Frustrated with Pattaya beach deckchair businesses!

[jack71]

22 hours ago, Kinnock said:

A friend has the concession for deck chairs on Bangsaen beach.  He has to pay 5 million THB to the local government each year for one narrow strip of the beach, and he got no refund for when the beach was closed due to COVID.

 

It's his only business, so people paying to sit in his chairs is his only revenue, so I understand why he does not want to offer discounts.

And I suppose you also say the sand is laid with gold dust. 

 

I dont believe you at all. 5 million. you're having a laugh

[JimTripper]

They did not like you for some reason or the vendor was having a bad day.

 

If you have an unfinished beverage there the seat is typically free, even if your sipping it slowly. If your done with the drink and just sitting there you need to order another beverage.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Why would anyone assume that a beach chair business would offer free beach chair occupancy for longer than it takes to swig a few mls of coconut juice?

For the very same reason when we go to a restaurant we don’t expect to be told to get out as soon as we have finished eating.

The Op paid for a Coconut & Deck Chair usage... the vendors were being pushy and rude, there is no justifiable reason for their attitude towards the Op. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

The vendors have very specific areas in which their chairs and tables are allowed to be, why should you think that you can rearrange their tables into public or another vendors space?

The Op wanted to move the table next to him so that he didn’t have to sit bolt up right to take a sip of his drink - I think thats more than fair. No one else was there,  moving the table was not impeding anyone or causing a problem. The vendor was just being difficult. 

 

From this story it is obvious that the vendors have a poor attitude and looked for the problem with the Op rather than operating in a friendly manner and welcoming his return in future. 

 

This can be seen time and time again in areas which have a high footfall of foreign tourists. 

The attitudes of those working in ‘operations’ (I refuse to use the word services) which capitalise on getting money from tourist is often pushy, aggressive and rather unfriendly.....    

 

We see this particularly in areas of Pattaya, Patong and Chaweng, we see this with deck-chair vendors, with parking, with Jet-Ski’s, with SongTaews and Tuk-Tuks etc...  we see it in the nature of the vendors in the markets etc...  

 

When going to ‘regular’ areas of Thailand which are less reliant on foreign tourism we see a completely different attitude... Even those working tourist areas such as Hua Hin have a far more friendly attitude. 

 

One of the reasons I avoid Patong, Pattaya and Samui is that I find the attitudes of the people working there to be quite abrupt and impolite such that these are no longer the friendly places to visit. 

This is a stark contrast to those in areas such as Khao Yai, Chiang Mai and Rai and other areas where people are generally far more polite, easy going and help make going about daily activities enjoyable.

 

The Op encountered someone who was rude and pushy - this attitude can’t be blamed on the Op, he was simply dealing with people are used to being rude and pushy to tourists. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

moving the table was not impeding anyone or causing a problem.

Perhaps it was moved on to the patch of the neighbouring vendor.

[simon43]

1 hour ago, aussiexpat said:

So now you're saying you rented the chair. What a load of <deleted> as if you had rented the chair it would be for the entire day and they wouldn't have woken you up and asked you to leave after 45 minutes asleep

LoL, you're funny ????  Do you shout at clouds as well?

 

Why would a deckchair vendor want to kick out the only customer that they have?  Do you go into the empty restaurant or the one with happy customers?  Sorry, but I started thinking with common sense, which doesn't always work in Thailand ????

 

"

Perhaps it was moved on to the patch of the neighbouring vendor"

Nope, completely in the middle of their patch.

 

BTW, some of the vendors are absolutely fine and tell me that I can sit in their deckchair for free, even if I buy nothing from them (popular restaurant concept - see above).  I wouldn't dream of doing so, and it's a pity that 3 different deckchair vendors have a bad customer attitude, so that I won't bother with any of them in the future.  

[Kinnock]

So it's true, we are a bunch of self entitled whingers.

[aussiexpat]

Here's a tip, pay for the deck chair which is normally 50 baht for the entire day. Then order your coconut for 40 baht and take as long as you like to drink it. Saves you 10 baht and no self imposed stress caused by making your own deal that only you understand

[richard_smith237]

18 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

21 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

moving the table was not impeding anyone or causing a problem.

Perhaps it was moved on to the patch of the neighbouring vendor.

Possible....   But again, is that even the remotest of issues when the area is completely empty ?

 

The vendors were just unnecessarily pushy and rude. 

 

Any ’normal service minded person’ wouldn’t see moving the table as a problem.....  The vendor only saw this as a problem because (she) has an underlying dislike for the foreigners and was looking to be objectionable.

 

Again... some people are looking for the tiniest of excuses to justify or explain the Vendors pushy and rude behaviour, when really, this behaviour cannot be justified, but it can be explained by a poor attitude towards a foreigner (or perhaps the vendor is equally impolite to Thai’s).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

Here's a tip, pay for the deck chair which is normally 50 baht for the entire day. Then order your coconut for 40 baht and take as long as you like to drink it. Saves you 10 baht and no self imposed stress caused by making your own deal that only you understand

Then we will see a thread... where someone (similar to the Op) rents the deck-chair then at some point goes to the bathroom, then returns to his chair that he has rented for the day and the vendor tells him that because he left, he has to ‘re-rent’ the chair !!!...  

 

.....a hypothetical example of course. But... I use this example to highlight the unfriendly and poor nature of these vendors.

 

 

 

 

[aussiexpat]

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

Then we will see a thread... where someone (similar to the Op) rents the deck-chair then at some point goes to the bathroom, then returns to his chair that he has rented for the day and the vendor tells him that because he left, he has to ‘re-rent’ the chair !!!...  

 

.....a hypothetical example of course. But... I use this example to highlight the unfriendly and poor nature of these vendors.

 

What a load of made up <deleted>. I have used these chairs often and left for swim or toilet many times. You rent the chair for the entire day for 50 baht, every normal person understands that

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, simon43 said:

and it's a pity that 3 different deckchair vendors have a bad customer attitude, so that I won't bother with any of them in the future.  

Trouble does seem to follow you around the world though.

[Kinnock]

22 hours ago, Kinnock said:

A friend has the concession for deck chairs on Bangsaen beach.  He has to pay 5 million THB to the local government each year for one narrow strip of the beach, and he got no refund for when the beach was closed due to COVID.

 

It's his only business, so people paying to sit in his chairs is his only revenue, so I understand why he does not want to offer discounts.

OK ..... I checked with him to see if I'd remembered correctly, he said to buy the concession from an existing owner is from 5 million THB, but his annual fee is 500,000 THB per year.

 

So my mistake, but in mitigation the conversation was in Thai, so I only heard edited highlights.

 

He also said that the price of a chair is fixed by the government at 50 THB per day.

 

[simon43]

"

He also said that the price of a chair is fixed by the government at 50 THB per day."

 

Well if that's the case, and a coconut only costs 30 baht, then those vendors owe me a 20 baht refund, perhaps more for only occupying their deckchair for 45 minutes! ????

[aussiexpat]

3 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Well if that's the case, and a coconut only costs 30 baht, then those vendors owe me a 20 baht refund, perhaps more for only occupying their deckchair for 45 minutes! ????

That's what everyone's been saying, you made up some strange deal with them for 100 baht instead of just paying for the deckchair for full day and ordering the coconut

 

[richard_smith237]

14 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

What a load of made up <deleted>. I have used these chairs often and left for swim or toilet many times. You rent the chair for the entire day for 50 baht, every normal person understands that

Every normal person also understands that IF they buy a coconut from the vendor which includes use of the chair he’s not going to get kicked off the chair at the empty restaurant the moment he’s finished the coconut (or after 30 mins).

 

This is the whole point of the thread.....  Normal behaviour and what every normal person understands. 

 

These vendors operated outside of normalcy with their rude behaving. 

 

 

Now we have posters such as yourself ‘cherry picking’ normal - I used the ‘unrealistic example’ (of rending for a day and going to the bathroom) to highlight unreasonable behaviour, you agree that this would be so unreasonable it would not happen. 

 

What the Op encountered is also unreasonable, it ‘should not’ have happened..... 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

17 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Well if that's the case, and a coconut only costs 30 baht, then those vendors owe me a 20 baht refund, perhaps more for only occupying their deckchair for 45 minutes! ????

That's what everyone's been saying, you made up some strange deal with them for 100 baht instead of just paying for the deckchair for full day and ordering the coconut

 

Nothing strange at all... 

 

He ordered a coconut and sat at the chair of the place he’d ordered it from. 

 

The Vendor was rude and pushy.....      Thats not the ops fault, there was no ‘strange deal’... he ordered something and sat to drink it, he was then rushed. 

 

This is just very poor behaviour of the vendor....  I’m surprised people are trying to find excuses for this impolite behaviour. 

 

IF the Op had simply rocked up and sat on a deck chair it would then be reasonable to expect the vendor to ask the Op for some payment to rent the deck-chair, but this is not the case. 

 

There is no excusing a the rude vendors behaviour - they were (she was) the type of character that looks to get pushy with tourists...  these same characters are always in these areas and are best avoided. 

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

54 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Nothing strange at all... 

 

He ordered a coconut and sat at the chair of the place he’d ordered it from. 

 

The Vendor was rude and pushy.....      Thats not the ops fault, there was no ‘strange deal’... he ordered something and sat to drink it, he was then rushed. 

 

This is just very poor behaviour of the vendor....  I’m surprised people are trying to find excuses for this impolite behaviour. 

 

IF the Op had simply rocked up and sat on a deck chair it would then be reasonable to expect the vendor to ask the Op for some payment to rent the deck-chair, but this is not the case. 

 

There is no excusing a the rude vendors behaviour - they were (she was) the type of character that looks to get pushy with tourists...  these same characters are always in these areas and are best avoided. 

 

Don't go there, I saw stay dogs on the beach ! hahahahahaha....

 

 

[aussiexpat]

56 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The Vendor was rude and pushy.....      Thats not the ops fault, there was no ‘strange deal’... he ordered something and sat to drink it, he was then rushed. 

 

This is just very poor behaviour of the vendor....  I’m surprised people are trying to find excuses for this impolite behaviour. 

 

There is no excusing a the rude vendors behaviour - they were (she was) the type of character that looks to get pushy with tourists...  these same characters are always in these areas and are best avoided. 

How quick are you to label the vendor rude and pushy. You weren't there so why so quick to take Falang side.

 

Normal is to buy a chair and order drink or food. He did something different and wasn't happy with his supposed deal which he said was in Thai. Maybe his Thai is bad which explains the confusion?

[simon43]

12 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

How quick are you to label the vendor rude and pushy. You weren't there so why so quick to take Falang side.

 

Normal is to buy a chair and order drink or food. He did something different and wasn't happy with his supposed deal which he said was in Thai. Maybe his Thai is bad which explains the confusion?

I have an MA in Thai from Chulalongkorn University ????  My Thai is pretty good.

 

I never realised that asking the vendor how much his coconut drink is, and then asking if the chair is free if I buy his drink would cause so much confusion. These vendors must have pretty small brains!  But if I follow your advice and book the chair for the whole day and then buy a drink, might the vendor stop me from leaving early?  After all, empty chairs don't encourage new customers.  He might force me to sit all day on his chair......

[aussiexpat]

2 minutes ago, simon43 said:

But if I follow your advice and book the chair for the whole day and then buy a drink, might the vendor stop me from leaving early?  After all, empty chairs don't encourage new customers.  He might force me to sit all day on his chair......

Just goes to show how deluded you are thinking the whole world revolves around you. 

 

Just buy the chair for the day, have a coconut drink and leave whenever you like without thinking you are smarter than everyone else by making a different deal

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I have an MA in Thai from Chulalongkorn University ????  My Thai is pretty good.

 

I never realised that asking the vendor how much his coconut drink is, and then asking if the chair is free if I buy his drink would cause so much confusion. These vendors must have pretty small brains!  But if I follow your advice and book the chair for the whole day and then buy a drink, might the vendor stop me from leaving early?  After all, empty chairs don't encourage new customers.  He might force me to sit all day on his chair......

I had to read your OP couple of times...

Seriously ...you speak excellent Thai? and with almost 16k posts would/should be very familiar with Thailand.

However seems the opposite to me. 

 

[Hummin]

8 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I had to read your OP couple of times...

Seriously ...you speak excellent Thai? and with almost 16k posts would/should be very familiar with Thailand.

However seems the opposite to me. 

 

He is doing them a favor you understand. Same as one I sitting next to in a bar, buying a lady quite a few drinks, and then got offended when she wanted 2k for short time. He said to her, she was not worth that much. Nice guy huh

[simon43]

10 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I had to read your OP couple of times...

Seriously ...you speak excellent Thai? and with almost 16k posts would/should be very familiar with Thailand.

However seems the opposite to me. 

 

Oh, I'm familiar with the scams that some vendors try to pull.  Which is why I challenge them every time they try it on with me ????  

[simon43]

So let's summarise all this.  It was actually my fault for not asking the vendor the right questions ????  Although I only wanted to relax for about 45 minutes, I should have indicated that I wanted to rent the chair for the whole day.  I shouldn't have mentioned any coconut drink until I had sat down.  I shouldn't move the small table and I should pay and make a run for it if I want to leave early.  That's all clear now, thanks!

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, simon43 said:

Oh, I'm familiar with the scams that some vendors try to pull.  Which is why I challenge them every time they try it on with me ????  

Funny, I never have an issue.

I certainly don't do "deals".

The vendors have a tough gig.

Just last weekend at Bang Saen beach. 

Lovely bloke where we sat for 3 days. 4 adults 2 kids so 300baht per day. 

Had couple of heavy rain/wind periods. 

Our hotel opposite had a closed down open air restaurant (covid victim).

The vendor carried all out food over the road when storm hit.

We booked the same set of chairs tables for the 3 days and he kept them for us as we left and returned. 

I have same set up in Pattaya and that family know us. 

We get treated great.

There are customers and customers.

Clip from last Saturday. 

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J7i3egArErXFUJZg7

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, aussiexpat said:

How quick are you to label the vendor rude and pushy. You weren't there so why so quick to take Falang side.

 

Normal is to buy a chair and order drink or food. He did something different and wasn't happy with his supposed deal which he said was in Thai. Maybe his Thai is bad which explains the confusion?

Not just me... the Thai Army got involved too... 

The Deck-Chair vendors have caused numerous problems over the years...  (see links below), they fight each other, they fight customers....  in general they are not exactly ’service minded’.

 

Has the Op got a reputation for being impolite and pushy ??

 

The question should really be asked - why do you choose to not believe the Op ???.... 

 

This ‘normal' of yours is just strange....  the Deck Chair vendor was rude and pushy - why wouldn’t they allow the Op to sit on their chair when he orders something ???

 

Whenever I have been to restaurants at the beach I don’t have to pay for the deck-chairs then order food separately.

 

IF the Op agreed 100 baht for a Chair and a Coconut then that is what the vendor agreed to... thats it. The vendor got rude and pushy when she had no reason to... no reason whatsoever, she’d already had 100 baht off the Op..

 

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/beach-chair-vendors-in-pattaya-shut-down-after-video-of-pushy-business-owner-goes-viral

 

 

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/pattaya-beach-vendors-suspended-for-fighting-376873

[2009]

On 5/13/2022 at 2:00 PM, Denim said:

Ah.....I think I'll nip down Ladbrokes and see what odds I can get on you remaining there for more than 6 months .

The only worse place than Pattaya is Isaan.

 

Well, maybe Central Thailand, then Isaan.

[The Hammer2021]

50 Euros an hour for deck chair hire in Greece

 

https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1610270/travel-news-tourists-bill-greek-restaurant-two-drinks-snack

Perhaps  the Cheap Charlies who infect the Pattaya beach road should take on big Greek waiters not little Thais LOL

[The Hammer2021]

2 hours ago, 2009 said:

The only worse place than Pattaya is Isaan.

 

Well, maybe Central Thailand, then Isaan.

I'm sure they love you too

[JimTripper]

If you are not Thai do you really want a chair at all?

 

Sit on the sand, take off your shirt, get a tan and pretend you are in Hawaii. Nothing wrong with that.