itsala

Not that is that important in the scheme of the events of the day,

but the original argument started because the perp had been cleaning his vehicle earlier and dust from the construction site had blown all over it. That is why he confronted the victim In the first place.

This feud has been bubbling for a few months now, with the perpetrator finding many excuses to confront Khun Urn, and the construction workers had in fairness been causing a lot of disturbance, which Khun Urn had tried to rectify, but he had grown tired of the hassle with this moron and decided the best way to deal with him was to ignore him. This seems to have antagonised him even further and sparked the shooting.

Hopes this helps out.

RIP P'Urn, will miss you, and very sorry for your kids.

What a waste of life taken by a low life scumbag.

Khun Urn was a very genial host, talented gardener and all round nice guy with much to live for. Unbelievable that a row over a dirty car could lead to a cold blooded murder.

Hi All,

We have a lot of baby equipment that my daughter has outgrown, newborn stuff to one year old.

Just wondered if anyone knew of a local family on hard times with a newborn who would benefit from it all.

Please pm me if you can help.

Many thanks

The main contributors to the trash are the hotels. The one I work at pays in excess of 40,000 baht a month for trash collection. I expect most pay as non collection would cause am embarrassing stench around the property.

Given the amount of resorts on the island, and assuming they all pay I would think someone is easily making thier payments on their new Mercedes, whilst dumping the waste in an area that is out of sight and mind for most.

Surprised that the issue hasn't been more widely reported.

I stumbled on a channel 7 report about an uproar by local villagers about the fact that the incinerator was broken and that the local authorities were now using the surrounding area to just dump the intended waste in the valley opposite the site.

Not sure if I am allowed to post the link, if I can I will.

I took a drive up there ( just behind Samui Prison and Court) and sure enough it looked pretty much like the valley was 100 odd feet high and wide with black bin liners.

Does anyone live near there and can confirm that the trash trucks are dumping there regularly, and I wonder what impact the smell and water run off would have if you lived downhill or downwind of this?

I understand the need for landfill but I am sure that a highly elevated valley located above residential areas must not be a location that is either safe or desirable.

I would try to sell it yourself, via TV classifieds or other Thai based sites. Save 3 per cent minimum and a lot of wasted time.

""I don't expect detailed advice. It's not me that's there so it's not about what I want but I thought residents or frequent visitors might have some ideas - as detailed or general as they felt inclined - about what THEY like, some or all of which might appeal to my friend. (I know there was a time when I could have told someone what my favorite places were in Samui, Bangkok or Pattaya and why so I thought people here could do the same).

I didn't say this forum was less helpful, I said maybe it was; I also said I didn't blame anyone for not replying (as opposed to people who post and complain about my request). Don't need to be a mind reader to tell me what you like and I wasn't asking for a tour guide, was I? I just made a polite and humble request for some ideas. Sorry bout that but what can I say? I can't delete the OP...""

Thanks for quoting only the second part of my post. I notice you chose to ignore the first part, where I actually took the time to answer your questions. You gratitude is overwhelming, and shows why you are getting a negative response.

I need to wear a suit, and I live here!!!!!

Believe me, if you are Farang and you work here and you know about things, you certainly don't need a suit, even at the highest level...

Not sure what you mean by this Birdman.

I work here, and work in senoir management, I am required to wear business dress, which is formal trousers and collared shirt, and on certain occasions that includes Jacket. If you know about things you dress according to the requirements of your work, even if you are farang.

There is a mistranslation here. It is not a power station capable of generating power, just a substation to handle the new cable that they have laid.

And whilst they have added new cable on the ring road, it hasn't been added to outlying districts such as Bangrak, And Plaileam.

Can the old cable stand up to the extra flow in these areas?. Not an expert but my guess is NOT.

They have a new Tourism University / College on samui. What do they do there?

Believe it or not, they run the cabin crew programmes from there. The hospitality and tourism courses are mainly on Phuket campus PSU.

No. Nor would we want it to be.

However, we are aspiring to be a First World Tourist destination, certainly charging equivalent prices in the Hotels. We must be able to deliver the service to match that pricing.

They are not providing the training or policies at College or government level to make that even close to realistic.

Given the reliance on tourist dollars for the economy to prosper, it should be a priority

The title is very deceiving & a generalization reflecting on the Island as a whole. You couldn't be further from the truth IMHO.

This comment I presume is from a recent arrival on the island?

If you look back over the last 10 years or so, things have changed dramatically on the island, from the availability of products, to the level of service from employees, as they are now exposed more & more to foreigners..

Sure you are going to get bad service every now & then, this is not a unique trait only in Samui . Bangkok, any city in the world with prevalent tourism activities.

You have a workforce that is migratory in most cases, they come here to make a living out of tourism & it's high seasons. Sure some of them are ignorant or not trained.

If you base your opinions by your dinning experience, I do not think it's fair, there are a lot more services on the island then just restaurants that you have managed to tar with the same brush with the title you have opted to use..

Thanks for the perspective Roo.

Agreed that things have changed in 10 years, I actually worked in one of the first proper five star hotels here 11 years ago, so not really a recent arrival, more of a re- arrival.

My point is that the Island more and more is branding itself 5 star, and charges a premium with that, but misses the service requirement by a mile. Not just on dining, thinking about supermarkets, airport staff, transportation executives (taxi drivers) and a lot of the branded tour companies.

I work in a 5 star hotel, and it is nigh on impossible to recruit staff with a can do attitude or service minded style. My colleagues from the same brand find the same in Phuket, Bkk and Hua Hin, so it isn't just a Samui issue.

The problem starts at the hospitality schools and increasingly also from a sharp change in the mentality of many of the government agencies responsible for tourism related matters.

My post wasn't intended as a Samui bash nor to mislead, more to stimulate a debate into others experiences, as I feel after 12 years in Thailand that the atmosphere and mentality is changing, maybe a lot of innocence has been lost. But again generalising, tourists and customers in general are being taken for granted, rather than being nurtured into repeat business.

Perhaps it is an inevitable spiral, but it is a massive shame.

Quote eezergood: “Perhaps you could go through the process & report back what you found/heard.....

This is not being sarcastic, but from a 'pros' point of view type the report could be very interesting”.

Whilst that sounds like a good suggestion, I don't want to fall foul of any members who wish to support "timeshare etc" selling or for anything to get too personal, as I have found it can do in the past.

However I will give you a few pointers and have tried to keep it short, however very difficult to do in reality.

First of all it should be noted that in many countries some "direct selling" methods are against the law. Why, simply because there is a need to protect the consumer, and a few from the UK and USA are as follows: -

-- The salesperson takes you to a long salespresentation where you are put under pressure to sign a contract before leaving

-- Incorporating lottery-like chance elements in the sale and distribution of merchandise to the general public.

-- The seller making the initial approach (unexpectedly) often personally, either face to face or over the telephone.

-- The seller only offering a limited range of products, and

-- Salespeople making use of direct selling techniques and strategies which take psychological advantage of the selling environment (environment where the consumer cannot easily walk away without buying something first) to pressure the consumer.

So by law, the consumer has certain rights and the selling techniques used must be lawful, which of course have no meaning in this country, which is why such companies flourish.

Another point to consider is that if the selling of "timeshare/fractional ownership/holiday clubs" was ethical, then why not advertise that if anyone is interested in such a product, then contact XZY company. However you will see no such advertisements here (as a rule) and there is a reason for it.

Without getting too deep into the psychology of selling, or the frailties of human nature, it is well documented that there are those people who are extremely easy to sell to at one end of the scale, and at the other end those who are extremely difficult and who will not buy unless they have carefully researched, planned, researched again and finally determined it is what they need. If you add to the mix those people who are intimidated by stand-over tactics and will sign anything because of fear, and those people who are impulse purchasers who really are after the thrill of the purchase and usually repent at leisure, then you have a whole range of potential customers who are the targets.

The reason that the OPCs (Outside People Chasers, as they are called) approach everyone with the scratchie ruse is to basically hide what they are selling, and even if questions are asked they are usually very evasive about what the end result is. In addition they prey on human frailties because "everyone wants something for nothing" or words to that effect.

Once the "prospects" are in the presentation/premises inspection/sales pitch, then the hope is that they will have caught in their net many of the unsuspecting folk who may well sign up for something because of their frailties, as outlined a couple of paragraphs ago i.e. impulse purchasers, the meek and timid who cannot say no, those who are fearful of not signing and the plain scared. Not to mention those who have had a few drinks and are enjoying their holiday and think that this seems like a good scheme, without really thinking it through, and usually regret their decision soon after.

So by operating this way the companies pull in more "suspects" (anyone out there with a Visa/Mastercard card) which they turn into "prospects" (usually defined as those who turn up for the presentation) and then put the hard sell on them to close a deal. By using this methodology they will have snared just a few (if any) folk who may be interested in the product, and a whole load more who may not know what they are in for, but are fair game for a signature.

There are many tactics used in the sales process, a couple of the more common ones being the "good cop, bad cop" scenario, whereby one seems to be the hard sell character, whereas the other seems to be on the customer’s side and tries to befriend them by openly challenging the original seller on some points, however at the end of the day the signature is all that matters. Another one is where the seller seems genuine and tries to get to know customer and lets them know a little about his background and how good a guy he is, and when it comes down to the sale, some people will sign because they have made a friend and trust them, or do not want to upset their new-found friend (who may well have sealed the deal over dinner/drinks later, after a preliminary "deal" has been signed). Many, many other techniques are used, including reverse psychology and aspects of Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Just to end, in many countries the selling of real estate or associated products, or indeed products which require a substantial investment, require the seller to disclose the commission they are paid for the sale and their association with the company, however not in the "timeshare game" which makes up its own rules to a certain extent.

And just for good measure in any such deal in many countries, where a contract is signed, the consumer has the right to what is known as a "cooling off period" whereby they can change their mind and get their money back/unwind the contract at no cost or pressure to themselves. I doubt it would be easy in this case.

GREED.

That's why they use scratch cards, as it appeals to the basic human instinct of something for free. By turning up the prospect demonstrates a predisposition to a "deal". Then they are offered unrealistic savings on future holidays, they buy out of greed, same as the reason they came in. The major players do the same, Marriott, Wyndham, Disney, Club Med. all though they offer a hard premium, but on the same premise of greed. Caveat Emptor.

Service on Samui has always been middle to poor, I just wondered if anyone else has noticed a significant downturn recently.

Admittedly we just had a baby so haven't been out much in the past year but have had two "occasions" this week, an anniversary and a birthday.

First one was at the new seafood place in Bangrak, the one with the life size boat in the car park. Ordered food. After an hour nothing arrived, complained to the boss, a Thai David Caradine lookalike, to be told as we were local, he was serving the tourists first???!!!. Promised to give us something as a priority. We have a7 month old kid, and she was getting restless so we both ordered quick starters. 30 minutes later still nothing. The baby starts crying, waiter asks if we can move to another table as we are disturbing others. David comes over and says that the food will be 15 minutes but please move to the table near car park....I loose it and walk out.

Then today at a 5 star place up where the restaurant looks like a canal boat. I am served a chicken dish raw inside at 800 baht a shot. Complain send back. New one come out worse than the first. Complain. Third one comes out worse than the previous two. Ask to see manager,he says chicken served rare always looks like that.......... I wish I was joking.

Just two random places, but it seems to be even in supermarkets, shops and other service places that the I don give a f@&k attitude is comomplace and almost proudly delivered with relish and sesame bun on top.

Just out of interest,are you providing a prescription for these drugs? I would assume not. If not then the price seems fair as it is in essence not legal to sell this to you.

Only state hospitals can provides this,in health related cases only and under strict supervision.

Finally stopped after 15mins

Is this picture showing all, the people running? Or showing it stopped after 15 minutes? either way, looks like a normal afternoon in the beach.....can even see a sun lounger vendor assaulting a tourist in the background. ;-)

Its a false alarm. The Thai idiots who started this rumour are getting a rap over the knuckles for it

Just out of interest, Ivan, how do you know this?

can you quote a source, or are assuming so you post as fact?

This biggest change I have noticed, is the number of Chineese travelling independently. They used to stick to organised tours, now they are travelling by themselves. Renting bikes, eating in noodle shops and running into trouble wherever there is any water.

The good thing is that they spend money in the local shops, and my hotel has had a massive upturn in f&b and spa, where as before they had prepaid everything and no one got a slice of the pie.

Thanks Itsala,

May I have an idea of the price of the whole package? Does it includes everything from pregnancy to baby delivery?

Thanks again

For the c section and 3 nights plus all extras was 60,000 baht. We left actually paying 54,000 because we used a K Bank credit card that gives you a discount ( which we didn't know about which for once was a pleasant surprise)

We then also bought the aftercare package which includes a years vaccines, I can't remember how much but it gave a big discount on pay as you go.

Any coincidence that Mr Santi's day job is as an alcohol wholesaler who supplies most of the bars in the south of the Island with liquor?

We bought a package at Bangkok hospital, for a c section, seven months ago. They delivered us a wonderful little girl. No complaints at all, the paediatrician who does the after care is brilliant also.

The 9th is New Year's Eve. Hence the party. Just like western new year,