“Don’t complain about our English, If you can’t speak Thai” - sign at restaurant goes viral - again

[Lacessit]

32 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm from Sussex/Surrey and sound like Prince Harry.

I'm not sure whether to congratulate you or sympathize.

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, Yinn said:

POTY YINN 2019 Special advice for happy live in Thailand. 

 

Not be impolite in restaurant before ALL your food/drink order come already. 

 

This excellent advice works in the whole world, not only in Thailand

never understimate the nuisance power of an underpaid and 

poorly educated\low IQ staff

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Happy to be corrected but is not English taught in Thai schools, is English not the Government approved 2nd language of Thailand and that is why ALL the major highways are signposted in English, most buildings and Government buildings etc all have their name in English script not only Thai script .

 

Just an observation ????

most buildings and Government buildings etc all have their name in English script not only Thai script .

Not in the city where I live, they don't. I can therefore, only assume you live in Bangkok?

[shy coconut]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's a very rude sign.

Sure some customers are A-holes but a restaurant is a service business.

Decent service means taking a certain amount of <deleted> with a polite smile.

If I saw that sign I would think the place is run by xenophobes not interested in giving good service and walk away. 

I don't think it's rude at all.

 

It politely asks patrons not to complain about the English standards of it's

(Presumably Thai) employees. I have no idea what prompted the sign.

 

Perhaps some customers got angry because the native Thai speakers misunderstood

something. By the looks of the writing style, punctuation and message, I would be

almost certain that the sign was written by an English speaker and not a Thai.

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

26 minutes ago, snowgard said:

I find this is a very stupid comment because how much languages you want learn??? This is Thailand and native english speakers are now rare. So russian, chinese, india, ... are much more important as to talk to some fools in english. ???? ???? ????

Now you actually offend 3 more countries of which most do speak basic English. That aside, English is the world language for Tourism & Hospitality, as well for ASEAN. Nobody ever said Thais should be speaking more than English language either.

Edited January 20, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[RJRS1301]

2 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

This excellent advice works in the whole world, not only in Thailand

never understimate the nuisance power of an underpaid and 

poorly educated\low IQ staff

Do not mistake poor education with low IQ please

[Knocker33]

I doubt if that sign was written by a Thai

[ChaiyaTH]

Just now, Knocker33 said:

I doubt if that sign was written by a Thai

Most likely by some left wing feminist girl from the west, who doesn't have a clue too.

[CharlieH]

8 minutes ago, Surasak said:

most buildings and Government buildings etc all have their name in English script not only Thai script .

Not in the city where I live, they don't. I can therefore, only assume you live in Bangkok?

Wrong, I live in the North East in a village.

I'll guarantee you they do where you are.

 

[IAMHERE]

Reading between the lines it says something like "don't eat here unless you speak Thai". OK, I can do. If my income depended on speaking Thai I'd learn Thai. Now if I also have to learn Thai to spend my money then I'm not sure that is OK.

[RJRS1301]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Most likely by some left wing feminist girl from the west, who doesn't have a clue too.

Written like a priveledged male with no clue

 

[AllThaiedUp]

Oh cmon   this is nothing new... next!

[RICO86]

Went into Tom Tom coffee shop terminal 21. Told them I wanted double expresso, pointed my finger at the board that one, no one could speak English. GF spoke to em, 5 mins later got small cup of coffee ????

[DUNROAMIN]

What a load of dribble.????

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Do not mistake poor education with low IQ please

Exactly. My Thai GF is poorly educated, cannot read a map or add numbers in her head. She is street-smart way beyond my level of comprehension.

[Thingamabob]

5 hours ago, Yinn said:

No 

translation= stop complain like idiot.

I agree. Stop whining.

 

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, DUNROAMIN said:

What a load of dribble.????

Perhaps you could be more specific.

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, ravip said:

Do you expect perfect English from all the places you visit? Whats wrong with employing Burmese oand Cambodian waiters? Or even from Timbuktu?

Whats the perfect picture you are demanding for?

We are talking about a 5 stars establishment

that cost a lot of money so as a customer you can

expect some minimal level in return

or is it asking too much again?

 

I have a friend who owns a 4 stas hotel in Paris

most of his customers are from america, it's just

impossible for him to imagine hiring someone who doesn't speak a good english.

 

I mean the problem is not the staff, they do what they can, the problem is the

management,

if you are the owner or the manager and you don't care enough of your customers to make them feel confortable with a minimum of language skills from your staff, because you prefer hire people underpaid with poors or no foreign language skills, it's just greed and can not be an excuse

Edited January 20, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[P100]

Thailand is tourism hotspot since 30 years. They heavily depend on tourism and foreign investment. Enire Pattaya has been built by foreigners. 

 

On the other hand I don't know any other nation so unwilling to open up and show some interest towards foreigners. 

 

Endless Thai arrogance and unwillingness to learn anything what is not Thai including tools of communication, makes Thailand truly unique on this planet.

 

If your English is sh*t then start improving it instead of be proud of the status quo!

 

Most foreigners are no Englishmen too, they all have learned to speak English. Why is a f*cking restaurant owner not willing to improve his?

 

I other countries, like China, locals use every opportunityto learn from foreigners whenever they meet them !!  

 

To all those foreigner hating Thais: look where China is and look where your country is... ist all about mentality. I am proud to not be a Thai!

 

 

[DrTuner]

5 minutes ago, Dickincider said:

Went into Tom Tom coffee shop terminal 21. Told them I wanted double expresso, pointed my finger at the board that one, no one could speak English. GF spoke to em, 5 mins later got small cup of coffee ????

double espresso in Thai is adaaappppeeeeellllleassaaapraaesasssooooh. You're welcome.

[Thingamabob]

The English, of which I am one, have a simple solution. When we are not understood we repeat ourselves again and again, with increasing loudness. QED.

[sawadee1947]

5 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

if someone complained about my second language ability, for example my french, and especially if i was using that language in order to be successful in business, i'd work hard to improve my language skills. that would be common sense/good business sense, wouldn't it?!

As a Brit you have to work hard indeed to speak a bit of French and even after hard working it sounds the same as French speaking English.... ????????????

[Mann33bkk]

I am not a native english speaker, So i can complain about thair english. I had to learn english at school andat my own. Because i want to comunicate with people around the world. So if they can not speak english, they are just lazy

[DrTuner]

5 minutes ago, P100 said:

On the other hand I don't know any other nation so unwilling to open up and show some interest towards foreigners. 

North Korea.

[CM Dad]

I'm an American, and I speak Thai.  In fact I speak Thai quite well, better than the other several foreign languages I speak.  Many Americans are able to speak foreign languages.  In fact, when I worked in three different schools as a teacher, it was generally the Brits and the French who were not even interested in trying to learn Thai.  They still believed in "The Empire", and expected everyone to use English or French.  There are, of course, exceptions, so it is not wise to make generalizations.  I know expats of every nationality who speak Thai daily while there are other long-term expats of every nationality who cannot even count in Thai.  They are very often the ones who complain the most.  I love the sign, by the way.

[Yinn]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Stop speaking about what you do not really know. You just happen to be staying in your own country, most if not all of your life (so far). 
Also, saying that you would leave for the smallest thing instead of complaining, proves you are the victim of wrong education. 

 

 

Complain or leave. 

I choose leave. Up to you.

 

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

And:

''Thailand 39 million tourist. Philippine 5.5 million tourist.

Thailand win.'' 

You do understand you make Thailand the laughing stock by that comparison right? It proves how TH fails learning English,
even with so many arrivals, not tourists.

 

Oh yes. You think tourists come teach thai people English on holiday. 5555

Your country have a lot Chinese tourist. Can you speak Chinese? 

 

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Edit: If the sign would say, Chinese, I would have sympathy for it. English is for the world, anyone serving tourism industries knows it is mandatory.

If “mandatory” why 39 million. 

How many your country last year? 

Pffft

 

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, ravip said:

Do you expect perfect English from all the places you visit? Whats wrong with employing Burmese oand Cambodian waiters? Or even from Timbuktu?

Whats the perfect picture you are demanding for?

When I go to a 5-star I expect same sort of service I get at a 5-star at, say, Maldives for example. Well trained and fluent in English, seemed to be quite a few nationalities working the services.

[P100]

6 minutes ago, Mann33bkk said:

I am not a native english speaker, So i can complain about thair english. I had to learn english at school andat my own. Because i want to comunicate with people around the world. So if they can not speak english, they are just lazy

They are lazy and not at all interested in you as a foreigner. They don'tont even want to be able to communicate with you. That is actually a form of disrespect.

[CharlieH]

A persons ability to speak Thai I suggest is largely influenced by the environment they find themselves.

If you live in a highly trodden tourist area its unlikely you would  need to bother, as most day to day encounters English will suffice in most exchanges etc.

 

If on the other hand you dont live in such an area then people are more likely to learn some basics to "get by". Those that are not in Thai relationships also will have a higher need especially if they are not in a tourist area. Those that live here full time, live in rural areas will in most cases have a better than average ability and some will be fully immersed in it.

 

Up to the individual needs and their circumstances.

 

Just my observations.

[mauGR1]

9 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

I love the sign, by the way.

I like your post, but i disagree with the sign, not really endearing imho.

What about "Please be patient if our English is not perfect" ?