SammyJ

3 hours ago, Marsupienemi said:

oh well and why that? oh yes of course, you are the fanboy who can't stand that anyone can say anything negative about Thailand or its people. Who is still in his golden dream: everyone is beautiful, everyone is nice! It's paradise: no crimes, drugs, rapes etc. And then, it's the land of smiles, how rude could they be!!

Come on, take your xanax and go to sleep (make no mistake: pink is xanax, blue is viagra). And yes, non-constructive criticism leads to this type of response.

Finally, if you are not able to evaluate the quality of the service or the welcome of a place, avoid making comments, especially if they are insulting, well hidden behind your computer. The specialty of this site, although basically, it is just about sharing points of view and experiences. You may learn one day that there is not 1 Thailand, but 1000+ Thailand and depending on where you live (north, south, east, west), the people you meet, the fact of speaking the language etc. you can have completely opposite experiences.

I would seek some kind of therapy if I were you--i simply tell you that you need not be the teacher of 7-11 staff and you go all "bonkers"--u definitely have some deep-seated hostilities that need attention.  If all there horrible things happen here, then don't let the terminal door hit you on the ass on the way back to wherever you came from.

On 8/13/2024 at 11:12 AM, Marsupienemi said:

The super classical troll from this website!

The post is interesting because, yes the Thais became more rude, and at the 7/11 it's the worst of the worst! 

I even had one who closed her cashier as soon as I arrived to pay. I did nothing wrong, just pure racism. I saw the day coming when I was going to throw the entire content of my basket in her face and to avoid any incident, I walked 200 meters more to go to another one.  And don't make any mistake, at my previous address, I had made friends with a Manager and they perfectly know the customers, especially those who spend more than the average!  Fortunately, this 7/11 has changed ownership and the whole team has changed.  Now they're just perfectly unpleasant, like almost all of 7/11.  No need to tell me that in your 7, the girls are nice, I met them too, 10+ years ago.  The Thais have changed a lot over the last 10 years: the cell phone, the economic recession and the Covid having been there, I don't blame them, it's understandable.  On the other hand, whether in my country or here, I have the habit of not giving my money to frankly unsympathetic shops!  I studied business, I worked for chain stores as an assistant then manager, and - in my country - it is inconceivable not to answer "hello", not to say "thank you" and "goodbye!" I live  in a Thai Thai area, I know perfectly well that people are less rich and more rude, but I educate them with a "Bye-Bye" and a big smile and if at first they laugh, after a while, they do the same. Finally, I avoid chain stores as much as possible. I prefer mini-marts, the covered market and small family restaurants. It's to be preferred, especially since the prices are almost the same. And that has nothing to do with thinking you're someone else. And, if you live in central Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket, with the flux of customers, I understand that they prefer to work faster than to be polite, but 1/ they are none of them and 2/ not everybody live in these places. 

If you don't understand my point of view, before answering, ask yourself if your not also considered as rude with others.

Oh My Gosh, are ever fortunate to have you here to teach the 7-11 works--the "worst of the worst" you declare, how to properly behave!  What is actually obvious is that you should return to wherever place you came from, but I am guessing they really don't want you there, either!

16 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Are all the products not Tagged? if you were to walk out with something that has not been scanned might set an alarm off, It does in Tops bye the way, 

Overall not tagged at 7, and i have shopped at Tops, various branches, and never noticed anything tagged--which would have to either be removed or scanned to "unalert"--maybe i have just missed it--now, at Big C, items have been "tagged" which then are "untagged" at the cashier.

17 hours ago, Lacessit said:

True. Perhaps I am too old, and come from an age where good manners were expected.

I believe that good manners are typical of the vast majority of Thai I interact with, but like so many who visit here or expats that live here, you expect things to be as they were when you were young or like where you came from--and the reality is, if you were back in the US, or Uk or anywhere, my guess is that a disinterested teenager in a 7-11 could well behave exactly the same.

17 hours ago, impulse said:

Is the 7/11 tech that good that they can tell there's a burger missing between inventory cycles?

 

I can see how she'd get docked if the cash in the till didn't match the receipts issued, but I'm not sure they'd dock her if there was a burger missing.  It would probably be days or weeks before they reconcile the inventory.  By then, they wouldn't know which shift to dock, much less which girl.

 

Or do they have RFID tags hidden on all the items?

 

i think you are correct--it  just wasn't a big deal--of course, they have cameras all over and especially the safe and camera area, but who really monitors those--even if they pay a service, so many 7's and so many cameras, and i am sure some of the teenager brains understand that--i have been in 7 when they need bills for change---am assuming it is the "shift manager" (often not much older than the rest of the staff) opens a locked drawer or a small safe in the floor, and pulls out wads of 20's, 100's, or coins--who tracks this cash exchange?  Of course, impossible.

23 hours ago, marin said:

$185.00USD is the fee for the visa. There is no deposit, if you meet the criteria a visa is issued, if not the fee is gone. 

thanks for the update--when i last knew someone who applied it was only 100 dollars but that was many years ago.

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Jesus you are delusional.

 

Been sniffing too many cleaning chemical as you job as a janitor I guess.

 

Your work roster is not known BEFORE you go on holidays ?

 

unfortunately, it appears it is just a troll--looking to spike meaningless and angry responses--seems this is what this page has become!

You say they will all do the "full test"--what does that consist of?  Might you go from an outside machine one stares into independently to a backroom where you can stare at an eye chart, but  i have never seen here any shopping mall glass shop have a certified optometrist or the types of testing equipment utilized by professional, certified, trained, optometrists  at CM Ram, Vision Center or ones i have seen back in the US.

On 3/28/2024 at 6:53 PM, scottiejohn said:

Maybe I should ask this question a different way. 

My problem is not to do with eyesight but the degradation in lens coatings on my specs.

I bought these progressive specs from one of the BIG high street retailers in CM with added coatings which have partially worn away leaving the glasses useless.

I have asked/complained at the shop but no luck as they say 19 months old!!

 

At 70 YO will my eyesight have changed that much or could I use the prescription they used to order online.  I used the same prescription at the same time to buy ordinary reading glasses (no coatings) which I can still use perfectly well?

 

Thank you all for your responses so far!

"I bought these progressive specs from one of the BIG high street retailers in CM"

wow, I didn't know CM had such retailers--to which shops and where? 

On 3/28/2024 at 6:12 PM, Mike Lister said:

There aren't that many licensed optometrists in Chiang Mai, there is one who works for one of the big chain hospitals who is dreadful. Another is the owner at Vision Center who is extremely skilled and probably the best qualified in the North but again, you are expected to buy lenses from him. The people you've been talking to in the shops almost certainly aren't optometrists, they are sales people who know how to use technology to calculate prescriptions. If those people say they are optometrists, ask to see their license and see what happens.

 

For me, I'd go to Vision Center every time.

Yes, i have used the one at CM Ram and she was good--Vision Center also, but as you said, they will do the testing for free but expect you to purchase glasses.

On 3/28/2024 at 6:08 PM, lopburi3 said:

Opticians should not be providing prescriptions period.  They fit glasses.

Optometrists can test and prescribe but are few and far between in Thailand as is a new profession.

Ophthalmologists are full doctors and can provide surgery as well as testing.

 

Here in Thailand I would advise going to where you do not want to go - a hospital - where most of these professionals work and can provide prescription without expectation of buying from them.

 

That said some optometrists in private practice will provide such a service for a fee - I used one years ago on basis needed for US Drivers License renewal.

exactly right!

On 3/28/2024 at 6:06 PM, JBChiangRai said:

They all do, I went there with my daughter, and we got two prescriptions just to check and verify both the same.

What type of testing did they do--are you talking about the shops which have the machine that you look into for a brief period of time and then it spits out a "prescription"?  

there are few actual trained optometrists who have the proper equipment and are trained how to use it---i know one is at CM Ram--it was the only testing i have seen done that resembled professional testing back in the US, by a certified optometrist.

14 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Toilet paper everywhere but in the toilet..

Wow, if this bothers you about living in Thailand, then you are in store for some real upsets.  You don't understand that Thais, for the overwhelming majority, do not use "toilet paper", but their "bum sprays" and what you see is not considered "toilet" anything, but only paper tissue, to be used to clean like paper towels, etc--and the rolls, for some restaurants, are cheaper and easier to use than supplying bundles of paper napkins.

On 3/23/2024 at 1:18 PM, Wobblybob said:

We had a look at some in or local Makro and the assistant told my wife that they are very expensive to run. 

correct--and they seem efficient while being demonstrated in Makro or Home Pro, but the store is already air conditioned and has low humidity--once the air cooler is run at home, it is nothing more than an expensive fan--like was stated in an earlier reply--the true portable air cons--require outside venting, and a collection of the water which normally is drained outside--and are expensive to run and very noisy as the small compressor inside the machine which is inside your house (split air con, most common here, the compressor, of course, is outside ur house )--the others that use ice or cold water--not too efficient in a warm humid house--they are simply increasing the humidity within your house, making it usually more uncomfortable, and a constant replacing of the ice or cool water.

google 

black spot--it may not be what you have, but i had it a lot on my roses--I discovered that it came from watering too early in the morning and getting the leaves wet, when there wasn't yet sufficient sun, or heat, to dry the water quickly, and it let to a fungus, called black spot--common in roses and some other leafy plants

could try to spray, but the answer was to trim off the infected leaves as quickly as possible so that it couldn't spread more easily.

On 2/17/2024 at 3:12 PM, Kenny202 said:

Just found a LAN cable, no LAN socket on my notebook

Keep looking--are you sure you have a LAN cable?   I have never seen a notebook that does not have a LAN outlet or more than one.

1 hour ago, Kenny202 said:

They are saying they have already upgraded us to 1gb and everything their end fine. I rebooted.....no router signal on any of our devices again. Once again had to call them to do something again so wifi is visible. At the same time I was talking to them I did a speed test....same 230 / 390 speed on 1gb! They said it must be my notebook. I did the speed test on my phone....same speed. Oh you need to use a LAN connection? I said you are kidding me? You are telling me that because I am using wifi I am getting 20% of the advertised speed? You want me to walk around my home with a LAN cable? I asked again...So you are saying because I am using wifi I will only get 20% advertised speed, and exactly the same speed as I was getting on 500/500? You are claiming 80% losses using wifi right? "No I am not saying that" I haven't worked in a company with IT people for 10 years but nothing has changed.

 

We have been through this before with them a few years ago....finally got someone out after 10 calls and there was an issue at the local repeater or something. Will monitor it for the rest of the day. They told me we would get an SMS when the 1gb plan is active and finished. Still haven't got that yet so I suspect they haven't even done it yet even though the True operator reckoned its been completed.

He is not saying you will get 20% for wifi---I have same true home internet--when true techs come to test or set up, they connect their laptop to router with a LAN line--the advertised speeds are for wired connections,not wifi--variables if using a various VPS, or how many devices in a home on utilizing wifi at the same time--I usually get 650 to 750, or even 800 on rare occasions on my my True Wifi (i have the 1000 download) and sometimes as low as 500 to 600, which is plenty to watch movies, etc--True fiber has local what they call "nodes" i think ==and when i signed up there was a mix of 8 homes allowed per node--when i first signed up, they told me there were only 2 other on my nearest node--but over the last two years, it has filled up and if all users are on at the same time, it is possible that the "peak usage"  they mentioned is correct--if also, within the household, they are multiple devices utilizing the wifi at the same time--it was suggested you connect a LAN line to a notebook, for example, and then run a speed test--within Thailand--ping bkk, and then ping an outside Thailand site and compare speeds--as that is how a True tech would test it--then if those speeds are good, then you know it is internal wifi issue, not ur fiber connection.

12 hours ago, novacova said:

I considered a membership at a saltwater pool but decided not to, so I just like a change of scenery and like the option of going somewhere else if something is crowded. Plenty of pool options.

I think that saltwater pools are the only way to go.  But, if he liked the other pool and it was convenient, to be upset by a 500 baht charge for a membership--which is for what length of time?

On 10/8/2011 at 3:00 PM, CMSteve said:

It's 50B. Which is great if it's truly ad-hoc, but as I've gained a good 15-20Kg in the past year I need daily usage. ~1500B/month. In this case it would actually be cheaper to go to one of the hotels with full towel service, gym, tv's, newspapers, etc... They are clearly not in the same league.

Which hotels offer "full towel service"?  I have read hotels offering membership to their gyms--which might include use of the hotel's swimming pool, but I imagine that can be quite expensive--but maybe someone has experience with it?

2 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

Then you would need to show 65,000 Baht monthly income.

Correct--minimum 65,000 international transfer per month, not an average--from what i understand, if you miss even a single month, there is a problem.  Additionally, there is more paperwork/bank documents to gather ahead of applying for the next extension.

On 10/14/2023 at 4:31 PM, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Choose another country as they will hassle you at immigration on arrival  and all the pre registration and mess they create for flights to America in the airport of departure.

"immigration on arrival"--it won't even get to that concern.  No visa, no arrival.

On 10/14/2023 at 1:47 PM, marin said:

Easy if she has a job and assets here in Thailand  that she would have to return for. Otherwise not that easy. She would have to be interviewed in order to grant the visa. 

Having a job and some sort of assets are just a few of the factors considered.  Also, with just those few factors--what kind of job would be looked at, and having worked for how long, what is the salary, and what documentation can be provided to prove the salary--assets--land?  Do many Thai girlfriends have land or homes/condos in their name?

Also, what is often considered are family ties here in Thailand that would compel a return,what previous travel has the applicant done outside Thailand, and funds in a bank account (that haven't just been deposited to help with the visa).

It can be done but it is not an easy task for the average Thai.

10 minutes ago, CapraIbex said:

I would see an Urologist and a Hepatologist/Gastroenterologist at either Bumrungrad hospital or Bangkok Pattaya hospital.

I agree---those are some alarming test results, having gone thru some of the related medical issues myself, and you need to see a specialist and see how best to address them.