OK. Let me explain this. There are two owners of the bar called TQ2 here in Pattaya: One is Mem, who is the widow of my old friend Steve. She "inherited" the controlling half of the bar when Steve died a year ago. The other owner is Alf, who bought half of the bar from Steve on what was unfortunately more or less a handshake and Steve's word.
The only thing that kept Alf's share of the bar and profits where it belonged (with Alf) was the bar manager, Russ.
Russ is a gogo bar guru. He managed to turn TQ2 into a fairly profitable enterprise in a very short period of time, and made sure that Alf got his money and Mem got her money. Mem didn't have to do anything: All she had to do was show up and pick up her share of the profits.
Instead, what Mem did — the day after Alf went on vacation to Australia — was to fire Russ.
Based on the number of times that Mem tried to walk out Alf's share of the profits, and the number of times the Russ managed to stop her (along with the number of times she actually succeeded), it is pretty safe to assume that the only reason Mem fired Russ is because she wants to steal Alf's money and Alf's share of the bar.
I know Alf is a regular reader of this blog, and if he wants to comment and shed a different light on the situation than I just did, I'll be more than happy to add his thoughts and edit what I've written here. But for now, knowing what I know, I have to take a stand and warn you about what kind of person you are supporting when you patronize TQ2 from this point forward.
All in all, it's a very sad thing. I know Steve is turning in his grave.
Alf in the comments section says: "TQ2 has been going now for 17 years. It's had it's ups and downs, but it's still there. That's why I love it so much. I'll be back in TQ2 in early April and hope to see you there. Those of you who I don't know come over and say hi and it'll be my pleasure to buy you a drink."
All I can say Alf, is if you can manage to keep your share of the bar to which you have almost no claim, receive your fair share of the profits which you're never allowed to see, and keep TQ2 from being driven into the ground when you have no managerial control, by a woman who is bound and determined to rob you blind, over whom you have no authority, I'll be the one to buy you a drink, with all apologies for having doubted you... and I'll buy that drink in TQ2 when I next come back to Thailand if it is still open.
Sorry Alf, but I can't stand Mem... nobody who knew Steve can. We all despise her. Any bad thing you can think about a Thai woman — you know as well as I do — you can think it about Mem. I refuse to let that woman live the good life on my dollar, because she doesn't deserve it: She stole it from you, my good friend.
UPDATE:
By the way everyone: The word from my friend Ray is that he knows where Russ (and his son Lance) will be managing next, and he'll be announcing it on the Pattaya Secrets board before the end of the weekend.
UPDATE:
I'm just going to add as one more thought that I had: Alf is going to get TQ2 back eventually. Mem is going to run the place into the ground in no time, she'll default on the rent within a few months, and Alf and friends will be there to snatch TQ2 right out of that woman's greedy and incompetent little hands, and she'll wind up with nothing. When that happens, all party roads will once again lead to TQ2.
See you there. See you then.
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33 comments:
ahhh....TQ 2...yes, I was there for a week in Aug last yr and it is definitely in my top 2 places to go. Its a pretty small affair but pretty damn cool. As a matter of fact, I still have x's number in my phone...hahah. I'll never forget those uniforms outside at 14:00 waving the signs.
Its another sad story. Thai people dont understand you can take all the water you want from a well but if you take it all out at once it will dry up. That's why so many bars go under quickly. It is stupid stuff like this. Thai women are so greedy.
from Jakal
Don't write me, or the bar off yet Jil.
Alf.
Hope you get your share back Alf, its just things like this what happen here what will kill off Pattaya in the end, i am sure all the Thai's will be shaking there heads in 5 or so years away, wondering were all the farrang went ?
Wiggy
Mem is so stupid and greedy. She is going to kill that place.
This is interesting. I think Mem feels she is the sole owner of this bar and should therefore have all the profits. The only solution is for Alf to sell his half back to Mem and finish this final chapter. Call it a lesson learned. She must be jumping for joy that her sneaky plans worked out well. Mem will find out quickly to be careful what you wish for. TQ2 will be hers, she will hire a couple of Thai managers to run this business. She will carry on as before collecting her profits without having to work for it. The thai managers will rob her blind and she won't even notice until it's too late. TQ2 will tank and sold within 2 years to new owners. I can see this in the future for TQ2 with my crystal ball. Alf and Russ will start their own bar and it's a great success. It will be a hip and happening place to be when in Pattaya! The End.
Lets hope that know one gets hurt in the process.....
Wiggy
The best thing that people can do is come into TQ2, in groups, when Mem is there, and ask for Russ?
When told that Russ is no longer there, simply leave, voicing your displeasure.
Believe me, as thick as she is, she will get the hint.
Doing business on a handshake in Thailand? Serves the unfortunates right in my opinion. Plain dumb. If you find yourself taking rice from a THAI person's bowl (even if it is just in their mind)... beware!
ALf and Russ, my support is with you, if yawl aint there I will spread the word here in my AO,and my AO is large. I will wait for further notice.
DAGO
Gunny, Steve was not Thai, and it was he that Alf made the deal with.
My handshake deal was with Steve and he was a good friend.
There are still people in this world where a mans word is his bond and Steve was one of them.
You've got to roll with the punches and that's what I'm intending to do.
TQ2 has been going now for 17 years. It's had it's ups and downs, but it's still there. That's why I love it so much.
I'll be back in TQ2 in early April and hope to see you there. Those of you who I don't know come over and say hi and it'll be my pleasure to buy you a drink.
Cheers, Alf.
My handshake deal was with Steve and he was a good friend.
Not the smartest way to do business
just another fool who got ripped off in thailand no one to blame but himself. any smart guy would have sold out when steve died.
fancy being in partnership with a thai women and thinking your going to get your share.
billy
have to agree with Billy
Thanks for the information Jil; I like Russ and Lance and they were always BRILLIANT LADS when I went into the bar (and outside the bar too).
I thought a lot of Steve and won't sink to the level of the anon's and cynics that think a handshake is not worth anything anymore.
Can you please pass on the NEW bar that Russ will be at? I never had a problem with Alf (good to me and funny)so, to call him 'a fool' is a bit much; but Russ and Lance were good to see at the bar.
Mem is just Mem and she can't help the way she is 'wired' but I'd be curious to know if there isn't more behind the story...and I HOPE they *russ* are thinking of recruiting WOOT to help manage the new bar.
But saying that; I wish ALF the best of luck, it sucks to have your business do poorly in that cut-throat town.
Smell you all later...
I don't think Alf is a fool just silly IMO to do business on a handshake.
Woot has agreed to go to Sisters after he gets this months pay from TQ2.
Russ and Son start at Shooters in a day or two.
Alf will be OK he is a part owner of Secrets and will take over the management role that Larry was doing at Secrets
Classy folks running Go-Go bars in Thailand.
Cool, thanks for the info..I will see those two chappies at Shooters.
Best of luck to Alf; I wish him the best.
Anon, what is 'class' to you?
In full consultation with Alf, Russ has taken a job with us at Shooters. Shooters is located on Soi Diamond just in from Second Rd, across from Casino Club.
Shooters is a hostess/hang-out bar. We feature high-end liquors, an extensive selection of beers, and American/Mexican food cooked on premises by Sam's American/Mexican Grill.
Last night was Russ's first night in the bar. We had a roaring time, bar was full, and everybody commented how well Russ fit with the Shooters concept. Russ will have a free hand to make the changes he feels he needs to make Shooters even more successful; we are very pleased to have Russ on the Shooters team.
Steve was a dear friend of mine, my baby brother. Unfortunately, his memory is being desecrated by somebody he thought loved him. When his spirit has finally been driven from TQ2, it will have a home with me at Shooters.
Alf, on behalf of the entire Shooters team, we regret what has happened to you and wish it hadn't gone that way. Please keep in touch, and let me know how things are going. TQ2 was at one time my home base; if you are able to stay the course there I will be immensely pleased; you know that very well.
Hear, hear, Bruce Mangosteen. I add my voice whole-heartedly to yours.
I enjoy Shooters immensely, and they have very VERY good food there as well... and one of the largest selections of beers in Pattaya. Stop by when you can, and join Russ and Lance and Ray and Manfred and Sam, and the girls for a good time.
All right!!! Best of Luck there. I enjoyed Shooters alot and dont forget everyone, if you order food from OUTSIDE of the bar....DONT FORGET TO PAY...LOL
PS they have some of the best Music around!! Cant wait to check it out.
DAGO
what a crock of fucking shit.as a former manager of tq2 under steve i resent this bullshit write about maem and tq2.and the all wonderful russ as far as being a go go guru is a snidey shit who alienated all steves friends and old loyal customers by bringing his dumbass son and friends into a great bar .
dont even get me started on alf who has the personality of a wet fart and enough knowledge of running a bar to fill a matchbox.
best thing that maem and tq2 did was fire russ who was being paid 80k to entertain his sons friends and try and bullshit real friends of steve and maem.
you should be ashamed of writing this utter shit and to clarify this point i ran the bar at its best period between 99 and 2001 as for russ ill be seeking him and the other bullshitters and hate speaders out to discuss in person my views
Yes, I am sure you ran the bar wonderfully..you seem like a real 'people person' with your curse words and threats.
Best of luck to you in "seeking out" all those who have an opinion of the bar you USED to mangage that differ from yours; you sound like just another crazy farang who has spent too much time in the sun.
Crazy/Angry Anon:
Interesting perspective you have there, although I'm not sure which reality you are drawing it from.
The bar never made more money than when Russ was manager. In fact, the bar almost never made money when Steve was running it. The bar was Steve's clubhouse, and he usually put money into it every month to keep it open. Russ, in the span of just a few months, turned TQ2 from a money loser into a very lucrative money maker. So what if Alf isn't a genius in the go-go bar industry. He hired Russ, which was the smartest management decision he could have made.
All of Steve's old friends like Russ just fine. (Just ask Ray (Bruce Mangosteen above), Steve's best friend who has hired Russ to be his bar manager at Shooters. Just ask Stan, Steve's oldest friend, who won't go to TQ2 anymore now that Russ isn't there. Just ask Woot, the other bar manager of TQ2, who was one of Steve's most senior and trusted employees, who quit from his own very high-paying job because of Russ being fired.)
You really should define what "utter shit" is being written here that you disagree with so much, instead of just swearing and ranting like a drunk maniac. Do you mean the "utter shit" of Alf getting cheated out of his bar? Do you mean the "utter shit" of Mem driving the bar straight off a cliff?
What hate is being spread here? You make absolutely no sense. I would delete your post because of my comment policies about not being insulting, but swear words aside, your comment is just too far off the wall to actually BE insulting. It's just weird and laughable.
Sorry Alf to leave the insult up, but nobody in their right mind would take it seriously, and repudiating the mentally disturbed people who visit my blog is kind of fun... albeit easy.
looks like i'll have to be making shooters my base of operations in patts now.
its pretty shithouse to see Russ and Lance getting the boot from TQ's and Alf getting the raw end of the stick
been going there for a few years and i'd have to say that i had the most fun there with Russ managing.
best of luck to Woot too, good on ya for sticking to your guns mate!
Wheels
P.S
give us a ring alf when ya back in sydney
Sorry To hear that Alf, please let the forums know when you are back in business!
Woot still works there....?
coming from a complete outsider perspective, I have a couple of things to say about TQ2, if someone is still around to read this blog.
I never met steve although i heard only good things about him. I never met russ or alf either while they were running the bar.
I was in Pattaya about two weeks ago and I ended up in the TQ2 because i heard many things about it and because I accidentally met Maem in one of her other businesses, a bed and breakfast she has with her brother on Main road.
From what I saw, the bar is not doing too well. There is clearly a managerial issue between Maem and Alf and both parties are suffering from it. On the one side, Alf did business on a handshake ( that seems to be enough in Thailand these days )
And on the other, Maem wants to have full control of her husbands estate. After all, she was his wife and has two children from that marriage.
Albeight these problems, i think both parties are right in their own way. Meam has to accept sharing profits with Alf just based on a promise and Alf is feeling cheated from his share of the business because he is beeing slowly but surely cut off from the business.
From my discussions with Maem about this, she is very divided on this subject. She wants to change things in the Bar and at the same time, she has to honour the promise made by her late husband to a person she does not want running her bar.
Whaterver her reasons, I can tell you that she is very unhappy with this situation and this reflects into the running of TQ2.
I think both Maem and Alf should find an amicable way out of this, shake hands, part ways and never look back.
If this does not happen soon, the bar is surely to suffer from it and will not last long.
You can definitely feel the bad vibes in the place..
So although i feel for Alf, i feel that you should give a break to Maem.. After all, from one day to the other, she found herself responsible of running a Go Go bar after her husband died with two kids at home to take care off.
Thats a lot to handle for anyone in her position..
cheers guys..
Hi Jil, I know you have moved on to Phil so dont know if you are maintaining this blog at all or not, I was just wondering because I wanted to do a review of the Tahitian Queen for my Go Go Bars reviews page and not sure if it is safe to endorse this bar yet based on what you have said. Has the situation improved do you know? Please advise. Thanks-
Sorry GGB: I haven't heard anything on this subject in over 3 years. I recommend you check with Bruce Mangosteen on any of the Pattaya bulletin boards.
TQ2 closed for the last time on the 30 Sep 2011. khun Woot and all remaing Thai staff many of whom had been there for many years were fired. 'The end of an era'
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