Best And Worst Service In Los - Name, Praise And Shame

[1Lucky]

I thought it would be interesting to see everyone's experiences of the very best and the very worst of Thai service.

Personally, I'm generally struck by how good the service can be here, but occassionally shocked by very poor service.

So, to start off, here are a few recent examples that I have experienced.

A. Best service:

1) Asian Tigers - this removal service company stunned us with an amazingly efficient and caring service.

2) Thai moto drivers - ok there are always one or two bad apples, but in my experience in general, these guys are the most honest in terms of taxi/tuk tuk/moto options in Bangkok. Can be genuinely helpful and, assuming you don't crash on the way, usually the quickest option to get anywhere.

3) Food by Phone: you can even order DVDs off these guys now. Quick, efficient - I wish they had something like this in the UK.

B. Bad service

1) anything now or around Khao San Rd/emerald buddha areas, especially the tuk tuk drivers. Why guide books such as Lonely Planet direct all tourists immediately to this area is beyond me.

2) xxxxxx restaurant: I never had to wait so long to be served or be given a bill in my life.

Look forward to hearing your experiences

Lucky

[DFCarlson]

1) Asian Tigers - this removal service company stunned us with an amazingly efficient and caring service....

The Asian Tigers - removal sevice company? - what do they do?

My own experience has been that service is generally quite good IF you know someone in the company/business, or (better) if someone in the company/business knows or is related to a family member (I'm married to a Thai)

The local installer of satellite TV systems was rather recalcitrant and slow to fix a few problems until we spoke to my wife's sister and she spoke to the owner of the business (there is some distant relation there!) After that it seemed like we could do no wrong!

[bkkandrew]

Best:

The builder, come handyman that actually fixed all the broken tiles in the bar I used to own in the correct coloured cement about 5 minutes after asking my manager to attend to it (she spotted him passing by). It was even done whilst I was in the toilet so he had gone before I could get his number (cursed that on many occasions since). I was even still talking about how much it would cost when I came out of the loo, when manageress said " but its finished and it cost 200 Baht!!!

Worst:

My condo block maintenance, took them 2 years, 7 months to enable my shower to function with hot water. over 10 attempts by about 8 different staff, with more replacement parts than you could have manufactured several complete units!!

[wolf359]

I've used Asian Tigers, a very good compay, unloaded my 40ft container with no problems even supplied a dozen men to offload the telephone box I brought with me !!!

[Dupont]

B. Bad service

1) anything now or around Khao San Rd/emerald buddha areas, especially the tuk tuk drivers. Why guide books such as Lonely Planet direct all tourists immediately to this area is beyond me.

Lucky

This has always been a mystery to me. Its a mugs gathering point, yet they think they are at the vanguard of travel in thailand.

A ran a guest house in Karon for 10 years and the poor mites are ripped off at every turn when they get there (Khao San Road). If they knew how naieve they were, they would never admit to having stayed there.

Good service: The government busses. Note to backpackers: GO TO THE BUS STATION!! try the local buses for an experience. Great service, clean buses with plenty of leg room, free food, clean(ish) stopover places. Cheaper than the Khoa San Road ones.

Good service: Thai food carts for the most part.

Come on lonely planet. Most of your readers coming to Thaialnd are getting shafted. Many are certainly being stranded in out of the way places by unscrupulous bus companies, left at Taxi ranks or travel shops instead of bus stations.

At the end of the day, its a poor travel experience doing the Khao San Road, full Moon Party run, and you miss out on a lot of the really nice Thais that live here.

[Jet Gorgon]

Totally agree, Dupont. But the FNGs gotta see the Leonardo beach thread thing. And, swinging into BKK without doing Khao Sarn, well, that's like doing New York and giving 42 St a miss.

[my friend I]

UBC dish installers knocked down the wall while doing the installation

[Totster]

The Asian Tigers - removal sevice company? - what do they do?

Umm.. removals ?

totster

[Totster]

UBC dish installers knocked down the wall while doing the installation

It was probably interfering with the signal ....

totster

[Florin]

Good:

Another vote for Foodbyphone! They really do have a highly professional service and a perfect understanding about certain things we farangs might miss from home...it singlehandedly put nearly 5kg on me the first month i found out about the service

DTAC's customer service...stellar at every level.

Also, Bangkok Bank has impressed me with their very effective system & customer service...the fact itself that I needed their help so rarely is a testament of an organization well run.

THAI Airways - their in-flight entertainment may not be state of the art, but on a personal level, I love these people...from the security guard at their HQ gate to the flight attendants in the sky, their staff have really managed to turn a regular airline into a world-class one.

Motorola center at Siam Paragon...though they might have been a bit TOO helpful - I was surrounded by 7 clerks at all times (I was the only customer inside at the time, but still...)

Bad:

I often find the food & service at McDonald's downright appaling, especially in comparison with other countries...I actually love their junk food, but Thailand has put me off it completely. It's faster to go to a restaurant than wait for them to make your french fries!

Also, I love Au Bon Pain, but the Sala Daeng branch is a model of how NOT to do things...very confusing layout for ordering/paying/getting extras, sullen service, constantly uncleaned tables, etc.

Bank of Ayudhya...the opposite of Bangkok Bank: clerks that act like they're doing you a favor anytime you need any service, horrendous phone customer support, the only time in my life I've ever written a formal complaint against an employee...and this is the case not in just one of their branches.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Bad: My texan landlord who stalled on getting our a/c fixed so that the cold season would come and we wouldn't need it!

[Ulysses G.]

I never order anything myself, I let my Thai staff do it and we almost always get great prices and great service!

[brianw]

sawadee travel trying to book hotel in khon kean still no confirmation after 1 week

[Florin]

asiatravel - confirmation, calls, specific requirements forwarded to hotel...

[Jet Gorgon]

UBC dish installers knocked down the wall while doing the installation

It was probably interfering with the signal ....

totster

[rak sa_ngop]

Also, I love Au Bon Pain, but the Sala Daeng branch is a model of how NOT to do things...very confusing layout for ordering/paying/getting extras, sullen service, constantly uncleaned tables, etc.

This happens to be my favourite coffee stop in Bangkok. Although most of your comments about it are valid I think you are being unfair on the service. The staff are always pleasant and efficient with me. It's a great place to sit in a comfy seat and stare out the windows.

[Donz]

In Koh Samui a resturant called ALI's in Cheweng, I have never ever got better service then anywhere in the world. I bought 2 craps, a huge fish, pipi pipi's, oysters. Then he goes (he was the manager) I will give you these 4 massive prawns and also threw in another crab.

We sat on the beach me and my mate eating this food, he kept comming over asking are we ok etc. He saw I finished my rice and said oh you eat alot I give you more rice free.

Since the service was soooo good (never expected it in Samui) I went there every night to eat, price was great and he was always throwning in free stuff.

Bad service? The taxi drivers.

Nothing pisses me off more then taxi drivers, but I have learned to bypass my problem with the fare by not taking one who wont use a meter.

[cdnvic]

Canadian Consulate in Chiang Mai. Took half an hour for me to find someone there that could speak English or French. What the heck is the point of them being there?

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Am I right in thinking that the Canadian consulate can't actually do anything?

[kmart]

I never order anything myself, I let my Thai staff do it and we almost always get great prices and great service!

Good idea. I let my staff and my missus do all the ordering too. No matter what your level of Thai fluency, they always take their foot off the gas when they know you ain't Thai...

In Koh Samui a resturant called ALI's in Cheweng, I have never ever got better service then anywhere in the world. I bought 2 craps...

What did they taste like?

[cdnvic]

Am I right in thinking that the Canadian consulate can't actually do anything?

They can give you pamphlets.

[Florin]

Also, I love Au Bon Pain, but the Sala Daeng branch is a model of how NOT to do things...very confusing layout for ordering/paying/getting extras, sullen service, constantly uncleaned tables, etc.

This happens to be my favourite coffee stop in Bangkok. Although most of your comments about it are valid I think you are being unfair on the service. The staff are always pleasant and efficient with me. It's a great place to sit in a comfy seat and stare out the windows.

Hehe, the location indeed can't be beat, the views are great and the armchairs excellent...maybe my timing was off, I've usually been there mornings and to me they just seemed not really "waken up" yet. Perhaps "sullen" was quite harsh on them, but slow they definitely are and the other tables not being cleaned would seem to indicate a certain level of laziness...but who knows, maybe this is the one place in Thailand that is under-staffed

[astral]

Careful please when "naming" the worst.

You could open yourself and ThaiVisa to charges of libel..................

So far the comments have been generalised and are OK in my book.

Moderator

[Jet Gorgon]

Am I right in thinking that the Canadian consulate can't actually do anything?

They can give you pamphlets.

Ya, it only takes them six months to deliberate over which ones to give you.

Edited January 8, 2007 by Jet Gorgon

[donna]

I never order anything myself, I let my Thai staff do it and we almost always get great prices and great service!

Good idea. I let my staff and my missus do all the ordering too. No matter what your level of Thai fluency, they always take their foot off the gas when they know you ain't Thai...

In Koh Samui a resturant called ALI's in Cheweng, I have never ever got better service then anywhere in the world. I bought 2 craps...

What did they taste like?

i'd say they tasted pretty crappy....

[cdnvic]

Am I right in thinking that the Canadian consulate can't actually do anything?

They can give you pamphlets.

Ya, it only takes them six months to deliberate over which ones to give you.

That's because the staff can't read them.

[Jet Gorgon]

Am I right in thinking that the Canadian consulate can't actually do anything?

They can give you pamphlets.

Ya, it only takes them six months to deliberate over which ones to give you.

That's because the staff can't read them.

I think it's because they have to get approval from BKK consul, decide which colour pamphlet to give out, check with Ottawa foreign affairs, check with Peter MacKay, stack up in the secretary pool, get shipped to BKK, check again with consul...then the paper sits in a corner until somebody remembers it's recycle day.

[minimart]

My daughter got her hands on my mobile phone the other day and after much key pressing on her part it locked out and I needed an unlocking code. Called AIS call centre and had the unlocking code with no fuss in the space of about 45 seconds from a very polite helpful bloke.

When I was having my apartment in BKK redecorated I stayed in the ACCOR managed Natural Ville serviced apartments on Soi Langsuan. Top service. The car park guard strolled up 4 floors to personally show me my parking space and wouldn't accept a tip and the GM came out to greet me. Staff used my name every time I entered or left without being obsequious. I phoned reception to say my DVD player was on the blink and I swear an engineer was there within a minute. They even offered to pick up some items for me at the Villa supermarket in the next soi.

A special mention to the Bangkok immigration department. Always a smile and a laugh with them when I extend my visa plus a nice wai and they even joked when I'd neglected to report my residence and had to pay the fine.

Edited January 8, 2007 by minimart

[1Lucky]

Careful please when "naming" the worst.

You could open yourself and ThaiVisa to charges of libel..................

So far the comments have been generalised and are OK in my book.

Moderator

I noticed that you had blocked out the name of the restaurant that I posted as well. Under English law it isn't libel/slander/defamation if what you are writing/saying is true/fair comment. Could you let us know what the Thai law position is so we are able to understand this rule and where appropriate name and shame places and where not appropriate keep the specific names ruled out. Information on what services are good and bad is particularly useful and it would seem bizarre if Thai law forbids communicating this when it is true.

Lucky

[tamaique]

I don't know what to make of this one, but unless I'm missing on a cultural nuance it ranks as one of the worst:

WORST

"expensive sushi buffet restaurant in bangkok": We were invited by a friend (which is why I didn't leave)....

We enter the restaurant and sit down. The waitress comes over and tells us the bill is 3000 Baht (1000 each). I tell her we just arrived. She looks at me in disdain and tells me, "you pay before eat", then stands there until my friend forked out the cash. I would have left immediately.

My friend and I actually got sick from the food. I took antibiotics as soon as it started. She didn't. My phone rang one day at 5am, all I could hear on the other line was a very weak voice saying "heeelp...I can't stop throwing up...it's been going on for more than 8 hours." Rushed her to the hospital where she stayed for 3 nights.