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

[LoveDaBlues]

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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

[farang prince]

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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

Maybe the Thai Visa staff gets free meals at that restaurant.

[xbusman]

The Oriental hotel is a WORLD leader in regards to service. Usually rated first or in the top ten hotels of the world. Lets face it, after clean sheets and good food, what puts a hotel on the top ten list... service. Its almost an art at the Oriental, employees meeting every morning to focus and prepare in order to acheive a shift of better than perfect service. Almost cult like in its application. I have interviewed a few ex-employees and they remain dedicated to the organization long after they leave.

On the other end of the spectrum, if TRUE internet has service of some sort I would guess it would be simply atrocious, hard to tell really. My personal favorite is after fighting the internet connection all day is to call that number, go through ten menus of indecipherable english or thai, and then get cut off. I actually spoke to a live person once, years ago. Friendly chap, I think he might have been Thai, and was able to distinguish one word which I believe was "restart campooterrrr". So now I know to use TRUE internet I only have to "restart campooter" every few minutes and all my problems will be solved. Saves me a lot of trouble of trying to call them and working my way through the menus to get cut off.

Top service marks go to Bourbon Street, Doug does a great job. Bei Otto staff are pretty attentive. Notice in restaurants with good service how the owner is always around 24/7/365? Tough business with only one real way of making it work.

[kmart]

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.

That is incredible. Just get up and walk right out.

[cdnvic]

I must say that the food and sevice at this food stall on Chotana Rd is among the best in the land.

[chris2155]

my comments on (good bad)service

my comment are on two supermarket in Pattaya

firstly FOODMART they have a tip cup on the check out counters and it says (good service good tip)

i hardly call a check out lady that doesn't attempt to understand my request,

nor smile,

nor look at me at anytime of the service of scanning my item or when when she hands my change

nor thank me on completion , (unlike Foodland i think this management don't take as much care when employing there staff, or instilling upon them that the customer must receive good service,

then they have the cheek to have a cup for tips on the counter you have to be joking.

The second market is FOODLAND which i think is a great store and for most of the time i have receive great interaction service

most Thai service operaters there will help as part of there employement no doubt

but for some unknown reason the lady that sits in a little office just behind the bread shop

she appears to be in charge of the sale of cigerettes etc hardly friendly in fact i think she is rather rude.

she gives out the impression that she is to busy to serve you and you have interupted her.

i really feel that the managment has taken the time to really instill apon the employees to give good service

so my hat is off to them,

but there are some that have been there to long, and management should pick up on this.

as i an sure there a people like me i that prefer to get there smokes else where.

other wise that that i think FOODLAND is a great store, it also plays great pipe music.

[Donz]

my comments on (good bad)service

my comment are on two supermarket in Pattaya

firstly FOODMART they have a tip cup on the check out counters and it says (good service good tip)

i hardly call a check out lady that doesn't attempt to understand my request,

nor smile,

nor look at me at anytime of the service of scanning my item or when when she hands my change

nor thank me on completion , (unlike Foodland i think this management don't take as much care when employing there staff, or instilling upon them that the customer must receive good service,

then they have the cheek to have a cup for tips on the counter you have to be joking.

The second market is FOODLAND which i think is a great store and for most of the time i have receive great interaction service

most Thai service operaters there will help as part of there employement no doubt

but for some unknown reason the lady that sits in a little office just behind the bread shop

she appears to be in charge of the sale of cigerettes etc hardly friendly in fact i think she is rather rude.

she gives out the impression that she is to busy to serve you and you have interupted her.

i really feel that the managment has taken the time to really instill apon the employees to give good service

so my hat is off to them,

but there are some that have been there to long, and management should pick up on this.

as i an sure there a people like me i that prefer to get there smokes else where.

other wise that that i think FOODLAND is a great store, it also plays great pipe music.

Nearly all checkout chicks here in Oz are like that, I can imagine the ones in Thailand on smaller wages probaly not in the mood to smile. In Oz the one checkout chick who is smiling and talking are the ones who have taken too much drugs when they were younger and yabber on about crap.

I too sometimes think dam girl you dont smile or anything and on other times im thinking just shut the fark up jesus

[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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

Maybe the Thai Visa staff gets free meals at that restaurant.

well I haven't received a reply to my question from the moderator. I was wondering how messageboards like the lonely planet thorntree are able to post recommendations of places to go and places not to go whereas apparently sauing that a bad place is a bad place it is against the law here? It does seem very strange to me. If the concern is advertising/sponsors/whatever then fine but it would be nice to have an explanation so we can understand what we can post and what we can't in this respect and what the messageboard is useful for and when it isn't and we should be looking elsewhere. This isn't a rant but a genuine attempt to understand.

[simcity]

Yesterday I was going to meet a friend in Silom central , my battery’s phone pack on me when I arrive, and did not have possibility to know where he was in the complex .

I ask few shops if they have a charger for me to be able to make the call but was not successful.

A shoes shop for lady next of Watson help me, the staffs very nicely look all around to find one, and one other told me if they can not find one I will be able to put my sim card in his phone.

They did find one and I was able to contact my friend , I was very grateful for that and left a nice tip for cookies afternoon for them !

Thank you, and that make my day !

[ChangMaiSausage]

Just returned from Kanchanaburi last week, great place but the speed of the service in most of the restaurants left a lot to be desired exception the floating restaurants near the bridge, thumbs up for them great cheap food.

By the way is it only me but Kanchanaburi seemed to be the cheapest place I've ever been to in Thailand (ex when out in the sticks)

[sukanyacondo]

Having a condo business I got hold of a food by phone catalogue and mailed them to ask for some more, Im still waiting for a reply??? perhaps their business sense is not so good as they have now lost potentially at least 3 new customers.

I found some taxi drivers downright rude others incredibly nice.

Often people will bring me drink for no reason at all except Im farang and obviously way to hot.

[Rinnam]

"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. "

I would rather say; it's just the rule of the restaurant. They treat THai ppl the same. You shouldn't be upset. You don't know how dodgy Thai ppl could be ....and that is why they have to charge before you eat. It's not like they don't trust you. actually, they don't trust some thai ppl, LOL.

" Bangkok Bank provides good service"

I don't think Thai ppl agree with you . BBL (Bangkok Bank) is actually one of the worst bank in terms of service especially teller service. I don't understand why they have 2 tellers out of 8 counters at lunch time when is the most busiest time. Ppl are just in loooooong queue.

I'd say BBL is the one of the most reliable banks and doing well when it comes to foriegn currency exchange or when foreigners want to open a bank account--they run more smoothly than other banks. But everyday counter service sucks..never have enough staff. Check it out every branch ....pretty much the same. boring!

[dgoz]

Witherspoons Visa Runs, 1st class? My Ass.

They sell 6 seats, 4 of them are OK but the 2 in the middle of the minivan have leg room of 4 inches. Your knees are up around your chest for 6 hours. This is worse than the 1700 baht cheap runs I've been on.

They also claim to have state of the art entertainment on board. Well, none of the 6 remote headphones worked! So none of us could watch the movie. Newspapers and soft drinks? None, thankyou.

I phoned the company after an hour and the girl who answered told me the boss was in a meeting and would call me back. Of course he didnt call me back. I ended up sitting up front next to the driver, out of view of the TV (that we couldn't hear anyway). Hardly a first class visa run.

Beware, this is a shody experience.

PM me if you want more details and names.

[OM3N]

Siam Commercial Bank has always been courteous and have good customer service compared to other banks I have been in.

TV Air Bookings in the Emporium have always been helpful and expedient in getting my tickets in order.

The landlord of my building (will not mention the name, but in On Nut area) that ran off with 240,000 of tenants rent and utility bills in the middle of the night, not so much.

[Ulysses G.]

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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

Maybe the Thai Visa staff gets free meals at that restaurant.

well I haven't received a reply to my question from the moderator. I was wondering how messageboards like the lonely planet thorntree are able to post recommendations of places to go and places not to go whereas apparently sauing that a bad place is a bad place it is against the law here? It does seem very strange to me. If the concern is advertising/sponsors/whatever then fine but it would be nice to have an explanation so we can understand what we can post and what we can't in this respect and what the messageboard is useful for and when it isn't and we should be looking elsewhere. This isn't a rant but a genuine attempt to understand.

One problem is that there are a lot of Trolls who are quite happy to use the internet to smear and spread lies and false rumors about someone else's business just because it amuses them to destroy someone's reputation and livelihood - whether they know them or not. Then there is the problem of jealous competitors doing exactly the same thing to try to improve their own sales.

Thaivisa is right to be careful about letting anonymous posters make unsubstantiated claims about someone’s bread and butter!

[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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

Maybe the Thai Visa staff gets free meals at that restaurant.

well I haven't received a reply to my question from the moderator. I was wondering how messageboards like the lonely planet thorntree are able to post recommendations of places to go and places not to go whereas apparently sauing that a bad place is a bad place it is against the law here? It does seem very strange to me. If the concern is advertising/sponsors/whatever then fine but it would be nice to have an explanation so we can understand what we can post and what we can't in this respect and what the messageboard is useful for and when it isn't and we should be looking elsewhere. This isn't a rant but a genuine attempt to understand.

One problem is that there are a lot of Trolls who are quite happy to use the internet to smear and spread lies and false rumors about someone else's business just because it amuses them to destroy someone's reputation and livelihood - whether they know them or not. Then there is the problem of jealous competitors doing exactly the same thing to try to improve their own sales.

Thaivisa is right to be careful about letting anonymous posters make unsubstantiated claims about someone’s bread and butter!

I understand the problem about trolls but then so do most users of the internet. Just because someone on a message board says something is good and bad doesn't mean that the readers of it accept it as gospel truth - they are likely to weigh it against what else they have heard about this particular business/service, what other posters have to say about it and the record of the particular poster. Thus if someone recommended a particular service but was a newbe and that was their only posting people may well give it a lot less weight than say if Lopburi 3 had posted it. I don't think people generally are idiots and I wonder whether it really necessary to treat your users as children. If something is posted that is blatently wrong and left on then it is bound to be corrected by other users - and hence readers can then build up a balance view of something. If you censor all posts that are critical of things then you are considerably limiting the value of these boards which would be a real shame as they can be extremely useful. Its your product so of course you choose how to run it but I'm surprised the censorship goes this far - other messageboards such as lonelyplanet's thorntree don't seem to have this problem. The other point is that this view seems to be applied inconsistently by moderators. Recently I put a posting up about recommendations for xmas lunch and one of the posters criticised the bull's head. His post wasn't censored in anyway and other posters followed it by saying they liked the bull's head - a balanced and informed view was thus developed. Instead on here when I have posted a view opposed to a particular restaurant it has been simply blacked out. I hope this posting is not censored and that I am not barred as a result of it. I do think members should be able to express views about the content of the board and the way that it is run when it is valid to do so and I do appreciate your answer to my question originally.

Lucky

[t.s]

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

Libelous statements must be directed at a person (living or dead) so to say a certain business is (insert negative comment here) is not libel. This is USA law though and Thai law may be different.

I've read NUMEROUS statements on TV that were negative in nature and against for example Thai government officials with names being used. This comes MUCH CLOSER to libel than a bad restaurant review where no individuals names are mentioned.

Maybe the Thai Visa staff gets free meals at that restaurant.

well I haven't received a reply to my question from the moderator. I was wondering how messageboards like the lonely planet thorntree are able to post recommendations of places to go and places not to go whereas apparently sauing that a bad place is a bad place it is against the law here? It does seem very strange to me. If the concern is advertising/sponsors/whatever then fine but it would be nice to have an explanation so we can understand what we can post and what we can't in this respect and what the messageboard is useful for and when it isn't and we should be looking elsewhere. This isn't a rant but a genuine attempt to understand.

One problem is that there are a lot of Trolls who are quite happy to use the internet to smear and spread lies and false rumors about someone else's business just because it amuses them to destroy someone's reputation and livelihood - whether they know them or not. Then there is the problem of jealous competitors doing exactly the same thing to try to improve their own sales.

Thaivisa is right to be careful about letting anonymous posters make unsubstantiated claims about someone’s bread and butter!

oh, are you a moderator now? congratulations.

[t.s]

Bangkok airways has to be one of the finest examples of crap service i can think of in the land of smiles. consistently late and never apologetic, i have never once been compensated with so much as a complimentary drink for waiting at either the new airport, don muang or samui for the up to three hour wiats i have suffered through. I have never had a bkk air flight depart on time.

[Ulysses G.]

oh, are you a moderator now? congratulations.

Who said anything about being a moderator?

Just a concerned citizen giving my opinion on something that is big problem on these boards.

[Florin]

Bangkok airways has to be one of the finest examples of crap service i can think of in the land of smiles. consistently late and never apologetic, i have never once been compensated with so much as a complimentary drink for waiting at either the new airport, don muang or samui for the up to three hour wiats i have suffered through. I have never had a bkk air flight depart on time.

What more complimentary drinks do you want?? They have free drinks, Internet and snacks for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e in their lounges, airside in Don Muang, Suvarnabhumi or Samui.

As for on-time performance, I guess your mileage may vary...I've flown just 4 segments with them so far: 3 were on time, one (departing from Samui) was about 45 minutes late.

[t.s]

Bangkok airways has to be one of the finest examples of crap service i can think of in the land of smiles. consistently late and never apologetic, i have never once been compensated with so much as a complimentary drink for waiting at either the new airport, don muang or samui for the up to three hour wiats i have suffered through. I have never had a bkk air flight depart on time.

What more complimentary drinks do you want?? They have free drinks, Internet and snacks for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e in their lounges, airside in Don Muang, Suvarnabhumi or Samui.

As for on-time performance, I guess your mileage may vary...I've flown just 4 segments with them so far: 3 were on time, one (departing from Samui) was about 45 minutes late.

orange "drink" does not constitute a beverage in my opinion, and their free internet is unusable. 2 terminals for 150 people. As for snacks, boy those dried bananna chips are great. i really enjoyed it when they used to serve those little hotdogs as an inflight meal too. it doesn't get much more boutique than that.

my point is that when you are running two hours late there has to be something they could do by way of apology for poor service. a discount voucher for massage services, a beer in the bar, something, anything I bet they would if they weren't the only carrier into samui. they would have to or they would lose customers.

The fact that i could fly almost anywhere else in the region for the same amount of money it cost me to fly bkk airs 50 minute flight to samui doesn't help matters. if you are going to charge top dollar, there should be some value added.

[Florin]

Can't argue with the price, they are fully profiting from their (more or less legally obtained) exclusive routes...but then again, they could still be the only carrier into Samui and not offer a single thing

I guess I had more luck with the snacks, the chocolate chip cakes and cookies were pretty good...I noticed in Suvarnabhumi they have a popcorn machine, too

As for the late compensation issues, you do have to consider that though they are expensive as hel_l, in terms of a corporate model they are still not what one would consider a traditional full-fare airline...and as such I doubt they offer things like hotel accommodation if for ex. one of their longer-distance flights get cancelled.

In any case, my experiences with regular airlines when irregular ops happened have not exactly been brilliant either...for a few hours the most you can expect is something like a 5 Euro voucher which in the airport can buy you a 4 Euro cup of coffee and a cookie

[JimsKnight]

Good

The British Embassy pre-2001:

Good staff, friendly and welcoming security guards. Actually felt like part of England stepping through inside.

Most Thais in the north of Thailand. Friendly and kind.

The Bad

The Tourist Police in Hua Hin. Utterly useless, can hardly speak any English at all. Can't file a police report there (have to go to main cop shop where ziltch English is spoken) and all they are good for is dishing out maps to tourists. Little more than a 'Look good for the tourists'

Xenephobic in Eastern Phitsanoluk bike salesmen who refuse to sell bikes to falangs 'Because they are not Thai.'

The Ugly.

British Embassy post 2001:

No staff who are British, all thai. Overcrowded every day its open with low-lifes, flotsam along with normal people.

[tangoll]

Good Service in BKK: 1. ATN Inter travel agency on Silom Road. Responsive to customer's needs, delivers promised items on time. 2. Bangkok Bank - HQ, Sukhumvit Bangkapi and Phayathai Road Branches. 3. Pizza Co. staff on Petchburi Road branch, across from Pantip Plaza -- friendly, cheerful service. 4. Chaopraya II -- greeters, recommenders, and providers. 5. Boots Drugstores -- helpful and quite knowledgeable, the pharmacy staff. 6. MRT staff -- ticket sellers more cheerful than BTS staff. 7. Patumwan Princess Hotel staff -- very very friendly and helpful, eager to please.

Bad Service: 1. A particular shop in Indra Square where I purchased a DVD machine that wouldn't work properly and trying to get it repaired, replaced, or returned. Had to involve the Tourist Police on this problem. 2. Airport operations -- What service do we really get after being charged 500 baht for "Airport Service Charge"? 3. DVD sellers in Pantip Plaza who refuse to return paid money on a DVD they couldn't provide. 4. Slow immigration officers at airport; supervisors who won't do anything about long lines.

Overall, I think the good outweights the bad.

[xbusman]

Powerstation, the new Harley shop in town, and Jammer both have excellent service.

[Ulysses G.]

Bangkok airways has to be one of the finest examples of crap service i can think of in the land of smiles. consistently late and never apologetic, i have never once been compensated with so much as a complimentary drink for waiting at either the new airport, don muang or samui for the up to three hour wiats i have suffered through. I have never had a bkk air flight depart on time.

What more complimentary drinks do you want?? They have free drinks, Internet and snacks for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e in their lounges, airside in Don Muang, Suvarnabhumi or Samui.

I must concur.

One time, (When I was on a diet and couldn't eat it), they had smoked salmon sandwiches for the inflight snack.

Looked mighty nice to me!

[GuestHouse]

The best service - The Oriental Hotel, quite stunning and deserving of their constant ranking in the world's best hotels.

The worst - Thai Airways - Not just Total Cr@p, but over confident in their own service and absolutely orientated to their own jobs rather than giving customers the service they pay for. (And many Thais have worse things to say about TG than I do, claiming TG treat foreigners far better than they treat Thais.... How bad that must be I can't imagine)

[spot]

I've used two internet providers so far - Maxnet, and at the moment True.

Both are useless.

The bills come on time every month through the post though, so I suppose the billing depts works ok.

If only they sent the bills via email..hmm

[Thai-Aust]

The Bad:

True phone & internet shop at SEACON.

Very long queue. Inefficient system and staff, particularly the girls at the front desk. Ask them any questions and they will have to ask their colleague for the answers.

We went to disconnect the internet the other day, we were given a form to fill in as well as the queue ticket which means we had to start queuing again for the second time. Unbelievable!

Edited January 20, 2007 by Thai-Aust

[Trevor]

Avoid Extech Computer (Shop 114) Ground Floor Pantip Plaza

Refused To Refund Or Replace Faulty Goods

I bought a Kensington combination lock for my laptop for Baht 300 from this retailer on the ground floor of Pantip plaza in the right rear aisle. Whilst attempting to change the combination from 0000 to my desired code, the whole mechanism seized up. The salesman could not even free it but refused to replace the device or refund me a single Baht. He even tried to sell me a key-locking version to avert similar problems.

Admittedly the cost of this cheap Chinese knockoff was a mere quarter of European prices, but I was here in Bangkok and needed the security.

Well, I can suffer the loss of B300 but what I found most distressing was the attitude of the salesman who was a southern Chinese not born in Thailand and speaking Thai with a foreign accent. Like some of his counterparts in Hong Kong this arrogant individual seemed to delight in belittling me and was not going to budge an inch. On seeing me look up at his shop sign he challenged me to take a photo, so I did! He’s the one in the white shirt. I feel sure that this post, with a significant Pantip-user readership, is worth more than B300-worth of lost business to him. But ‘face’ seems to be a far more valuable commodity.

Reminds me of my first trip to Honkers in 1980 when I attempted to compare prices on a camera at different shops. Returning to the shop which had offered me the best price, the salesman flat refused to sell it to me because, “You lost your chance.” Weird … really weird. I thought this was standard procedure in the Orient.

I was so glad to leave that Pantip accessory shop and get back into the real world of friendly Thai people. True, similar things can happen but at least they would turn you down with a reasonable attitude, or offer some concession.

It would have been difficult to “Check the goods” before purchase as the lock was encased in a thick, clear-plastic enclosure. He would not have broken it without money-in-hand, and could then have refused to refund an opened package. Best advice : look at the attitude and friendliness of the staff, and avoid those who are not Thai-born natives who may have their own set of rules and behaviour.