Let's file this under Travel Scam Advisory so as to connect it properly to FT and the Thailand forum. It's a new one to me, wondering how often this happens.

Having concluded a conference call with my client in New Jersey I make my way over to the 7/11 next-door to the Le Meridien Bangkok to replace the mini-bar chips consumed during the last few hours. It's just before 2 am local time and while I may look like just another overweight tourist stumbling from the agogo's, I am in fact bleary-eyed but sober.

I gather up a few items for purchase and after the first item is scanned I hear the ladyboy working in the snack-cake aisle say something to the cashier in Thai. All I recognize is the word "song," or "two" in English, and when I look up I see "2 @ 27: 54" light up on the register lcd screen.

Uh-huh.

Speeding things up a bit: The cashier finishes ringing the items, I pay and ask for a receipt. She hands me a receipt for someones 17 baht water purchase while casually tossing some other scraps of paper into the waste bin. I smile and ask for my receipt. She then tells me the machine is broken (all while opening and banging on the roll of receipt paper.) I ask her, very politely and without any accusation, to fix the tape and rescan the items from my bag. Dutifully she does so, and (of course) the new total is 54 baht less. She pretends not to notice. When made aware, she offers a bright smile and quickly returns the overage.

Minor league stuff, yet to me the most interesting thing is how nonchalant it all played out. I didn't yell or make a face-losing fuss. She didn't admit any malicious intent, and life goes on with a bemused smile. Kinda like when you catch a taxi-driver keeping your change from the tolls ...

Makes one wonder how prevalent are shenanigans like this in the wee hours of the morning in the tourist areas of BKK.

More or less than what you find in a NYC bodega at the same time?

So, a word of caution, for whatever that is worth.

Safe Travels!