Thai Workers Are A Joke

[Brewster67]

I have never seen such aweful quality of workmanship as I have seen here in Thailand.

 

We just bought a new load of bathroom fixtures as the old ones were starting to look a bit tatty such as chrome starting to look aged.

 

The guy who fitted the new toilet has left out the wax ring because when he fitted it the water refused to drain out of the toilet for some reason. So he left it off and said call him if it leaks.

 

The guy fitting the shower tried to fit it so low that it would only be capable of showering an either very short person or a child.

 

Then we find out that there is only a 30 day warranty on the installation work..

 

The irony is that my brother in law is actually the regional manager for the whole northeast of Thailand for Homepro home installation department.

 

Oh and once again they left a terrible mess behind them which is a feature of all Thai workers, they never clean up their mess.

 

I remember having some work done on my house and they mixed cement directly on my tiled driveway and just left the detritus behind after them, I had to chip off all the hardened cement the next day and use acid to dissolve all the lime staining...

 

We had an extra window fitted in one of the back rooms, the father in law said he knew a couplke of guys who were window 'experts'. after fitting we couldn't open it, so we got a different guy who told us they had fitted the window upside down... He took it back out and refitted it right way up, but the renedering work around the window is so bad it looks like he was standing on the deck of a ship in a hurricane while rendering the edges.

 

If Thais arte seriously conscious of losing face, why do they leave such face-losing work behind them????

 

I have a list as long as my arm of other stuff, I would say 70% of work done by Thais is of very bad quality.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Brewster67

[JBChiangRai]

Welcome to Thailand, same sh?t, different day

[mikebike]

If you took the time to find workers who's did quality work rather than random suggestions,  you may have had a more positive outcome. 

[Brewster67]

11 minutes ago, mikebike said:

If you took the time to find workers who's did quality work rather than random suggestions,  you may have had a more positive outcome. 

This is Homepro.... Wouldn't you think the biggest company in Thailand that covers this industry would have done that work already?.. Meaning they vet the workers they send to install their goods.

[bamboozled]

Holy moly did this make me laugh. Sadly, spot spot on. You left out the part about them having to borrow your tools because they show up with only one flat-head screwdriver, heedless of the type of job. Um, no doubt there are some real craftsmen here. But they are always in hiding. My apologies to my brother and sister Thai folk. To be fair, if I had grown up here, I'm sure I would operate in the same manner. That is, it's a cultural phenom and not a genetic disposition. I will hazard that it's a feature of most every country with a hot climate like Thailand. Prob not the only factor but certainly part of it.

[Ben Zioner]

16 minutes ago, mikebike said:

If you took the time to find workers who's did quality work rather than random suggestions,  you may have had a more positive outcome. 

I agree, some guys  are good. Also never  ask anyone to do outside their area of expertise, the vast majority  of Thais have a very narrow spectrum of skills; and they will never admit they can't do properly something you asked them to do.

[JimTripper]

I lived in one place where the electrical outlets were all upside down.

 

It seems like Thais do a lot of stuff “backwards”. On the clothing rack when they hang the shirts, the hanger is always reversed the wrong way. It should be hanger closed hook side towards you as you browse. That way when you remove or the article to the rack it goes over the bar in and out easy, rather then under getting snagged on other clothing. Thais don’t get it, it’s always the wrong way.

 

Sometimes I think they want it to be difficult or wrong for some reason. Maybe to come back to fix it later, or more work for another guy later on??

Edited September 21, 2023 by JimTripper

[Gottfrid]

Just a lot of complainers again, with OP as the Top Dog. After 24 years in Thailand, I have never had a bad job done, and they have all cleaned up their mess after finished working. I guess it is up to us, as the people hire workers, to get the ones that actually do the job good.

[Brewster67]

7 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

I agree, some guys  are good. Also never  ask anyone to do outside their area of expertise, the vast majority  of Thais have a very narrow spectrum of skills; and they will never admit they can't do properly something you asked them to do.

I agree, some ARE good, but the vast majority are bad... based on my own experience I would say 70% are chancers...

 

I come from the UK where there are lots of training programs for the basic trades with oversight and certification. In fact I don't think you can work on someone's property without the necessary certification.

 

Here in Thailand I don't think any such thing exists, I don't think there is any certification or regulation covering trades skills. Colleges and universities are everywhere here, but none for trades it seems.

 

Most people working in construction here are basically rice farmers working to earn some money outside the planting and harvesting season, especially here in the northeast.

 

Every time we need some work done, my heart sinks.

[bob smith]

Thai workmanship is shoddy on a good day, downright awful on a bad. 

[Brewster67]

3 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Just a lot of complainers again, with OP as the Top Dog. After 24 years in Thailand, I have never had a bad job done, and they have all cleaned up their mess after finished working. I guess it is up to us, as the people hire workers, to get the ones that actually do the job good.

I would say you are 100% lying and I think most people reading your BS knows you are lying... I bet plenty on here have had the same experiences as me... NOBODY on here has had your 100% perfection record.... Just read the other posts, they are all lying????.... Nope.... YOU ARE.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Brewster67

[2baht]

23 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

This is Homepro.... Wouldn't you think the biggest company in Thailand that covers this industry would have done that work already?..

Not necessarily!

[Gottfrid]

6 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

I would say you are 100% lying and I think most people reading your BS knows you are lying... I bet plenty on here have had the same experiences as me... NOBODY on here has had your 100% perfection record.... Just read the other posts, they are all lying????.... Nope.... YOU ARE.

So, you are accusing me to be a liar? Must feel very comfortable behind the keyboard. I am gonna tell you one time. I am not lying. hopefully you get that.

[Celsius]

Many Farang mugs who buy a condo in Thailand don't have a clue that it only comes with a 1 year warranty. The one and only reason for this is the shoddy quality.

 

Me and wife have been renting a "Luxury" Ananda (sue me) condo for 3 years. We moved in when the condo was brand new. After 1 year the floor tiles were getting wet and damaged. It turns out the whole bathroom was misaligned and the water from the shower was leaking into the bedroom damaging both the walls and the floors. The landlord (from Taiwan) had to spend tens of thousands of baht to destroy all the "luxury" bath marble and fix the shower flooring. The walls (literally) and windows leak every time there is a heavy rain. The aircon just died after only 3 years. The built kitchen stuff is low quality.

 

Who buys this junk?

[recom273]

50 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

If Thais arte seriously conscious of losing face, why do they leave such face-losing work behind them????

 

The answer to the problem is do the work anyway and say, as you pointed out "any problems give me a call" - the saving face factor is not picking up the telephone when you want them to come back to the job to sort their bad work out.

 

As I'm currently building, I just have to tell myself - some of these guys left school at primary school, a lot can't read or write, when you see their homes, they are combination of cinder blocks and corrugated zinc, they throw their M150 bottles out the window at home, and they get paid 450B daily which they live on until the next days pay - they dont know any better.

[marin]

1 hour ago, Brewster67 said:

The irony is that my brother in law is actually the regional manager for the whole northeast of Thailand for Homepro home installation department.

With a contact like that why are you complaining to people you dont even know. Get on the phone to him and document each and everything you have complained about here. Seems much more practical. 

[JBChiangRai]

8 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Who buys this junk?

Apparently you did

[JimTripper]

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Apparently you did

No, he is renting!

[impulse]

24 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

I come from the UK where there are lots of training programs for the basic trades with oversight and certification. In fact I don't think you can work on someone's property without the necessary certification.

 

Here in Thailand I don't think any such thing exists, I don't think there is any certification or regulation covering trades skills. Colleges and universities are everywhere here, but none for trades it seems.

A UK tradesman wouldn't even get out of bed in the morning for what HomePro probably paid your guys for a whole day of work.  Maybe even a whole week.

 

 

[khunjake]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

Welcome to Thailand, same sh?t, different day

Exactly! ????

[fredwiggy]

I have had a couple of workers come to the house and do very good work. The builder though, he was a total waste. I had to re paint the whole house less than a year later. Cracks in the walls from shifting, the water pump for the well died in the same year. One electrical outlet in the kitchen was built into the wall, meaning I can't replace it without cutting the outside edges away, unlike back in the US where you can replace an outlet in a matter of minutes just by removing the face plate, then the outlet wires. When you touch the microwave or toaster, you get a small shock (ground problem). Two of the  doors from settling won't completely close. The ceiling molding has fallen in three rooms, so I had to replace them. The sheet rock fell in 6 places, needing replacement of wood instead. Moisture from the air. The bathroom toilets stopped working and leaked, replaced. The pipe from the kitchen sink ran through the wall, then turned outside, and got clogged where a snake didn't work. Had to have a man come out and re position the pipe straight to the outside. The windows, sliding, had bugs go under the window and get in, so I put screens in, and they still got under, so I had to, for now, use clear tape to seal the sides and bottoms. If this happened back home, he wouldn't get another job. Here, it's mai pen rai, but not to me.

[Mavideol]

48 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

This is Homepro.... Wouldn't you think the biggest company in Thailand that covers this industry would have done that work already?.. Meaning they vet the workers they send to install their goods.

had 2 doors installed by one of their installers, it took the guy 9 hours to install 2 doors, and they still not working properly, trying to make them fit he cut off/chiseled the frame damaging it and still walk away without completing the job, the frame has been there for quite some time and had doors on it that worked fine but were quite odd looking thus the reason to change, went to Home Pro and ????..... amazing thailand

[RanongCat]

My experience from 20 plus years in Thailand is that no matter the result is often determined by the level of mutual respect between worker and payer. If a naive foreigner accepts the suggestion to employ people without some assessment of experience or examples of capacity then up to them. Worst scenario is employing  family or friends of . Installs by contracted individuals to major retail sellers no different. Suggest discount because will/already have "installer" and see what reaction ! Work out why if you  need to !

Thai workers/ trades people/small business people of Thailand have personal pride and if you genuinely acknowledge that and encourage it instead of constant demeaning either behind or in face which is noted either way the outcome may be much improved !

 

 

[pseudorabies]

The wife and I recently had a new kitchen installed by contractors working for a large home improvement store that wasn't HomePro.  We had bought an induction cooktop and the workers refused to install it according to the manufacturer's recommendations.  Even after printing out the installation manual in Thai and showing it to them they insisted on installing it their way.  The manual called for placing the cooktop glass directly on the countertop.  They insisted that the glass wasn't strong enough and that the metal subframe that covered the electronics should carry the weight. I even showed the workers pictures of installed cooktops in showrooms and from the interwebs but they wouldn't budge.  I had to get their supervisor on site in order to have them (grudgingly) install it correctly.  Even the supervisor warned us about putting anything too heavy on the cooktop.  He evidently doesn't know that glass is often stronger than steel.  

 

What I learned from all this is that for Thai workers "the easy way is the correct way"

[RanongCat]

8 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I have had a couple of workers come to the house and do very good work. The builder though, he was a total waste. I had to re paint the whole house less than a year later. Cracks in the walls from shifting, the water pump for the well died in the same year. One electrical outlet in the kitchen was built into the wall, meaning I can't replace it without cutting the outside edges away, unlike back in the US where you can replace an outlet in a matter of minutes just by remov ing the face plate, then the outlet wires. When you touch the microwave or toaster, you get a small shock (ground problem). Two of the  doors from settling won't completely close. The ceiling molding has fallen in three rooms, so I had to replace them. The sheet rock fell in 6 places, needing replacement of wood instead. Moisture from the air. The bathroom toilets stopped working and leaked, replaced. The pipe from the kitchen sink ran through the wall, then turned outside, and got clogged where a snake didn't work. Had to have a man come out and re position the pipe straight to the outside. The windows, sliding, had bugs go under the window and get in, so I put screens in, and they still got under, so I had to, for now, use clear tape to seal the sides and bottoms. If this happened back home, he wouldn't get another job. Here, it's mai pen rai, but not to me.

Did you ever get your hands dirty when observing shortcomings of workers  or bend your back at all? Oh ! Never there to observe ? If you were a Thai  you would be there like a hawk or working with !

[RanongCat]

4 minutes ago, pseudorabies said:

The wife and I recently had a new kitchen installed by contractors working for a large home improvement store that wasn't HomePro.  We had bought an induction cooktop and the workers refused to install it according to the manufacturer's recommendations.  Even after printing out the installation manual in Thai and showing it to them they insisted on installing it their way.  The manual called for placing the cooktop glass directly on the countertop.  They insisted that the glass wasn't strong enough and that the metal subframe that covered the electronics should carry the weight. I even showed the workers pictures of installed cooktops in showrooms and from the interwebs but they wouldn't budge.  I had to get their supervisor on site in order to have them (grudgingly) install it correctly.  Even the supervisor warned us about putting anything too heavy on the cooktop.  He evidently doesn't know that glass is often stronger than steel.  

 

What I learned from all this is that for Thai workers "the easy way is the correct way"

That does not sound/read  true !  How would it be possible to install a glass cooktop on the top of a counter ?  Do you suggest the plan was to  create a cutout of the counter in a way to support the  glass ?

[roo860]

29 minutes ago, impulse said:

A UK tradesman wouldn't even get out of bed in the morning for what HomePro probably paid your guys for a whole day of work.  Maybe even a whole week.

 

 

Obviously they wouldn't, 2 different countries with totally different pay scales.

[pseudorabies]

6 minutes ago, RanongCat said:

That does not sound/read  true !  How would it be possible to install a glass cooktop on the top of a counter ?  Do you suggest the plan was to  create a cutout of the counter in a way to support the  glass ?

OK.... I'll feed the troll

Note that the glass is above and in contact with the countertop.

[RanongCat]

Just now, pseudorabies said:

OK.... I'll feed the troll

Note that the glass is above and in contact with the countertop.

Given the designed zone hardening I would suspect a short life.!  Aesthetically quite nice though .

[fredwiggy]

20 minutes ago, RanongCat said:

Did you ever get your hands dirty when observing shortcomings of workers  or bend your back at all? Oh ! Never there to observe ? If you were a Thai  you would be there like a hawk or working with !

I wasn't here all of the time, and most of it came to be afterwards. Shoddy workmanship is rampant here, as I've heard from many, and now many more.