Suvarnabhumi Adds More Staff To Prevent Malfunction

[Ajarnbrian]

Fly directly into Chiang Mai and avoid BKK Suvarnabhumi congestion. Flights from KL, Singapore, Taipei, HK and mainland China daily to CNX. And with flights from Chiang Mai direct to Phuket, Krabi, U-Tapao (Pattaya) and Koh Samui, you don’t need to go to Bangkok.

[Sig]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

I think what you are suggesting is a way to honor the tourists who decide to come to Thailand and spend a lot of money. It's a great idea, but it requires some imagination and initiative. 

Yeah, way too much imagination and initiative... 😕
Actually, I was thinking that it might be a good idea to revamp the entire idea of how arrivals are set up. I was thinking maybe it should be more like how departure gates are set up, with cafes, seats, etc... Make it a relaxing area rather than a like a cattle chute.

On another note... speaking of arrivals, a friend of mine was just threatened by those who have the power to allow one into the country (whose office shall remain nameless here....) because he had said something negative about long queues at their processing counters at the airport on Twitter/X. They demanded he delete his post and apologize or be refused entry! I haven't asked him yet how on earth they got his Twitter... just got the message 5 minutes ago. Sounds like Communist China! But nope, it's "democracy" in this country that will remain nameless here, but is likely where many of us live or have lived or visited and enjoy talking about..... I was thinking about making a post in the forum about it, but thinking I'd rather enjoy entry to go smoothly next time I have to run the gauntlet. How can one raise an alarm about this stuff without such risk? This is so nuts! So, not only may one be brought to court over factual statements that hurt someone's feelings, you may now be denied entry to the country altogether.🤯

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Back fifteen years, my foster son came back from school and said his English teacher said you pronounced giraffe, giraffee because it has an e on the end. When he politely said it's giraffe she told him not to argue with her. He came second in a National English speaking contest and even now is called upon by his Thai international company to do their presentations for them. Perhaps his teacher should have listened to him. Until the Thai education system is elevated from marching, haircuts and dictatorial teaching, and encourages imaginative and lateral thinking, not much will change. But then it's not my country.

Perhaps he should have politely said you are wrong, and you need to admit it! You may be my teacher for now, but you are not my master. 

[Gandtee]

55 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Perhaps he should have politely said you are wrong, and you need to admit it! You may be my teacher for now, but you are not my master. 

Five or six year olds anywhere do not do that. Here nobody does that at any age.

[scorecard]

On 2/19/2024 at 12:33 PM, Gandtee said:

But what are the oranges covering. Some sort of sweetener?😉

If it was a sweetener it would be provided by the company / person trying to win the contract.

 

In the scenario I mentioned the oranges are provided by the opposite party, the company looking for someone to perform some type of work. 

 

In case it's too difficult to understand the oranges are symbolic, in Chinese history ranges are considered special fruit.

[Yagoda]

On 2/19/2024 at 2:41 PM, it is what it is said:

 

been coming here over 25 years, tbh can't say i've ever experienced bad customer service from an IO at the airport or immigration centre, they are certainly friendlier than some of the central american land borders i've crossed.

 

if you're continually getting poor customer service you need to manage your expectations, these are civil servants doing a responsible but ultimately repetitive, boring job. i'm a believer in what goes around comes around, maybe you need to look at your attitude?

I've got a minimum of twenty trips into Swampy and 20 trips into DMK and he only hassle I have ever had in Thailand was a difficulty in reading a temporary passport.  I can't remember even being on a line for more than 20 minutes

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I've got a minimum of twenty trips into Swampy and 20 trips into DMK and he only hassle I have ever had in Thailand was a difficulty in reading a temporary passport.  I can't remember even being on a line for more than 20 minutes

Weren't you lucky............

[Yagoda]

Just now, transam said:

Weren't you lucky............

Nope. Just not a whiner. Nor do I blame the staff for every immigration snafu or idiot in line. Plus I stretch and make sure my bladder is empty. And my phone's work in every country.

 

You want to see terrible customer service go to Istanbul Airport.

 

But regardless I'm sorry you aren't me and your trips in and out of Bangkok suck. I'm coming in this week into DMK, I expect it will be smooth for me, as usual.

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, Yagoda said:

Nope. Just not a whiner. Nor do I blame the staff for every immigration snafu or idiot in line. Plus I stretch and make sure my bladder is empty. And my phone's work in every country.

 

You want to see terrible customer service go to Istanbul Airport.

 

But regardless I'm sorry you aren't me and your trips in and out of Bangkok suck. I'm coming in this week into DMK, I expect it will be smooth for me, as usual.

 

Do let us know, eh, we wait with bated breath...............🙄............................🤭

[scorecard]

On 2/19/2024 at 2:41 PM, it is what it is said:

 

been coming here over 25 years, tbh can't say i've ever experienced bad customer service from an IO at the airport or immigration centre, they are certainly friendlier than some of the central american land borders i've crossed.

 

I agree conceptually, my 2 really bad experiences:

 

- Entering the USA at an airport in Texas, myself as a professor coach and 10 Thai MBA students (all late twenties), all had correct visas and had endorsed letters of invitation from the University of Texas executive school and from Motorola mobile company (New York office) which was sponsoring the whole competition, we were there for an invited international business competition - 30 invited universities from across the world.

 

I went through passport control first and the lady IO was pleasant. Then a Thai female student 29 - 30 years old. IO didn't look at her documents just yelled at her 'why do you come here, but I know why, we all know what Thai girls do don't we!'  Then several more Thai ladies, all receiving insulting comments from the IO.

 

Then a Thai man 29-30 yo, he took off his beanie cap as soon as he joined the queue, 15-20 minutes later he was next to present himself to the IO officer. The IO office said loudly 'I know in Thailand only ladyboys wear beanies' (not true of course), then she continued 'loudly 'Are you a ladyboy?' Truth was that the man is a very masculine football hero.

 

Later same day I complained to the university of Texas admin. folks. They called the immigration authorities, response was 'the IO lady is just doing her job' bye. 

 

- Years later I took a team of 5 senior Thai management consultants to a project in New Delhi in India. IO looked at my passport and said 'ahh Australia, has the population reached 1 million yet?'. He stamped me in then  threw my passport at me.

 

Then the Indian IO told the 5 Thai snr. consultants to all throw their Thai passports on the floor at the side of his desk. They all had visas already in their passports.

 

Then the IO said 'if you want me to consider allowing low class people into India then give me your passport. First consultant gave his passport to the IO, lots of mumbling then he stamped the passport for entry and threw it again onto another spot on the floor. Same process with all 5 Thai passports.

 

I had gone through and I was noticing that several IOs were doing similar things.

 

All done the Indian IO called me  back to his desk and said' your group has been here about an hour, you should go to see if your luggage has by now been stolen'.

 

Luckily it wasn't because the company which had invited us had sent 2 staff to take care of our luggage and take us to out hotel.  I 

 

If you're continually getting poor customer service you need to manage your expectations, these are civil servants doing a responsible but ultimately repetitive, boring job. i'm a believer in what goes around comes around, maybe you need to look at your attitude?

 

[Yagoda]

50 minutes ago, transam said:

Do let us know, eh, we wait with bated breath...............🙄............................🤭

Why? Your opinion doesnt matter to me one way or the other and I dont feed trolls. Find out for yourself instead of living on a message board.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Why? Your opinion doesnt matter to me one way or the other and I dont feed trolls. Find out for yourself instead of living on a message board.

Now, now, no need for that attitude, I hope you're not like that at immigration........😂

 

Not been through Swampy that many times, but a few times it has been a scrum, but it seems you have the magic solution, could be a....😇......eh.......

[Yagoda]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

Now, now, no need for that attitude, I hope you're not like that at immigration........😂

 

Not been through Swampy that many times, but a few times it has been a scrum, but it seems you have the magic solution, could be a....😇......eh.......

No attitude with real people at Immigration. There is a distinction though between real people and trolls in a basement somewhere.

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

No attitude with real people at Immigration. There is a distinction though between real people and trolls in a basement somewhere.

I wonder how you found that out............😉

[Hokeus]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:39 AM, spidermike007 said:

What is needed at immigration is more intelligence. 

What is needed isn't the question. It is how to acquire it and it seems fairly impossible in this case. If you have more intelligence/skills/proficiency you are not going to get a government job stamping dates into passports all day for hours on end. Instead you will get a more fulfilling and higher paying private sector job. Government jobs are best suited for lazy underachievers who aren't very proficient and water seeks its own level in these situations. 

[Gandtee]

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Nope. Just not a whiner. Nor do I blame the staff for every immigration snafu or idiot in line. Plus I stretch and make sure my bladder is empty. And my phone's work in every country.

 

You want to see terrible customer service go to Istanbul Airport.

 

But regardless I'm sorry you aren't me and your trips in and out of Bangkok suck. I'm coming in this week into DMK, I expect it will be smooth for me, as usual.

 

I'm sure you will let us know. We await with bated breath.😉

[Yagoda]

12 hours ago, Gandtee said:

I'm sure you will let us know. We await with bated breath.😉

Guess you need a life too

[richard_smith237]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:41 PM, it is what it is said:

 

been coming here over 25 years, tbh can't say i've ever experienced bad customer service from an IO at the airport or immigration centre, they are certainly friendlier than some of the central american land borders i've crossed.

 

if you're continually getting poor customer service you need to manage your expectations, these are civil servants doing a responsible but ultimately repetitive, boring job. i'm a believer in what goes around comes around, maybe you need to look at your attitude?

I’m passing through Suvarnabhumi airport multiple times per year (on average about 16x)…

I too agree with your comment and I’ve never had poor service from an Immigration officer. But, it’s not their job to ‘service & welcome us’, it’s their job to profile us & it’s a sh!££y boring job - I expect nothing other than general indifference from them, just like any other country. 
 

That said excessive queues at immigration are a huge issue at Suvarnabhumi Airport & this issue has repeatedly been in the news over recent years.

Immigration have always claimed they don’t have enough trained immigration officers to man the counters - which IMO is B.S - I’ve long suspected Immigration to be playing a ‘game’ to get increased funding… perhaps that’s something that’s genuinely needed. 

 

[richard_smith237]

16 hours ago, Yagoda said:

I've got a minimum of twenty trips into Swampy and 20 trips into DMK and he only hassle I have ever had in Thailand was a difficulty in reading a temporary passport.  I can't remember even being on a line for more than 20 minutes

 

This was the ‘fast track’ lane two weeks ago, it was a 30 minute wait - I dread to think what the normal immigration lanes would have been like.

 

For anyone coming through the airport on a regular basis they will have experienced horrendous queues at Immigration normal channels or have been incredibly lucky, or telling porkie-pies !!! 🤥
 

 

 

 

[Gandtee]

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Guess you need a life too

 

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Guess you need a life too

Perhaps you need to upgrade your sarcasm detector mechanism. Humour seems to be disappearing in this modern age. Much the same as trouble free travel.😉

[Mr Meeseeks]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

For anyone coming through the airport on a regular basis they will have experienced horrendous queues at Immigration normal channels or have been incredibly lucky, or telling porkie-pies !!! 🤥

 

I'm in and out twice a month. Swings and roundabouts. Today on arrival literally every desk was manned, and I was through within minutes. Last time they didn't let me through Fast Track and I waited 20–30 minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, Malaysia now allows foreigners to use the automated gates on arrival and departure if you fill out the digital arrival card.

 

Take note, Thailand. 

[Alidiver]

On 2/19/2024 at 2:58 AM, scorecard said:

The Singapore public service including all gov't ministries and agencies (one example the education ministry) etc., changed to this quite a few years back.

Went to Singapore last year over the causway, never again queueing for hours giving everyone the third degree.

[scorecard]

49 minutes ago, Alidiver said:

Went to Singapore last year over the causway, never again queueing for hours giving everyone the third degree.

So?

 

[Yagoda]

On 2/21/2024 at 8:53 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

This was the ‘fast track’ lane two weeks ago, it was a 30 minute wait - I dread to think what the normal immigration lanes would have been like.

 

For anyone coming through the airport on a regular basis they will have experienced horrendous queues at Immigration normal channels or have been incredibly lucky, or telling porkie-pies !!! 🤥
 

 

 

 

Well my luck is fabulous as I landed at DMK at 17:45 and was on the Red Line at 18:45.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Yagoda said:

Well my luck is fabulous as I landed at DMK at 17:45 and was on the Red Line at 18:45.

Same here…. Seemed very quick at Suvarnambumi this week…  (fast track) - through in about 5mins… 20min wait for baggage, very efficient.

Normal Immigration lanes looked busy but mostly manned & flowing quickly.

 

Whatever has been done (more manned counters) has notably improved things.

 

Will it stay like this ? I’m sceptical. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChipButty]

On 2/19/2024 at 3:25 PM, Gandtee said:

Back fifteen years, my foster son came back from school and said his English teacher said you pronounced giraffe, giraffee because it has an e on the end. When he politely said it's giraffe she told him not to argue with her. He came second in a National English speaking contest and even now is called upon by his Thai international company to do their presentations for them. Perhaps his teacher should have listened to him. Until the Thai education system is elevated from marching, haircuts and dictatorial teaching, and encourages imaginative and lateral thinking, not much will change. But then it's not my country.

I remember some years ago a friend of ours asking could she come around with her daughter because she had been given some English home work from a Thai teacher, her own father was no good he was Dutch and didn't speak good English, The homework you could tell it had not been written by a English speaker, I cant remember exactly what was written but none of it made sense, I did my best for her and explained to her that these questions are not right and we wouldn't ask the question like that, Another problem was the daughters English was also not good.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

If anyone thinks they are going to implement the new tax system any better than they have 'upgraded' Swampy, you need to think again. Thailand is full of conflicting committees, vested interests, archiac social interaction, corruption and very powerful people who are all trying very hard to cowtow to and appease those above while getting whatever they can from those below - all while trying extremely hard not to cause conflict or embarassment. The camel might well be a horse designed by a committee in the West, but inThailand the committee designed an Ostrich - and they claimed they were an Ostrich design hub and handed out awards.