1 hour ago, swm59nj said:

This survey appears to be based on tourist interaction with Thais working in tourism.  Of course they are going to be friendly and good manners. 
But actually living here for a period of time , one will see the reality.  

So true

What foreign tourists?

Not to be a negative Nancy but hunger and putting food on the table is a huge motivator for friendliness.

 

 Is it real or is it Memorex?

4 hours ago, daveAustin said:

As a tourist—despite propensity to be ripped off and the odd shady character—Thais in general are the best. We’ve always known this. It’s a shame this tinpot joke of a government feels the need to set up such loathsome self-congratulatory tat!

yep got as much chance being ripped off in Paris or london..but there were a few things in his list id dispute as satisfactory...but all in all OK

From my personal Pattaya experience, the Thais became more predatory in their interactions with us. Try to overcharge on every opportunity to compensate the lack of customers. These days, I try to avoid any contacts with them unless unavoidable.

Of course only those who have developed a fairly deep understanding of the Thai culture know that the Thai Face and the Thai heart can easily be at polar opposites.   Under that smiling and "friendly" face might be a big phuk you that the typical foreigner is unable to detect..

Im extremely happy and please with the friendly THAI people when they:

Hose me for a taxi ride in Phuket.

Hose me for a taxi ride in CNX.

Charge me double at the movie hose and national Parks.

Expect me to slip a few baht to the IO.

Not return my rental deposit because Im farang, but return when my wife gets after them.

Want a few baht to remove lock from my tire when parking, but no issue when my wife barks at them.

Try to charge me when sitting on the beach in Pattaya.

Try to scam me for jetski or motorbike rental, but back off when my wife chews on them.

NONE of this happens to me in Portugal.  

 

But most of all, I love listening to the Brits and Aussies bitch about it.

The reality is that Thai people are generally indifferent to each other and foreigners… when there is a need for contact I find the majority friendly and accommodating, like many places world wide. 
 

Thais are generally less confrontational which makes everyone a little more relaxed (except on the roads!!!!) 

 

The government… well, that’s a different matter… 

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

And what hurts most is the double pricing, particularly in hospitals where as a taxpayer I am singled out for higher pricing because I am supposed to be richer.

If you are a Thai taxpayer then surely you are entitled to Thai Social Security?

1. Airports
2. Public transport services
3. Visitor Centers
4. Sea/Beach Attractions
5. Eco-tourism
6. Historical Sites
7. Accommodation services
8. Restaurant/Food and beverage outlets
9. Merchandise/souvenir shops
10. Health care services
11. Tour guide services
12. Tour Guides
13. Thai People services
14. Thailand Tourism Directory website visitors
15. Thai Immigration

 

They should add Thai Immigration to that list... ????

3 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

They really seem to love surveys and polls.

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

Did they actually speak to people??? or are the results what results they would "like"

The Thais not living in tourist areas are great. Government, Police, and taxi drivers are not.

Generally speaking; in the 15 years or so i've lived here i've found most Thai people to be friendly if there is any reason for contact on a face to face basis.   This statement excludes anyone inThai Officialdom; apart from the lowest Office Girls.   The Nerks at Immigration at Airports just can't bring themselves to perform 'Service with a Smile' and are generally unwelcoming in their 'Superior Attitude', which seems to prevail with all Civil Servants higher than the Tea Lady or Office Cleaner.   It's this Cultural Junk that grooms them to believe they are 'Special' people and can look down on all others not of their 'Ilk'.   The more Senior Staff at Amphur's are from the same mould; indeed, any type of Government Offiice is where you will encounter this 'Attitude Problem'.

 

In the area of Shop and other Business Customer Service; most of the workers are just poorly trained or completely untrained.  Go into any Supermarket and ask to see the Manager about anything and 9 times out of 10 they won't be there because in Thailand becoming a 'Manager' doesn't mean they will have more responsibility and have to work harder than the rest of the Staff as we do in The West; in short the don't actually 'Manage' anything useful to Customers or Staff, they are just a Figurehead that everyone else has to cow down to.

 

Thai Banks i could talk about for a year but they must be the worst Managed. the most Corrupt and have the worst Service of any Banks on The Planet.....but that's a story for another day !

Didn't see a mention of high standard of service received from the Phuket Taxi's on that list.................

Well of course, they are on holiday and locals smiled  at them, they are not used to that in there home country. Ok 

Silly survey, however it's conclusion is correct. Thai people are friendly, more friendly than most nationalities in fact.

Yes, they aresole friendly (deliberate mispelling)! When, say in a restaurant, you complain about something, they just wai and smile.

5 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

They really seem to love surveys and polls.

The hub of all surveys, polls and other distorted information

19 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

Yes, they aresole friendly (deliberate mispelling)! When, say in a restaurant, you complain about something, they just wai and smile.

.... and walk away, never to return.

1 hour ago, trainman34014 said:

The Nerks at Immigration at Airports just can't bring themselves to perform 'Service with a Smile' and are generally unwelcoming in their 'Superior Attitude', which seems to prevail with all Civil Servants higher than the Tea Lady or Office Cleaner.   It's this Cultural Junk that grooms them to believe they are 'Special' people and can look down on all others not of their 'Ilk'.   The more Senior Staff at Amphur's are from the same mould; indeed, any type of Government Office is where you will encounter this 'Attitude Problem'.

I so agree with what you say here!  ????

 

There is also one of the big banks who think they are government as well and act accordingly. ????

First time I hear about so called "Eco-tourism" in a context of Thailand. How is that even possible?

8 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

I so agree with what you say here!  ????

 

There is also one of the big banks who think they are government as well and act accordingly. ????

This is also similar to attitudes found in the Indian Caste system. I think that much in Thai culture was imported from India with Hinduism/Buddhism.

3 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

This is similar to the Indian Caste system. Much in Thai culture was imported from India with Hinduism/Buddhism.

I could believe that.

Satisfied is about right. Everyone talks about how friendly and politeThais are.  Where tourist dollars are concerned, they should be friendly, their livelihood depends on it.  So from my insight, I would expect more than just "Satisfied."  I've been to other countries where "exceptional" is the word I'd use.

 

Outside tourism hotshots, Thais are just people.  They can be nice, they can be rude, they can ignore you.  Politeness seems to be just matter of fact, so makes the concept of politeness questionable.  

 

Take away the business aspect of it, and Thais are okay, which is about how I would sum up most people in the world.

8 hours ago, sikishrory said:

Strange headline. Seems to indicate there may be some kind of issue in this area.

 

They are trying their best (?) to rescue the destroyed tourism industry. On the same line, there have been lots of commercials about "Amazing Thailand" in international media these last few months, like sponsoring movie screening on TV channels etc.

All in all, Thais are okay. Better than the surly people at call centers and who staff stores back in the US. And even Thai Immigration beats dealing with government agencies like the IRS.  Thais always respond to your concerns and usually do so sympathetically.  But they just don't do anything to help solve the problems. 

Might appear to be friendly on the outside, but wait until you've lived here for a few years and then you will see it for how it really is.  Sadly, friendliness in Thailand is is generally very surface level and dose not often go beyond that. 

It's the land of smiles. Everybody is happy. Smiley face. No pollution, no corruption, no xenophobia, safe roads... Everything is just hunky-dory. Thailand number one. 

Ordinary Thai people are very friendly. However Thai government officials tend to be very rude, dismissive and very unhelpful, hey consider themselves superior to everyone because they hold a government paid position and they like to demonstrate their superiority by making people beg and squirm