Thai's Cutting In Line

[stupidfarang]

22 hours ago, JimTripper said:

Why would they be getting served first??

 

Maybe they figure I'm already committed to the transaction so payment is guaranteed, while the person just approaching is not so they get served first?? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Normal for staff to stop an start talking with another customer, normal to see 3 or 4 staff serving one customer, why? who knows.

[richard_smith237]

Just now, prakhonchai nick said:

Even worse, had it happen twice in Makro ,  customer in front - almost finished checking out, bill 3,000THB+, fishes out bags full of 5 and 10bahts!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Guilty as charged...    about 25 years ago in 7-11....

 

Over a couple of years a friend and I had amassed loads of 25 and 50 Setang coins, it seemed that it was only 7-11 who used these small coins (or of the places we shopped it was only 7-11)...

 

Friend and I went to 7-11...   selected some items.. he went first and handed a cup of these 25 and 50 Setang coins to the cashier.

The staff counted them out, adding them up and took the right amount.

 

Next was my turn, the 7-11 staff totted up my items, I then handed her a cup of these 25 and 50 Setang coins... without delay she said, thank-you, thats the right amount (or something to that tune) and just took the cup of change.

 

Giggles & smiles all around...   We were pratting about, they knew it, saw through it and 'won'...  a bit of a laugh all around (we were in their daily so had become familiar with the staff).

 

 

 

[prakhonchai nick]

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Yup... seen that happen... 

 

 

 

This has been debated quite a lot on this forum...  Its not any slower at all... Give it a try, once you are familiar with such payment methods you'll see how convenient it is.

 

Some will use the excuse, that it takes longer, but that just an exaggeration from those who don't like digital payments, perhaps because they don't like change or are uncomfortable with change.

... the reality is for most people, the phone is in hand and the App us running ready for the cashier to scan - its not slower than cash or credit card payment....  

 

Where it may be slower for people who are just disorganised and not ready to make the payment at the right time...  but, this kind of person is also the kind who doesn't have their wallet ready at the right time either and spends time digging for cash.

 

So no... Its not a 'mad' system.. its incredibly convenient...  

 

 

 

May well be quicker, if those paying using QR code know how to do it. In my experience many do not and have to enlist the cashiers help...........once having found their phone and turned it on!!!!!!!!!!

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

Normal for staff to stop an start talking with another customer, normal to see 3 or 4 staff serving one customer, why? who knows.

 

Very true....     Not too long ago, in the 7-11 I wanted a bottle of Gin...    I clearly wasn't doing a very good job of making myself understood, or the person I was dealing was not very sharp...  (I was speaking Thai)...

... Confusion ensued, the second member of staff, in the middle of serving another customer translated my Thai in Thai for the girl... who then tried to reach the Gin but couldn't, neither could the second girl, it then took a third girl to get the small stool thingy, to climb up and get the blue bottle of Gin...   

...  3 serving staff... 3 queues... two other queues left to wait while my boozy requirements we're met....

Everyone cool about it and smiles all around, but if you're in a hurry then someone breaking off in the middle of serving you could become irritating I suppose.... 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

May well be quicker, if those paying using QR code know how to do it. In my experience many do not and have to enlist the cashiers help...........

 

Thats a fair point....   as with anything new, there is a learning curve but I believe we are past that for the majority of society which leaves a few 'late adapters' who are new to Digital payment and may take time as they 'learn' how to use the system - I imagine the first few times I used digital payment I was slower....  now I find it much quicker than paying with cash.

 

As mentioned - when you are familiar with the system, its quicker...   But of course, there are times you could get stuck behind someone who is slower, just as we can get stuck behind someone who is slower to pay with cash or a card.

 

There will be the usual 'whatifery... i.e. what if the phone network is down, what if you're run out of credit, what if you have no battery etc... but thats all just, well.. its just 'whatifery' and can be easily countered... 

 

 

2 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

once having found their phone and turned it on!!!!!!!!!!

 

These are the exaggerations used by people who don't like such payment systems... 

'found their phone'....   'Turned it on'...   (people generally know where their phones are at all times and they are always turned on)..

 

That said, those very same people who take their time getting their phone out their handbag or wallet etc are the very same people to take their time getting their wallet or purse out...   the very same people who get to their front door before they start searching for their keys !!!.

[JimTripper]

26 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Very true....     Not too long ago, in the 7-11 I wanted a bottle of Gin...    I clearly wasn't doing a very good job of making myself understood, or the person I was dealing was not very sharp...  (I was speaking Thai)...

... Confusion ensued, the second member of staff, in the middle of serving another customer translated my Thai in Thai for the girl... who then tried to reach the Gin but couldn't, neither could the second girl, it then took a third girl to get the small stool thingy, to climb up and get the blue bottle of Gin...   

...  3 serving staff... 3 queues... two other queues left to wait while my boozy requirements we're met....

Everyone cool about it and smiles all around, but if you're in a hurry then someone breaking off in the middle of serving you could become irritating I suppose.... 

That's a bit different. The other customer is already engaged. It's not the same as someone coming up next to me and butting in while I'm talking or trying to hand over payment. Plus, the other customer is at the other till so I don't really care what they are doing, it's less personal.

 

Double the delay and I could care less typically, as long as they are out of sight and out of mind it's hunky dory.

Edited January 24 by JimTripper

[richard_smith237]

19 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

That's a bit different. The other customer is already engaged. It's not the same as someone coming up next to me and butting in while I'm talking or trying to hand over payment. Plus, the other customer is at the other till so I don't really care what they are doing, it's less personal.

 

Agreed..  I was responding to 'stupidfarangs' comment (quoted below) about how its normal for staff to stop serving you and start talking with another customer...  or sometimes 3-4 staff serving one customer while others are waiting.

 

45 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

Normal for staff to stop an start talking with another customer, normal to see 3 or 4 staff serving one customer, why? who knows.

 

 

The 'butting in' while you are in the middle of a transaction is rude in any culture - there is no excuse, it can also be insulting.

 

 

A friend of mine recalled a 'near fight scenario'  in Bangkok.....  He was in the middle of making his order (at a Sandwich shop) and a Thai guy walks in, pushes in front of him and makes his order...   

... my friend spoke up.... "excuse me, I'm here"... the guy responds.... "So what !!!"... 

 

My friend was dumbfounded...  I bit of an argument ensured... Turns out the Thai guy, fluent in English, believed that because he was Thai he had the right to go in front of a foreigner...      its difficult to respond to that sort of in the face eff you without responding in kind and telling them to get flooked...     

 

-----------

 

This reminded me of a story I'd forgotten...  with my Son in McDonalds in a mall in Bangkok (he was about 4 at the time)... queuing up... my turn... while ordering a Happy Meal a Thai guy walks in and blurts out his order while I am making mine....  the staff give him their full attention and start taking his order... 

... Stop, No !!... I'm ordering he can wait, and then there are two more people behind me !!!....     (I'm not sure how much of this was understood, but the point was made)...

... Staff take my order and the Thai Guy storms out of the McDonald's without ever making his order.

 

... My son and I sit down near the window and we eat our food, while doing so the Thai guy comes up to the Window and starts giving me the middle finger, both hands !!!...    he does in a very animated fashion... all very bizarre...   the open entrance to McDonalds is right next to us...

... I stand up (to go and get ketchup) and the guy s#its himself and runs off !!!.....   

 

I'm left with a element of concern wondering if someone so unhinged will return and escalate... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

 

 

 

A friend of mine recalled a 'near fight scenario'  in Bangkok.....  He was in the middle of making his order (at a Sandwich shop) and a Thai guy walks in, pushes in front of him and makes his order...   

... my friend spoke up.... "excuse me, I'm here"... the guy responds.... "So what !!!"... 

 

My friend was dumbfounded...  I bit of an argument ensured... Turns out the Thai guy, fluent in English, believed that because he was Thai he had the right to go in front of a foreigner...      its difficult to respond to that sort of in the face eff you without responding in kind and telling them to get flooked...     

 

-

 

   I would like to hear the Thai guys version of events . 

Was it a Subway sandwich shop ?

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   I would like to hear the Thai guys version of events . 

Was it a Subway sandwich shop ?

 

No... it was an ABP apparently.....    not sure what the Thai guys excuse was other than a sense of entitlement... 

 

Perhaps he'd been in 5 mins earlier forgotten something and popped back...  I've no idea, wasn't there.. but the story, as it was relayed to me was that the guy pushed in because he believed he could... my friend described him as a 'hi-so' Thai guy (rich Thai looking Thai guy).

 

As you mentioned - it would be interesting to get the other side of such stories just to find out what goes through the head of someone like that.

 

--------

 

A friends Wife parks her car wherever she wants... i.e. small road... stops the car outside a shop to nip in and blocks the traffic behind her which then has to go around into the on coming lane, if something is coming, they have to wait...

 

... I tell my friends missus, you can't stop here, you're blocking everyone...  the response... "So what ?"... 

 

I'm left dumbfounded while at the same time have been offered a greater understanding of some of the behavior here - perhaps is the same with people pushing in... the "So what" attitude.... 

 

 

 

[kennypowers]

Experienced this for years, usually in 7-Eleven, nearly always Thai men, and usually motorbike taxi drivers and alike. Staff would often point out I was first, but not always. Quite often the Thai was bemused, finding it strange that the foreigner should be given such a status. Now I speak enough Thai to politely state my case. Foreigners are second class citizens. 

[MrJ2U]

I don't notice up here in Issan.

 

Big problem with Chinese doing it though.  Rude as hell. 

[Yellowtail]

2 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

I don't notice up here in Issan.

 

Big problem with Chinese doing it though.  Rude as hell. 

I like when the Chinese do it

[Felton Jarvis]

4 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

the most common one is when someone comes into a 7/11 for cigarettes, bizarrely they seem to think because they only want cigarettes they can jump to the front of the queue.

 

and whats with this QR payment system, it's using technology to make a transaction slower, it seems a mad system.

I agree with you totally but I am unwilling to start a fistfight to resolve it. I will LOSE and we both know that.

[Felton Jarvis]

I am NOT going to get into an altercation over merchandise. I am not Thai or Chinese and I will LOSE this fight every time. Best to wait to get served and move on.

[Yellowtail]

5 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I am NOT going to get into an altercation over merchandise. I am not Thai or Chinese and I will LOSE this fight every time. Best to wait to get served and move on.

They see that, and that's why they do it. 

 

No one is going to kick your ash for speaking up when they try to cut the line. 

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

I agree with you totally but I am unwilling to start a fistfight to resolve it. I will LOSE and we both know that.

 

Do you believe speaking out against someone who is queue jumping will start a fist fight every time...  Sure there are cases where it can, but we can't all be shrinking violets.

 

I thank those who have gone before and dealt with such issues such that its still quite socially inappropriate to queue jump in Thailand... 

 

Just curious - why do you think you will LOSE if you speak out ????...     I suspect in the vast majority of cases the person queue jumping will shrink back after realising their bad manners - I guess it all depends how its handled... 

 

... i.e. Smile with a no-no matey... behind me... ....

 

---------

 

I recall going into a Petrol Station on a Road trip, I was somewhere near Tak...  I'd got petrol... and when inside the petrol station shop to buy something...  I was stood in a queue, one person in front of me and this Thai lad just walked up to the queue, I initially thought he was trying to 'get passed'... he stepped in front of me and stopped, it was then I realised he'd joined the queue in front of me (there were some people behind me)... 

.... I just tapped him on the shoulder, he looked at me and with my thumb I pointed over my shoulder to the back of the queue... No words spoken...  He moved immediately...      Either he knew exactly what he was doing or just had a total brainfart and didn't realise there was a queue behind the guy getting served !!....  regardless, no issues and in the vast majority of examples nothing more comes of it... even though I've given two examples in this thread where things potentially became heated.

 

 

 

[scorecard]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:09 PM, stoner said:

i used to let this happen when i first came here. now not a chance. i care not if it is an old or young person i call them out every single time. i find that younger staff are changing with this as well though. a few times i have had a younger thai tell a budding customer to wait as i was there first.

 

make your voice heard in these instances regardless of how thai feel. stand with your own convictions of what you feel is disrespectful.

 

this is plain rude no matter the culture or what the locals feel or believe. 

 

 

 

 

People cut the line in every country, get over it.

[Yellowtail]

Just now, scorecard said:

People cut the line in every country, get over it.

Not everywhere in every county. When I visit the US no one is cutting line in the places I go. 

[JimTripper]

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I recall going into a Petrol Station on a Road trip, I was somewhere near Tak...  I'd got petrol... and when inside the petrol station shop to buy something...  I was stood in a queue, one person in front of me and this Thai lad just walked up to the queue, I initially thought he was trying to 'get passed'... he stepped in front of me and stopped, it was then I realised he'd joined the queue in front of me (there were some people behind me)... 

.... I just tapped him on the shoulder, he looked at me and with my thumb I pointed over my shoulder to the back of the queue... No words spoken...  He moved immediately...      Either he knew exactly what he was doing or just had a total brainfart and didn't realise there was a queue behind the guy getting served !!....  regardless, no issues and in the vast majority of examples nothing more comes of it... even though I've given two examples in this thread where things potentially became heated.

Is it possible people are so stupid they don't even realize other people are waiting? 🤣

Edited January 24 by JimTripper

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

6 minutes ago, scorecard said:

People cut the line in every country, get over it.

Not everywhere in every county. When I visit the US no one is cutting line in the places I go. 

 

Exactly... go to Japan... No one cuts in line, at all... 

 

And what with this 'get over it' attitude ???..   seems some people are just 'door mats' and let people take advantage of them on a daily basis.

 

I'm happy if people speak out about such behavior when it does happen, it means there is less of it around which improves daily experiences for all of us.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Is it possible people are so stupid they don't even realize other people are waiting? 🤣

 

Unfortunately, I suspect it is... 

[StreetCowboy]

I think that Covid-19 made people much better at waiting in queues, and managing queues.

[StreetCowboy]

17 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Not everywhere in every county. When I visit the US no one is cutting line in the places I go. 

Back in the last millennium, when I was even younger than I am now, I formed the opinion that Germans did not queue as politely as British people.  But maybe they had different ways of figuring out how the queue was formed.

[stoner]

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

People cut the line in every country, get over it.

 

you happy to get all that off your chest? why don't you tell us how you really feel now. 

 

 

[spidermike007]

Always call them out, never let a single opportunity to go by to not call them out. Thais absolutely hate any sort of public display, argument or dissonance, so when you call them out they are embarrassed to death, and it makes a real impression. Use their obsession with face to make them look like the silly people that they are for ignoring a social convention, and being utterly rude.

 

Call them out every time. Raise your voice. Make a stink. Or allow yourself to get walked on like a dog. 

[scorecard]

40 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

you happy to get all that off your chest? why don't you tell us how you really feel now. 

 

 

 

I just don't let these things worry me, I spend my energies on my happy family, a lesson I learned 75+ years ago from my parents, but  each to their own. 

[georgegeorgia]

45 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Always call them out, never let a single opportunity to go by to not call them out. Thais absolutely hate any sort of public display, argument or dissonance, so when you call them out they are embarrassed to death, and it makes a real impression. Use their obsession with face to make them look like the silly people that they are for ignoring a social convention, and being utterly rude.

 

Call them out every time. Raise your voice. Make a stink. Or allow yourself to get walked on like a dog. 

Is it really worth it ?

Is it worth getting into a fight outside over 20 seconds of your time ?

They could pull a knife or have a mental problem and go off at you 

 

Some battles are worth fighting but thats not one of them 

[JimTripper]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Always call them out, never let a single opportunity to go by to not call them out. Thais absolutely hate any sort of public display, argument or dissonance, so when you call them out they are embarrassed to death, and it makes a real impression. Use their obsession with face to make them look like the silly people that they are for ignoring a social convention, and being utterly rude.

 

Call them out every time. Raise your voice. Make a stink. Or allow yourself to get walked on like a dog. 

You don't really gain anything by calling someone out. The damage is already done. It just prolongs the awkward interaction with someone you will likely never see again and probably don't want to know.

 

I suppose there is a small chance you could become friends with your neighbor or something, or help change society, or an apology or backoff makes things better. More power to you if you can twist things that way.

Edited January 24 by JimTripper

[still kicking]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Not everywhere in every county. When I visit the US no one is cutting line in the places I go. 

I don't agree with you often, but you are correct, and no I don't live in the US or your city but if I do my shopping in my supermarket and I have a lot of items I let the person behind me who has just a few items go before me and no I never seen somebody cutting the line.

[stoner]

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

I just don't let these things worry me, I spend my energies on my happy family, a lesson I learned 75+ years ago from my parents, but  each to their own. 

 

i see the air is much fresher up where you are.