A simple transaction?

[sqwakvfr]

I have been working out at an above average gym located in a below average hotel for the past two years.  So far, so good until today.  My current membership expires today and I went to the hotel cashier to pay for a few more months.  

I presented my gym member card which has my name, member number and photo.  The cashier looked at the card and said “what is your room number”?  I was not surprised by this because this cashier has only seen me coming into the hotel for the past two years.  I replied I am a gym member and not a hotel guest.  I then told him I would like to pay my membership fee.  This caused a literal “five alarm fire”.  The cashier then said “moment” and had about a five minute huddled meeting with the hotel manager and reception staff. The cashier then returned and said “bring gym manager. “. I went up to gym and asked the clerk for the manager.  The gym manager was not in today and the gym clerk did not know when he would return.  

 

I went back down to the cashier and told him I could not find the gym manager.  The cashier said “you come back with gym manager and pay”.    So now it appears at this hotel gym fees have to paid to the cashier with the presence of the gym manager only.  Okay I did not know this and learned something today.  I read a few days ago Thailand was one of the global leaders in digital payments.  Well not today and not at his hotel.  The initials of this hotels are Orchid.  As usual I as the foreigner was wrong for tying to pay my fee before membership expires.  I failed to understand that the Gym manager has to watch as I pay the membership fee.  But if Thailand as a country that allegedly aspires to modernize like S. Korea, Japan or Singapore then this kind of practice has to end.  Just paying a simple fee or bill at times can be difficult when it does not have to be.  On the otherhand if Thailand ever becomes a modern and efficient country then many probably could not afford to visit or live her.e.  

 

[FritsSikkink]

If the cashier said bring the gym manager, i would have told him get him yourself.

[London Lowf]

35 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

As usual I as the foreigner was wrong for tying to pay my fee before membership expires.

I went to the phone kiosk at my local Big C to try to put credit on my phone for the monthly auto-renewal that was due in two days - they told me to come back in two days!

 

I went to the proper phone shop along the road and got it all sorted within a couple of minutes.

[amexpat]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

a literal “five alarm fire”

 

[novacova]

Maybe have a Thai friend call on your phone and ask to text payment code/ bank number? 

[sqwakvfr]

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Maybe have a Thai friend call on your phone and ask to text payment code/ bank number? 

Never made it to that step.  Not even suer they do online or every prompt pay.  Can’t get beyond “bring the gym manager”.  I failed to apply the 3 rules for life in LOS:

 

1. Do not be efficient

2. Do not have a sense of urgency

3. Do not be on time

 

 

[Dante99]

Some people are just magnets for "situations".

[novacova]

7 hours ago, London Lowf said:

I went to the phone kiosk at my local Big C to try to put credit on my phone for the monthly auto-renewal that was due in two days - they told me to come back in two days!

 

I went to the proper phone shop along the road and got it all sorted within a couple of minutes.

I do it in a few seconds loafing at home using the ais app that ties to the bank app. 
If problems occur with payments on anything, which is rare, then it’s most likely an error of yours truly 

[London Lowf]

1 minute ago, novacova said:

I do it in a few seconds loafing at home using the ais app that ties to the bank app. 
If problems occur with payments on anything, then it’s most likely the error of yours truly 

So, what was I doing wrong that the second shop miraculously circumvented?

 

And by the way, I tried to do it online and AIS refused both my VISA and MasterCard - the same as they did last year.

 

No other online retailer (Lazada, booking.com, Shopee) or bank (Krungsri) has a problem.

[novacova]

8 minutes ago, London Lowf said:

So, what was I doing wrong that the second shop miraculously circumvented?

 

And by the way, I tried to do it online and AIS refused both my VISA and MasterCard - the same as they did last year.

 

No other online retailer (Lazada, booking.com, Shopee) or bank (Krungsri) has a problem.

Are those Thai credit cards? If not then the problem is with the out of country banks. Use your Thai bank app or Thai credit card or cram ฿ in an orange box.

[sqwakvfr]

Well it took a 30 minutes of conducting a quasi interrogation of the gym manager but I now I know the real reason that this Simple Transaction could not be completed.  Here is the first reason:

 

1. “:Gym is now full”.  AKA no more gym membership signups.  Kind of strange because in the 12 hours the gym is open on average about 10 to 15 people workout there.  He knew I was not buying this.

 

2.  He then called the hotel manager and said “you no more”.  I believe he meant to say I was banned.  An actual reason for the banishment was not given but I think I know the reason why.

 

This gym’s annual membership is 18,000 and the six month membership is 9000.  At these prices I expected equipment that work and a clean bathroom and shower.  A few months ago the bathroom and shower were filthy and I asked everyday for 5 days straight to clean them.  On Day 7 I went direct to the hotel manager and complained about  the filthy conditions in the bathroom and shower.  By now the toilets were flitlhy and the shower had hair clogging the drains and the mildew on the shower curtain.  Hey TIT, right?  The hotel manager did the “ok” and gave me the “go way” hand wave.  

 

On Day 8 a janitor showed up and cleaned the bathroom and showers.  

 

The saga is now over and time find a new gym.  It is clear that I was wrong to complain about a filthy bathroom and shower for an expensive gym.  MY new motto is this:

 

1. Smile

2. Bow 

3. Walk Away

 

Of course this motto will not apply when it comes to Health and Safety.  

[Dante99]

6 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

“you no more”.

We can only hope.

[novacova]

32 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Well it took a 30 minutes of conducting a quasi interrogation of the gym manager but I now I know the real reason that this Simple Transaction could not be completed.  Here is the first reason:

 

1. “:Gym is now full”.  AKA no more gym membership signups.  Kind of strange because in the 12 hours the gym is open on average about 10 to 15 people workout there.  He knew I was not buying this.

 

2.  He then called the hotel manager and said “you no more”.  I believe he meant to say I was banned.  An actual reason for the banishment was not given but I think I know the reason why.

 

This gym’s annual membership is 18,000 and the six month membership is 9000.  At these prices I expected equipment that work and a clean bathroom and shower.  A few months ago the bathroom and shower were filthy and I asked everyday for 5 days straight to clean them.  On Day 7 I went direct to the hotel manager and complained about  the filthy conditions in the bathroom and shower.  By now the toilets were flitlhy and the shower had hair clogging the drains and the mildew on the shower curtain.  Hey TIT, right?  The hotel manager did the “ok” and gave me the “go way” hand wave.  

 

On Day 8 a janitor showed up and cleaned the bathroom and showers.  

 

The saga is now over and time find a new gym.  It is clear that I was wrong to complain about a filthy bathroom and shower for an expensive gym.  MY new motto is this:

 

1. Smile

2. Bow 

3. Walk Away

 

Of course this motto will not apply when it comes to Health and Safety.  

Your complaints may have gotten you booted. Other possibilities…some Thais are turned off by show-offs/desperate to be noticed, hairy unshaven and other minor things like being loud in a quiet setting, moving/pointing at objects with the feet may be taken offensively. Being appreciative and respectful of the hosts hospitality no matter what the conditions are, will definitely go a long way in these parts.

[Bill97]

Some people are just offensive.  Their attitudes can be seen from across the room.  Everybody wants them gone.

[sqwakvfr]

34 minutes ago, novacova said:

Your complaints may have gotten you booted. Other possibilities…some Thais are turned off by show-offs/desperate to be noticed, hairy unshaven and other minor things like being loud in a quiet setting, moving/pointing at objects with the feet may be taken offensively. Being appreciative and respectful of the hosts hospitality no matter what the conditions are, will definitely go a long way in these parts.

I shave, have short hair, even shower before i go to the gym.  I respect the right of others to  workout in peace. “Host hospitality”.? Never felt it.  I secure my phone in the locker and even wipe down the equipment after use.  

[sqwakvfr]

41 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

We can only hope.

“Touche”.

[Lemsta69]

43 minutes ago, novacova said:

Your complaints may have gotten you booted. Other possibilities…some Thais are turned off by show-offs/desperate to be noticed, hairy unshaven and other minor things like being loud in a quiet setting, moving/pointing at objects with the feet may be taken offensively. Being appreciative and respectful of the hosts hospitality no matter what the conditions are, will definitely go a long way in these parts.

Some hosts are just nasty miserable people and deserve a shouty hairy farang in their face ????

[nigelforbes]

The OP's bad, why he doesn't know these basics of everyday life here? ????

[nigelforbes]

Some years ago I bought insulation for my attic which cost around 30k or so. I also purchased an installation service for around 18k.

 

The installation was a disaster, I suspect the installer had never seen insulation before let alone installed it in an attic. I called the famous name home DIY store who sent out two inspectors and a refund was promptly agreed, I said I would do the job myself. Back in the store the refund was processed but it took quite a while and involved many group huddles, eventually cash was returned.

 

A couple of weeks later I made a largish purchase from the store and was asked for my membership number. I was surprised to see that my membership points balance was negative by a substantial amount, the combination of existing points plus those acquired from buying the insulation meant it should have been quite high. It turns out they had used the points to offset the cash refund, I scored them an A+ for creativity. 

[sqwakvfr]

11 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

The OP's bad, why he doesn't know these basics of everyday life here? ????

Basics of everyday life here?  Filthy bathroom and shower at a gym in this price range.  Got it and appreciate your wisdom.

[novacova]

5 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I shave, have short hair, even shower before i go to the gym.  I respect the right of others to  workout in peace. “Host hospitality”.? Never felt it.  I secure my phone in the locker and even wipe down the equipment after use.  

I wasn’t trying to imply to you anything personally because I wasn’t there so I don’t know, just trying to sight self awareness, small things do matter. I’ve noticed some foreigners that have been here in cm for quite some time and still don’t get it.

[sqwakvfr]

1 minute ago, novacova said:

I wasn’t trying to imply to you anything personally because I wasn’t there so I don’t know, just trying to sight self awareness, small things do matter. I’ve noticed some foreigners that have been here in cm for quite some time and still don’t get it.

Yes.  I encountered on recently at the same gym. He turned up the music on his phone to max volume.  I like music but not that loud.  All one can do is just deal with.  

[novacova]

1 minute ago, sqwakvfr said:

Basics of everyday life here?  Filthy bathroom and shower at a gym in this price range.  Got it and appreciate your wisdom.

…the OP chose the place, it’s on him to continue to do business there or not. Apparently he found the conditions acceptable and wanted to renew membership. Just the Basics…

[nigelforbes]

6 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Basics of everyday life here?  Filthy bathroom and shower at a gym in this price range.  Got it and appreciate your wisdom.

It was a joke, relax a little, life's too short.

[sqwakvfr]

6 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

It was a joke, relax a little, life's too short.

Sorry. No in a joking mood today.   In the end this is a private business that can decide who they let in or not.  The thing that irked me was the claim of “gym now full, no more membership”.  If the Gym Manager had just told me the Hotel Manager does not want me anymore and you should leave now.  I would have had no recourse but don’t give me a lame excuse about no more memberships.  After 2 years and spending over 40,000 baht at this gym this was disappointing. 

[novacova]

8 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Sorry. No in a joking mood today.   In the end this is a private business that can decide who they let in or not.  The thing that irked me was the claim of “gym now full, no more membership”.  If the Gym Manager had just told me the Hotel Manager does not want me anymore and you should leave now.  I would have had no recourse but don’t give me a lame excuse about no more memberships.  After 2 years and spending over 40,000 baht at this gym this was disappointing. 

Fortunately there’s no shortage of gyms in the city and you have many better options I’m sure.

 

A good clean large gym in santitham, corner of wiangbua & siritron. Among many others in the city 

[nigelforbes]

Just now, sqwakvfr said:

Sorry. No in a joking mood today.   In the end this is a private business that can decide who they let in or not.  The thing that irked me was the claim of “gym now full, no more membership”.  If the Gym Manager had just told me the Hotel Manager does not want me anymore and you should leave now.  I would have had no recourse but don’t give me a lame excuse about no more memberships.  After 2 years and spending over 40,000 baht at this gym this was disappointing. 

Excuses such as those as par for the course here, similar things exist at all levels. I went to pay my annual health insurance bill at my bank last week but the cashier said, "sorry, this bank doesn't pay CIGNA any more". Years ago I might have got upset about something like that, my bank can't pay a 125k bill to a major company, wot!  Instead I just smiled and told her I'd go to branch that did know how to pay the bill (the problem was that she didn't know but didn't want to lose face). At another branch the bill was paid, albeit they had to call head office which was no big deal. The point is, every day life in Thailand is littered with a myriad of these events, if you're going to live here you'll need to accept that and be prepared for them.

[TheAppletons]

On 12/1/2022 at 10:16 PM, sqwakvfr said:

Sorry. No in a joking mood today.   In the end this is a private business that can decide who they let in or not.  The thing that irked me was the claim of “gym now full, no more membership”.  If the Gym Manager had just told me the Hotel Manager does not want me anymore and you should leave now.  I would have had no recourse but don’t give me a lame excuse about no more memberships.  After 2 years and spending over 40,000 baht at this gym this was disappointing. 

  Might be just me but I interpret that as the two managers attempting to be polite to you, as opposed to just telling you that they're kicking you out of the gym.  Whatever the case, I've been in that gym and you can find better for less than what you were paying so there's that.

[roo860]

21 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Well it took a 30 minutes of conducting a quasi interrogation of the gym manager but I now I know the real reason that this Simple Transaction could not be completed.  Here is the first reason:

 

1. “:Gym is now full”.  AKA no more gym membership signups.  Kind of strange because in the 12 hours the gym is open on average about 10 to 15 people workout there.  He knew I was not buying this.

 

2.  He then called the hotel manager and said “you no more”.  I believe he meant to say I was banned.  An actual reason for the banishment was not given but I think I know the reason why.

 

This gym’s annual membership is 18,000 and the six month membership is 9000.  At these prices I expected equipment that work and a clean bathroom and shower.  A few months ago the bathroom and shower were filthy and I asked everyday for 5 days straight to clean them.  On Day 7 I went direct to the hotel manager and complained about  the filthy conditions in the bathroom and shower.  By now the toilets were flitlhy and the shower had hair clogging the drains and the mildew on the shower curtain.  Hey TIT, right?  The hotel manager did the “ok” and gave me the “go way” hand wave.  

 

On Day 8 a janitor showed up and cleaned the bathroom and showers.  

 

The saga is now over and time find a new gym.  It is clear that I was wrong to complain about a filthy bathroom and shower for an expensive gym.  MY new motto is this:

 

1. Smile

2. Bow 

3. Walk Away

 

Of course this motto will not apply when it comes to Health and Safety.  

Just walkway, don't bother with the other 2.