't been for over a year. But I spotted a cute boy Ball online, and he works in X-Boys, and after over a year it's time to re-assess the bar and their show. So I went shortly before show to see the boys on rotation first, and then the show after.

Before show started, lights went off and all boys left stage, and Ball came to sit with me uninvited (important; if I invite a boy I always buy him a drink). I think three staff asked me if I would buy him a drink, a firm "no" and they left me in peace and the boy sitting on my side. As there were only few other customers, I didn't feel he loses on opportunity for an off, and tipped him 100 when I left. The audition was positive, and some day I might meet him before or after work.

I freely admit I'm a cheapskate. Under certain circumstances I can justify paying 280 THB for drink for me, but I cannot justify paying 300 THB for a boy drink. And if staff had told me the boy cannot sit with me unless I buy him a drink, I would have replied "then he will have to sit somewhere else", and taken all communication with the boy online.

If a boy sits with me uninvited, and he is not my type, then no drink and no tip.

X-Boys Bangkok, I haven't been for years (?) and cannot tell.

But I clearly remember I offed a boy from Classic Boys about 2012 without even entering the bar, just asking at door if he is in, pay off fee, and go (after boy dressing). And similar elsewhere, but with entering the bar and drinking, call the boy over, ask him "do you want to go with me?" (no details about activities or money) and send him back to dress.

[1moRussian]

Hehe, this trip involved 2 'no drinks at all' offs from Xboys Pattaya and 1 off with my drink and dances with a non-asked boy drink (which was sent back and the token returned to a mamasan; coz non-asked and the first thing was actually my question to the boy about kind of promised long time - no long time; so to show off a bit the boy at once hooked up another farang and got his beer and token back  such a sexy guy he is; and I moved to the second option 'plan M', who is not less sexy at all)

But as a balancing act there were 2 more visits with my drinks and no offs. At the latest visit the second boy came to me, got 100 baht and no mamasan there were rushed with a drink (oh, those cheap and grim Russians! Not buying drinks for boys! Have I got a reputation there?). Actually, I was sensing that the boy could sit with me for some time, but I just decided to go to the next bar to follow some other forum members 

Generally, my 'no drinks at all' off are of coz with guys I kinda know or from the outside team of ToyBoys

[GPAPA]

The skinny tall mamasan who works in x-boys bangkok is so bad and pushy. I called 2 boys over and have bought them drinks and was having fun with them. The Mamasan did not help about all this but then came over and asked for tip. I gave him 50 so I could enjoy my time and he gave me a s--t face. LIke WHY are you mad about taking 50 tip when you did nothing helpful.

Tho that was a bad experience. I have to admit that some mamasans could be really helpful and fun to interact with. I had met a mamasan in jupiter2018 and he was funny and helpful. He came of my table while I was sitting really far back and enjoying the show. I think he kind of realized that I was a newbie to all thai gay area. And he was introducing each boy on the stage tome and told me that he could tell them to come over and chat with me. I went to Jupiter a few times because I liked that mamasan really much and he NEVER asked for tips which I actually gave him every time I left because he was nice the whole time.