Shopping at Villa Market - The Slowly Boiled Frog Fable

[dick dasterdly]

Villa Market is very good insofar as it has many Western items (which are obviously expensive) and their Thai produce seems mostly reasonably priced compared to Tesco and the like - IMO.

 

The problem with Villa Market (again, IMO) is that they have too many Western food products that make me salivate - plus other items that are unobtainable locally - and so I never walk out with a bill less than a couple of thousand bht .....

Edited February 3, 2019 by dick dasterdly

[adammike]

On 1/31/2019 at 5:13 PM, fruitman said:

Villa market is far too expensive..but what annoys me the most is their staff who never know anything, of course can't speak english but even if you ask something like "mee kiwi daeng mai'? , because she had them last week and i don't see them now...she has no idea what you''re talking about....it's her department and she is there every day....i bet she even put the pricetag on them...

 

Or we needed some small onions (soup onions in thailand), 20 baht in foodland and 100 baht in Villa market.

 

Then we needed some beef stockcubes, totally sold out....for many weeks.

 

Even when i don't care about the high prices this shop always frustrates me a lot...better go to Foodland.

Saying it's 20 baht in one shop and 100 in another means very little,you need to quote the kg or ltr price to make any sense.I can buy a pot of peanut butter in one supermarket for say €6 a kg and for €4 in another, great get the one for €4 untill you read the label and the €4 only contains 48% peanuts the €6 contains 85-100% peanuts,you do read the labels and check the kg price don't you? Like for like or kg/ltr price or it means nothing,then you have to take into account factory farmed,free range and biological,grass fed beef, American corn fed,is it on it's use by date,best before date etc, it's a minefield out there.

[Henryford]

I popped into Villa today and couldn't believe some of their prices. 320 baht for 2 lemons (8 GBP) 240 baht (6 GBP) for a small bottle of HP sauce. OMG who shops there, the Queen ?

Edited February 3, 2019 by Henryford

[madmen]

I popped into Villa today and couldn't believe some of their prices. 320 baht for 2 lemons (8 GBP) 240 baht (6 GBP) for a small bottle of HP sauce. OMG who shops there, the Queen ?

And staff is rude. First thing they do if you dare pull one over is roll their eyes and give you the w.. T.. F.. You want look.

 

Villa survives because they are convenient being prolific farang areas with higher rents that Tesco don't do

 

[Spidey]

On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 1:49 PM, CharlieH said:

A business looking to increase profit, whatever next, outrageous practice.????

Here's a novel idea, dont go there if you dont like the prices. ????

Crumpets rose from 145 baht to 210 baht for a pack of 6, at a stroke. They are small, I presume made in Thailand (crudely packaged) and nothing like the real thing. At my local expat store (Siamsbury's) I can get a pack of 6 similar quality but much larger crumpets for 99 baht. In the UK I can buy a pack of 9 superb crumpets for 60 baht.

 

Items seem, generally, twice the price as other stores and, for that reason, I have taken your advice and no longer shop there.

[CharlieH]

26 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Crumpets rose from 145 baht to 210 baht for a pack of 6, at a stroke. They are small, I presume made in Thailand (crudely packaged) and nothing like the real thing. At my local expat store (Siamsbury's) I can get a pack of 6 similar quality but much larger crumpets for 99 baht. In the UK I can buy a pack of 9 superb crumpets for 60 baht.

 

Items seem, generally, twice the price as other stores and, for that reason, I have taken your advice and no longer shop there.

Last time I was back the were £1 for 9 "warburtons" in Asda. ????

Send me some PPLLLLLLLEEEAASSEE !! Got nothing in the sticks !!

[Spidey]

11 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Last time I was back the were £1 for 9 "warburtons" in Asda. ????

Send me some PPLLLLLLLEEEAASSEE !! Got nothing in the sticks !!

Correct. A couple of months ago, a mate brought me a couple of packs over. He then ate half of them himself. My wife then ate the rest, she is addicted to them. Gits!

[JayBird]

Minced beef costs 600 a kg in Villa...very high for Thailand but it tastes good...

Is that Thai French beef? That tends to go for more than Thai. Just saw Australian sirloin going for about 800/kg.

[grollies]

On 2/3/2019 at 6:21 PM, CharlieH said:

Last time I was back the were £1 for 9 "warburtons" in Asda. ????

Send me some PPLLLLLLLEEEAASSEE !! Got nothing in the sticks !!

Come on Charlie, it's not difficult, I make 'em.

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

Checked your points lately? They nullified 6000 points of mine without any email, or contact to warn me that they were expiring so that I could spend them first.

Sent a complaint by email to their Customer Service Department (what a joke).

Some Aussie bloke called me and listened to my complaint. Told me he would get back to me and never did.

Am now spending less than half of what I did there. Will go out of my way to buy at other places. Fock'em!

[ballpoint]

I used to go to the Villa at the Ambassador Hotel on Soi 11 quite often, as it was the nearest supermarket type shop to my condo, but have never been to the new location - though I do go to the Ploenchit Centre one occasionally.  I see no point in complaining about the price of Western groceries; either get them elsewhere in Bangkok, which is difficult for some, if not many items, import your own, pay the Villa price, or do without.  Many of the other, locally produced, items are indeed cheaper elsewhere, which is why Saturday mornings - before the traffic gets too bad, are spent driving to a larger supermarket, usually either Tesco Fortune Tower, or Mega Bangna, for the weekly shop.  Even without using a car though, Tops at Robinson Sukhumvit is only a short walk away.  However, I've also found a number of local items that are actually cheaper at Villa, such as cartons of fruit juice, which are often around 50 baht there, compared to 60 elsewhere.

[fruitman]

On 2/6/2019 at 1:49 PM, JayBird said:

Is that Thai French beef? That tends to go for more than Thai. Just saw Australian sirloin going for about 800/kg.

No idea, it's lean beef though, no fat.  Ozzy meat costs a lot more....double or triple...

[fruitman]

8 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Checked your points lately? They nullified 6000 points of mine without any email, or contact to warn me that they were expiring so that I could spend them first.

Sent a complaint by email to their Customer Service Department (what a joke).

Some Aussie bloke called me and listened to my complaint. Told me he would get back to me and never did.

Am now spending less than half of what I did there. Will go out of my way to buy at other places. Fock'em!

We also avoid Villa now, not only for those prices and stupid staff but why are so many vegetables not in the cooling anymore? And why is it when i'm searching the shelves the staff has to walk through my site non-stop? They can use another small alley to go to their place..but they like to run around all the time.

 

And have you ever asked the alcohol salesgirl for something? She acts like i'm totally crazy to ask while it's a product in her department but of course she has never seen that.

 

I don't mind to pay extra or even double but i want good service, and sure not staff which annoys me nonstop. I don't even want them to speak english cause they don't know anything anyway.

[NCC1701A]

love Villa Market. just buy the things you can only find in Thailand there. 

 

One of the wine ladies flat out asked me out about six months ago. Of course not the hot one. That was awkward. Then I ran into her on the dance floor at the Hilton. That was awkward. 

 

 

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

3 hours ago, fruitman said:

We also avoid Villa now, not only for those prices and stupid staff but why are so many vegetables not in the cooling anymore? And why is it when i'm searching the shelves the staff has to walk through my site non-stop? They can use another small alley to go to their place..but they like to run around all the time.

 

And have you ever asked the alcohol salesgirl for something? She acts like i'm totally crazy to ask while it's a product in her department but of course she has never seen that.

 

I don't mind to pay extra or even double but i want good service, and sure not staff which annoys me nonstop. I don't even want them to speak english cause they don't know anything anyway.

Actually, the staff at Villa Market in Chalong, Phuket are very good. No complaints, just with their slimey management based in Bangkok.