I had aways assumed that when you put a tip in a boy's hand it's his (when not extorted by mamasans) and when you leave a tip in the folder the staff shares it.

 

I was told in a bar tonight that a tip in the folder in that particular bar goes directly to owner.

 

I'm curious how the tips are handles in various bars? Perhaps some owners/managers can comment.

 

I suppose it could go to the owner, mamasans, the waitstaff, the boys, or some combination thereof unless the cashier pockets it.

I was told in a bar tonight that a tip in the folder in that particular bar goes directly to owner.

In some cases that's true, but it's not usually as sinister as you might think. While it may be placed in the hands of the owner, that doesn't mean he's necessarily keeping it. At closing time the tips are usually distributed to the staff. Unfortunately, there are some owners and mama-sans who do keep it, or keep a sizable portion of it.

 

Sometimes, when the mama-san is in control of the tips, he is often also in control of which boys get how much. Many boys tip the mama-san when they get taken off or if the mama-san pushed a customer in the direction of certain boys and the farang took the boy off. Guess who gets much better share of the tip than others.

 

In some bars, when the tip is given directly to the boy, he gets to keep it. In others, under the ever watchful eye of the mama-san, they are required to contribute it to the tip pool.

 

In many bars you may notice if you buy a drink for the boy, a small slip of paper comes with the boy's drink. That means he gets a tip, usually 20 baht, because the farang bought him a drink.

 

Different bars have different policies when it comes to tips for the boys.

I don't know how it works either but, when I'm in a bar (not often), I leave a tip for the bar with the folder and, if I'm tipping a particular kid, I give it directly to him (and make it clear that it's his tip).

I always assumed the boys kept the tips you give them, for example when they sit with you for a while and you give them 100 baht or whatever when you don't take them off. Are you saying that in some places they have to hand that over? I tend to overtip in that situation. And it is funny to watch the boys signal each other to let them know how much you tipped them. I don't know if they think I didn't notice. But the next time I came into the bar I was set upon pretty quickly by a bunch of boys who wanted to sit with me.

Are you saying that in some places they have to hand that over?

It depends on the bar and the policies. When you tip the boy, just ask him if he gets to keep it or if he has to pool all or part of it.

It depends on the bar and the policies. When you tip the boy, just ask him if he gets to keep it or if he has to pool all or part of it.

In most bars a tip placed inside the billfold goes into a pot to be shared by all. In some bars a tip given directly to the waiter outside of the billfold when he takes your money for payment still has to be shared by all. I know this is the case at Funny Boys and a few other bars. The waiter there explained to me that if I wanted to give him a tip I needed to give it to him after he has completely finished my transaction and had returned the billfold/payment/tip, if any, to the cashier. Once that transaction was completed I can give him any tip I want that is his to keep. I am guessing this is to make sure no waiter is pocketing tips that might be meant for the general tip pool. So, if I do not frequent a bar and do not know their policy, I always leave a small tip in the billfold and additionally tip my waiter on the way out.