Beware PTT's crafty Diesel Rebrand to get you buying the expsensive stuff!

[greenmonkey]

Maybe I am getting this all wrong and it just hasn't been explained to me properly. Someone help me understand!

 

I regularly fill my Toyota up with diesel from PTT. I always opt for the normal diesel (diesel 'thammada') - no premium diesel for me. Well it looks like PTT have other ideas! With their newly rebranded diesel when you ask for normal diesel 'thammada' - they automatically give you the more expensive diesel (formerly the premium).

 

After becoming wise to this today I went to PTT and pulled up at the pump. I asked for diesel 'thammada'. He immediately went for the expensive diesel. I said to him 'no / mai chai khap'. I want that one and pointed to the cheaper diesel. Back came a question to me in Thai which I did not understand. I persisted and pointed again. I want that one. Back came another question in Thai I didn't understand. Three times I pointed out the cheap diesel and 3 times he dithered and fired a question back at me until I gave up and said to him in Thai 'Mai Dai ah?' (I can't have it?) to which he nodded in agreement and so I said okay and pointed to the more expensive diesel 'dai'. I figured that there must be a reason why I cannot get the cheaper diesel but had my suspicions that there is more to this as this was the second time it had happened to me.

 

Anyway, when I told my wife what happened she insisted on going to the same PTT (we had to pass by anyway) and asking why I could not get the cheaper diesel. This is where it gets interesting. The guy that  served me lied through his teeth! He told my wife that there was no problem with the cheaper diesel but he was unsure which pump I was pointing to or which diesel I wanted! I was a meter from the pump and pointing straight at it. This is the second time this has happened to me where even after insisting on the the cheaper diesel I end up with the more expensive one.

 

In future I will now ask for the diesel quoting the price of the diesel so hopefully there is no ambiguity - we shall see!

 

Is this a crafty marketing ploy by PTT or am I reading this all wrong? My feeling is that as well as a crafty rebrand to trick customers into paying for the more expensive diesel the staff are being trained to steer customers to the more expensive stuff too. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had similar experiences...?

[Crossy]

You are correct, there is re-branding going on.

 

The stuff that we've been using until recently labelled as "Diesel" has actually been B7 for a goodly while, this is now visibly branded as "Diesel B7".

 

The cheaper stuff now labelled as "Diesel" is actually B10, do ensure your vehicle is compatible or you may be looking at a non-saving getting the injector pump fixed.

 

 

 

Bolted on top is the even more expensive Premium diesel.

 

http://udon-news.com/en/main/fuel-prices-in-thailand

 

 

[2 is 1]

Like Crossy say already! B 10 is maybe what you have use, only say diesel B sip when you go in station!

 

[Deli]

Filled prior to stupid changes Diesel, now fill B7. All good. Screw the greens to their bones.

[LukKrueng]

On 11/2/2020 at 4:39 PM, greenmonkey said:

Maybe I am getting this all wrong and it just hasn't been explained to me properly. Someone help me understand!

 

I regularly fill my Toyota up with diesel from PTT. I always opt for the normal diesel (diesel 'thammada') - no premium diesel for me. Well it looks like PTT have other ideas! With their newly rebranded diesel when you ask for normal diesel 'thammada' - they automatically give you the more expensive diesel (formerly the premium).

 

After becoming wise to this today I went to PTT and pulled up at the pump. I asked for diesel 'thammada'. He immediately went for the expensive diesel. I said to him 'no / mai chai khap'. I want that one and pointed to the cheaper diesel. Back came a question to me in Thai which I did not understand. I persisted and pointed again. I want that one. Back came another question in Thai I didn't understand. Three times I pointed out the cheap diesel and 3 times he dithered and fired a question back at me until I gave up and said to him in Thai 'Mai Dai ah?' (I can't have it?) to which he nodded in agreement and so I said okay and pointed to the more expensive diesel 'dai'. I figured that there must be a reason why I cannot get the cheaper diesel but had my suspicions that there is more to this as this was the second time it had happened to me.

 

Anyway, when I told my wife what happened she insisted on going to the same PTT (we had to pass by anyway) and asking why I could not get the cheaper diesel. This is where it gets interesting. The guy that  served me lied through his teeth! He told my wife that there was no problem with the cheaper diesel but he was unsure which pump I was pointing to or which diesel I wanted! I was a meter from the pump and pointing straight at it. This is the second time this has happened to me where even after insisting on the the cheaper diesel I end up with the more expensive one.

 

In future I will now ask for the diesel quoting the price of the diesel so hopefully there is no ambiguity - we shall see!

 

Is this a crafty marketing ploy by PTT or am I reading this all wrong? My feeling is that as well as a crafty rebrand to trick customers into paying for the more expensive diesel the staff are being trained to steer customers to the more expensive stuff too. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had similar experiences...?

It's not a crafty Rebrand. What you call standard diesel is actually b7, but was always marked simply as diesel, whereas b10/b20 and supreme (or other names by different oil companies) were marked b10/b20 and so on. The government is planning to faze b7 out and have the b10 as the new standard diesel, so now the old standard is marked b7 and the b10 is marked simply as diesel.   I guess what the employee tried to explain to you is just that.

What you describe that happened between your wife and the employee a misunderstanding between them (happens a lot between Thai people) or between you and your wife (happens even more often...).

I don't know what vehicle you're driving, but you should check if it is compatible with the lower grade diesel. Although I'm pretty sure mine is, I think I'll switch to the premium diesel once there's no more b7

[KhunBENQ]

As written, B7 is the stuff to buy if you don't want to change and be on the "safe side".

I doubt they offered you the real expensive premium stuff.

From lists published in other threads, Toyota pickups are B10 compatible since a decade or longer.

Other brands differ.

Starting prices:

 

Prices will go down 0.50 Baht from tomorrow Nov 4, 5:00 AM.

Edited November 3, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[jackdd]

He probably didn't understand if you wanted B7, B10 or B20, and to play it safe he used B7 which costs a bit more than the others.

Next time you just specify which Diesel you want, the definition of "thammada" in regards to fuel might change over time when new fuels become widely used.

 

Same with petrol, 91 is probably what most people would call "standard", but basically all new cars and bikes can use E20. In the near future this will probably be considered "standard".

[rwill]

If you just ask for diesel now you get the cheaper grade, B10.  Mainly look at which pump you pull up to.

 

As far as B7 being phased out we will see.  91 was supposed to be gone about a year ago and it is still around.

[Techno Viking]

Yes extremely annoying.

 

I only use premium diesel but that bowser is not longer at the 2 PTT's that are convenient for me, they now only have B7 and  B10.

 

Luckily there is a Shell A little further up the road still selling proper diesel.

[Pumpuynarak]

11 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

As written, B7 is the stuff to buy if you don't want to change and be on the "safe side".

I doubt they offered you the real expensive premium stuff.

From lists published in other threads, Toyota pickups are B10 compatible since a decade or longer.

Other brands differ.

Starting prices:

 

Prices will go down 0.50 Baht from tomorrow Nov 4, 5:00 AM.

 

So whats wrong with diesel at 18.49 ?

[Crossy]

17 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

So whats wrong with diesel at 18.49 ?

 

That's B10.

[Pumpuynarak]

36 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

That's B10.

 

The plot thickens lol, so why don't they call it B10 as its not just plain old diesel ?

[LukKrueng]

2 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

 

The plot thickens lol, so why don't they call it B10 as its not just plain old diesel ?

Apparently there's no more just plain old diesel. It's either 93%,90% or 80% diesel, or premium which i guess is diesel with additives. As the government plans to eliminate the b7 (93%) and the most widely used is going to be b10 they are getting people used to call it just standard diesel (talking about lowering your standards...)

[KhunBENQ]

11 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

So whats wrong with diesel at 18.49 ?

There are still older Diesel models where you don't get approval from the manufacturers to use B10 (or even "worse" B20).

There are plenty of threads already here about these compatibility issues.

A mate has a Nissan truck about 14 years old and it's not on the list of compatible models.

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[Pumpuynarak]

12 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

There are still older Diesel models where you don't get approval from the manufacturers to use B10 (or even "worse" B20).

There are plenty of threads already here about these compatibility issues.

A mate has a Nissan truck about 14 years old and it's not on the list of compatible models.

 

 

I was primarily referring to the cost in my post, why pay 3 baht more per litre for B7 ? Wifey contacted our Toyota dealership where we bought our 2007 Fortuner and they told her we could use any diesel B7, B10 or B20.

[KhunBENQ]

4 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

I was primarily referring to the cost in my post, why pay 3 baht more per litre for B7 ? Wifey contacted our Toyota dealership where we bought our 2007 Fortuner and they told her we could use any diesel B7, B10 or B20.

Fuel prices in Thailand are not simple market driven but influenced by taxes and contributions (or even subsidies) to some "fund". And this is "energy policy".

I can't tell whether biofuel (palmoil) is cheaper than Diesel on the marketplace.

 

The statement of Toyota is consistent with what is published on the net.

Now you would have to test consumption and find which comes out better overall.

 

I have similar choice between Gasohol 95 (E10) and E20.

And the current price advantage of E20 is so small, it does not pay for higher consumption.

Edited November 5, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[Kwarium]

My 2019 Duramax engine runs the same on b7 or b10. Tried the top shelf (high priced) premium, but also felt no difference in pull or consumption.

 

There was supposed to be no more b7 as of this month, so there has been relabeling over the last few months. Shell has also been passing out this compatibility flier for the b10. It comes in regular and premium to add to the confusion!

 

https://ibb.co/cYQwgMG

Edited November 6, 2020 by Kwarium
<deleted> at posting an image link

[NanLaew]

On 11/3/2020 at 9:01 PM, KhunBENQ said:

As written, B7 is the stuff to buy if you don't want to change and be on the "safe side".

I doubt they offered you the real expensive premium stuff.

From lists published in other threads, Toyota pickups are B10 compatible since a decade or longer.

Other brands differ.

Starting prices:

 

Prices will go down 0.50 Baht from tomorrow Nov 4, 5:00 AM.

 

I had run the sports lorry down to '0 kilometers' on the digital dashboard guesstimator and dropped by my local PTT with the intent of trying the newer, cheaper B10 "Diesel" instead of the usual B7. They have 5 islands with 2 sets of dual-product pumps on each island so 10 pumps total. I didn't see the B10 "Diesel" pump, only the B7 ones so filled up with the usual. Only half-way through the pumping did I finally see the single slightly darker blue "Diesel" pump on the second island from the back. With only 1 pump out of 10 way at the back, they're not in a rush to sell the cheaper stuff.

[alacrity]

On 11/4/2020 at 9:21 AM, Pumpuynarak said:

 

The plot thickens lol, so why don't they call it B10 as its not just plain old diesel ?

Did you ever read George Orwell's 1984 or Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451?