Culture or Something else?

[pomchop]

I went to a 7 11 and a little thai lady jumped the line ahead of me.  Almost ruined my life but i have managed to deal with the humiliation caused me.  Then I got on baht bus and one of the buzzers did not work. and not even a sign in english saying out of order...another big nightmare but once again i buckled down and got over it.  Then i tried to walk across the street at a crosswalk with a red light and nobody stopped for me....What a horror show that was.  I could have ended up in a hospital before they were ready to deal with me....and nobody would care one tiny bit.

 

But somehow i have managed to survive another day, to go  back to 7 11 , ride a baht bus and get across the street.

 

The nerve of these thai people living like they do and not having discussion groups to see if they can amend their ways to be more to my liking.

[sqwakvfr]

58 minutes ago, pomchop said:

I went to a 7 11 and a little thai lady jumped the line ahead of me.  Almost ruined my life but i have managed to deal with the humiliation caused me.  Then I got on baht bus and one of the buzzers did not work. and not even a sign in english saying out of order...another big nightmare but once again i buckled down and got over it.  Then i tried to walk across the street at a crosswalk with a red light and nobody stopped for me....What a horror show that was.  I could have ended up in a hospital before they were ready to deal with me....and nobody would care one tiny bit.

 

But somehow i have managed to survive another day, to go  back to 7 11 , ride a baht bus and get across the street.

 

The nerve of these thai people living like they do and not having discussion groups to see if they can amend their ways to be more to my liking.

I thought standards of courtesy were universal.  Apparently I was wrong. I was not talking about things like cutting in line or a buzzer not working.  But when a business shows someone blatant hostility and rudeness just for coming in for service or a driver leaving a slippery surface where a passenger would step on and then laugh about it? To me this is concerning.  Of course this is just my opinion.  

Edited April 7 by sqwakvfr

[NoshowJones]

On 4/6/2024 at 8:25 AM, bkk6060 said:

Jeez, if these are your biggest complaints in 7 years you should be thankful.   Pretty minor stuff to complain about in my opinion.

No's 1 and 2 are not minor things, there are hours of difference in them. No 3, yes quite minor.

[sqwakvfr]

2 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

No's 1 and 2 are not minor things, there are hours of difference in them. No 3, yes quite minor.

#3 is minor but when it happens on a regular basis and the Gym membership fee is nonrefundable then it becomes a moderate issue. 

[NoshowJones]

22 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

How long have you been here? And you are still surprised that they didn't understand your sarcastic North Korea joke. That tells us a lot more about you than those Thais you complain about.

 

Many countries want the money of the tourists. They don't really want the tourist.

I understand them, living here for decades I see too many annoying tourists. 

I think that is mostly in Bangkok or Pattaya, not the whole country.

[Will B Good]

On 4/6/2024 at 7:15 AM, Rampant Rabbit said:

time is irrelevant to most Thais

That's the nub of it.

 

Wife would say to me ...oh the girls are coming round this evening....they would arrive as early as 10 am.....as late as 11 pm...... or not at all.....and none of them gave a damn...????

 

She"d say....oh we are all going shopping for the day.......gets to say, 3pm......what"s happening? Oh I don't think we're are going now.

 

Or......So and so is picking me up at 7 pm.......and at 7 pm she'd get in the shower......????

 

Drives me mad.

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

That was very nice of the cashier...

 

laughter is a cultural thing... thai often laugh in times of stress... if I hit my head in a car door, my wife in the USA would have been wild with laughter... so, it's a male/female thing too. 

If it was me wanting to pay for a service and the cashier is not available, after about 5 mins I would give them a warning, after 10 mins and still no one to take my payment, I would write my phone no down, hand it to them, then walk out.

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, jesimps said:

What I do hate is waiting outside a shop in the heat for it to open late in the morning. Central Plaza in Pattaya a case in point with an opening time of 11am.  

They can see a large crowd waiting to be admitted, but no way on God's earth will they open those doors even a second early.

You would not have to wait till 11 am in the sun, you can walk in much earlier and wait at the bottom of the stairs.

[thailand49]

This is Thailand!

Accept it?

A sign has been posted as to time open and close really end of story here. 

For the employee to treat a customer in this manner is unacceptable period. Be the last time I have blood work there and would highly recommend to the Doctor or hospital that tefervmevto the place.

Poorly run company or department reflect poorly on the staff who examines the blood?

I wonder if I was their boss told them paycheck deposited every month on the first will be late🤣

Anyone think " this is thailand "

Edited April 7 by thailand49

[charleskerins]

On 4/6/2024 at 2:48 PM, sqwakvfr said:

I think you just summed it up.  I had a professor in college who said “ time is money and money is life”.  This is not true in LOS.  

your professor was a smacked ass

[sqwakvfr]

1 hour ago, charleskerins said:

your professor was a smacked ass

Yes he was an ASS but he was right. 

[charleskerins]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

Yes he was an ASS but he was right. 

he was half right

[1FinickyOne]

8 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

If it was me wanting to pay for a service and the cashier is not available, after about 5 mins I would give them a warning, after 10 mins and still no one to take my payment, I would write my phone no down, hand it to them, then walk out.

I don't remember having to wait anywhere for a cashier... but it sounds like you have a plan

[spidermike007]

17 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I am not a touchy, feely or sensitive guy but I would like courtesy.  If I show you courtesy then it should be returned.  I am not like some who feel "they all hate us".  However, at times I feel the same way.  If you are open for business then expect someone to walk in and expect service.  If you are a driver logged into Grab then expect a rider to hail you.  As a driver ensure the floor of the vehicle does not have a slippery substance that could cause a rider to slip.  Lastly, if a business publicly states that it is opens at a certain time them do so.  ff not then change your opening time.  This is my point about this subject:  This country is very inconsistent and often it's people react with anger when one simply asks a question.  

 

Lastly I will reveal a detail about myself that probably makes a difference on how I am treated by the locals.

 

I am an American but I am not caucasian.  When most Thai first see me I believe they think I am Chinese because I am of Asian descent. I believe this is what sets the course for my interaction with Thai people.  I know many Thai people have had negative interactions with Chinese but I am not a rude Chinese person.  For me this will always be a losing battle.  For grins once I told a Thai person that I was Chinese and this was met with a warm smile and "shei, shei".  So I should learn Mandarin and go with the flow.

 

Anyway, just another day in the land of smiles.

Yes I find that I am faced with daily peculiarities too, and the best way for me to approach them is water off a ducks back. If I didn't want peculiar and strange I wouldn't have moved to Thailand.

 

I have a black friend who feels the same way, he says that he's always prejudged because of the way he looks. I guess that's just the nature of Thai people they tend to make snap judgments about people based on their appearance. 

[geisha]

On 4/6/2024 at 8:29 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Here... corrected it: 

 

Is admitting to a mistake and apologising to a foreigner not possible? 

 

-------

 

As a generalisation, criticism of any form is poorly tolerated here because a lot of people have not grown up with the tools to handle disappointment, criticism or any form of what could be considered conflict - this is why we see in the news so freqently issues which go from Zero to 100% in an instant... 

 

The examples you provided are one of many we face on a daily basis - a lot of it is 'little stuff' we can readily ignore - but sometimes there are issues we can't. 

 

 

... I often here the excuse.... "Its Thai Culture"  usually when someone wants to get away with doing something wrong !

 

 

In this case of the OP... the throw away excuse would be used...."This is just the Thai way".... or "This is just Thai culture"... but its not... its the Lazy way and it exists due to poor management of a business that has allowed a degree of entitlement to slip in amongst the Thai Staff....   

 

IMO - There is only one solution... and thats to walk away. Reward the positive experiences, walk away from the negative. 

 

IF you have already received treatment, but they are not ready to take your money, no casher...     That shouldn't be a problem... 

Leave your phone number and / or Line details and as you to send them the bank details and you'll transfer later - there is no reason at all that anyone should be waiting for a cashier to show up an hour late. 

 

 

-----------

 

I had one of these silly issues yesterday: 

 

Purchasing 12 bottles of wine at about 4:45 pm... No issues.

I also wanted to add 2 bottles of Cider, but was told I couldn't becase was before 5pm !!!... 

Me: WHAT ???... I can but 12 bottles of wine (Alcohol).. but can't buy Cider because its Alcohol ?????

Staff: Yes.....   

Me: Why ????   

Staff: Because its different Alcohol... 

Me: "I love Thailand" !!!....    Staff laughed....    They knew the utter ridiculousness of the situation - no point arguing, they're just doing their job. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of the problems in Thailand are due to lack of education. I actually heard an office girl saying that the group of young foreign people earned “ millions “ so it was easy to afford the rent !  I was also told once I could lend someone money because I was “ rich “.  Many have no idea on geography or history , even from their own country. Lots don’t have a lot of etiquette. 
It is what it is, I got used to it many years ago, quoting the famous Trink   “ TIT”.