Fear of reviewing stuff because of legal consequences holds Thailand back

[Jingthing]

You can't publicly be honest about bad experiences with businesses in Thailand without justified fears of legal consequences.

All expats shoud be aware of that if you aren't already in order to protect yourself.

But the downside of that lets keep everything harmonious is that people are deprived of good information and true competition which raises the standard for all surviving businesses suffers greatly. 

 

I totally realize this is a big part of Thai culture.

But I also know that Thailand in theory wants to move up the ladder economically.

I don't expect this to change much. It's deeply ingrained in Thais from an early age.

I don't think it's expats place either to suggest that they change.

If they ever do change, it will need to come from within.

 

Anyway, 

a recent experience highlighted this problem for me.

 

I saw a new to me restaurant on the Grab app but it had zero ratings and zero reviews.

I had a bad feeling about it but the menu looked interesting and the menu pictures were inviting,

So I risked an order.

 

Surprise, no surprise, the food was below par,  very different than the descriptions and pictures, and the portions very tiny.

 

Of course, for me, never again.

 

But did I rate or review it, possibly helping other make an informed decision?

 

OF COURSE NOT.

 

If I had I would have been the very first reviewer and if I had given an honest review, I would have been a legal target of that business for harming their livelihood.

 

So I did nothing.

 

This issue may be less for places that have 20 reviews, mostly good or OK though.

 

But even then, a while back a restaurant that I had ordered from occasionally called me and starting talking very angrily to me about my low rating.

 

This was very crazy because I didn't rate or review the place.

 

So the owners are definitely watching you and they have your phone number!

 

[CharlieH]

Dont be intimidated. If it's bad, I say so, you cant live life in fear of "what might happen".

[impulse]

That's why I never use the other emojis.  It's either the like emoji or none.  Sooner or later, one of you knobs is likely to sue.

 

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Dont be intimidated. If it's bad, I say so, you cant live life in fear of "what might happen".

Up to you, but very early in my long standing stay in Thailand I made the decision to actively filter out negative stuff here as much as possible, and also to bend over backwards to try to avoid conflict with Thai people.

That has worked for me and I ain't changing.

I sincerely beieve that being the first reviewer on that horribly bad restaurant and being honest about it would have made me very vulnerable No thank you!

 

You do have to consider the context though. It's doubtful in a case of a place with many reviews if you said something like the kangaroo sauce on the pigeon was different to what I expected would be a problem. I also reckon the apps are probably complicit in deleting very negative reviews anyway.

[jas007]

Google Maps is a good source for honest reviews, as many of the reviews obviously come from tourists who may never be back again. They're probably not worried about posting what they think. For example, if I'm thinking about a particulate hotel, I always check the reviews.  I sort from worst to best. And if the hotel has a problem, it'll likely be reported. Construction noise, poor location, cleanliness, etc.  On the other hand, if there are hundreds of reviews and the great majority are great, then there's probably some truth to that.  

 

Ditto for restaurants.