There is nothing wrong with a courteous KNOWLEDGEABLE salesman guiding you, in fact its a big positive in making an informed decision.. However the staff in Thailand are only interested in scanning there code against your receipt... They are are light years away

My wife absolutely avoids eye contact at big retail store such as Home Pro/Power Buy etc.....

 

Unless she is absolutely sure she will buy something.... and even then she checks it at retail store and finds it cheaper at MBK. Case in point. Mattress at Home Pro was 22k baht and at MBK 15k and included a few freebies.

 

 

I prefer female sales people.  They're more knowledgeable and they listen well.

 

My wife runs interference for me when a pushy sales type comes at us.  It gives me time to look around, without a shadow.  

You normally don't post something as long as this l guess your bored. 

I often feel sorry for the sales people when they encounter Mrs Chickenslegs. She will typically spend 30 minutes or so with 2 or 3 of them gathered around, entertaining her with the latest bedding, towels, cushion covers etc.

 

By the time I get back from the tools department they have half the stock unwrapped and unfolded, and have worked out the discounted price. Sometimes even throwing in a freebie, fully expecting a sale.

 

When I remind her that we only came in for a new saw blade (despite my basket being half full with things I never even knew I needed) - she very politely thanks them and walks away.

 

I always expect them to give her dirty looks, but they invariably smile and wai.

 

If it was me (albeit unlikely to stray into the soft furnishings dept) I would feel obliged to buy a pillow case or two.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

You normally don't post something as long as this l guess your bored. 

Took a day off.

Farang knows everything, he is so smart, intelligent & superior. Why do the stupid, ignorant thais not understand to be subservient and obedient?

17 minutes ago, saakura said:

Farang knows everything, he is so smart, intelligent & superior. Why do the stupid, ignorant thais not understand to be subservient and obedient?

Customer service is different in the west.  The focus is on the customer.  Mutual respect is always a given.

Salespeople have to be one of the most irritating aspects of living in Thailand. The way they follow you, hover around, state the obvious, saying things like "These are air conditioners", then telling you any lie they can think of to get the sale. 

It bemuses me that the big hardware stores have so many floor staff, clearly outnumbering customers every time I visit. Huddled in little groups, like a hungry lion pride, waiting to pounce on any customer straying too close.

 

Seems like a huge waste of resources, employing all these idle people, but I guess the store owners know what they're doing.

 

Pushy sales people are no joke in any country, but it's made worse here because we cannot understand most of what a salesman is saying. He may be offering real advice, or simply flogging a high commission item.

 

My wife likes to talk, and within 10 minutes, she'll know the life story of any sales person. Probably turn out to be a cousin. I leave them to it, and I wander away.

 

In the end, it's so easy to politely tell your shadow "no no .... I just look."

And, when you want a member of staff to talk to ...

 

Buying new charcoal barbie at "large DIY retailer".

 

Spotted the unit we (she) wanted.

Can we have one of these?

You take this one? (indicating display unit)

No, it is broken (it was).

We have another, you look?

OK. The "other" unit was also a display unit, less broken but still missing many fixings.

Do you have a new one in the box.

No sorry.

OK, bye.

 

Thought about it for a week, failed to find a similar unit. Decided to return and take the second unit, I can replace the missing fixings.

 

Hello, can we have one of these (indicating the second display unit).

Ah, OK, we have new ones.

Showed us new units, in boxes, being used as support for display.

They had been there the week before.

Bought one.

It is fine, SWMBO happy.

 

Argghh!

 

 

It bemuses me that the big hardware stores have so many floor staff, clearly outnumbering customers every time I visit. Huddled in little groups, like a hungry lion pride, waiting to pounce on any customer straying too close.
 
Seems like a huge waste of resources, employing all these idle people, but I guess the store owners know what they're doing.
 
Pushy sales people are no joke in any country, but it's made worse here because we cannot understand most of what a salesman is saying. He may be offering real advice, or simply flogging a high commission item.
 
My wife likes to talk, and within 10 minutes, she'll know the life story of any sales person. Probably turn out to be a cousin. I leave them to it, and I wander away.
 
In the end, it's so easy to politely tell your shadow "no no .... I just look."

What makes it worse is when you ask where to find an item and they lazily point a finger to a wall 100 feet away.. That happens a lot in ikea bangkok

My way of dealing with all this: Walk fast. With the big stores, if they have it, you will see it and, if you don't see it, don't even bother asking.

16 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

With the big stores, if they have it, you will see it

Even if you see it, they may not have it, see my water heater thread

 

 

So if you don't see one that you want in an unopened box, go somewhere else.

Reading though the replies got me recalling an exchange with a sales person that had me shaking my head.

This is not an isolated incident. This has happened on a few occasions.

 

Having looked around at length to find an office chair in a large hardware store, After siting on it and giving it a good looking over we, my wife and I agreed it will do...........No sales people anywhere to be seen. We eventually find someone, who was friendly, courteous and spoke better English than I spoke Thai. I said I wanted 'this chair'........  It was as if I had flicked an unseen switch in my salesman ....... And off we went on a sale pitch ride extravaganza royal. Now, I am a patient guy but after 5 minutes, I started to feel very sleepy and I think my organs were starting to shut down, At this point my wife in a voice I've never heard before, (similar to a sound you would not find out of place in the depths of Hell) "We'll take it" ................ The guy turned on his heals and headed for the store room, I'm pretty sure I saw him do a little victory punch in the air as he strutted off. 

 

After about 5 minutes he came back, complete with a big grin and had the balls to start a fresh sales pitch on another chair, my wife and I looked at each other and I asked her what was going on..... She asked where is the chair we ordered........ He said they were out of stock and attempted to pick-up where he had left off. OK, I said we'll take this one, can not he's says..... It's our last one. Are you getting anymore in, don't know he says....... OK, I said we'll take this one, No you can't he says, It's our last one, how will people know we have this model for sale, or words to that effect. I could not stop smiling, I found this so funny, my wife, not so.... And off we walked into the sunset.

 

So when buying anything from sales staff, check the item is in stock before engaging in any chit chat. It may just save you developing an eye twitch!

 

 

 

Common thread here to just about everyone expressing Thai shopping problems:
Shopping with your Thai wife.

7 hours ago, Tonto21 said:

So when buying anything from sales staff, check the item is in stock before engaging in any chit chat.

Indeed, too many occurrences to recount

 

On 9/26/2017 at 12:25 AM, stevenl said:

I like getting angry. It releases tensions, and I have found it really embarrasses Thai, so much so they are much more likely to give in.

But it embarrasses the thai wife more.