Intira Chaipraserdnett

Occupation: Bar owner

Workplace: White Rabbit Bar, Silom

When Covid-19 first came on the scene, Intira was confident the initial two weeks her business was ordered to shut down was a temporary hiccup.

However, when it dragged on for weeks to months, she was left in a daze.

“My daily income took a beating, from averaging around 50,000 baht during my peak days to being left with zero income. Despite this, I had to financially support my staff and pay rent for the business premises.”

“It was nightmarish. My staff and I found ourselves hand-to-mouth. Each government relief scheme was so paltry that I found myself drowning in debt. If the government had a mindset of sincerely supporting us, they should have made it mandatory for landlords to waive the rent or have tenants pay 30% of the rent for the months we were closed. This never happened. I was fortunate my building owner waived 50% off the monthly rent.”

Yet, Intira decided to search for ways to pull through the crisis. “To survive, I decided to turn my business into a restaurant, adding a food menu so we could open much earlier than other nightlife establishments. I was confident that the government would allow the sale of alcohol in restaurants before bars and clubs.”

“From this, we have been generating a couple of thousand a day. While this is not enough to properly sustain ourselves but something is better than nothing.”

On the issue of Covid-19 regulations, she vehemently disagrees with the closing time of midnight. She said the extra two hours are often the most lucrative.

“Our main clients are patrons of Silom Soi 2. They arrive after 10pm, so it does not make sense to shut businesses by midnight.”

“I will go to any length to comply with the rest of the restrictions, and in fact, have already made sure among other things that our customers abide by social distancing restrictions and remain within the area permitted for them. White Rabbit bar has also refurbished its seating arrangement to comply with government regulations.”

Intira couldn’t help suppress her anger over the manner with which the government has managed SME business bank loans during Covid-19 and is pleading them to reassess the requirements to better support their request for loans in these trying times.

“The relief schemes are a shame. Even with the discount given for water and electricity, business owners, who had their freezers on to chill their drinks, ended up paying a hefty bill.”