spidermike007

Last time I was in PP, it was $10 for short time (2 hours), and the bar fine was $1! Usually picked 2 or 3. I knew that was not going to last! Everything has changed. It is a different planet. Fortunately, Thailand is still both reasonable and very, very pleasant. Some of us live very good lives here. I am grateful for that.

This has nothing to do with Thai hospitality. Try living in Russia, China or Japan for awhile. I find most Thais to be kind and pleasant. Some are indifferent. I will take the indifference of Thais, over the hostility of Russians.

I always tip them. They make so little. If they are getting 9 baht for a delivery, gotta be hard to make a living. My 20 baht tip has to mean alot to them. And it means nothing to me.

Sounds like you have a good woman. Strong. A sense of conviction. For some reason some Thais are timid about this kind of thing. And some believe that customer service does not exist here. It does. You just have to push them sometimes, to do the right thing, and consider the long game!

Maybe the new administration has better sense than the failed Prayuth govt. That would be amazing. You might even be able to label that as progress!

Ask any Thai how many times they have successfully returned a product. Not slow at all. Conditioned, yes.

Well, they already won an election by a decent margin.

I love most Samsung products. Will never buy another Samsung TV, as they only make replacement parts for 36 months. Have had great luck with their phones, AC's and refrigerators. The Ultra 22 and 23 are likely the best cell phones on the planet. Leagues above Apple.

Hey Sretta, want some opinions? 1. Try doing something different. Appoint some ministers based on merit, accomplishments, background and skills. You will be astonished at how much difference it makes. 2. Resist the army goons, every chance you get. They are no good, and they care not one iota for the people. 3. Try, just try to do some things that benefit the people. 4. Be content with the fortune you have, and do not do this for the money, like the generals have for the past 9 years.

1. I do not have such a rich imagination. I wish I did. 2. I have no motivation to make up stories, at this point in my life. I have nothing to prove. LOL. Believe me, this technique of escalating it to a manager really works here, if you are not getting any help from an underling.

Nah. You are blatantly and completely off the mark here. Here in Thailand, if you have a major customer service issue, sometimes that is THE ONLY WAY to get something accomplished. I do not do it with small stuff. But, if I am dealing with an arrogant underling, who is NOT HELPFUL, I will employ this method, and it almost always works. I have used it in major retail stores, at immigration, customs, with the police. So, just go ahead and admit you misjudged this, and called it wrong. OK?

Some time ago when I was living on Samui I had an issue with an air conditioner that I had just bought from Homepro. I went into Homepro asking for service and got no satisfaction at all. I asked for the manager which is something that I usually do, when I am not getting anywhere, and she had a terrible attitude and was very unhelpful. I had got her name, went home, looked up the head office in Bangkok, sent them a quick email explaining the situation calling her out by name and within an hour I got a phone call from a vice president telling me that everything would be addressed, and he said that I should go back into the store the following morning. When I did I got a deep bow from the manager, I'm so sorry I misunderstood yesterday. What can I do to make you happy? It was the exact response I wanted the first time around but that I got after she had been scolded by the VP, and likely her job had been threatened if her attitude didn't improve. Sometimes we just have to escalate things to a more senior employer or manager in order to get things done here, sometimes the fools on the floor just don't know what service looks like. My Thai wife was shocked when I first started doing this, as she tried to explain to me that they do not have customer service in Thailand. I explained to her that they sure do! Now she realizes that service does exist, can exist, and will exist if the right amount of will, force and action is brought to the table. Well it happened. Fact. All I can go on. And you don't know me, so doubt all you want. Why would I fabricate a story like that? Think about it. I did not reach out to a VP. I simply sent an articulate note to the email contact on the website. And unlike your supposition that they do not get read, it was responded too quickly. Might have helped that I added that I was averaging 100,000 to 200,000 baht a year in Home Pro expenditures with my hilltop villa, at the time. A VP took it upon himself, called me that day, speaking perfect English, and asked me if I would be kind enough to visit the store again tomorrow. I suppose with any service anywhere, it comes down to the approach one uses, negotiating skill and fortitude. I do not let these things go. You can lay down and die, like a submissive sheep in this life, or you can defend your dignity and put up a fight. I usually choose the latter. Don't consider myself to be a dog or a doormat, and prefer not to let others that I do business with treat me like either. My Thai wife has been astonished a dozen times when things like this have come up, and she has seen me wage battle. She just shakes her head and says great job. I had no idea!

I am one of the fortunate few to have had the outstanding good fortune of never having kids. But, I would likely cover for them, if it was a minor crime. Causing an accident where people were killed? And fleeing from the scene of the crime? No way. Lock the creeps up. Good riddens.

I did live on Samui many years ago, and there were quite a few British fugitives hiding out there. Seems Thailand was very lax about that kind of stuff. But, I believe that has changed and they maintain a database now. It is the government and army officials who are likely the highest concentration of criminals now.

Just make the move. How much longer can you work? Don't worry about having enough to leave money for your daughter. Maybe you can, maybe you can't. She will survive. Self insure here. Medical costs are reasonable. Avoid the insurance mafia. They are slugs and will suck you dry. The cost of living is reasonable in a smaller town. Don't consider Bangkok. A retirement visa is still an option. Doubt that will change much.

And many men still claim that most women back in the West have only had a few sexual partners. Maybe a few hundred, yes. Many have had dozens before they reach 20.

Thailand is a nation in reverse. It is moving backwards, and represents the polar opposite of progress on countless levels. It is simply NOT becoming a better version of itself. The environment, traffic and public safety, horrific law enforcement, corruption, air quality, etc. Add to that heinous luxury and wine taxes, and you have an environment wealthy tourists avoid like the plague.

If they were the slightest bit serious about improving the nation, the first thing they need is clear policy, competent ministers with experience in the fields their ministries are in charge of, and at least a tiny amount of vision and planning. Sretta lacks every pre-requisite. So do most of his ministers. Especially the cop running education. What a lack of vision.

No thanks. I don't want to invite the need for psychotherapy. My family is from Russia. Generations ago. When I asked my great grandmom why they never taught us about the "old country", her reply was because it was the most horrific place on earth, and we were all fortunate to escape. That's why.

Ha! You are asking the government to actually solve problems and be pro-active? Quite amusing.

With the loss of repute or anything positive related to the army, they wouldn't dare shoot a protestor. That might be enough to ignite some real fury. It would end up being the other way around. Mothers would be telling their sons, you shoot one single Thai, on behalf of the army, and you are never welcome back home again. This is not Burma, and the soldiers here do not face the desperation they do next door. The generals know the public's tolerance of their madness is limited. Having said that, I do think people, and especially the youth, are scared of arrest and bring prosecuted on bogus, immoral, trumped up charges. Such as we have seen recently.

With the loss of repute or anything positive related to the army, they wouldn't dare shoot a protestor. That might be enough to ignite some real fury. It would end up being the other way around. Mothers would be telling their sons, you shoot one single Thai, on behalf of the army, and you are never welcome back home again. This is not Burma, and the soldiers here do not face the desperation they do next door. The generals know the public's tolerance of their madness is limited.

I was in Phuket recently. Seemed to be about 35% Russians (1% of them had social skills), 25% Chinese, 20% Indian and Malaysian, and the rest were mostly Arab. You may be right about Europe, the US and the rest. The cost of living has skyrocketed since covid. Many seem to be struggling. Plus airfares are so much higher.

I am not worried about a little sugar in the food. I do avoid milk, and MSG, so I ask them in Thai to leave them both out. Usually they are OK with that. The low quality cooking oil is a bigger concern than the sugar. We use only rice bran oil at home. It is inexpensive and a very healthy choice. Soybean, cottonseed, and palm are toxic oils to cook with. Most use them. Canola is a step better. Olive or coconut are also healthy choices.

Just say NO to the insurance mafia. The price increases are nothing short of obscene. Nope. Not gonna happen. I stopped my health insurance 10 years ago, after my last 20% annual increase, without a single claim. Sorry. Homey don't play that game. The million plus baht I have saved was worth it. Not worried at all. If I get ill, I have enough to cover expenses. If it is really serious, I am OK just checking out. It has been a good life.