Sticking it to foreigners - ice cream company backs down after "Thais only" promotion

[CNXexpat]

10 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Yesterday I drove through to Bangkok, noted a car in front with golliwogs all along the back windscreen.

 

Went for an oil massage a bit later, they tried to charge me 700thb, double the advertised price of 350thb for an hour. I heard them talking putside the room that farang have a lot of money etc.

Silly mistake, as I had been there before and paid local price, and I stay just round the corner. Another regular customer lost forever.

 

Sometimes they are just too thick to understand what they are doing.

I can´t believe the story because all massages have price lists inside and ads with prices outside. Often also written on the windows. So how can they ask for the double prices from a Farang? Never heard that before.

[Arkady]

Well, I am a Thai citizen but I will be on the lookout for Icon Siam ice cream outlets to make sure I never wander into one and buy something by mistake. It is very obvious what the intention was and management's apology pretending it was something else doesn't get a pass from me.

[chama]

On 12/27/2018 at 7:54 PM, ChipButty said:

You know what you can do with your promotion...........? 

We all know the way you think

Unfortunately this seems to be the rule rather than the exception. The ice cream fools got called out but most continue. Wonder how Thais would feel if they were forced to pay higher rates or given substandard service when they travel? Since only the very wealthy travel they could certainly afford it, but how would they feel about the discrimination? 

[Miami007]

Pricing differentiation does exist in many countries...

In the USA, hospitals charge different rates based on which insurance you have (or whether you have insurance at all); for many years, Hawaii has had rates for "local = Hawaii residents" only in hotels and on airlines and proof of residency was required (normally a DL or State ID).

In this case, whoever decided to add the handwritten note on the banner, did not do the store owner any favor in respect to sales to begin with (not even to mention the poor PR and Social Media presence)

[SABloke]

On 12/28/2018 at 10:23 AM, CanuckThai said:

This is small beans.  On your next hotel booking, let your wife or gf inquire about booking a room at a hotel reception.  Then walk up and make the same room request/inquiry.  Non Thai pricing...is rampant and obscene.  My wife (Thai) is even disgusted by the ridiculous gaming going on

I've found that xenophobic dual pricing is more frequent at government sites or ****** bureau locations. At these places they don't accept "resident" status. ****** bureau more often than government. The big private enterprises that practice dual pricing usually give the local resident price regardless of nationality (work permit/driver licence etc.)

 

Regarding hotels: Last night my wife and I both called the same hotel (not for "catching them out" reasons, but because we were driving at different times). My wife got a more expensive qoute. ????

[SABloke]

16 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Yesterday I drove through to Bangkok, noted a car in front with golliwogs all along the back windscreen.

 

Went for an oil massage a bit later, they tried to charge me 700thb, double the advertised price of 350thb for an hour. I heard them talking putside the room that farang have a lot of money etc.

Silly mistake, as I had been there before and paid local price, and I stay just round the corner. Another regular customer lost forever.

 

Sometimes they are just too thick to understand what they are doing.

Just to clarify: You, being a regular and knowing the correct price, were asked for an inflated price (by the staff that probably knew you...regular customer and all) still accepted that price (ended up in a room at the facility), and the heard that you were being ripped off (despite being a regular customer that knew the price) ???????? 

 

I'm also interested in the "etc." part of what you heard: Your Thai is obviously good enough to hear the part where they said "Farang have a lot of money" so spill the rest of the "etc." beans...

[SABloke]

On 12/28/2018 at 5:52 PM, KhunFred said:

This type of thing is only a microcosm of the real problem: xenophobia. ""they got more money, so let's take it."  I don't mind paying more to visit the Grand Palace or any of the other attractions in Thailand. It is simply not an issue with me. I care more about the attitude of the Thai government that we are a cash cow to be milked until there is no more milk, then invited to leave.

Look up the word "contradiction"

[impulse]

I don't see how that's much different from the myriad of coupons that are printed up in Thai, so foreigners are effectively left out.

 

Besides, preferential introductory pricing for potential repeat customers is common all over the world.  It's gotten so insidious with the interweb, where they can offer you different prices based on what they know about your browsing and posting history that I'm surprised anyone takes offense.

 

I either buy the ice cream, or I don't.  That bad feeling in my gut from the resentment only hurts me.

 

 

[SABloke]

On 12/28/2018 at 4:02 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

A fine man with the right ideas who was treated with contempt by the people if it meant them losing a few baht. 

Or...a person that said just the right things needed to keep things ticking along nicely. Gracious and merciful, yet never ordered the end of 112. ???? And don't bother with the "separated from politics" angle...history tells otherwise

[ggbkk]

It's any different when going to the national park? 

[fruitman]

21 hours ago, the guest said:

This is normal practice in Thailand, foreigners are not equal to Thais.

I was in Icon Siam yesterday and there were no Westerners at all, maybe 10 in the whole day...not strange because the staff can't speak a word english in the shops.

[rustyhinges]

He He He Melly Chrissmas......Ive got a cunning plan listen.... lets all make it Our Mission throughout January to go to this Stickhouse shop and say we were refused the promo and demand our COMPENSATORY FLEE ICE CLEEM . Can you imagine if that happened in a western capital city!!!

[ChipButty]

1 minute ago, rustyhinges said:

He He He Melly Chrissmas......Ive got a cunning plan listen.... lets all make it Our Mission throughout January to go to this Stickhouse shop and say we were refused the promo and demand our COMPENSATORY FLEE ICE CLEEM . Can you imagine if that happened in a western capital city!!!

Have you lived here long time?

[rustyhinges]

Sorry I forgot to add........Smile say thank you and never go again...... He He He Melly Chrissmas

[naboo]

A sign at BKK airport.

 

The 10% discount is for people with Thai ID cards or Thai passports only.

 

Is this any different to the Ice Cream scandle? Maybe the Ice Cream companies biggest mistake was posting the Thai only notice in English.

 

 

[billd766]

On 12/28/2018 at 8:04 AM, colinneil said:

Feel the love foreigners we love you....  NOT. There i was thinking all Thais loved us, wrong again.

Quite a few Thais love me. I just have to be careful that me wife doesn't find out who they are.

[fruitman]

2 hours ago, naboo said:

The 10% discount is for people with Thai ID cards or Thai passports only.

 

I will boycot them for the rest of my life, just like the thai national parks.

 

Instead i'll visit the botanical gardens in singapore (they are beautifull and free) and for shopping i buy everything from IKEA or abroad. I don't care if i pay more there.

[Derek B]

On 12/28/2018 at 8:26 AM, KittenKong said:

I dont know about internal flights as I never take them but when hotels do special offers here they usually apply them to anyone with a Thai driving licence. I certainly have benefited from such offers on occasions.

 

Of course many people running businesses here would follow the official government line of the Thai national parks service: foreigners can be charged 5 times what Thais are expected to pay.

So that is the example set down by GOV.TH for others in business to follow then..........a done deal.

[Mavideol]

4 hours ago, billd766 said:

  On 12/28/2018 at 8:04 AM, colinneil said:

Feel the love foreigners we love you....  NOT. There i was thinking all Thais loved us, wrong again. 

The song says.......Disaster's in the air,  Can you feel the love tonight? can you feel the love?

[billd766]

30 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

The song says.......Disaster's in the air,  Can you feel the love tonight? can you feel the love?

No disaster up here.

 

Yes I can, love IS in the air.

 

My wife has come back home after a 3 day jolly ashore bringing my mate and his Thai wife.

[wabothai]

On 12/28/2018 at 8:40 AM, soistalker said:

I don't like how Thais lie so.much, and they really are not good liars. Lying takes creativity. Creativity takes intelligence. 

Example: Coming back from a holiday from my home country. My car had disappeared. Partner's response when questioned, Oh I total lost it across the street against a tree. Taking her there there was no scratch on the tree. Finally all came out, she just sold it.

[wabothai]

On 12/29/2018 at 1:30 AM, flyingtlger said:

BOYCOTT Stickhouse!!!

Not really, whoever posted that carbage ought to be taken into an ally and taught a lesson or 2.

[spidermike007]

The vigorous retraining part means, do not be racist. Do not be callous to foreigners. They are not necessarily bad people, and they are not beneath us, less than us, inferior to us, or dumb. They are real people, and they are potential customers. So, let us not discriminate against them, and let us be decent human beings.

 

After all we are the stickhouse. We do not want to be known as sticking it to foreigners. That may result in bad press, much the same as the viral videos and images of that ridiculous sign.

[Bill Miller]

I go to DQ and ask for a 10 baht cone.
All that I need in that department.

[Andrew Dwyer]

I go to DQ and ask for a 10 baht cone.
All that I need in that department.

Yup, DQ, KFC or Mickey D’s ice cream hits the spot for me .

[Dogbarker]

On 12/29/2018 at 11:13 AM, kingkenny said:

Gelato is cheaper to make than ice cream (unless you are referring to soft serve).  Ice cream has a higher fat content and uses more whipping cream in production. Ice cream therefore retails more than gelato.  

 

I have an ice cream factory producing a quality product used by hotels and restaurants, not selling in shops. Majority of chefs prefer to buy by weight rather than volume so we minimize overrun. 

Yes I should have said qualified it - yes Soft serve mix ( either diary or non dairy variations)

[Dogbarker]

On 12/29/2018 at 10:13 AM, bendejo said:

 

Everyone talks about the worldwide predominance of McD's, but I have been in places that didn't have one, but did have a KFC.  I eat their ice cream but not any other stuff.  Same for the other fastfood franchises that have ice cream. 

 

I stopped in one in Penang during Ramadan, it was after 9pm, and there was a guy who bought a whole bucket of chicken and he was going at it as if he hadn't eaten all day ????

 

KFC do seem to have some variable quality on their chicken .. usually with franchisers not sticking to the rules  of  stock holding  .. some are fantastic! love teh soft serve ????

[Dogbarker]

On 12/28/2018 at 4:17 PM, fruitman said:

In Italy the gelato isn't that expensive and they sell it every 100 meters on touristic spots along the great beaches...also a glass of good wine is cheap there compared to Thai prices.

will try it when I visit thanks .. 

[bendejo]

19 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

I go to DQ and ask for a 10 baht cone.
All that I need in that department.

And then there's the budget bust-out days, 16 baht for a sundae!

 

 

[bendejo]

6 minutes ago, Dogbarker said:

KFC do seem to have some variable quality on their chicken .. usually with franchisers not sticking to the rules  of  stock holding  .. some are fantastic! love teh soft serve ????

Worst KFC I found was in Ambon, Indonesia.  The soft ice cream wasn't cold enough to hold form.