This is just a rant to let off steam.

Today I went shopping in Hang Dong for a few items. I had carefully planned the route and noted on previous visits where items of interest to me were to be found or kept and I expected the trip to take approx. 30 mins. It turned out to be nearly 2 hours because nothing was in the same place it had been one week ago. Nor were the moves logical and I had to search the whole shop to find what I wanted/needed. In one shop a staff member even told me that the item was not stocked. I found it only by chance while searching for something else. Why do they do this ? Surely it is in shops interest to have customesr come in and leave swiftly, it gets more in in the long run.

End of rant.

So that you look at more stuff in the store

I feel your pain. The local bookstore where I live always moves things around every few months, so I can never find the section I'm looking for.

Doesn't bother me when they rearrange the layout. I've always been methodical and always travel down every aisle in sequence. I don't even attempt at remembering the layout, except the obvious things like where the refrigerated or frozen products are.

This means you see everything you intended purchasing because you covered the entire shop in an orderly fashion and didn't run around zig-zagging everywhere and wasting time like a rat in a maze. Doing the latter means you find the soy sauce you don't want ten times but never find the HP sauce that you were actually looking for.

It also means you find the odd item that you'd forgotten you needed, or find some necessary item at a discount that's worth purchasing, while obviously avoiding the trap of wanton consumerism and buying <deleted>e you don't need.

The bonus is that you know exactly how long a visit will take. It also removes the necessity to go for only "a few items" because you're previous methodical visit and purchases removes the necessity to do so.

In Thailand this is funnier than other countries. Boots pharmacies sell the same products throughout Thailand but no two Boots pharmacies will have the same layout. If I visit a new Boots pharmacy in order to buy my favourite condoms I know they won't be found where my usual Boots pharmacy keeps them.

9 hours ago, Maybole said:

Why do they do this ?

To keep you hunting for whatever it is that you’re looking for, or just ask them where it is, your choice.

For your health and happiness. 😀

On 8/19/2026 at 11:05 PM, Maybole said:

Surely it is in shops interest to have customesr come in and leave swiftly, it gets more in in the long run.

No, not at all. The longer the customer is in the store, searching for what they need, the more chance there is that they will stumble upon something that they didn't come in for. But now they've come across it, they fancy buying it.

It's called 'impulse buying'. All stores, worldwide know about this and practice it.

I totally agree, it is a massive annoyance when stores move everything around.

Change is disgusting. I hate it.

We should be able to rely on where the Lindt chocolate is. Not have to explore for it like Cecil Rhodes.

They're playing us. In revenge we should buy at the market. On that front, have you noticed how the supposed night markets in Chiang Mai all pack up at 7.30 pm? I had one stall who had no products at 6.30 pm. The fried rice place. Bunch of slackers.

That's basic marketing applied wrongly, as always in Thailand (wrongly applying it or radically applying it). Stores want you to need some time to find your items as that will force you to see other items which in more cases results in additional sales, then that it matters for the few whiners that not come back like yourself. There is however a difference with re-organizing and just storing everything illogical.

Same how they apply sales wrong; if you actually need help they are useless and clueless and when you just want to browse around chill chill they come to bother you with 5-10 of them, as all they want is to claim the sales bonus on your checkout, e.g. homepro etc.

Or the fact wages are limited due to them needing 3-4 people for what could be 1 functional real worker. It's all the same source / cause.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by sunrisecoconuts

On 8/20/2026 at 2:05 AM, Maybole said:

. It turned out to be nearly 2 hours because nothing was in the same place it had been one week ago. Nor were the moves logical and I had to search the whole shop to find what I wanted/needed

I find it hard to believe that a shop would completely change its whole shop design just to make life harder for you.

Sure some things may get it's location changed, but I've never been in a shop in Thailand that every few weeks changes its whole layout to annoy it's customer's.

19 hours ago, sunrisecoconuts said:

Same how they apply sales wrong; if you actually need help they are useless and clueless

Yeah nah, must just be you - as I've always encountered excellent service, and if the person i was taking to didnt know the answer they were only to happy to find someone that did.

On 8/21/2026 at 11:39 AM, Moonlover said:

It's called 'impulse buying'. All stores, worldwide know about this and practice it.

Yep, but according to this page is only Thailand that does it that is annoying - laughable what ppl whine about about Thailand, yet doesnt seem to bother them anywhere else in the world.

Edited August 22Aug 22 by CNZBoi

1 hour ago, CNZBoi said:

On 8/21/2026 at 8:39 AM, Moonlover said:

It's called 'impulse buying'. All stores, worldwide know about this and practice it.

1 hour ago, CNZBoi said:

Yep, but according to this page is only Thailand that does it that is annoying - laughable what ppl whine about about Thailand, yet doesnt seem to bother them anywhere else in the world.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by CNZBoi

A combination of boredom. impatience and intolerance. A mix I've encountered quite often amongst expat communities in a number of countries.

But never more so than in Thailand!

On 8/19/2026 at 11:05 PM, Maybole said:

This is just a rant to let off steam.

Today I went shopping in Hang Dong for a few items. I had carefully planned the route and noted on previous visits where items of interest to me were to be found or kept and I expected the trip to take approx. 30 mins. It turned out to be nearly 2 hours because nothing was in the same place it had been one week ago. Nor were the moves logical and I had to search the whole shop to find what I wanted/needed. In one shop a staff member even told me that the item was not stocked. I found it only by chance while searching for something else. Why do they do this ? Surely it is in shops interest to have customesr come in and leave swiftly, it gets more in in the long run.

End of rant.

Most shopping is done by women. They browse the don't

I had carefully planned the route and noted on previous visits where items of interest to me were to be found or kept

The moving stuff around, which all supermarkets do, is so that while browsing shoppers pick up more things on impulse.

Your planning method only works in Hardware stores where most of the shoppers are "handy men". As in "If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy".

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hL4smv18CSs

Edited August 22Aug 22 by VocalNeal

The Tops in Ruamchok recently moved everything around, but I have a suspicion why. Over the last six months or so their shelves have been getting more and more bare - I noticed a lot of imported items have now totally vanished. So rather than display empty shelves they made all the aisles wider, made the shelves significantly shorter, and added new departments not related to groceries. I'd be tempted to head over to Rimping next door, but they also have the same lack of imported goods too, so same difference.

On 8/20/2026 at 8:50 AM, novacova said:

To keep you hunting for whatever it is that you’re looking for, or just ask them where it is, your choice.

Ask where it is?

Sure, except that some staff have no intention of actually helping which becomes 'mai mee' (don't have).

On 8/19/2026 at 11:05 PM, Maybole said:

This is just a rant to let off steam.

What bothers me the most is when they have a promotion on a food brand/item I'm looking for, but take ALL the stock from the assigned location (leaving the space on the shelf empty) to put it ALL on a promotional display in the footwear department.

Almost as bothersome is covering three quarters of the checkout counter with "last minute" items leaving little space to place the items I'm purchasing.

11 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

What bothers me the most is when they have a promotion on a food brand/item I'm looking for, but take ALL the stock from the assigned location (leaving the space on the shelf empty) to put it ALL on a promotional display in the footwear department.

Almost as bothersome is covering three quarters of the checkout counter with "last minute" items leaving little space to place the items I'm purchasing.

Oh the humanity!!!

On 8/20/2026 at 10:00 AM, SiSePuede419 said:

For your health and happiness. 😀

They had nice boobies back then.

On 8/19/2026 at 11:05 PM, Maybole said:

This is just a rant to let off steam.

Today I went shopping in Hang Dong for a few items. I had carefully planned the route and noted on previous visits where items of interest to me were to be found or kept and I expected the trip to take approx. 30 mins. It turned out to be nearly 2 hours because nothing was in the same place it had been one week ago. Nor were the moves logical and I had to search the whole shop to find what I wanted/needed. In one shop a staff member even told me that the item was not stocked. I found it only by chance while searching for something else. Why do they do this ? Surely it is in shops interest to have customesr come in and leave swiftly, it gets more in in the long run.

End of rant.

Many 'shops' use research based marketing approaches, because it's been proven certain movements of stock generate better sales. Their shop / their choice.

Further most supermarkets / department stores charge the product owner for shelf space. Then the product own can change products 'small at the front, tall at the back' etc. But also note the actual shop own expects a certain level of income from that product. and they can easily check this. If th level of income is not happening the shop owner reserves the right to rearrange product placement.

I guess in Hang Dong you just have to stiffen up to reach what you're after.

Edited August 26Aug 26 by mfd101

It's superstition. I think mainly a Chinese-Thai thing. Bring good luck and greater fortune. Usually happens after new year.

In my local Big C the gin is in the spirits section, the tonic water is in another aisle with the sodas, and the lemons are way over in the fruit and veg section.

I sometimes wonder how they come up with such daft arrangements.

/s

On 8/20/2026 at 8:50 AM, novacova said:

To keep you hunting for whatever it is that you’re looking for, or just ask them where it is, your choice.

Except it's very possible the store assistant will respond 'no have' when in fact they do have it, just laziness.

Nowadays most of the staff in professioanl stores carry a smartphone, they can very quickly look for the item on their screen in Thai and in English and very quickly tell you or take you to the aisle, even left side etc. it works even if the product has been moved.

On 8/26/2026 at 9:09 PM, chickenslegs said:

In my local Big C the gin is in the spirits section, the tonic water is in another aisle with the sodas, and the lemons are way over in the fruit and veg section.

I sometimes wonder how they come up with such daft arrangements.

Ohh really!

/s

Just now, scorecard said:

Except it's very possible the store assistant will respond 'no have' when in fact they do have it, just laziness.

Nowadays most of the staff in professioanl stores carry a smartphone, they can very quickly look for the item on their screen in Thai and in English and very quickly tell you or take you to the aisle, even left side etc. it works even if the product has been moved.

Not all stores do this. A twist: in some supermarkets the 3 item (gin, tonic water and lemons/limes) are in different sections, but in some stors the 3 items are lso clustered with the gin.

Main point really is that you know to go to 3 sections.

In my local Big C there is a highly trained team secreted in the back. When I clear the checkout an alarm sounds, and the team emerge, armed with a print out of what I purchased. Every item is moved to a new location!

On 8/19/2026 at 11:40 PM, Gsxrnz said:

Doesn't bother me when they rearrange the layout. I've always been methodical and always travel down every aisle in sequence. I don't even attempt at remembering the layout, except the obvious things like where the refrigerated or frozen products are.

This means you see everything you intended purchasing because you covered the entire shop in an orderly fashion and didn't run around zig-zagging everywhere and wasting time like a rat in a maze. Doing the latter means you find the soy sauce you don't want ten times but never find the HP sauce that you were actually looking for.

It also means you find the odd item that you'd forgotten you needed, or find some necessary item at a discount that's worth purchasing, while obviously avoiding the trap of wanton consumerism and buying <deleted>e you don't need.

The bonus is that you know exactly how long a visit will take. It also removes the necessity to go for only "a few items" because you're previous methodical visit and purchases removes the necessity to do so.

A bit too serious...

On 8/21/2026 at 12:48 PM, sunrisecoconuts said:

That's basic marketing applied wrongly, as always in Thailand (wrongly applying it or radically applying it). Stores want you to need some time to find your items as that will force you to see other items which in more cases results in additional sales, then that it matters for the few whiners that not come back like yourself. There is however a difference with re-organizing and just storing everything illogical.

Same how they apply sales wrong; if you actually need help they are useless and clueless and when you just want to browse around chill chill they come to bother you with 5-10 of them, as all they want is to claim the sales bonus on your checkout, e.g. homepro etc.

Or the fact wages are limited due to them needing 3-4 people for what could be 1 functional real worker. It's all the same source / cause.

But you can't expect Thai workers to be alone. Part of Thainess, must always have a friend / colleague nearby. Same as travelling, rare to see Thai people travelling alone.

My Thai son on one occasion mentioned he had told his uni friends that the following week he was going with me to China for 4 or 5 days. He knew well that 8 to 5 I would be working on a project with my Chinese client company and he would roam around alone. He had been to China previouly.

One of his uni male colleagues was quite concerned that my son would be alone all day. My Thai son speaks advanced as does his colleague.

Son's colleague called me and said he was upset that I had not told my son to ask a uni friend to join the trip so my son would not be lonely.

I asked his Thai uni colleague 'Do you have a passport?'

He respondend 'No, but I could tell the staff at the airport I am going with my friend to China so he won't be lonely, so I don't need a passport.

I respondedn 'Do you thing the airport check-in staff would accept that?

He responded strongly 'YES, they know it's not nice to travel alone'.

I Then sked son's uni colleague 'what about the airport in China will they allow you to enter China without a passport?'

He responded 'SURE same as not having a pssport atcheck in in Bangkok, and He would tell them 'not nice to travel alone'.

I finiahed the call with no resolution. When my son came home I told him about his uni friend calling me. Son was angry and called his friend and told him to mind his own business. And told his friend 'you have to have a passport to leave / enter any country and in some cases you need a document in advance approving you to enter'.

Son's friend said he didn't believe what my son had told him.

Reality is that my sone had done trips with me to several Asian countries previosuly and he enjoyed looking around other cities alone. And he lived alone in a very friendly student house in Singapore when he was studying in Singapore.