In all my years of going out and socializing in HK, you cannot predict if someone will be well-mannered and generous from looking at the person's occupation, physical appearance, educational background, social class, ethnicity, gender, and salary. I have met many (I think 1/4 of the LKF party crowd belong in this group) moochers of all types. HK just seems to either breed or attract many people who only know how to live off or party off the generosity of others.
Now you ask, how can these moochers get away with their behavior? Well, many of the generous ones were taught by their family to be generous, well-mannered, a good sport, to be helpful and respectful to others, and most importantly not to judge relationships in monetary terms (or 'what can I get of this' terms). Unfortunately many of these ppl didn't receive proper teaching on when to 'turn off' the tap if their generosity is being abused as this is very difficult to teach and is best learned from experience.
I guarantee you will be still abused by others until you have gained enough experience to know when you should 'dump' those ppl and move on. Hopefully you do not swing to the other side and become cheap and moocher as well from your bad experience. If you swing to the other side, I predict in the long run, you will be unhappy as you eventually get ostrasized by others.
I personally don't mind buying a round or two for ppl I just met or taking ppl into to clubs so they can bypass the line. But when it comes to their turn to get me a drink because I bought them one earlier or got them in, and they do not, then I walk away. It doesnt matter if the girl is hot or not, I still walk away and rationalize it like if the girl is selfish then she must suck in bed.
One more thing, some moochers are smart and know only to ask for 1 drink or 2 then disappear into the crowd of a club and repeat over and over on subsequent visits. For these types of moochers, you will have to have a great memory to remember if they ever got you a drink or not.
Or some moochers try to appeal to your manhood and flatter you as they know many guys like to act like the big man on campus. So you have to keep buying if you want to be the big shot. In this case, you have to show self-confidence and tell the girls to find someone else to buy them a drink or walk away.
In the end, if you demonstrate your unwillingness to be cowed into buying drinks, after already done so, for fear being judged cheap or 'little man', the moochers will show you great respect afterwards.
Here is a personal experience of mine.
One time my bud and I were hanging out with some girls we knew as moochers in Beijing Club. They always bug us for drinks which we sometimes order and sometimes not. This time I got them 1 round as one of them was quite attractive looking.
As the club was dying down, we asked the girls to come with us to Volar as I wanted to see if we could get anywhere with the attractive one. They were hesitant as they knew it is hard to get in to Volar. We assured them it was no prob. So we go down and get into Volar and continue our chatting in Volar.
As we chatted with the attractive one, the other girl was chatted up by another guy. They ordered 2 shooters. Then the other guy disappears. While he is away (toilet, dancing in other room, chatting another girl, etc?), the shooters arrive and the bartender lays down the bill. 5 mins later, the other guy has not returned yet, the bartender is getting impatient and asks the other girl to pay for the shooters.
She does not want to pay for the shooters, so she gives me the bill and ask me to pay. The nerve of this girl! She wanted me to pay for drinks some other guy (I dont know) ordered for just the two of them. I told her 'no', gave the bill back to her, then immediately with my bud left the girls behind in Volar with the shooters and unpaid bill. I think we went to sauna afterwards.
We never knew if the other guy ever came back or not as he could have just disappeared himself as it was late. We never knew who paid for the bill. But in the end when we saw those girls again in Beijing weeks later, they avoided us. They never again ever dared to ask us for drinks.
So in the end, maintain your self-respect and don't let anyone cow you into keep buying drinks/meals beyond what is fair. | |