A stark reminder of Thai "hospitality"

[ericthai]

9 hours ago, mike111 said:

For the kind souls who've decided it was an impulsive buying for something I didn't need: I planned to use the bags (as a protection some items) but eventually managed without them. Nothing impulsive.

 

Anywhere in the world I've been to, and I've been around, a shop would gladly exchange an item if it's unopened and a receipt is provided. I didn't ask for a refund, just to exchange for something else. Why is this considered "bothering" the shop staff is beyond comprehension.

 

 

This isn't any place in the world, this is Thailand and it seems you made someone in 7-11 loose face.

Most likely the 1st girl didn't understand you and just said "yes", like what is done so many times in Thailand,

 

 

[JimTripper]

16 minutes ago, ericthai said:

This isn't any place in the world, this is Thailand and it seems you made someone in 7-11 loose face.

Most likely the 1st girl didn't understand you and just said "yes", like what is done so many times in Thailand,

 

 

More like they made themselves loose face. You don’t even need to say anything, that’s how fragile they are.

[FritsSikkink]

10 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

I lived there 62 years, and never whined about anything. It's a much better place to raise children

Sure, no mass murders at schools at all.

[FritsSikkink]

41 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

More like they made themselves loose face. You don’t even need to say anything, that’s how fragile they are.

Anyone who feels the need to return bin bags which is an item you will always need in the future shouldn't be criticizing anyone.

[bignok]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

More like they made themselves loose face. You don’t even need to say anything, that’s how fragile they are.

20yo women talking to grumpy 60yo man

[save the frogs]

12 hours ago, mike111 said:

1. A reminder that foreigners are welcome in Thailand only while they're walking ATMs. If you're actually asking for something back, well...good luck.

it's not a "Thais hate farang" issue. 

everywhere in the world, small shops have crappy refund policies. they don't like to give refunds.

need to shop in big stores for refunds without hassles.

 

[DavisH]

11 hours ago, bob smith said:

yep yep.

happens all the time here.

 

Worst hospitality in the asia-pacific region.

It's fake hospitality at best.

On yer bike Noddy....noone will miss you. 

[DavisH]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

More like they made themselves loose face. You don’t even need to say anything, that’s how fragile they are.

*lose.....

[bignok]

12 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I appreciate your honesty. Why are you here? Is it because it’s cheaper?

He spent 5 years in a town he hates. Pretty funny.

[kinyara]

Indians and Chinese tourist numbers increase - " No good for Pattaya, only spend in 7-11's "

Farang takes back a 100 baht packet of bin bags to 7-11 for exchange - " Thai customer service is terrible".

 

 

 

[tgw]

17 hours ago, mike111 said:

I bought a pack of rubbish bags at 7-11 yesterday. Didn't open it & had the receipt.

Went back to the same shop today, approached the staff at the entrance to show I came in with the item & asked if I could exchange for something else. She said yes.

 

Good, collected a few snacks and headed back to the cashier. Out of nowhere she says "cannot". Surprised I asked why and she replied "more than 1 day".

 

WTF. I bought a pack of plastic bags less than 24h ago, never opened the pack & cannot exchange ? I didn't even ask for a refund.

Then I insisted and told her that the other staff said this would be possible. The gates of hell then opened wide ensuing with swearing in Thai, angry faces and what not. Eventually she said "I give you money back". I said I can just get other items instead but she insisted I just get the money & leave the shop, as a punishment for my wrongdoings.

 

I left determined not to place a foot in that shop again.

 

Moral of the story:

1. A reminder that foreigners are welcome in Thailand only while they're walking ATMs. If you're actually asking for something back, well...good luck.

2. 7-11 has ridiculous unwritten (at least in English) policies. Caveat emptor.

no no ... you just met a Thai "Karen" (sorry to Karen people in the North).

Stupid people exist everywhere. Just ignore and move on.

[Nick Carter icp]

4 minutes ago, tgw said:

no no ... you just met a Thai "Karen" (sorry to Karen people in the North).

Stupid people exist everywhere. Just ignore and move on.

I would like to hear her side of the story 

[jacko45k]

Are you simply trolling here..... can't believe you tried to return something you bought the day before..?. Thailand is pretty solid on the 'no refunds' approach. 

[fredwiggy]

8 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Sure, no mass murders at schools at all.

True, but if you add the millions of children without fathers and girls who are taken advantage of from a very early age, you understand conditions which aren't safe for them here, along with the human trafficking that takes hundreds away from their families each year. Add to that a psycho policeman who killed 24 toddlers last year, and the thousands who are beaten and killed by sticks, machetes and knives yearly. A third of the child population that's raised by grandparents because of those absent fathers and moms who think they have to leave the village and go to a big city to work, paying more for rent than the profit they get from a city job, and only see their kids twice a year. I was in the US for 62 years, and never saw the violence you hear about in the news.This is the same as here, where, although there haven't been more then the one school mass murder, there have been many mass murders over the years here. The news doesn't tell much here besides snakes in homes, gold store robberies and road deaths.....................https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Thailand

[fredwiggy]

6 hours ago, bignok said:

He spent 5 years in a town he hates. Pretty funny.

It's called responsibility for my daughter, if you can understand that. I stay because I'm not prepared to start over again with her back home. If you don't have children, you can't relate, nor comment.

[fredwiggy]

7 hours ago, bignok said:

20yo women talking to grumpy 60yo man

You know, it's easy to notice, if you're an observant person, that you like to  dis foreigners. If you're a foreigner and not a local in drag, that doesn't look good to the rest of us. We have enough  US and Brit bashers here already. If you do it to troll, that's childish, arguing just for the sake of. But it's consistent, so at least you have that.

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, save the frogs said:

it's not a "Thais hate farang" issue. 

everywhere in the world, small shops have crappy refund policies. they don't like to give refunds.

need to shop in big stores for refunds without hassles.

 

Would point out 7-11 chain is as big as can be.

[BritManToo]

19 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

How could you doubt anything about anyone you don't know? Yes, I knew about Thai and it's ways, but came here to take care of my now ex wife and my daughter. Going back home to the US as soon as possible is because of seeing it more firsthand. It's not a good place for little, or for that matter, big girls. Thailand tries to learn from other countries for decades, and adopts some of their ways, but prejudice handed down from generations has slowed this progress. There's a reason thousands of locals have moved out and never came back. And it's not only because of money.

Would point out the west also has its problems. I'll including mass homelessness, rampant petty crime everywhere and out of control inflation.

 

I prefer it here.

[fredwiggy]

2 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

I would like to hear her side of the story 

So you would take a teenage girls story over an adult farang? If you read into his tale, you can see the only thing he said which might be construed as resistance is that he "insisted" because the first girl said it was okay. This, and what he tried to do, is far from unreasonable. He didn't need the bags, at this time, and just wanted to exchange for other items, not ask for a refund for a small priced item. There isn't a problem with this besides that particular store's return policy.                                                                           This isn't a story added to another post about Thai bashing. This is a legitimate beef that he came across yesterday and just wanted to vent about. Seeing that some of us believe him and some don't, there's that small possibility that some are wrong, and some are right. I go with him for the before mentioned reasons, that this happened to him, and he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, wanted to get a few items in exchange for something he paid for and didn't need, and the girl either didn't want to bother to exchange for him because he is a foreigner,  that she didn't understand the policy and how to do a refund, or that that store doesn't do refunds, when they originally told him they would.                                                                                                                                       Of course there are those that will disagree for any number of reasons, prejudice against farangs, ignorance of the 7-11 policies or lack thereof, arguing just to argue, thinking that this man is somehow cheap because he wanted a refund on a small item, or anything else they can come up with just to disagree.

[fredwiggy]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Would point out the west also has its problems. I'll including mass homelessness, rampant petty crime everywhere and out of control inflation.

 

I prefer it here.

I know all about it,I was there 62 uears in a few different states. But for me, it's home. Problems are everywhere, but what you consider to be home, is where you're comfortable.

[josephbloggs]

34 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

thinking that this man is somehow cheap because he wanted a refund on a small item, or anything else they can come up with just to disagree.

Yeah, no idea why anyone would think that. Everyone should be able to return tiny items when they later decide they don't want them. Bin bags, crisps, a bottle of water, ice cubes, just go back the next day and shout at them in English until they relent - perfectly normal and not cheap at all.

[newnative]

14 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Err might only be a few baht for bin bags but if you have a Bin that only fits a certain size bag. What good are they if they don't fit inside the bin? You would exchange them for the correct size your plastic bin uses. Not about the price.

     'Not about the price'.  It's all about the price--likely 100 baht or less.  Which makes the OP's rant so ridiculous.  He wants his measly 100 baht for his incorrect purchase, come what may.  'You would exchange them for the correct size...'.  Err, no I wouldn't--the thought wouldn't even enter my head.  I know because I bought the incorrect size for one of our small trash cans a few weeks ago.

     They're trash bags.  If they're larger than the bin size, you can still use them in the trash can--which I am doing with the ones I bought.  If they're too small, use them for other trash and then put them in the trash can.  They're trash bags.  Lots of uses. 

[fredwiggy]

9 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yeah, no idea why anyone would think that. Everyone should be able to return tiny items when they later decide they don't want them. Bin bags, crisps, a bottle of water, ice cubes, just go back the next day and shout at them in English until they relent - perfectly normal and not cheap at all.

Were you there? No, so you can't assume he was shouting. Act the part of an adult and give the man the benefit of the doubt. Read what he wrote and comprehend it. Don't pick it apart and assume. If you aren't sure, don't comment. The girl walked away saying okay, obviously she understood what he said, as many teenagers know some English here, much more than adults do. Insisting they do something which is reasonable isn't wrong. Complaining is how things are fixed, from a 7-11 return to the UN negotiating over policies and laws.

[bob smith]

9 hours ago, DavisH said:

On yer bike Noddy....noone will miss you. 

awww, another one who cant accept the truth.

[steven100]

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

It's called responsibility for my daughter, if you can understand that. I stay because I'm not prepared to start over again with her back home. If you don't have children, you can't relate, nor comment.

you really need to get a hobby .... 

[spidermike007]

16 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Can't think of any retail problems I've had since stopping buying Samsung products.

I love most Samsung products. Will never buy another Samsung TV, as they only make replacement parts for 36 months. Have had great luck with their phones, AC's and refrigerators. 

 

The Ultra 22 and 23 are likely the best cell phones on the planet. Leagues above Apple. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by spidermike007

[fredwiggy]

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

you really need to get a hobby .... 

Have many, most of which can't be done here. And what do others do here to stay busy? I know a lot of foreigners, and most of them go to bars almost daily. That isn't my thing. Temple visiting ended the first year, when you've seen many, especially the bigger ones, you've seen them all. Only one I'd like to see is Angkor Wat in Cambodia, someday before I leave here. If the beaches were closer, I'd be fishing there, but since I'm in Isaan, there isn't much to do here. Seeing the Hill Tribes around Chiang Mai are on the list before I leave, but that's just one more thing. Watching the rice grow isn't too inspiring, so what more is there here? Most Isaan cities all look the same. Same villages, same shops, same food.

[spidermike007]

15 hours ago, bignok said:

Your wife sounds a bit slow.

Ask any Thai how many times they have successfully returned a product. Not slow at all. Conditioned, yes. 

[Muzzique]

 

 

[Ralf001]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Are you simply trolling here..... can't believe you tried to return something you bought the day before..?. Thailand is pretty solid on the 'no refunds' approach. 

Ive had no issue returning items and getting a refund.

 

would not attempted it with some plastic bags at the 7/11 though.