Highly Disappointed In Petcherat Marina Speed Boat Tour Company

[jacks742]

We are in Koh Samui for one week, and overall having a great time and enjoying Thai culture. We had one horrible experience with a local tour company that I would like to share.

We booked our tour with this company through the guy at "Essential nightlife and Leisure Guide." I don't know how his advice would be on nightlife, but this trip is definitely not luxurious. The fee for the "Angthong Adventure Tour" leaving out if Petcherat Marina was 2200 bhat per person, plus an additional 200 bhat per person to get into the marine park. This was one of the most expensive tours on the island, so I expected it would be relatively nice.

The advertisement boasted, breakfast, soft drinks and fruits, and a luxury speed boat. When we arrived the company informed us that they did not take credit cards. I had been told on the phone that they did take credit cards, and our we had already reached our atm limit in the prior 24 hours. When we told them we didn't have access to cash, they told us there was a 3% fee for using a credit card. Ultimately, we were able to contact our bank and take out cash for the trip.

After paying we were told to enjoy breakfast and relax. Breakfast consisted of white bread, jelly and bad coffee. I wasn't expecting much, but being a tropical island I thought they would at least have fruit. Then, the last straw was when I saw 30-40 people piling into a small speedboat. It was half the size of the boat in the advertisement, and considering the rough water and full load of people, it looked sure to be uncomfortable.

I went to the front desk and told them that we were not comfortable getting onto the boat, and would like our money back. We offered to pay them for the "breakfast" and hotel pickup, generously valued at perhaps 500 or 600 bhat. The tour guides seemed friendly enough, but the woman who appeared in charge was not. She insisted on charging us 1200 bhat for our cancellation.

We tried contacting the guy we booked through at Essential Nightlife and Leisure Guide. He seemed to find our qualms with the company amusing and said he couldn't do anything about the 1200 bhat cancellation fee, that that was the company's policy. This policy had been no where written and not mentioned to us. I even went to the extent of threatening to call the police. Eventually, I was exhausted from fighting with them and decided to leave and salvage the rest of the day. They refused to refund our money. The whole ordeal cost us 1200 bhat, plus a 500 bhat cab ride back to our hotel, almost three hours out of our day and substantial aggravation.

In short, if you're uncomfortable with this company's misleading advertising and policy of having too many people pile into a small boat, it is going to cost you 600 bhat per person. I was very disappointed in their overall attitude. Customer service is a concept not yet fully developed in Thailand. I would encourage anyone to research the companies they travel with very thoroughly, and to definitely not travel with this company.

[Wellington]

We are in Koh Samui for one week, and overall having a great time and enjoying Thai culture. We had one horrible experience with a local tour company that I would like to share.

We booked our tour with this company through the guy at "Essential nightlife and Leisure Guide." I don't know how his advice would be on nightlife, but this trip is definitely not luxurious. The fee for the "Angthong Adventure Tour" leaving out if Petcherat Marina was 2200 bhat per person, plus an additional 200 bhat per person to get into the marine park. This was one of the most expensive tours on the island, so I expected it would be relatively nice.

The advertisement boasted, breakfast, soft drinks and fruits, and a luxury speed boat. When we arrived the company informed us that they did not take credit cards. I had been told on the phone that they did take credit cards, and our we had already reached our atm limit in the prior 24 hours. When we told them we didn't have access to cash, they told us there was a 3% fee for using a credit card. Ultimately, we were able to contact our bank and take out cash for the trip.

After paying we were told to enjoy breakfast and relax. Breakfast consisted of white bread, jelly and bad coffee. I wasn't expecting much, but being a tropical island I thought they would at least have fruit. Then, the last straw was when I saw 30-40 people piling into a small speedboat. It was half the size of the boat in the advertisement, and considering the rough water and full load of

people, it looked sure to be uncomfortable.

Not a happy story

Bad for Thai Tourism

Why don't you copy this to The Thai Tourist Authority and the Samui Tourist Police?

I went to the front desk and told them that we were not comfortable getting onto the boat, and would like our money back. We offered to pay them for the "breakfast" and hotel pickup, generously valued at perhaps 500 or 600 bhat. The tour guides seemed friendly enough, but the woman who appeared in charge was not. She insisted on charging us 1200 bhat for our cancellation.

We tried contacting the guy we booked through at Essential Nightlife and Leisure Guide. He seemed to find our qualms with the company amusing and said he couldn't do anything about the 1200 bhat cancellation fee, that that was the company's policy. This policy had been no where written and not mentioned to us. I even went to the extent of threatening to call the police. Eventually, I was exhausted from fighting with them and decided to leave and salvage the rest of the day. They refused to refund our money. The whole ordeal cost us 1200 bhat, plus a 500 bhat cab ride back to our hotel, almost three hours out of our day and substantial aggravation.

In short, if you're uncomfortable with this company's misleading advertising and policy of having too many people pile into a small boat, it is going to cost you 600 bhat per person. I was very disappointed in their overall attitude. Customer service is a concept not yet fully developed in Thailand. I would encourage anyone to research the companies they travel with very thoroughly, and to definitely not travel with this company.

[highdiver]

We are in Koh Samui for one week, and overall having a great time and enjoying Thai culture. We had one horrible experience with a local tour company that I would like to share.

We booked our tour with this company through the guy at "Essential nightlife and Leisure Guide." I don't know how his advice would be on nightlife, but this trip is definitely not luxurious. The fee for the "Angthong Adventure Tour" leaving out if Petcherat Marina was 2200 bhat per person, plus an additional 200 bhat per person to get into the marine park. This was one of the most expensive tours on the island, so I expected it would be relatively nice.

The advertisement boasted, breakfast, soft drinks and fruits, and a luxury speed boat. When we arrived the company informed us that they did not take credit cards. I had been told on the phone that they did take credit cards, and our we had already reached our atm limit in the prior 24 hours. When we told them we didn't have access to cash, they told us there was a 3% fee for using a credit card. Ultimately, we were able to contact our bank and take out cash for the trip.

After paying we were told to enjoy breakfast and relax. Breakfast consisted of white bread, jelly and bad coffee. I wasn't expecting much, but being a tropical island I thought they would at least have fruit. Then, the last straw was when I saw 30-40 people piling into a small speedboat. It was half the size of the boat in the advertisement, and considering the rough water and full load of people, it looked sure to be uncomfortable.

I went to the front desk and told them that we were not comfortable getting onto the boat, and would like our money back. We offered to pay them for the "breakfast" and hotel pickup, generously valued at perhaps 500 or 600 bhat. The tour guides seemed friendly enough, but the woman who appeared in charge was not. She insisted on charging us 1200 bhat for our cancellation.

We tried contacting the guy we booked through at Essential Nightlife and Leisure Guide. He seemed to find our qualms with the company amusing and said he couldn't do anything about the 1200 bhat cancellation fee, that that was the company's policy. This policy had been no where written and not mentioned to us. I even went to the extent of threatening to call the police. Eventually, I was exhausted from fighting with them and decided to leave and salvage the rest of the day. They refused to refund our money. The whole ordeal cost us 1200 bhat, plus a 500 bhat cab ride back to our hotel, almost three hours out of our day and substantial aggravation.

In short, if you're uncomfortable with this company's misleading advertising and policy of having too many people pile into a small boat, it is going to cost you 600 bhat per person. I was very disappointed in their overall attitude. Customer service is a concept not yet fully developed in Thailand. I would encourage anyone to research the companies they travel with very thoroughly, and to definitely not travel with this company.

truely astounding story

I have sent petcherat marina many visiting guests before and they all came back very very happy.

they have a very good reputation on the island as being the largeat the safest and the best service in speed boat tours.

they are also the only ones that have a proper marina pier and high class facilities. and tour guides that speak english.

i have known tem for many years and i gound your stoty truelly amazing.

its a pitty that petcherat can not answer to your "bad experience". so i called the lady in petcherat marina and her version sounded a little

different from yours.

the fact taht you have posted on this forum has been brought to them and they asked that i should post the reply.

the manager said you came from a hotel in Lamai. and that from the moment you arrived you did not stop complaining.

first you wanted to pay with credit card and when they explained that you will need to be charged an additional 3% for this you started arguing about it. (thats how it works in thailand incase you did not know)

then they told you that there is an ATM opposite and that you can withdraw and pay in cash if you prefer. to which you did but kept on complaining.

then you did not like the "continetal breakfat the included white bread, toasts, butter jam, coffee tea and juices. and demanded to have a full buffet breakfast like in your hotel.

at this point you decided that you are to upset and that you dont wish to go anymore. and then came up with the excuse about to many people.

all the people in the marina where to go on 3 seperate tours and not one boat went out with more then 15 people.

so your statements about people pilling up was a misunderstanig on the amount of people or a fabtication of your own mind designed to make your post a little "better"

there are marine police in the marina every morning that check the boats payload and the petcherat marina have no idea why you would post such lies about them.

you then asked to have your money back and was told that last minute cancelations are charged 30%. which is resonable bearing in mind the pick up and return to your hotel that is in Lamai.

you attemted to call your hotel and when they asnwered you that that is the policy and if you have a problem contact your agency. you dimanded to call the police... the lady then agreed to call the police and you decided that you dont want them.

this whole process was made by you whining and bitching and using faul languge. even the guides apprach to ask you to stop cursing was answered rudely.

the petcherat staff once refunding you have asked that you board the minivan to reurn to the hotel but you refused and went to look for your own taxi.

your accsesive use of the <deleted>> word has left the petcherat staff amazed. they are one of the oldest tour companies in Samui and they have never met a guest that has whined, bitched, and complained and used foul languge as much as you did.

the fact that on your return to the hotel today you have decided to dedicate the time and effort to opena a Thai visa account and your first post is to slander them is anothe addition to you code of conduct and behaviour.

As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you.

[MengWan]

As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you.

I see, so if a "guest" is (wrongly but rightly too I suppose) not happy, he should shut his/her mouth or he/she risks being acknoledged with a killing maffia-style !!!!

Wow, I suppose at least YOU are not a guest but part of this maffia, maybe a DON ?

You even do not need to keep your anonimity, I suppose the Police is on your payroll ?

I advise to propagate the initial post and your answer to international media, it is worth worth it !!!!!

[highdiver]

As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you.

I see, so if a "guest" is (wrongly but rightly too I suppose) not happy, he should shut his/her mouth or he/she risks being acknoledged with a killing maffia-style !!!!

Wow, I suppose at least YOU are not a guest but part of this maffia, maybe a DON ?

You even do not need to keep your anonimity, I suppose the Police is on your payroll ?

I advise to propagate the initial post and your answer to international media, it is worth worth it !!!!!

wow you missed my point compleately.

i guess i did not explain my self well. or you did not understand. or you one one of those that has a grudge with the locals as well.

the coment is not about not being not happy with service or shutting up... its about when and how to open your mouth. specialy when you are a guest in another country. and specialy in thailand where they tolerate your behaviour as long as you dont make them loose face.

the thais have a reputation and fun loving people but even the most friendly guy will turn violent if you make them loose face in public. you may not like this but this is the Thai culture and one should try and avoid this. if you realy dont agree to this then dont come to thailand as with a mouth like yours you are bound to hit poblems.

if you are not happy with a service you are right to complain its how you do it that set the diffrence. if you wish to sit down and calmly raise your complaint and try and sort things out calmly and with a smile even though you are disapointed then you will probably get better results then shooting your mouth of with faoul cursing and bitching.

and if that does not work make sure that if you publish it on mess media such as internet do be carefull what and how you write as you when its slander you and the media in this case Thai Visa are liable for it.

I dont know if you live in thailand or not. but please do accept this sugestion as it will save you getting into trouble. infact it will save you problems every where in the world.

as for your coment about me being a Don of the mafia and having police on my payroll. this is a fine exmple of slander. and the fact that you are annonimous allowes you to do it.

[meatgrowler]

As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you.

I see, so if a "guest" is (wrongly but rightly too I suppose) not happy, he should shut his/her mouth or he/she risks being acknoledged with a killing maffia-style !!!!

Wow, I suppose at least YOU are not a guest but part of this maffia, maybe a DON ?

You even do not need to keep your anonimity, I suppose the Police is on your payroll ?

I advise to propagate the initial post and your answer to international media, it is worth worth it !!!!!

wow you missed my point compleately.

i guess i did not explain my self well. or you did not understand. or you one one of those that has a grudge with the locals as well.

the coment is not about not being not happy with service or shutting up... its about when and how to open your mouth. specialy when you are a guest in another country. and specialy in thailand where they tolerate your behaviour as long as you dont make them loose face.

the thais have a reputation and fun loving people but even the most friendly guy will turn violent if you make them loose face in public. you may not like this but this is the Thai culture and one should try and avoid this. if you realy dont agree to this then dont come to thailand as with a mouth like yours you are bound to hit poblems.

if you are not happy with a service you are right to complain its how you do it that set the diffrence. if you wish to sit down and calmly raise your complaint and try and sort things out calmly and with a smile even though you are disapointed then you will probably get better results then shooting your mouth of with faoul cursing and bitching.

and if that does not work make sure that if you publish it on mess media such as internet do be carefull what and how you write as you when its slander you and the media in this case Thai Visa are liable for

Yee ha....go on highdiver.......i personally think after weighing up the complaint post then your post ,that you are right...the fact that the poster has complained on thai visa within the only week of his samui holiday makes him a saddo!..i think id get on with what little time in paradise i had left ,rather than find a computer and waste time moaning...fairplay if he wants to reflect on any bad things when he gets home,as im sure hel_l have shed loads of time then!.......lifes too short saddo!

[MengWan]

wow you missed my point compleately.

i guess i did not explain my self well. or you did not understand. or you one one of those that has a grudge with the locals as well.

the coment is not about not being not happy with service or shutting up... its about when and how to open your mouth. specialy when you are a guest in another country. and specialy in thailand where they tolerate your behaviour as long as you dont make them loose face.

the thais have a reputation and fun loving people but even the most friendly guy will turn violent if you make them loose face in public. you may not like this but this is the Thai culture and one should try and avoid this. if you realy dont agree to this then dont come to thailand as with a mouth like yours you are bound to hit poblems.

if you are not happy with a service you are right to complain its how you do it that set the diffrence. if you wish to sit down and calmly raise your complaint and try and sort things out calmly and with a smile even though you are disapointed then you will probably get better results then shooting your mouth of with faoul cursing and bitching.

and if that does not work make sure that if you publish it on mess media such as internet do be carefull what and how you write as you when its slander you and the media in this case Thai Visa are liable for it.

I dont know if you live in thailand or not. but please do accept this sugestion as it will save you getting into trouble. infact it will save you problems every where in the world.

as for your coment about me being a Don of the mafia and having police on my payroll. this is a fine exmple of slander. and the fact that you are annonimous allowes you to do it.

First I see death-threats where they are, and threatening someone is not good !

After, if someone cannot bear tourists (you know, those funny people who do not know ...), then he/she had better change its JOB to avoid them !

This is true all over the world, (should I say the "non-thai" world ?) !

Did someone, during this incident, lost its face and told the customers that the waiting crowd was not meant to be one the same boat ?

Did the banker which issued the credit card somewhere in the "non-thai" world forgot to say that they where to refuse to pay a surcharge except in Thailand ?

[ClaudeFeller]

High Diver,

Samui is a tourist island with a rather poor customer service.

"As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you."

If we publish your words on a large billboard close to the airport it will not be a tourist island anymore.

[ParadiseLost]

"I advise to propagate the initial post and your answer to international media, it is worth worth it !!!!!"

I think anyone who knows Thailand will ROFL - nobody else will care!

[MengWan]

High Diver,

Samui is a tourist island with a rather poor customer service.

"As you are a guest in Thailand ( maybe a bad guest but still a guest) a little word of advice....

In thailand accusing a thai person or company publicly is taken very seriously and you should definatly make an effort to avoid this. The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you."

If we publish your words on a large billboard close to the airport it will not be a tourist island anymore.

Yep, to make it a little fun, it could read :

Keep smiling, or beware of the contract-killers !

Then, to make money, open a direct flight between Samui and Sicily !

[Mark Wolfe]

Highdiver wrote:

...so your statements about people pilling up was a misunderstanig on the amount of people or a fabtication of your own mind designed to make your post a little "better"

Speaking of attempting to make your post a little 'better,' how about Highdiver's hyperbole:

"...they are one of the oldest tour companies in Samui and they have never met a guest that has whined, bitched, and complained and used foul languge as much as you did."

So this fellow is the grand champion of complaining in the long history of the company? How interesting. I guess they keep records on this sort of thing, do they? Some kind of ranking system, I imagine. Must be time-consuming, but ultimately worth it, I presume.

Highdiver wrote:

...your accsesive use of the <deleted>> word has left the petcherat staff amazed.

In what way? Surely in their long history as "one of the oldest tour companies in Samui" this wasn't the first time a customer had been unhappy and swore, or does the company keep records of this too? Not trying to make your post a little 'better,' are we?

Highdiver wrote:

The thai usualy retaliate in a very strong way to slander and they dont use lawyers to resolve the situation.. they use other ways which have been disuseed on various forum as being very agressive....

What other ways? Be specific here. Do they tickle you under the arms with a feather until you pee your pants? Do they put a voodoo curse on your penis? Is there bodily harm involved?

And please link this retaliation to the discussions on "various forum (sic)" as you mentioned.

Highdiver wrote:

so if you wish to posts accusations make sure that your inonimity is kept and make sure that they dont know who you are or where to find you.

Why not? What if they know who you are and where to find you? What will/may happen, if anything.

Your post is most enlightening, but please fill in the gaps for us all here, Highdiver.

M

[Pomthai]

We are in Koh Samui for one week, and overall having a great time and enjoying Thai culture. We had one horrible experience with a local tour company that I would like to share.

We booked our tour with this company through the guy at "Essential nightlife and Leisure Guide." I don't know how his advice would be on nightlife, but this trip is definitely not luxurious. The fee for the "Angthong Adventure Tour" leaving out if Petcherat Marina was 2200 bhat per person, plus an additional 200 bhat per person to get into the marine park. This was one of the most expensive tours on the island, so I expected it would be relatively nice.

The advertisement boasted, breakfast, soft drinks and fruits, and a luxury speed boat. When we arrived the company informed us that they did not take credit cards. I had been told on the phone that they did take credit cards, and our we had already reached our atm limit in the prior 24 hours. When we told them we didn't have access to cash, they told us there was a 3% fee for using a credit card. Ultimately, we were able to contact our bank and take out cash for the trip.

After paying we were told to enjoy breakfast and relax. Breakfast consisted of white bread, jelly and bad coffee. I wasn't expecting much, but being a tropical island I thought they would at least have fruit. Then, the last straw was when I saw 30-40 people piling into a small speedboat. It was half the size of the boat in the advertisement, and considering the rough water and full load of people, it looked sure to be uncomfortable.

I went to the front desk and told them that we were not comfortable getting onto the boat, and would like our money back. We offered to pay them for the "breakfast" and hotel pickup, generously valued at perhaps 500 or 600 bhat. The tour guides seemed friendly enough, but the woman who appeared in charge was not. She insisted on charging us 1200 bhat for our cancellation.

We tried contacting the guy we booked through at Essential Nightlife and Leisure Guide. He seemed to find our qualms with the company amusing and said he couldn't do anything about the 1200 bhat cancellation fee, that that was the company's policy. This policy had been no where written and not mentioned to us. I even went to the extent of threatening to call the police. Eventually, I was exhausted from fighting with them and decided to leave and salvage the rest of the day. They refused to refund our money. The whole ordeal cost us 1200 bhat, plus a 500 bhat cab ride back to our hotel, almost three hours out of our day and substantial aggravation.

In short, if you're uncomfortable with this company's misleading advertising and policy of having too many people pile into a small boat, it is going to cost you 600 bhat per person. I was very disappointed in their overall attitude. Customer service is a concept not yet fully developed in Thailand. I would encourage anyone to research the companies they travel with very thoroughly, and to definitely not travel with this company.

1. Baht is spelled 'B A H T' or rarely 'B A TH' but never B H A T.

2. You've essentially berated and defamed a company, whilst whining and complaining about a tour you NEVER EVEN WENT ON!

3. You should take off the rose tinted Bglasses for under you Bhat and realize that this is indeed another country different from your own. Your 500 Baht spent going back to your hotel would have been better spent going to the airport.

[peter991]

We have now heard BOTH sides of the story. My guess is the TRUTH is somewhere in the middle.

Peter

[Mark Wolfe]

Let me play ombudsman.

The central fact here is that there is a disgruntled customer. Regardless of the details, the service expected by this customer was not what was provided by the company.

This seems to be a case of inaccurate or misleading advertising, inasmuch as the breakfast offered was not as promoted (or failed to live up to reasonable expectations) as stated in the advertisements, and the cancellation fee was not made public beforehand.

It seems that the cancellation fee is excessive at 30 percent. The argument that the customer had already been transported to the venue and that this would be equivalent to a taxi fare is not valid. Since the customer was part of a tour, it follows that his party was collected in a mini bus along with other customers. The fee for this might be better compared to that of the shuttle from the airport to destinations on Samui, the most expensive (as printed on the tickets) is 150B per person.

However, as a business, the company should engender goodwill and do all it can to assuage the unhappy customer and refund all the money.

As for the complaint about overloading boats, the evidence of this is unclear. It seems likely that the customer was confused about what he was seeing regarding the number of people in each vessel.

As for the behavior of the customer, it should be noted that being polite and courteous is not simply something one would strive for in Thailand, but anywhere. However, the fact that an unsatisfied customer bad-mouths the company is no excuse for the company to shirk its responsibility to do everything in its power to foster good relations with the public.

To sum up, the company must in future be more forthcoming about cancellation fees and should make advertisements clear. Although some customers will inevitably be irascible, it is their corporate responsibility to keep a calm head and bend over backwards to accommodate any aggrieved party.

As for the customer, it is wise to note that complaints are better received in a spirit of reasonable calm. Nothing is achieved with the addition of swearing or defamation.

[stiggy]

used them many times

Always found them to be good and professional.

[Samuian]

used them many times

Always found them to be good and professional.

so did I... never a complain, the opposite, felt taken care off really well.

Besides I did send many many Customers to this Company, never a Complaint!

Some people get out of bed "with the wrong leg first" at least sometimes..

Being for many Years in the Hospitality Industry on Samui, I do know the "black Sheep"!

The Refund Story is, that the Agent has had His CUT already so they can't refund the whole lot.

Last Minute Cancellations are subject to a heavy cut ANYWHERE on the Planet - come on dudes - get real!

AND: NOBODY IS GONNA GOING TO SHOOT OR CONTRACT KILL Someone who made a Joke of himself already - in Thai Society he's OUT anyway!

By the way it happens that I am a close friend of one of the females from this honorable Family... I did ask her to read this thread - she first read in awe, then a grin crept acros her face, after all she stood up laughed and said: "I know, I know this story, sister big upset, this guy only problem, problem, you Farang are too serious people!"

Edited August 10, 2007 by Samuian

[mrt273nva]

island discovery is a fairly new company on koh phangan that will do pickups in samui for a fuel surcharge. they are half the price of many of the samui companies. i've sent all my customers there that are looking for boat tips. it is farang owned and run which i think works alot better for most of the western tourists. www.island-discovery.com. they are worth a try at least. i've heard of alot of people complaining about the thai captains of other companies who don't speak english and herd around the people like sheep.

[MengWan]

used them many times

Always found them to be good and professional.

so did I... never a complain, the opposite, felt taken care off really well.

Besides I did send many many Customers to this Company, never a Complaint!

Some people get out of bed "with the wrong leg first" at least sometimes..

Being for many Years in the Hospitality Industry on Samui, I do know the "black Sheep"!

The Refund Story is, that the Agent has had His CUT already so they can't refund the whole lot.

Last Minute Cancellations are subject to a heavy cut ANYWHERE on the Planet - come on dudes - get real!

AND: NOBODY IS GONNA GOING TO SHOOT OR CONTRACT KILL Someone who made a Joke of himself already - in Thai Society he's OUT anyway!

By the way it happens that I am a close friend of one of the females from this honorable Family... I did ask her to read this thread - she first read in awe, then a grin crept acros her face, after all she stood up laughed and said: "I know, I know this story, sister big upset, this guy only problem, problem, you Farang are too serious people!"

I agree with what you say about tourists, but the percentage of "black sheep" is not anyone's choice.

When one wants to work on this kind of job, he/she should be prepared for the 1% of people that could cause problems and not feel "loosing face" in explaining their side.

(and the abuse of the F word is so common in some "higly civilised" part of the world !!!!)

Preventing the fears is a good mean to avoid some stress due to ignorance of what will happen !

A lot of things happen here, I was myself (a long time ago) transported once like a piece of cattle to a nowhere place ... and I do not forget my old (polish) mother panicking when the taxi that was meant to bring her to the airport did not show !!!

Edited August 10, 2007 by MengWan

[Wellington]

Strange we have heard no more from jacks742.

[Samuian]

....When one wants to work on this kind of job, he/she should be prepared for the 1% of people that could cause problems and not feel "loosing face" in explaining their side.

(and the abuse of the F word is so common in some "higly civilised" part of the world !!!!)

"prepared" to handle 1% out of 99%? it need a 100 Customers/Travellers to "take care" of someone who is verbaly abusing staff? They are busy checking people in, taking care, so taking care of that 1 Person would mean that the others will have to wait and being taken care off, because some "freak" who can't restrain his emotions needs to be taken care of?

Wow!

Preventing the fears is a good mean to avoid some stress due to ignorance of what will happen !

I agree with this one, but how exactly you wanna realize this in a fast moving business?

Most people want to go as comfortably as possible from A. to B. and so on - out of how many this Person is complaining?

If there would be massive complains - I would agree and say: "Hey, what is going on?"

A lot of things happen here, I was myself (a long time ago) transported once like a piece of cattle to a nowhere place ... and I do not forget my old (polish) mother panicking when the taxi that was meant to bring her to the airport did not show !!!

Well, after all, do not forget this is Asia!

Never had a Cab being late or "a no show" in your home country?

I am NOT a visitor and I have traveled Asia far and wide, it's most of the time up to the individual, how things are going and which way.

After all, why the OP hasn't commented any more?

Maybe bad mouthing a long standing, well established, well doing company, huh?

[Cuban]

Maybe bad mouthing a long standing, well established, well doing company, huh?

If the OP is speaking the truth about the "breakfast" and the overloaded boat, the company in question is not so good.

I agree that the original message should have wider publication, let the Thais see the effect of bad customer service and their disregard to safety standards as publicity about Koh Samui and Thailand builds to one of Amazingly Dangerous and leads to reduced tourist numbers.

Samui and KP are the wild west of Thailand, big money to be raked in from tourists by Thais that do not care about the place itself as they are not locals themselves.

Such tourist boat trips are over sold and from time to time lead to an accident where tourists are killed.

If no action is taken and no one comments when such bad practices are carried out they will continue.

If a boat is licenced (?) for X people and it carries X+5 because the operator wants to make more profit at the expense of the safety margin, who cares if there is not an accident.

If there is an accident the operators insurance will pay. What insurance?

Tourists: fleece 'em and forget 'em!

[sbk]

Strange we have heard no more from jacks742.

Precisely.

Since the poster only wished to join to defame the company, this thread is closed