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I was trying to use a phone in the rain, with a battery that was threatening to die, whilst balancing an umbrella as it was precipitating! Sorry they're not up to my usual high standards!!

Absolutely no question the success of the Forum drove the bar people found out about the bar due to the Forum without the Forum Secrets wouldn't have succeeded themselves in the early days.

No matter how good the forum,the bar still has to be attractive to customers. But is helps massively in getting people through the door.

That is absolutely correct. The forum got people through the door but it was the fact that they like what they found and returned time and time again. We were a good team. Larry galvanised the forum and was the best meeter and greeter in Pattaya and Phil followed on Ben was a great "Mine Hoste" and my best friend ; Alan a great Chef and I ran the office and spent hours counting the takings. We had a great line up of girls, good service staff and you would be lucky to find a seat after 7.30 at the weekends. Then Ben started playing Poker.

The coffee and cap club were going to have coffee here this afternoon. All locked up up but with music and voices within. Receptionist from hotel came out, and said bar closed. Reopen on Sept 1st. When we asked why, she said renovate, but seemed to not be able to explain or understand that it had just been renovated.... When asked she said reopen as scooters, no secrets. The coffee and cap club are please to broadcast breaking news.... Ps the coffee at w14 was very good.

we are talking a different era Dave. no social media, nobody used fb, phones didnt have net on them and the girlsthought they were lucky to have a nokia that did sms. the forum was massive in its day. seriously busy as it was a common bond for mongers. larry ws in and out of his little office with the one way mirror fitted the wrong way round, so we coul see him posting like a maniac in between carrot juices. hard to imagine now, but everyone only new each other by their board names and would simply come in, talk to the rat lover and then be introduced to others from the forum. it was the magic formula back then today.. it wouldnt work. fb rules too. but back then people had a camera intheir back pockets and were considered techies if they had a laptop

They'll be lots of opinions about this but I was on the ground there seven years 10 hours plus a day in the bar and at least four hours on the website. I saw the traffic I spoke with the customers so I do have a bit of insight as to how the Forum affected business and it was an absolute major draw.

That's exactly what happened the Forum came into play one year before the bar and hotel and that's the reason it was so important to the business people read about it for a whole year we kept updating the progress we had parties in other bars around town promoting secrets so that when it did open for business it would be well accepted and it was a full year before the bar opened

I think Secrets needed the extra boost the forum gave it due to its location.

boydeste, seeing you more than likely banged the lot of them,i would say the 50 hot ladies was the main reason you was down stairs every day. same,same me,i read the forum and went to the bar soon as the next morning had a belly full of piss and two hamburgers and a wee session with ? can"t remember her name,she had big boobies and shaven haven. regards grayray

I totally agree. The forum is how I discovered Secrets and was responsible for my first trip staying at Secrets, using Secrets taxi and spending most of my time in Secrets. although that may have had something to do with the 50 hot ladies present every day.

No one by the sounds of it.😀

I always preferred forums to Thai related Facebook groups. I was in few Thai/Pattaya Facebook groups, but quickly left them all bar a scuba diving one. Forums like this are way better for me ...

First step is to get people entering the bar : forum was a good media for this. Second step is to keep them in the bar, and that is management and staffs job. Third step is to turn them in return customers, specially people who live in Pattaya. They will bring you a regular income, not too much depending on seasons. A bit same as any business. It is new customer acquisition that is difficult and expensive.

Hi lived in los for 5 years now just visit for holidays

Well sounds a little dangerous to have a bar that relies on a forum, the bar for me should have been successful in it's own right and I would have been happy to have patronage via the forum but surely a business should be more associated with the actual bar product, the business offering. Thai Visa ran a bar in Hua Hin but that didn't last long, I think the forum is still doing well so forums are not really related to how well an associated bar is doing and in the same vein a bar should be looking at a business plan that doesn't revolve (or rely) around a forum. Just my personal thoughts. Maybe somebody took their eye off the ball.

I walked past soi 14 for 10 years before i ever walked down it,and that was only because i found the forum while looking for rooms in the WS area and the hotel website was one of the hits. No question the forum drove the bar.

Yea, it's how I discovered the Rockhouse, via the Pattaya Live forum. And also, as you say, from my last few times of viewing PL, it wouldn't give me much incentive to go there, quite the reverse in fact. But, I don't run PL or the Rockhouse, the bar has successfully been going for years, so what do I know ...

The first time I went to check the bar it was because of the forum. Without it, I would never have ventured in there. Nothing makes it stand out from other bars when you walk by. All the (few) other times I visited it was always directly or indirectly forum related. And I guess I am not the only one. So, fecking up the forum over the last 2 or 3 years, has certainly not helped the walk ins, and the reputation attached to the place. I mean, if you see a forum is dull, non interesting, will it motivate you to venture in a side street to find the bar ?

@Painter Thanks for the clarification, I think this post before yours pretty much says the same thing now you have put it in English LOL

Read on here from people that would know, that when Secrets did well, it was mostly due to the forum. So if the forum is dead as mentioned, I'd guess that impacts the bar as well ...

Quite rightly furious, she took her complaints directly to Pear Swimwear, where she’d bought the colourful turquoise and pink number. “Hey, I wore that swimsuit today. And it’s stretch like anything,” she said. “I only wore it for a couple of hours. My vagina was hanging out constantly. Is it meant to stretch like that?” She then shared a picture of the outfit, which was visibly failing to cover her private parts. However, after ranting about her “embarrassing” togs, she made another humiliating discovery. It turns out, thanks to a few drinks, her judgment had been slightly affected, and she’d been wearing the one-piece upside down, having removed it to use the bathroom. “Hi Lyndsey. I’m really sorry you were embarrassed by your swimsuit,” the company’s rep politely told her. “I have had a look at the picture you sent and believe you are wearing the swimsuit upside down.”

Interesting what is happening there. As an Aussie I know a few expats who work and have retired there and from talking with them lately most are very worried with what is going on. Most of them have lived/worked in other Asian countries and said this is the worse crisis they have come across and are watching it very keenly. Maybe Thailand is not that bad as a work/retirement place after all. cheers

Fb Rumor is come back without scooters.

Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist..... https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/gary-duncan-psychedelic-guitarist-in-quicksilver-messenger-service-dies-at-72/2019/07/01/f52c0000-9c0b-11e9-85d6-5211733f92c7_story.html?utm_term=.6dd18d4db8de

Maybe you are just an early diner John, food looks lovely...

Same here , I don't follow any Thai related FB pages , all your friends can see what you "like" and comments you make , okay if you have a fake FB Page specifically for Thailand , but I was always worried about cross contamination..... so best to view only and not follow for me

you are right dave.. but they couldnt keep up. in fact fb was carrying, at one time, more horny pics than any board wanted to. 5 yrs ago it reached the stage where bms were showing the girls pics that other had taken, the girls got into sm, and along with fb getting massive, the forums have become chat rooms, like this one, but could not be relied on to launch and keep a bar flowing. things are changing again tho. fb, now the king of swing, is charging fortunes to share your posts with "friends". you post from secrets and have x number of followers, well unless u pay them 10- dollars, only x/15 will see that post. its how they will make their money. so there will be a change again, but not sure what it is. i think it will be a return to forums and web pages. and see people using fb to drive traffic to the web pages, and people working to make their web pages interesting enuf that users come again and again with a fb post only becoming a reminder and not THE post

Damn! Guess I'll miss walking into an empty bar next month and have a couple of quiet beers while listening to Lulu singing, "To Sir With Love". Hey, if I'm the only guy in the joint, then they better be taking requests! I think one of the major differences between Scooters/Secrets and the other Scooter locations, is that in those other spots, they were a part of the local scene that was visible for all to see who happened by. They compliment the areas they are located at. The WS location however, is a place that you "gotta go there to get there", as it's location isn't really connected to the main nightlife area it claims to be attached to. It is instead separated from it's WS anchor, pretty much hidden away and out of sight, as having to go down an alley will only attract a very small crowd when where they are standing on WS before deciding to head down that alley, lays before them a feast for the senses. A dazzling kaleidoscope of neon lights, music, food smells, drink, women walking back and forth, and the promise of "come hither" delights with a plethora of ladies lined up in front of their respective venues enticing passers by with cheap happy hour drink prices. WS is one of the great human parades on nightly display anywhere in the world and people are naturally attracted to people watching. The other Scooter locations don't have to compete with that as they are a part OF IT! Makes for a tough go for Scooters/Secrets when it is where it is. Maybe by September and into the high season things might change, but after reading these recent posts, it doesn't appear likely. I guess I'll have to venture into a different bar while in Pattaya. Can anyone recommend another place to go to? I'm open to suggestions!

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Don't understand this expected success of a bar (regardless of location) with an associated forum. I used to go to Secrets well before I knew they had a forum. I think you will also find large quantities of bars and clubs doing positive business, even now, and I doubt that the majority of them have a forum related to bringing in any patronage.

Don't wear white spandex after buttsex

This is becoming a real saga.....

Probably the last word on this place for a while now, Deepthroat has said "No get Salary and bar have to close 2 months start today". Anybody in the know care to comment if this is correct or not especially the closing for 2 months part ?

Dinner time now at Bella Italia

I was going to say nice pics until I saw the scary characters in pink and black on their motorbike. That and the continuing show casing of lady-boys should see you have your posting rights suspended for a week lol

Another couple of weeks of this and they'll be hanging themselves next to the TT booths, not just crying.

Who is this lady ? Does she always work there

You will find a lot of ex secrets customers!

Here's a fishing clip for you ..

They're now backfilling around the Easy R-Con open sewer project. Sure hope they're going to use more than just sand as a road base. Wonder if they'll move the garbage can, or just bury it. With the backfill in place you get an idea of how the new road surface level will impact the businesses on either side. I'm leaving Pattaya for a five day holiday. Hopefully others walking around the area over the next couple of days can post pics of the progress.

I always tried to put up some decent TR's and pics when I joined Secrets back in 2010, not that I had to, I just enjoyed taking notes/ diaries and pics of the little darlings and always thought that when I grow up to be an "old hack" and maybe get married one day again, it would be fun to look back on. Oh Jesus, that's where I 'm at now LOL! Funny as was talking to my buddy Jim last week who lives in Austin Texas, who accompanied me for the last 5 years on our yearly trek to Thaland , were talking about Pattaya and Secrets and were saying that on a visit in 2011, two of the girls told us this was the best place they had ever worked cause most of the guys that came there, were cool, friendly, paid well and were not always a bunch of "older guys" I was only a young 56 years old then! Had some great girls from there, always good attitude and fun and were game for most things. Met some great guys and people in Secrets over the years for sure. But.........let's not forget what the late, great, Evil Knievel once said " You can have alot of fun in life, god knows I did, enjoy it while it lasts, nothing lasts forever"

You say all night beer bar prices !!!!!!. Nice of you for being polite to your competitors and not saying it however I will. Your prices are less than a lot of beer bar prices that are charging around town and certainly WS area. JDM