petedk

Dealing with these companies is frustrating to no end. I've yet to contact anyone at any of em that can communicate in English to the point that I would trust any transaction between us is going to go down the way I think it will. Save yourself the headache and recruit a Thai friend to set everything up for you.

I disagree with you about their English skills.

I call True quite often and fine that the staff at the call center speak excellent English.

I am at my wits end with True.

I posted earlier about the Ultra High Speed Cable Internet not working. There were all sorts of excuses. Undersea cable break, new surveillance system and God knows what.

Recently True seemed to work better in the mornings , although at night it came to a standstill.

I just tried a speed test again and received a speed of 0.83Mbps. (I pay for 16 Mbps). I tried to call True only to be met with a recording talking about a maintenance. (I actually hung up before the message finished).

Is this going to go on forever?

What decent alternatives are there to True?

It is risk takers like Branson and all those before him that made it possible for ordinary folk like us to benefit. The idea that he is just attention seeking is a ridiculous comment. He is innovating and pushing boundaries. People like him and his team don't give up and thank God for that.

Branson is an entrepreneur, and a very successful one to boot. I have no qualms with that, but he has a tendency to overpromote himself. I never saw Bill Gates dressed up as a high heeled trolley dolly complete with wig and make-up, did you?

At least he had the guts to carry out his promise.

He had a bet with Tony Fernandes about which team would finish highest in the 2010 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

Do you think Fernandes would have kept his part of the bargain if he lost?

Anyway, back to topic. This is a sad development and together with the rocket, that exploded, while carrying supplies to the space station is a serious setback for private space travel. I think NASA were relying on private enterprises to take over a lot of the space travel, but it takes time and a lot of money for the companies to reach that stage.

I wish Virgin all the best as Richard Branson has always been one of my idols since he started Virgin Records.

Be happy to be out in a day.

There have been reports from other immigration offices, where people had to come back a couple of days later.

Likely for the same reason.

For Bangkok this surprises me.

They should really have more than one competent/authorized officer.

I am at Chaeng Wattana now (15.12) and have been here since 9.30 this morning to renew my visa.

Judging by the number being served I'll be here for another hour at least.

So they are not that fast here.

Was the suspect Thai or from Myanma?

In defense of Thai cabbies - I have lived in Thailand for coming up on 20 years and can count on one hand the bad experiences involving Taxis and Motorcycle taxis. This is including travel to and from the airport on too many occasions to count (from Sukhumvit area to both DM and Swampy). When I arrived, in 1994 the starting rate in a cab was the same 35 Baht - at 25 Baht to the Dollar so the increase to today is negligible, if anything in real terms. Does anyone really begrudge giving a cabbie a tenner for a 30 KM trip ? Try that at Heathrow. Or Tokyo. Good Luck. It wont get you in the cab, let alone out of the airport. One can even get from Pattaya to Bangkok for twenty quid - that's 100 miles in a decent car, whaddyawantferchrissakes ?

Would you drive an hour away from home, in the rain, knowing it would now take you two hours to get home at the end of ten hours in Bangkok traffic for 2 quid ? Let them choose, there are enough of them and as previously noted the BTS and underground are excellent. Neither existed when I got here.

Increase choice - Introduce decent cars with higher pricing like Jakarta ?

Lastly, always give an extra tip if the photo on the permit matches the boat race of the driver. You wont have to do this too often.

I don't know any taxi driver who will accept two quid or even a tenner as you mention.

This is Thailand and the currency is Thai Baht.

Why compare with what a taxi costs in London? This is Thailand.

Fried pork with basil costs 30 baht here. How much does it cost in London?

Last week I took a taxi and the driver spoke excellent English (even though I spoke Thai to him.)

He told me that he used to own a furniture export business and had been to USA and UK many times.

His business went bankrupt when the Thai Baht appreciated against the dollar.

He told me that he never refuses a fare and makes enough money driving a taxi.

Having said that I believe they deserve an increase.

Is there a cover up going on here?

Just read in the Bangkok Post today that the victim's room has been disinfected and that 21 people he came into contact with are being closely monitored for 21 days.

Why all this if it wasn't Ebola?

I am running Chrome 64 bit on a 64 bit Inspiron.

Chrome used to work but suddenly stopped. I hadn't installed any new software or add-ons.

Actually I don't use Chrome much for browsing but I use it a lot for splitting PDF files. It is so easy to that on Chrome.

I have turned off anti virus and firewall but doesn't help.

Interesting!

I am using a Dell Inspiron and my Chrome has stopped working.

I use Chrome on 3 other computers and have pretty much the same set up and software on each computer.

I have tried removing all add ons, uninstall and reinstall.

Still just doesn'twork on my Inspiron.

Big C. Rama 4 today:

Saw two female staff sitting in a garden swing chair. I should say one was sitting and the other had her head on the first ones lap. She was fast asleep. The girlfriend told me take a photo and send to the store manager.

Needless to say I didn't bother.

What often annoys me in these big stores and department stores is in the electronic departments. The staff are always deeply engrossed in the computers or watching movies on TV. No time to serve customers.

They also gave him a free Truevisions box for the cheapest package.

Anyone else got that?

Yep. Referred to that but the girl insisted that I couldn't change the speed until the contract ended.

I talked with our contact at True Online and confirmed that any/every customer can take advantage of this increase in speed regardless of whether they've pre-paid for their service, or not as that fact is unrelated to the issue. In some/many/most cases it is has been provisioned automatically, and in the event that it has not, simply contact (another, in the case of the OP) CSR to make this request.

I am not in any way associated with True. Personally I have True DSL and TrueVisions Platinum, and I am a satisfied customer. We support quite a few customers who use True Online (DSL and DOCSIS).

But I admit to being confused by the OP as they seem to indicate that this increase was agreed to, and provided, but maybe I am missing something? My best guess is that if they are note getting 18 Mbps there is an issue with the provisioning, but that's just a guess.

Quotes from the OP

I called True and asked for the same promotion and they "agreed".

I decided to check with True as to why I was getting the 18 Mbs.

Oops that was a typo. I meant why i was NOT getting

It seems that all the pre-orders from True, AIS and DTAC are sold out.

The girl friend managed to order one from True. Five minutes later her brother tried but they were sold out.

Personally I think it is a waste of money.

HUACA

Hang up, and call again.

Yep. Referred to that but the girl insisted that I couldn't change the speed until the contract ended. The ad says "by the end of 2014"

I checked online and it says "will be upgraded December 2014"

The contract ends in December so I guess they keep their word.

I have True internet Cable Internet 14 Mbs for 699 Baht per month.

I can't remember why but I payed for 1 year in advance (got some kind or credit card promotion). My friend has the same package but pays monthly.

About two months ago he was contacted by True and asked if he wanted to upgrade to 18 Mbs for the same price. Of course he accepted.

I called True and asked for the same promotion and they "agreed". I couldn't really see the difference and in fact my Internet became slower. Then we had all the problems with the "broken undersea cable", "surveillance system" , or whatever excuse they could think of to explain the unusable Internet.

Now speeds are returning to "normal" so I decided to check with True as to why I was getting the 18 Mbs. After a few minutes the girl came back and said that I was on a one year contract and it couldn't be changed. I have to wait until the end of the contract!!!!

Is that the way True reward us for being loyal????

“Many staff are frightening after the accident happened, so we are now deciding whether to close Tiger Kingdom for one or two days to boost staff confidence,” general manager Kachane Jakkapark said this evening (October 22).

So the staff are "frightening" ?

Better stay away.

I was only reading the Bangkok Post on 19 October where it said that Thailand was well prepared against the threat of Ebola.

It goes on to say how people from affected countries will be monitored every day and that they won't be allowed through immigration unless they have a document from the Department of Disease Control.

Anyway, who is worried? Thailand already has the cure.

I just hope that Thailand doesn't get hit by this terrible disease.

As we are moaning, my local McD's cannot put a BigMac together properly, and it is never hot. I always ask at the counter, HOT (ron), it hasn't got through to them yet, so now l rarely go there....

I often complain about that. The burger patties are stored in warm water trays.

An absolute waste of money and effort. It will never work.

I am sorry to say that but it is true. The disabled really need help and the whole idea is good but.........

This is Thailand. The drivers will never stop and wait for the disabled. It will take far too long for them to get on and off the bus. Only a few weeks ago, I saw a blind man trying to get on the bus. He fumbled his way down the outside of the bus but just a he reached the doors the driver drove off.

The buses stop in the third (outside ) lane. Do they expect wheelchairs to roll across the road and and then fight to get onto the high pavement??

The boats on Klong San saeb are exactly the same. It is all about speed. Last week I wanted to get off the boat and there were five people in my row getting off at the same time. Just as i was about to get off the boat veered away from the pier and I was still stuck on the boat. The driver had to back up and moor once again to let me off. It took him maybe a full extra minute to do that.

Your work permit allows you to teach at the place stated (usually your school). Any teaching outside that area is considered illegal.

My university sends me to companies to teach as it is more convenient for the staff of the company to study on their own premises than to come to my university. Strictly speaking this is illegal.

I also do work for a few other universities. (again illegal)

I have also taught a group of policemen (illegal)

I think that the authorities (immigration or whatever) seem to close a blind eye to English teachers as long as we don't make problems.

However, like everything else in Thailand this could change tomorrow, so for now I'd say teaching at home is Ok.

I'm 62 yrs old, male, and teach within a corporate context, where there is a great divide between management and staff. My job is to improve overall Eng. skills. The company I work for has traditionally supported the idea that managers should keep their distance from staff (in terms of personal relationships [non-sexual]), which has resulted in the worst staff-management atmosphere I have ever encountered. My students are mid 20s to early 30s, mostly female.

As for me, I am completely honest & open with my students and get as close to them as possible, which has resulted in the best teacher (manager) - staff relations in the history of the company. Last week, I brought in my old photo albums with pictures of me going all the way back... I talk to them no differently than I do with anyone else, and their response has been fantastic.

When I first began the class, I could not get anyone to say a word... it was like pulling teeth.

Now I can't get them to shut up.

When I first started, I stood up in front of the class and talked/acted like a teacher should.

Now I sit among them and just keep things flowing... they are all fully engaged and appear to very much enjoy the activity (as do I).

The feedback I have received from senior management has also been fantastic, and they are currently re-evaluating their entire approach to staff-management relations to improve the rather negative atmosphere that currently exists.

Each to his own, I guess. Clearly, others who have posted here disagree with this approach. But this has been my experience both in my professional and personal life here in Thailand. The main problem I have encountered is actually from mid-level managers who resent my success.

Office politics... what to do?

Also, in my experience with Thais in general, honestly is not only valued and appreciated, it's the very first thing they look for (for good reason, as we all know). Whenever I meet my wife's family or friends, it's the very first thing they scrutinize, (and they do scrutinize), and then they invariably turn to my wife and give their verdict... Jai dee - you chose well.

I also seldom encounter the problems typically expressed here in the TV forum.

My life in Thailand has not been 100% problem-free in this regard, but such negative encounters have been few and far between.

In fact, the biggest problems I have encountered to date have been with other expats... but that's another story entirely.

Anyhoo, for what it's worth, this has been my experience to date.

I wish you good luck in your new job, and suggest that you just be yourself.

I can see myself in you (even the age is the same)

Right now, I have been asked to teach a Flight Attendant course and to be honest the girls are nowhere near as attractive as my usual English majors.

On the other hand, and I am sorry to say this, their intelligence seems to be much lower. I had to take a completely different approach to teach them and adapted the same style as you did.

Forget the teacher student relationship. I sat myself down and talked with them. Found out what they expected to learn and so on.

All of this led to a lot of detailed information about me and about them.

Now the class seems to be working well. I get through to them by relating to personal experiences and they seem more interested.

On a final note: One girl did try to get too close by talking about her private sex life and asking more about mine but I told her that the line was drawn there.

I haven't read all the posts here but I'd like to add a comment.

I had the pleasure of teaching some government employees who work at the airport ( I won't say which area they worked in).

Anyway, I asked them about their future plans and nearly all of them said they would like to be transferred to customs. I asked why and the answer was "money."

I was also told that if I wanted anything ( I mean ANYTHING) tax free I should just tell them and they could get it for me.

Says it all really..

I am 100% confident of only one thing, the first Ebola case in Thailand will be covered up for as long as they can keep it quiet.

This might last a couple of days.

More than a couple of days. They will deny and call it something else. 100% sure of that.

It also happens (or used to happen) in England that dogs bark all night.

I remember every time I visited my grandmother in the village where she lived that there were many dogs on her street and they barked constantly.

The only difference between that and Thailand is that at night in England the streets were quiet so no dogs barked. Here people run around all night long.

We live at the end of a closed soi but people come rummaging around the dustbins all night long. Pubs, not far from here, are open until God knows when and the customers love to park their cars outside our houses, waking up all the dogs around here.