Considering that this is a small market, Tan noted that most of their competition originates from five or 6 bigger getai workers. It is also a mainly male-dominated industry – most operators plus clients are guys.
“Usually, getai operators bond with clients over drinks. It is common to end a getai meeting with beverage at a coffee shop, ” she said.
It really is such a big portion of the culture that when the lady was 18, her mother, 55-year-old Buapath Tan, who helped run the family getai business, began training her to hold the girl liquor.
“My mother would take myself downstairs to the cafe and order beverage for me. I don’t enjoy beer because it is therefore gassy so I don’t drink a lot and also have never gotten drunk, ” laughed Suntan.
Tan also noted that will since getai saw a resurgence within the 70s and 80s where there were fewer entertainment options when compared with today, many of the first operators are around the same age as her father and have flushed the business down to their children. “Many getai are actually run by the more youthful generation, though We are probably the youngest among them, ” she said.
It is no wonder the fact that getai of today include more modern elements, like LED screens, multi-coloured stage lights plus younger singers. Occasionally, they even include a side feature just like a runway show.