Why is Thai service so abysmal

[FritsSikkink]

14 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Still doesn't answer the question. If you don't care about poor service then you might see a clue as to why it doesn't change. Apathy rules.

Like Thailand is the only country with some businesses don't accepting cash.

Your other example is getting cold food from a Western bar.

Nuff said, happy Thai bashing as always.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 minutes ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

Wow, all the way to the third page of posts until we get the "if you don't like it go back to your home country.

 

A bit over the top I'd say.

 

 

 

I think the people who come up that have nothing constructive to offer and have lowered their own standards to match that of their hosts. It might even be why they're here, as they couldn't keep up at home.

 

I keep thinking back to something a Korean I worked with said - the standards here are so low -after a frustrating experience of trying to work here. So many here seem to have no pride in their job, which must be a very sad way to live.

[Smokey and the Bandit]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I don't know. Not me. 

 

Why? Because cash has worked everywhere for hundreds of years, and is never prone to IT outages, as has happened twice in recent weeks in my native UK and supermarkets had to refuse sales. That's progress?

 

No. Are you suggesting I am?

 

EVERYONE should have a choice of how to pay. You think they shouldn't, that they should be dictated to by a business that is MEANT TO SERVE YOU, not the other way around? I've read of many people, including on this thread, who refuse to use a business that refuses to accept legal tender.

Cash is King! or at least it was!

[Smokey and the Bandit]

"but they do not accept cash. Cash has worked all over the world for hundreds of years, but progress means it is no longer good enough in an increasing number of places.

 

Totally agree, IT systems can fail anywhere at any time and it can cause complete havoc, take the recent IT outage in the UK airports, it has happened before with several airlines, with check in computers, even ATC systems with their backups have failed. Now of course  a restaurant or bar is not going to cause that much trouble, but they should always accept cash as a backup! Just in case!

[Bangkok Barry]

3 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

"but they do not accept cash. Cash has worked all over the world for hundreds of years, but progress means it is no longer good enough in an increasing number of places.

 

Totally agree, IT systems can fail anywhere at any time and it can cause complete havoc, take the recent IT outage in the UK airports, it has happened before with several airlines, with check in computers, even ATC systems with their backups have failed. Now of course  a restaurant or bar is not going to cause that much trouble, but they should always accept cash as a backup! Just in case!

 

I would expect the bar I wrote about to do that, but they refused to answer my query. I suppose if they said they would accept cash in an 'emergency' it negates their policy of only accepting cards. In other words, they would have no choice but to use cash, if push came to shove. Which, if they had to accept cash at any point, makes their policy of only accepting cards unworkable. THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE A CHOICE.

[connda]

This is Thailand?  I know - that doesn't excuse abysmal service, but live here long enough and you just understand that it's part-and-parcel part of Thai society and culture. 

[georgegeorgia]

15 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Some petty gripes yet you slander all Thais / all of Thailand. Overall I would say the service in Thailand is pretty good - much better than in the UK at least. Of course like everywhere things can be hit and miss but I rarely have service issues here.

My friend's wife just flew from Bangkok to Auckland with their daughter and 80 kgs of luggage. It got lost, and five days later they have not found it. Not only that but after the initial complaint in the airport they said someone would ring her - they never did. Her husband is a gold member but there's no office in Bangkok, he had to call Sydney and spent 35 minutes on hold before getting through to someone who said they are trying to locate the bags and would call his wife to explain. They didn't, they still haven't.

This is Qantas by the way. 

Oh and when I last visited Australia I got served rancid fish and chips and they still charged me. However most other places in Australia I had decent service - just like here.

Think I'll go and make a butt hurt "Why is Australian Service So Abysmal" post because I've has 2-3 bad issues.
 

Where was the rancid from fish n chips ,Sydney ????

Name it 

[Peterphuket]

15 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

A new rooftop bar opened in Bangkok last month, 61 floors up in Bangkok's tallest office building. Of course, I can't name it because I could end up in a cell. I saw a YouTube video of the place and it looks great, Thai-themed. I thought I might visit when I'm in Bangkok next week, but they do not accept cash. Cash has worked all over the world for hundreds of years, but progress means it is no longer good enough in an increasing number of places.

 

So I was curious what would happen if a foreign credit card (mine) was refused (as I haven't used it except for on-line bookings since it was renewed). I'm certain I am not the only one who could be embarrassed, and it could be especially damaging if someone was hosting business colleagues.

 

I wrote to the contact address on their website and it was returned as not found. That website also shows the place open from 6AM to 2am. On the second time of calling them they answered the phone and couldn't answer my question. They said they would ask the manager and call me back. They didn't. This classes itself as a top-class, five-star business, and they have absolutely no clue how to respond to customers. Or are too arrogant to care.

 

Another time, I went for lunch with my wife and her brother. He and I both ordered the same dish. One arrived. I let him go first, and he finished his before mine arrived. When my wife asked why they had been delivered so far apart the waitress burst into tears like a five-year-old. There have been many other instances, such as my ordering roast chicken and it was delivered stone-cold, straight out of the fridge. In this case, it was a western-run pub - Scruffy Murphy's - and the farang manager replaced it, didn't charge for it and gave my sister and I a free Irish coffee. In a Thai-run place I'd have probably got a shrug of the shoulders and maybe a 'sorry, sir'.

Thanks for the message, sure I'll never visit it because I only want to pay cash.

Cash is King.

[cdemundo]

I would ask the OP if he has good medical insurance or can afford to see a good physician.

 

I am not a doctor but his original and subsequent 13 posts on this thread are consistent with a medical condition.

I would recommend getting checked for an arthropod lodged in your posterior.

Although this condition is not easily rectified, often it is good to know what it is you are suffering from.

[Peterphuket]

4 hours ago, hwas said:

You “thought about visiting”, called the bar with a hypothetical question and noone bothered to answer you, so you concluded that they are ignorant or arrogant.  How about the option that they do not have the time to answer nonsensical questions?  

You will have to realise that they exist because of the customer, that too is sometimes forgotten in LOS.

Or more than "sometimes"

 

[mogandave]

25 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I would expect the bar I wrote about to do that, but they refused to answer my query. I suppose if they said they would accept cash in an 'emergency' it negates their policy of only accepting cards. In other words, they would have no choice but to use cash, if push came to shove. Which, if they had to accept cash at any point, makes their policy of only accepting cards unworkable. THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE A CHOICE.

Do you think smoking should be allowed in restaurants? 

[proton]

We went to a famous restaurant some years ago at Bang na Trat. Food arrived, but the rice arrived 35 minutes later. When asked where the rice was the staff said rice cooking. The mrs pointed out after a while that rice was still being served to one table- ah but they work here was the answer. Never went back.

[Kalasin Jo]

I've said this before on another thread. You should try the service in France. Of course there's always the exception or indeed several that I have personally experienced and where appropriate rewarded or at least thanked and provided positive feedback but mostly in France it's poor if they think or know you are a foreigner, often made worse if you speak French as then it becomes a battle of wills.

Here? Language issues can be the killer, just as in France but in France there seems to be an arrogance  issue too. Not so here, although public, even private,  loss of face here is a huge issue for Thais whereas most westerners are not much concerned about losing face, their own or anyone else's.

 

Here the times I've had to use the banks or mobile phone call centres I've had excellent service, in English, unlikely to get an English, or any other foreign language speaking option in France, but their over the counter service not so much. If communication becomes an issue here counter staff often seem to switch off, give you the 1,000 yard stare of incomprehension, say solly or cannot and either wander off or indicate you should so they can serve the next customer. Actually my wife does this too😆

That said mostly I've found service here friendly and once it's understood what you are asking for, speedy and smiley. Best to be smiley yourself and make a bit of a joke of language issues. Not look or sound angry which requires a conscious  effort as I think we westerners may look/ sound angry to Thais and when we are not ( yet). There's always the translate app in your phone to solve this these days too. I conducted a whole car purchase transaction using the app and so did they!

Servers delivering food cold that should be hot may not be their fault. The plate could be hot and the food cold. And here I've noticed that Thais tend to eat food tepid or at room temperature anyway. As for bursting in to tears, well it might have been her first day in the job or potentially her last if a customer complained or she thought they would.. Better than having your plate of food plonked carelessly down with a " there you go" over the shoulder as she quickly disappears to the back so as not to engage further. That's happened to me in the UK and US.

[SbuxPlease]

My blood pressure must have fallen by 20% once I finally stopped frantically asking "Why do or don't the Thais do it MY way" (insert whatever your way is here).

 

I'll be straight, it took me from my 2nd year here until about my 4th until I realized my problems with Thailand were me problems and I was only causing myself stress.

 

For those expats who come from continuous self improvement, time = money, and hard work is a life well lived type of cultures, we no doubt are aware of ways of doing things that by many objective measures are better, more efficient, or please the masses to a greater degree. If only the Thais would adopt our ways of doing things, imagine how different they could be. Obviously this is a pompous take - the Thais who are in charge and empowered to change the place are universally aware of how it's done elsewhere and aim to keep things as they are.

 

What most of us can do, however, is use our impermanence as expats to float about wherever we want by patronizing the places that see things our way.

[SbuxPlease]

1 hour ago, Peterphuket said:

You will have to realise that they exist because of the customer, that too is sometimes forgotten in LOS.

 

 

Strangely... not always. Have you ever walked past a shop in a super busy area that is selling nothing interesting, looks untended, has cheap prices, dim lighting, or maybe it's just boarded up most of the time, and yet the rent in the are seems like it would cost a fortune? Those places are often owned free and clear by people with generational inherited wealth who have no business acumen or any particular skills of note. Metaphorically they don't need any money but grandma needs something to do. Yet for some reason, being a landowner - in that area - is more important to those people than perhaps cashing it out and putting it to a better use so they will never sell or rent to an enterprising person who'd like to have a go of something there.

 

There are a LOT of "businesses" like this in the LOS. No need to make money, the family already has enough. No need to worry about the customer, they are just annoying. No need to work hard, why bother? Never really saw anything like this before.

 

 

[oldscool]

Customer Service / Customer Relationship Management is about (1) having a system and (2) training staff in that system.

 

One or both of these elements are missing in most businesses here, including international 5 star businesses, as is management in general.

 

I still find most Thais smiling and wishing to be helpful, and some have been extraordinarily helpful, but then I don't live in a tourist area where the welcome has worn thin. But without a system in place smiles alone can't do much.

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Where was the rancid from fish n chips ,Sydney ????

Name it 

I can't remember - it was about 15 years ago, but it was in Sydney. Oily and nasty.

I have also had excellent fish and chips in Manly, probably the best I have ever had. Can't remember the name of that either.

My point was isolated incidents of bad service can happen anywhere but we don't go creating whinging posts about entire countries based on these random incidents. (Well, one person does)

Edited May 9 by josephbloggs

[whatsupdoc]

Why is Thai service so abysmal? Sorry, but for the last couple of years I've travelled all over Europe and I am longing for the usually fast and correct service I am used to getting in Thailand....

 

Customer service in Thailand is not bad at all compared to most other places in the world.

[Robert Paulson]

Hub of poor service

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, mogandave said:

Do you think smoking should be allowed in restaurants? 

 

Are you aware that being allowed to pay cash doesn't affect others, whereas someone smoking nearby does? Clearly, you can't tell the difference.

[Thingamabob]

You appear not to have noticed that the standard of service has declined all over the world. Thailand is no better or worse than anywhere else. The difference is servers in Thailand are generally friendly and polite, unlike their western counterparts.

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, cdemundo said:

I would ask the OP if he has good medical insurance or can afford to see a good physician.

 

I am not a doctor but his original and subsequent 13 posts on this thread are consistent with a medical condition.

I would recommend getting checked for an arthropod lodged in your posterior.

Although this condition is not easily rectified, often it is good to know what it is you are suffering from.

 

Thank you for your concern about my health. You, obviously, and a considerable number of others who have commented, are content when you receive poor service and I wish you well. Some, like me and, again like some others who have responded, are less so.

[Pouatchee]

5 hours ago, mogandave said:

I’ve had 200 meals at every country in the world except North Korea

 

money talks and bu!1 sh!t walks. you sound like drunk homer when he thought he was being classy with a lampshade over his head

Edited May 9 by Pouatchee

[OJAS]

8 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

In case it upsets anyone, such as you who can't understand the concept of complaining if something is wrong.

I fully understand the concept of complaining, thank you very much. Have you missed all my posts on here over the years complaining bitterly about the ridiculous procedures to which we Brits here in LOS are subject at passport renewal time? And it's those moronic cretins in His Majesty's Passport Office back in the UK who are responsible for this bloody shambles, not any Thai individual, by the way. Still, since you live in Bangkok you doubtless think that they are the best thing since sliced bread, and to hell with anyone who might have a different view.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 minutes ago, OJAS said:

I fully understand the concept of complaining, thank you very much. Have you missed all my posts on here over the years complaining bitterly about the ridiculous procedures to which we Brits here in LOS are subject at passport renewal time? And it's those moronic cretins in His Majesty's Passport Office back in the UK who are responsible for this bloody shambles, not any Thai individual, by the way. Still, since you live in Bangkok you doubtless think that they are the best thing since sliced bread, and to hell with anyone who might have a different view.

 

My last passport renewal went well, although I can't fathom why they can't send the new one to you by EMS. Bizarre.

[JimTripper]

7 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

What you pay is relative isn't it? Since when did paying what is a normal price in Thailand mean the service is entitled to be poor as it was cheaper than in your home country. Very strange logic.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/T1gaQ4LbJtTKpUsR/?mibextid=WC7FNe

[Ajarnbrian]

“Why is Thai service so abysmal?” as a headline suggests this is general. Yet the story is a gripe focusing on one business. A sample of one or two does not warrant such a misleading headline.

[Ajarnbrian]

19 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

The title of this thread is "Why is Thai service so abysmal?".  Not, "Why is service in Thailand occasionally less than I would like", or "Why did I get so bent out of shape by a couple of minor service incidents in Thailand?".

Well said joseph bloggs. Not smart to write such a headline with a story about a relatively minor, insignificant event.

[Bangkok Barry]

30 minutes ago, Ajarnbrian said:

“Why is Thai service so abysmal?” as a headline suggests this is general. Yet the story is a gripe focusing on one business. A sample of one or two does not warrant such a misleading headline.

 

I mentioned three businesses, not one, and in one of those the farang manager responded as management should, not ignored me as the new place I highlighted has. Scruffy Murphy's knows how to treat customers. Credit where it's due.

[richard_smith237]

I haven't read the whole thread - so a lot of this may be covered...  two points I'm responding to.

 

1) - Cashless - Does the Op not have a local Bank Account linked to his phone ?

It would be very surprising for anyone to go to an establishment and find out they don't accept cash, but I guess that issue is growing. 

Its a very foolish policy IMO. BUT... its also foolish not to move with the times, especially when going to places such as this (i.e. more modern places which  may be following more modern trends).

 

2) - Response to e-mails / being able to get hold of a person....  I completely agree, customer service in this aspect is very poor. Some businesses do better than others - international and local. 

E-mail just doesn't work in Thailand any more - no one replies to a mail.