Makati

[Raverboy]

So I've read the Manila, Makati and AC threads back to back and was wondering if any of you seniors care to comment (will post in all 3 threads):

OK, I'm game! Am planning my first trip to the PI over an extended weekend, just to party and for general R&R. I don't live very far away :)

Here's my plan: 4D3N arriving in AC as the travel plan allows arriving at Clark only. Head straight to greater Manila, spending the first night in Makati - check out the malls during the day, check out P. Burgos in the evening. 2nd day: head to Malate and spend 2nd night there - check out LA Cafe in the evening. On the 3rd day head to AC and spend the night there - check out Fields Ave. Depart from Clark the following day.

Can anyone update me on the following fair 'market' rates as I understand them:

P. Burgos = BF PHP 2000-3000 (may be offset by LDs), add 2000-3000 to the girl for LT
LA Cafe = No BF, PHP 500 - 1000 for LT
AC Fields Ave. = BF PHP 1000, 0 - 500 'performance based' tip for LT

I'm less inclined towards KTVs and Saunas, usually preferring the bar/disco scene for semi-pros or FLs. Ideally I'd like to score an 8-or-9-who-occasionally-works, just based on good past experiences elsewhere but this of course is not set in stone. That being said, I wouldnt mind checking out 'regular' clubs like V or Embassy in Makati - whats the scene like there these days? FYI: I'm in my early 30s and believe I would best identify with LoveAsian*****s (think we party the same way), a regular contributor to this thread.

Your comments are welcome!

[Bad Santa]

The barfine usually just springs the girl from the club. Her fee is a seperate negotiation. Some of the more expensive places catering to expats have the mamasan bundal the expense into one, but you should work that out before you do the take out.

My experience in barfines in Metro Manila (MM) has been consistent . I had barfined a few women in MM and I have not given anything extra. They explained to me that they get between 30-40% of the amount I have given to the establishment. I know this because my dates normally asked me the amount I have to fork out to get them out of the club
Again, I’m only used to barfining women in Metro Manila. I don’t know the barfine arrangement outside of MM.

BS

[Member #2718]

Does the barfine include the girl's fee or you still have to pay the girl?

Cheers,

The barfine usually just springs the girl from the club. Her fee is a seperate negotiation. Some of the more expensive places catering to expats have the mamasan bundal the expense into one, but you should work that out before you do the take out.

[Pussy Engineer]

I currently have a call center for my company in India but I am dissapointed in the quality of the staff. A friend of mine suggested the Philippines due to the similar low cost of labor and the English speaking population. Questions for any Expats or people familiar with.

1) Where is the best location to open the office (small office 8-10 people max) rental rates.? Reliable Internet needed .. anyone know what a 300-400sqft office would go for.? I would assume that Makati would be the location of choice... but others have suggested that I open something in Cebu or one of the smaller cities, cheaper employment rate and office rental... what are your thoughts.

2) What percentage of the population speaks good English. Good enough to respond to e-mail support.? What is the going rate for such a person (salary .. per hour.? )

3) What are the legal aspects of starting a company in the Philippines?

4) What does an 1br apartment in Makati run per month?

Thanks for your help,

Ender

I can't answer all your questions, but what I can tell you is that instead of setting up a company, there are plenty of pre-fab existing companies that you can outsource to - many of which that will even let you hire your own HR and they provide everything (office, seats, internet connected computers), all near ortigas, for a per seat per month fee.

[DavidR123]

1.) Most of the call centers in Metro Manila are trending toward Ortigas now. Makati is the most expensive place to live and have office space, but nicest also. Clark, Cebu, Davao and even CDO are substantially cheaper alternatives. Makati office space typically runs around P500 per square meter and is the most expensive in the country.

2.) It's probably a fairly small percentage of the population that speaks good enough English for call center work, but when you consider that percentage is out of of 90 million people, it leaves a healthy sized pool from which to draw.

3.) Form an Export Corporation.

4.) One bedroom in Makati runs between P15,000 to P40,000 depending on location and building amenities, etc.

I currently have a call center for my company in India but I am dissapointed in the quality of the staff. A friend of mine suggested the Philippines due to the similar low cost of labor and the English speaking population. Questions for any Expats or people familiar with.

1) Where is the best location to open the office (small office 8-10 people max) rental rates.? Reliable Internet needed .. anyone know what a 300-400sqft office would go for.? I would assume that Makati would be the location of choice... but others have suggested that I open something in Cebu or one of the smaller cities, cheaper employment rate and office rental... what are your thoughts.

2) What percentage of the population speaks good English. Good enough to respond to e-mail support.? What is the going rate for such a person (salary .. per hour.? )

3) What are the legal aspects of starting a company in the Philippines?

4) What does an 1br apartment in Makati run per month?

Thanks for your help,
ENDER

[The Governor]

Does the barfine include the girl's fee or you still have to pay the girl?

Cheers,

[Captain America]

Ender,
I have a friend in Cebu that runs a call center there. Since he is not a member of this board., pm me your info and I can put you in touch with him.

DC4,
I found the oxford suites very nice, but I've also read some reports that rate it much lower, leading me to think there are remodeled rooms and old rooms. It is in the center of all the action.

CA

[Weekender 123]

Ender - I can't answer any of your questions, but thought I would share some points from a conversation I had with someone who ran call centres in both India and the Philippines.

Overall he loved the Philippines due to:

1) Percentage of people who spoke English.

2) He found the English spoken in the Philippines better than the English spoken in India.

3) He found Filipino's more empathetic with customer concerns. Interesting point, he said he would have to train people in India 1-2 weeks solely on soft skills required to deal with customers. These skills were more natural to the people in the Philippines.

4) Cost - I don't know the difference between India and the Philippines, but obviously there is a big difference vs. the US.

Anyhow I am definately no expert in this area, I just found these some interesting points he brought up.

[Ender]

I currently have a call center for my company in India but I am dissapointed in the quality of the staff. A friend of mine suggested the Philippines due to the similar low cost of labor and the English speaking population. Questions for any Expats or people familiar with.

1) Where is the best location to open the office (small office 8-10 people max) rental rates.? Reliable Internet needed .. anyone know what a 300-400sqft office would go for.? I would assume that Makati would be the location of choice... but others have suggested that I open something in Cebu or one of the smaller cities, cheaper employment rate and office rental... what are your thoughts.

2) What percentage of the population speaks good English. Good enough to respond to e-mail support.? What is the going rate for such a person (salary .. per hour.? )

3) What are the legal aspects of starting a company in the Philippines?

4) What does an 1br apartment in Makati run per month?

Thanks for your help,
ENDER

[Aussiec]

Will be in Makati on the 2/7. Anyone recommend a good place that is near bars and clubs with no hassle to bring girls back.

Thanks all

[Bill Buxton]

I just talked to a gal from rogues on the phone.She worked there for 2 years and she said the reason they were shut down was the mummasan "EILEEN" set up a gal with a "filipino guy" for a vip experence and he was connected to the NBI.How fucking shupid was she or how smart was she who knows.Could be she had a cut of the SET UP PIE.

First of all a vip room in a bar is not allowed in Makati bars and this gal cost the owner 500 thousand -p.YES 500-THOUSAND-P The owner wanted the NBI to taKe what his offer was 300 thousand-p but they held out for the BIG CASH.FOR ALL YOU AT HOME THATS $10,000 U.S.DOLLARS.

I love it! these stupid fucks tell you how much the bar makes and they will never recover this loss in the next year if they barfined every gal they have every nite!

Thats it, the payoffs, and ripoffs,and the things nobody saw.WAIT I THINK THAT WAS WORDS IN A SONG BY GLENN FRY,SMUGGLERS BLUES.

Thats how it works do what you want just be ready to pay out.

The gals did go by jeep but only to the NBI office 50 plus gals.Yes thats the real deal.

I am sure the owner will not want that payoff published.

SERVING YOU BETTER;

B.B...

[Bill Buxton]

the manager was likely told by the owner to use the smoking story as a cover. i guess he thought it would be bad for business if customers knew the real reason. if it was nbi, then it most likely was an **** or unlicensed bargirl issue. a lot of customers would be hesitent to barfine a girl from a bar if they thought the girl could be under 18, or that the girl did not have a license and therefore had not had her medical test.

i don't appreciate being lied to. the manager should have told me that he could not comment, rather then making up a bullshit story. i would love to go up to him and say "how come nbi was taking away the girls because a customer was smoking". but considering that he often buys me a beer and i go into rogues a lot, it's probably a bad idea to call the manager a liar.

i am not a 2 week guy here but free beer will not get you far in my book.frendship is not based on getting a free beer and a sack full of lies.i would rather buy my own beer than get put in a jackpot by some asshole manager making 20 dollors a night anywhere on the planet.i also would have more respect for the management for telling me a more reasonable story than what they told you.smoke and mirrors will not get you far in any place.yes you are right the reason is hands down bigger than smoking.and yes there is no smoking in the bars in makati but everyone does it.i was there at 7pm and the place was packed at 700-p per head for wine and cheese party.i would not go in due to the fact you could not move inside.the gal inside said the party was over at 10-pm and thats why i was there at that time again.

the door man at flamingo gave me the heads up to look across the street and see the nbi working there magic.all the foreign customers were let walk and the gals were loaded in the jeeps.ask the regular long time gals next time you are there they will tell you what the deal was.

play safe;stay sharp

b.b...

[LoveAsianWhores]

yes go ask the door man at flamingo if you have a question about my report.yes it was the nbi those were the letters on the back of the shirts in yellow print.ask the people at pizza hut downstairs.i am not being rude here but the answer is yes.

and the 3 jeeps i saw taking the gals away was also true mabey they were going to a party for the nbi guys.do you really think they would be closed for 2 days over smoking? think again.and do you think if the reason is other than a smoking deal your frend will tell you straight up.me,i don't think so.

thats the beauty of this place take 100 people and tell them to look at something and 25 say its red another 30 say blue and the rest say where did it go.and the best thing is 10,000 will say you never had it to start with.but those people were never there at all.it also could be it was a party with an extra 30-40 girls working.i am sure someone did not get his bag of cash for the holiday as expected.

i am not starting shit but why would i report anything but the facts.

b.b...

the manager was likely told by the owner to use the smoking story as a cover. i guess he thought it would be bad for business if customers knew the real reason. if it was nbi, then it most likely was an **** or unlicensed bargirl issue. a lot of customers would be hesitent to barfine a girl from a bar if they thought the girl could be under 18, or that the girl did not have a license and therefore had not had her medical test.

i don't appreciate being lied to. the manager should have told me that he could not comment, rather then making up a bullshit story. i would love to go up to him and say "how come nbi was taking away the girls because a customer was smoking". but considering that he often buys me a beer and i go into rogues a lot, it's probably a bad idea to call the manager a liar.

[Bill Buxton]

Spoke to the manager of Rogues last night. He said it was just a smoking violation (no smoking in all Makati bars). He said nobody was taken to the police station. A standard routine for bribes this time of year. They are back open. Also, it was just Makati PD. NBI (the equivalent of Philippines FBI) would never get involved in something like a smoking violation. Of course, the manager could be lying to me, but I have known him for over a year. Are you sure they were NBI?

Yes go ask the door man at flamingo if you have a question about my report.Yes it was the NBI those were the letters on the back of the shirts in yellow print.Ask the people at pizza hut downstairs.I am not being rude here but the answer is yes.

And the 3 jeeps I saw taking the gals away was also true mabey they were going to a party for the NBI guys.Do you really think they would be closed for 2 days over smoking? THINK AGAIN.And do you think if the reason is other than a smoking deal your frend will tell you straight up.ME,I DON'T THINK SO.

Thats the beauty of this place take 100 people and tell them to look at something and 25 say its red another 30 say blue and the rest say where did it go.And the best thing is 10,000 will say you never had it to start with.But those people were never there at all.It also could be it was a party with an extra 30-40 girls working.I am sure someone did not get his bag of cash for the holiday as expected.

I am not starting shit but why would I report anything but the facts.

B.B...

[LoveAsianWhores]

The N.B.I. Was out and about last friday night closing down the popular P,Burgos st. bar Rouges.AT 10-pm the NBI was standing outside escorting customers and rounding up all the gals at the bar.WHY?? I have no idea but I sat outside the flamingo and watched the scene unfold in front of me.At 7-pm I was in Roughs and they were packed with a wine and cheese party.They were getting RAIDED 3 HRS LATER.tHEY TOOK 3 JEEPS OF GAL TO THE POLICE STATION AND LET ALL THE CUSTOMERS GO WHY WHO THE FUCK KNOWS THIS IS THE p.i.right.

Saturday night it was still closed and there was little pedestrian foot traffic on the street.Iwould like to say I feel there are less foreigners here now than the same time last year.Why I have no idea.

B.B...

Spoke to the manager of Rogues last night. He said it was just a smoking violation (no smoking in all Makati bars). He said nobody was taken to the police station. A standard routine for bribes this time of year. They are back open. Also, it was just Makati PD. NBI (the equivalent of Philippines FBI) would never get involved in something like a smoking violation. Of course, the manager could be lying to me, but I have known him for over a year. Are you sure they were NBI?