How do you deal with late service people?

[Andy from Kent]

 

At 9:00 A.M. today we anticipated a  scheduled air con service tech to come to our condo to service  an air con.    After waiting an hour and 10 minutes i asked the Missus to call the tech and cancel the   service.   The only excuse the tech gave for his non-show performance is he "forgot".

How long do you wait for a late tech before you cancel?

I realize the tech may have done me a favor in the long run.     If a "company" is at the level of not even keeping a record of appointments, I suspect  the service person may not even have  even have any tools when he shows up.

 

[ThailandRyan]

It is unfortunately called Thai Time.  Last week I arranged for the 4 air conditioning units in my condo to be serviced along with the in ceiling main unit in the living room.  It was scheduled for 10 am for the technicians to arrive.  At 10 am I called to see if they were in the Condo's lobby and was told there was no one there.  I called the company and was told that they would be there at 2pm because of another appointment that they had scheduled at the same time (nice excuse).  At 1 pm I called to ensure they were still coming to service the units, and the manager said they would be there in 5 minutes.  at 2pm I called again and told the manager to just cancel the appointment.  Called the Juristic office and within 1 hour had a group of technicians they have on-call for emergencies at my unit and working as a team, cleaning all the Air conditioning units at once, and yes a group of 6 workers.  1 hour and 30 minutes after a thorough and extensive cleaning they checked each unit with a thermal reader and compared the readings on the controllers.  1 controller was found to be defective and they just happened to have another remote with them.  Total cost for cleaning 5 units and the remote was 2k Thb.  The original company wanted 500 Thb per unit, so all in all the day was saved and so was a few baht.  Plus next time I will call the guys that showed up.  I do clean my units every 6 months.

As far as waiting time before canceling I normally give them an hour after I have called the company.  I actually had a repairman from Cotto arrive an hour early to replace the Bidet seat on one of the toilets which was still under warranty.  Took him less than 15 minutes, and with a smile and a Wai he was on his way.  Hit or miss with service people and it is why I will now only go with a good reputable recommendation from someone.  Can not go wrong with a good recommendation from the Juristic office.

[Dmaxdan]

For me it would depend entirely on my own plans for the day. If I plan to stay at home all day then It doesn't really matter to me If the service people turn up at 9am or 3pm. Obviously if I have plans to go out later in the day then that is a different matter.   

 When you are dealing with Thai time you have to learn be patient.   

[ChipButty]

Some people would say it's the way it is here, No it's not,

In general I have a good set of tradesmen available and never let me down but I have been through some clowns over the years.

I have met a couple this week, first the pest control company call will come 9 am, 9-30 they call my wife we are outside the house nobody home, long story short, they where outside the wrong house, to be honest I dont know where they were, they eventually arrived.

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by ChipButty

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Some people would say it's the way it is here, No it's not,

In general I have a good set of tradesmen available and never let me down but I have been through some clowns over the years.

I have met a couple this week, first the pest control company call will come 9 am, 9-30 they call my wife we are outside the house nobody home, long story short, they where outside the wrong house, to be honest I dont know where they were, they eventually arrived.

 

Exactly, same has occurred with me in the past.  Technician calls and says I am here in the lobby. I go to the lobby no one around except the security boys and the juristic office folks.  I make a call to the technician and ask where he is, he says in the lobby, I said where, he gave me the name of the office building down the street.  I said your in an office building not a condominium.  Long story short I waited for 30 minutes more and he never showed up, loss of FACE I guess.  Called the company and canceled him.  Sometimes......

[CharlieH]

The only times I book are morning or afternoon. I dont care what time they arrive as long as its either or.

If they dont come in the "morning" then I phone and book another morning, late again, another company.

In fairness though they are rarely outside those segments.

 

I see no reason to book specific times.

[Kwasaki]

Must be annoying when you rely on time in Thailand.

My Mrs books by the day and they ring her when there coming.

As someone mentioned Thai time my experience say 9 o/c is anything up to 9.59 . 

To be honest I have always been a terrible Time keeper, I should of wrote a book on excuses. ????

[mstevens]

FWIW, as annoying as tradesmen turning up late is, it's hardly something exclusive to Thailand. Here in New Zealand they're more often than not late. And unlike Thailand, you get hit with a bill that means you have to tighten your spending for the rest of the week.

[paahlman]

Its different approaches.. I find the best one is to not cancel cause you might have difficulties finding a replacement.. , but there is another way..

Tell them you dont want a set time.. and never be home.. Never plan after other people.. Do your stuff.. and tell them to call you 1 hour before they are there.. If no calls you know.. if they call.. they normally can remember one hour ahead. Normally.....

[1FinickyOne]

20 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

The only excuse the tech gave for his non-show performance is he "forgot".

you gotta at least appreciate the honesty... 

i am retired so i don't mind being home and choose a day when I have no plans... 

[millymoopoo]

21 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It is unfortunately called Thai Time.

Yep, can be like that, and Thai Time works both ways, usually it's 'I'll be there by 2pm' and they may show some time after 3pm, but when the other half wants the car (we only have 1) they want it available at 2pm for an appointment 5 minutes away they have at 3pm...!!!

For service people, wait an hour and if they don't show by then cancel and find another.
The good ones will be there at the time booked or will call if they are late.
With the Thai timers who obviously couldn't care less, or the delayed servicemen who are courteous enough to call and tell you, who do you think will give the better service.?

Think it's called bio dynamic, weed out the rubbish and keep the good ones..!

[Sticky Rice Balls]

22 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It is unfortunately called Thai Time. 

Indeed...It happens when it happens......you get there when you arrive....you adapt the longer you stay in LOS

[Cake Monster]

I have a really simple solution.

When the Tech Guy eventually shows up, I just tell him his services, and those of his Company are no longer required, and I will take my Custom elsewhere where it is appreciated.

[bluebluewater]

The sparkys and the air con guys I don't care much but if the massage girl is tardy . . . . . 

[ChrisKC]

22 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It is unfortunately called Thai Time.  Last week I arranged for the 4 air conditioning units in my condo to be serviced along with the in ceiling main unit in the living room.  It was scheduled for 10 am for the technicians to arrive.  At 10 am I called to see if they were in the Condo's lobby and was told there was no one there.  I called the company and was told that they would be there at 2pm because of another appointment that they had scheduled at the same time (nice excuse).  At 1 pm I called to ensure they were still coming to service the units, and the manager said they would be there in 5 minutes.  at 2pm I called again and told the manager to just cancel the appointment.  Called the Juristic office and within 1 hour had a group of technicians they have on-call for emergencies at my unit and working as a team, cleaning all the Air conditioning units at once, and yes a group of 6 workers.  1 hour and 30 minutes after a thorough and extensive cleaning they checked each unit with a thermal reader and compared the readings on the controllers.  1 controller was found to be defective and they just happened to have another remote with them.  Total cost for cleaning 5 units and the remote was 2k Thb.  The original company wanted 500 Thb per unit, so all in all the day was saved and so was a few baht.  Plus next time I will call the guys that showed up.  I do clean my units every 6 months.

As far as waiting time before canceling I normally give them an hour after I have called the company.  I actually had a repairman from Cotto arrive an hour early to replace the Bidet seat on one of the toilets which was still under warranty.  Took him less than 15 minutes, and with a smile and a Wai he was on his way.  Hit or miss with service people and it is why I will now only go with a good reputable recommendation from someone.  Can not go wrong with a good recommendation from the Juristic office.

I don't like anyone having little regard for a promise made and caring not that it is kept, within reasonable parameters or a message to say there will be a delay. You can call it "Thai time" - that doesn't make it acceptable to me. I have been here long enough to know there are reliable people who will come when they say they will come and bring some tools and a ladder with them. When that happens, I make a note and that person or Company gets my business. And yes, I have a Plumber an Electrician and air con man who I trust.

[Andy from Kent]

23 hours ago, CharlieH said:

The only times I book are morning or afternoon. I dont care what time they arrive as long as its either or.

If they dont come in the "morning" then I phone and book another morning, late again, another company.

In fairness though they are rarely outside those segments.

 

I see no reason to book specific times.

 

I also don't generalize about Thai people following "Thai Time".   Some people are responsible and some people aren't.

 

My feelings about the man in my OP are that he simply isn't responsible or at the least doesn't follow good business practices.      If he'd shown up at our place I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't even bring a ladder with him.

 

The two aircon techs people who showed up today were prompt and even declined doing an additional service because they said they needed to get to their next  appointment.    I respected that and we will use them in the future!

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

AC guys and workmen in general being late is a common issue, I’ve listed to my wife give various people various degrees of grief for their complete and total lack of regard for our time. 

For some reason, its so common that people have no value for other peoples time in Thailand. That is a general slur, its not true of every Thai, but in aggregate when the ‘other party’ has no reason to ‘kraeng-jai’ you, they will be inconsiderately late - Yet, every single time its important to that person, they are on time every single time. 

 

Thai Time Keeping - Its widely understood to be exceptionally poor.

 

Ultimately the only way I can handle it is to accept that I can’t change it. BUT, not to change my plans around there’s.

i.e. IF an AC team or Big delivery item etc say they say they are going to arrive between 9am and 12pm and I have to go out at 1pm and they are still not there, I just go out. Invariably I’ll receive a call - I’ll tell them they are late and to come again... usually they are late again next time !!! if I’m in, ok, if I’m out, I’m out - thats it. It becomes very annoying if it's an item I (we) need.

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

I also don't generalize about Thai people following "Thai Time".   Some people are responsible and some people aren't.

Thats the thing about generalisations...  The are not true all the time, but they exist for a reason.

In this case, the reason the ‘generalisation’ exists that Thai’s are terrible timekeepers particularly in the 'service of utilities' industry and its because in many (most) cases, they are late to very late, if they turn up at all. 

 

These issues can often be attributed to other generalisations which hold true for what appears to be a majority. 

In this case the ‘other’ generalisation is regarding a Thai Persons ‘circle of influence’... i.e. 

Thai’s have 3 circles: 

1) Inner circle - Close family, close friends, important work contacts - Anyone whom they care about greatly through affectionate means or through necessity in the work place as their interaction significantly impacts themself. 

2) Outer circle - Extended family, acquaintances, work colleagues - Anyone with whom they need to maintain face.

3) Anyone else - people they really don’t care about everyone else, their life they may interact with for the briefest periods of time. 

 

In a company that is well run where the employee holds their supervisor in the inner circle and knows the supervisor will react negatively if that persons ’service’ is poor we (the customer) will receive a positive customer service experience. 

Unfortunately, we are exposed to poorly run companies where they customer is regarded as ‘anyone else’ and the employee doesn’t care if they are late because any response of poor service is not dealt with by management - hence the employee has not learnt that they need to care. 

 

Thus, another generalisation slips in, ‘some’ companies are just run poorly the consequence of which is a poor experience.

Fortunately, Thailand is evolving and we (the customer) witness improving standards, unfortunately, improved customer service standards are not yet the norm, but the notable exception - things are heading in the right direction though. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

Time is not the same priority as it is in Western culture. I only ever specify morning or afternoon, a specific time just won't work in 99% of appointments.

Patience is the key, blowing a fuse will only result in resistance.

[shy coconut]

Some hilarious comments from the business and real estate moguls on this forum ????

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Time is not the same priority as it is in Western culture. I only ever specify morning or afternoon, a specific time just won't work in 99% of appointments.

Patience is the key, blowing a fuse will only result in resistance.

 

Have you ever seen a Thai person late for ‘the big boss’... or someone important. 

 

Working in Thailand, I saw people take 1.5 hr lunch breaks, arrive 15-30mins late for work (regularly), late for meetings. BUT, when someone senior is there, someone who ‘matters to them’ people find a way to make sure they are not late. Many westerners also present this behaviour, but it's more prevalent in Thailand.

In my personal life, meeting with insurance agents, designers etc, they just don’t turn up on time. BUT, when I tell them if they are late they lose a contract, they find a way to be on time. It's amazing to see how many are on time for the first meeting, then once a contract is secured their approach changes. 

So... I don’t interpret the inherent tardiness of Thai's in general as them view time differently or with a lack of priority, I see it as them viewing the time of the person whom they are meeting as being less important than theirs, until it obviously isn’t. Ultimately its a general disrespect for anyone outside of their inner circle (as described above).

 

 

 

 

[KhaoYai]

On 3/16/2021 at 5:47 AM, Kwasaki said:

As someone mentioned Thai time my experience say 9 o/c is anything up to 9.59 . 

Funny you should say that, I had a conversation about this with my Mrs and she said exactly the same, apparently you would not be late if you arrive before 10.00 ????.

Edited March 17, 2021 by KhaoYai

[recom273]

I bought a tekka oven a year back - then suddenly the light and fan started working intermittently, I called tekka, they said we can be with you in 6-8 weeks. 
 

Eventually I had a guy within a week, he made an appointment for an afternoon, he hadn't made it for 4.00, wife had to go to a funeral and we cancelled. 
We rescheduled for the morning, didn’t make it, mid day he called and said 2.00 pm, no problem, at 5.00 pm he called and said he was on his way and it would be 6.00, we told him to forget it. When we contacted tekka the tech laid it back on us, yes, we cancelled but only because he said he was busy and had difficulty in making the time. 

Not just the “rubber time” it’s the time they consider to be acceptable to show up - trades turning up at 5.00-8.00 pm in the “afternoon” for maintenance isn’t acceptable to me.

The oven went back the following week, the shop gave me a credit note and suggested another brand, do tekka care, I doubt it. 

[Kwasaki]

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Funny you should say that, I had a conversation about this with my Mrs and she said exactly the same, apparently you would not be late if you arrive before 10.00 ????.

My wife can always be late, now I'm retired doesn't matter what time, I'm here.

[djayz]

On 3/16/2021 at 11:29 AM, Dmaxdan said:

When you are dealing with Thai time you have to learn be patient.   

Very valid point, however, the flip side is: service companies dealing with paying customers need to be more "service oriented". By that I mean professional, reliable and punctual. 

[Surelynot]

Carefully and patiently......you never know when you might need them again.

[ChipButty]

Some Thai's would be late for their own funerals 

[Bangkokhatter]

Some call it Thai time like it's a perfectly reasonable excuse, what nonsense, it's disrespectful.

I won't accept a tradesman arriving late unless there is a phone call or i am home anyway, however he certainly would not get a tip.

At work i won't accept it either and i started to leave meetings or inform the tardy ones to leave if people were more than 15 minutes late without contacting someone first. Being late to a meeting is disrespectful to all others who managed to attend on time.

Now it's very rare colleagues are late for meetings and if they are, they always inform first.

[bkk6060]

Actually have had the opposite experience the past week 3 different service folks including aircon cleaning all on time.  My home country experiences are much worse then here they will tell you a block of time they will arrive such as between 1 to 5 pm.  Annoying how they always seem to arrive at the 5 o'clock hour.

[jvs]

When i make an appointment for some one to come to do something i always ask them jokingly if the time they say they are coming is Thai time or Farang time,they do understand.