A stark reminder of Thai "hospitality"

[bignok]

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Indeed the world has gone mad....    so many people have no understanding of basic issues and can't follow basic discussions - instead they dumb down and oversimplify things...

 

This thread is not about 'a pack of garbage bags'....  The thread is about a perceived lack of service provided which is juxtaposed to the general impression that service in Thailand is excellent.

 

Personally the 'whinge' is rather pathetic, but there a number of valid follow up points, discussing service standards here compared to the West, when it comes to personal treatment and professional response of staff etc and how that varies from company to company, region to region and also individual to individual. 

 

 

Thai waitresses stand near table, fill up glass. Westerners dont.

[EVENKEEL]

I bought 2 - 3" PVC couplings today that are too small, should I return them at MegaHome?

[kwilco]

Hardly "A stark reminder of Thai "hospitality"- it is however a familiar example of someone's first experience of customer service in Thailand.

 

Although it has undoubtedly improved over the last 3 decades, there is still a big gap between Thai CS and what we have come to expect in the West - especially in EU where there is comprehensive legislation that covers consumer rights.

 

Thailand still clings to "caveat emptor".

 

People, when they come to Thailand are at first beguiled by the cheap prices and apparent service that is the result of high numbers o staff, who are paid a pittance. But when it comes to fixing real problems or refunding money they are still in the dark ages.

However this doesn't mean you can't get. result - whether we are talking big or small, if you have the right attitude, you can normally get a satisfactory result.

 

The OP is a classic example of a foreigner who doesn't understand Thai culture and has tried to apply his own western preconceptions on a bemused Thai vendor who in the end became grossly offended by is gauche behaviour.

 

 

 

 

[kwilco]

15 minutes ago, bignok said:

Thai waitresses stand near table, fill up glass. Westerners dont.

Actually that is a practice gleaned from American and French restaurants back in the day. THis is typical of a myth of service that comes from paying staff very little money - it really isn't genuine CS.

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

It's a great country that has people in it that don't belong. Some of them are in high places and need to be removed permanently, just like here. The country is for the people, not the rich who rape it for profit. The only way a country will survive is to rid it of the ones that don't belong there in the first place. Laws are necessary because a lot think they can do whatever they want with no repercussions. Sadly, many of these are rich and with that money have power. Power corrupts, but power can be destroyed.

I am not knocking America or Americans, just stating the facts. It may be due to individual states, counties and municipalities having the freedoms to enact their laws as well as the federal laws. I am not sure if it has anything to do with people that "don't belong" or the abuses of the rich and the powerful, but someone in Massachusetts thought that consenting adults sleeping together naked in a hotel was so heinous that it needed legislating against.

 

Back on topic, a branch of 7-eleven being unable to allow goods to be exchanged rather than refunded is a very, very poor metric for assessing convenience store customer service, let alone the whole nation's hospitality. But well done to the OP for wringing a 13-page Thai bash out of his weird, personal shopping experience (if it ever happened).

Edited September 12, 2023 by NanLaew

[Joebuzzz]

On 9/10/2023 at 10:44 AM, 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.

 

 

I'm actually laughing.  Almost 70 and I've NEVER returned anything to a convenience store.  Since I shop on a scooter now, my buying is different than back in the USA.  HOWEVER, we're you, at some point going to stop using trash bags?  I used to buy the 300 pack at Sam's Club. I used to buy 24 rolls of TP too, because I've always known whe I no longer need TP, I won't worry about how many rolls I've left to "posterity"

Edited September 13, 2023 by Joebuzzz
rephrase.

[newnative]

12 minutes ago, Joebuzzz said:

I'm actually laughing.  Almost 70 and I've NEVER returned anything to a convenience store.  Since I shop on a scooter now, my buying is different than back in the USA.  HOWEVER, we're you, at some point going to stop using trash bags?  I used to buy the 300 pack at Sam's Club. I used to buy 24 rolls of TP too, because I've always known whe I no longer need TP, I won't worry about how many rolls I've left to "posterity"

555  Or, did you mean 'posterior'?

[Joebuzzz]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

555  Or, did you mean 'posterior'?

You WON!

[bignok]

On 9/11/2023 at 3:59 PM, TigerandDog said:

Your actions were to a degree ignorance on your part. You should have accepted the refund when it was offered and then gone and purchased the items you wanted. That would have solved the problem for everyone and you wouldn't have had the need to post this rubbish and waste everyone's time over your lack of thought process.

Yeah but everyone needs something to whinge about

[transam]

3 minutes ago, bignok said:

Yeah but everyone needs something to whinge about

They do, how strange, try a relaxing hobby..................????

[Ralf001]

On 9/11/2023 at 1:58 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

It would have to register at the till as being sold .

Scan the item and receive payment and then the item has been sold , it would mess up their stock records if the item wasn't scanned and their till records would show the new taken item as being in stock and the bin bags as not being in stock 

Correct, the OP aint real bright but amusing he kicked the toys outta the pram.

 

He should have remained calm and accepted the monetary refund which the cashier was correctly trying to do.... then buy what ever it was he/she was trying to exchange for.

[FalangJaiDee]

Nope, you’re just oblivious to Thai culture. Doesn’t matter what you solipsistically perceive to be erroneous or ridiculous about thi culture, it just is.

 

By returning the trash bags, you’re (1) suggesting that something is faulty, (2) making them do extra things they may not know how to do, (3) making them do things they may not be permitted to do.

 

unless it was something expensive and genuinely faulty, I’d just let it go and keep the trash bags.