In preparation for a return to Australia, I went looking in the main drag of Chiang Rai for a money exchanger.

I like to have cash as well as a debit card, belt and braces.

The first shop I came to, the employee/proprietor was just locking up, presumably for lunch.

What time do you come back? 1 pm ( at 11.30 am ). Do you have Australian dollars? Mai mee.

This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies.

I then drove my scooter no more than 50 metres to another exchanger who happily gave me $450 for my Thai baht.

How the hell do some of these guys make a living?

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

How the hell do some of these guys make a living?

How the hell is that a reasonable question?  It has to be assumed that you're not the only customer they have, lunch or no lunch, and serving you, or not serving you, will have no effect, whatsoever, on their bottom line. 

 

"Australian dollars? Mai mee.  This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies".

Did the sign state that he had AUD or did it just provide an exchange rate?   I've never heard of currency dealers advertising the currencies that they have in stock!

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

How the hell is that a reasonable question?  It has to be assumed that you're not the only customer they have, lunch or no lunch, and serving you, or not serving you, will have no effect, whatsoever, on their bottom line. 

 

"Australian dollars? Mai mee.  This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies".

Did the sign state that he had AUD or did it just provide an exchange rate?   I've never heard of currency dealers advertising the currencies that they have in stock!

Would you think it reasonable if you went to the same shop, with the GBP listed, and he told you he didn't have any?

It's a money EXCHANGE shop, how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?

 

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Would you think it reasonable if you went to the same shop, with the GBP listed, and he told you he didn't have any?

It's a money EXCHANGE shop, how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?

 

Well the guy is a goose. That is life. I see a lot of Thais and I can't figure out how they make money. Maybe they just settle for cheap life.

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

How the hell is that a reasonable question?  It has to be assumed that you're not the only customer they have, lunch or no lunch, and serving you, or not serving you, will have no effect, whatsoever, on their bottom line. 

 

"Australian dollars? Mai mee.  This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies".

Did the sign state that he had AUD or did it just provide an exchange rate?   I've never heard of currency dealers advertising the currencies that they have in stock!

Would you think it reasonable if you went to the same shop, with the GBP listed, and he told you he didn't have any?

It's a money EXCHANGE shop, how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?

It is not about GBP, it is about you wanting AUD and his not having them.  I think that its unreasonable of you to assume that he has to have a stock of cash for every currency that he shows an exchange rate for.  Perhaps his last customer took the last of the AUD and you were just too late.  

 

"...how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?"

He told you that he had no currencies, at all?  Really?

You're making the ridiculous assumption that, just because he didn't have Aussie pesos, he didn't have any other currencies to trade!  

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It is not about GBP, it is about you wanting AUD and his not having them.  I think that its unreasonable of you to assume that he has to have a stock of cash for every currency that he shows an exchange rate for.  Perhaps his last customer took the last of the AUD and you were just too late.  

 

"...how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?"

He told you that he had no currencies, at all?  Really?

You're making the ridiculous assumption that, just because he didn't have Aussie pesos, he didn't have any other currencies to trade!  

Maybe he banks them cause most trade is supplying Thai baht. He wouldnt want to hold much foreign in stock.

1 minute ago, Dolf said:

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Would you think it reasonable if you went to the same shop, with the GBP listed, and he told you he didn't have any?

It's a money EXCHANGE shop, how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?

 

Well the guy is a goose. That is life. I see a lot of Thais and I can't figure out how they make money. Maybe they just settle for cheap life.

You're saying that he's a "cheap goose" just because he didn't have any AUD at the time the OP wanted it?   Maybe he was overflowing with other real currencies that there was more of a call for?

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're saying that he's a "cheap goose" just because he didn't have any AUD at the time the OP wanted it?   Maybe he was overflowing with other real currencies that there was more of a call for?

Have you been to Chiang Rai? Have to be 1/3 Aussies there. 

Give him a break , the OP is 80yo 

Have some empathy for the elderly please 

2 minutes ago, Dolf said:

5 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're saying that he's a "cheap goose" just because he didn't have any AUD at the time the OP wanted it?   Maybe he was overflowing with other real currencies that there was more of a call for?

Have you been to Chiang Rai? Have to be 1/3 Aussies there.

So the vast majority are not Australian and wouldn't be wanting AUD! Q.E.D.

2 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Give him a break , the OP is 80yo 

Have some empathy for the elderly please 

Here we go again just keep cleaning and leave the rest to civilised posters. 

4 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So the vast majority are not Australian and wouldn't be wanting AUD! Q.E.D.

Nonsense there is more Aussies in Chiang Mai than whinging POMS.

6 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So the vast majority are not Australian and wouldn't be wanting AUD! Q.E.D.

Say there is 20,000 tourists, 1/3 is 6,666. So the demand is there.

1 minute ago, Dolf said:

Say there is 20,000 tourists, 1/3 is 6,666. So the demand is there.

Just a Pommy response he is just jealous the don't have British rubels.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

In preparation for a return to Australia, I went looking in the main drag of Chiang Rai for a money exchanger.

I like to have cash as well as a debit card, belt and braces.

The first shop I came to, the employee/proprietor was just locking up, presumably for lunch.

What time do you come back? 1 pm ( at 11.30 am ). Do you have Australian dollars? Mai mee.

This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies.

I then drove my scooter no more than 50 metres to another exchanger who happily gave me $450 for my Thai baht.

How the hell do some of these guys make a living?

Yeah mate, I know how you feel. I went to an Aussie bank in outback Australia and asked them the rate for Thai baht.

They told me the rate but didnt have any

I dont know how they make money. idiots

9 minutes ago, Goat said:

Yeah mate, I know how you feel. I went to an Aussie bank in outback Australia and asked them the rate for Thai baht.

They told me the rate but didnt have any

I dont know how they make money. idiots

Out back Australia? Do you mean Redfern Sydney?

8 minutes ago, Goat said:

Yeah mate, I know how you feel. I went to an Aussie bank in outback Australia and asked them the rate for Thai baht.

They told me the rate but didnt have any

I dont know how they make money. idiots

 

 

   That's a rather high expectation , to expect small banks in the outback to have small country  currencies to exchange .

Only idiots would get Thai Baht in their home Country

34 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Nonsense there is more Aussies in Chiang Mai than whinging POMS.

 

   That is true , but there are less Aussies in CM than non whinging Poms , as most Poms dont whine

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Only idiots would get Thai Baht in their home Country

That is probably why they wouldnt give me any.

They must of heard about how clever i was.

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   That is true , but there are less Aussies in CM than non whinging Poms , as most Poms dont whine

Hear, Hear

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

How the hell do some of these guys make a living?

 

I've wondered that a lot too over the years....  It seems there is no genuine interest in giving the customer what they need. 

 

There are so many scenarios where I walk away from 'business'.. .buying something etc because the owner or staff are so apathetic and just can't be bothered.

 

 

My thoughts: How do these people survive when they can so readily lose custom ???

 

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It is not about GBP, it is about you wanting AUD and his not having them.  I think that its unreasonable of you to assume that he has to have a stock of cash for every currency that he shows an exchange rate for.  Perhaps his last customer took the last of the AUD and you were just too late.  

 

"...how would anyone make a living if they had nothing to exchange?"

He told you that he had no currencies, at all?  Really?

You're making the ridiculous assumption that, just because he didn't have Aussie pesos, he didn't have any other currencies to trade!  

Have you heard of competition? His 50 metres up the road had ample AUD. He was  obviously too lazy to bother with snagging an extra customer by staying open an extra few minutes, for all I know the "mai mee" was a lie to get rid of me.

IIRC you are the poster that said sugar in petrol is an urban myth, and dug yourself in deeper when I disproved that statement with solubility data. Did you bring a shovel with you this time?

56 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   That is true , but there are less Aussies in CM than non whinging Poms , as most Poms dont whine

Perhaps it is only when they go to Australia that they start whinging. It's probably too harsh for their delicate constitutions.

Impressed, very impressed 👏

 

Post of the year, among a few more 

 

Quite many actually, but here you all manage to tol it. Great responses

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Perhaps it is only when they go to Australia that they start whinging. It's probably too harsh for their delicate constitutions.

 

   Its just sheep Ausssies just saying the same as everyone else says 

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Coming from someone as screwed up mentally as you have exhibited on multiple threads, perhaps you should save the empathy for yourself.

Absolute right, he keeps calling me an 80-year-old who lives in a state housing commission flat my fridge in my kitchen has a greater IQ than he has. He is mentally retarded 

Back to topic, why don't you exchange it in BKK (if you fly out of BKK) Super Rich will give you a good exchange rate. Superrich Thailand : Exchange Rates|Currency Converter | Super Rich Thailand

4 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Back to topic, why don't you exchange it in BKK (if you fly out of BKK) Super Rich will give you a good exchange rate. Superrich Thailand : Exchange Rates|Currency Converter | Super Rich Thailand

I suppose I could do that, more convenient to hop on the scooter here. The exchange rate was 23.6 baht to one AUD, which I thought was OK. OTOH, buying baht with AUD, it was 22.1.

I returned to OZ a few years back and I can't complain at all. It all depends on the city you return to. Cities like Sydney or Melbourne is pretty expansive, but I live in the west.

14 hours ago, still kicking said:

Out back Australia? Do you mean Redfern Sydney?

You been to Redfern lately!

Houses start at 2 million