The "golden" Moment They Lost Your Business

[robblok]

I must say so far i haven't been to many places that lost my business. Probably because i stay out of the tourist area's and let my wife decide where to eat. She knows the good places.

I did however get desperate when we had people were doing construction jobs in our house. Every time they made something something else broke or it was a quick fix. My wife told me she did not want them in the house anymore and we should look for other people to fix the stuff. In the end i decided to do things myself (i never did that because i have a dad that was real good with his hands so i never had too).

So now i do all the stuff in the house and i actually got handy and have a big supply of tools.

Its really amazing how they always go for the quick fix i don't mind paying extra for good materials.

[TAWP]

Time to get a grip fellas

you wouldnt even get a decent entree back home for the price you pay for a banquet here.

I cannot grasp how people can be this ignorant...as if everyone here was a tourist and had salaries from abroad.

[henryalleman]

Every year its one of the most important day's in Flanders when the new mussel season start, everybody is waiting with water in their mouth for that day, and weeks beforehand newspapers comment the quality of the mussels that year. In short is the culinary highlight of the year. Every restaurant try to get the first harvest.

Now the story. We had one of favourites restaurants where my wife (a very chai yen yen person) always ordered mussels mixed whit all kind of shell food, a real delight for her. But that evening not even one other shell food in the pot. I called the waiter and pointed this out to him. He said that they where inside but underneath , my wife roared in the pot to show him there where non, the manager saw the quarrel and came to our table, he also said Madame, I talked with the cook and he guaranteed me they are inside but underneath.

My wife got so angry she turned the pot upside down on the table, and told them, OK you show them to me.

Result they apologized and offer a free dinner, but my wife refused and we left.

[robblok]

Every year its one of the most important day's in Flanders when the new mussel season start, everybody is waiting with water in their mouth for that day, and weeks beforehand newspapers comment the quality of the mussels that year. In short is the culinary highlight of the year. Every restaurant try to get the first harvest.

Now the story. We had one of favourites restaurants where my wife (a very chai yen yen person) always ordered mussels mixed whit all kind of shell food, a real delight for her. But that evening not even one other shell food in the pot. I called the waiter and pointed this out to him. He said that they where inside but underneath , my wife roared in the pot to show him there where non, the manager saw the quarrel and came to our table, he also said Madame, I talked with the cook and he guaranteed me they are inside but underneath.

My wife got so angry she turned the pot upside down on the table, and told them, OK you show them to me.

Result they apologized and offer a free dinner, but my wife refused and we left.

That would have been fun to see I cant help but smile.

[yabaaaa]

I always tell in a very polite way that I will call them when I decided what to eat. I even find it a very rude that Thai customers let the waiter/waitres always wait endlessly while they still chitchat amongst themselves.

Yes, but the latter is more the cultural norm in Thailand. I used to ask them to go away and let me decide for a few minutes but now I just let them wait as this is what they EXPECT is their job. If they have something more urgent, they will slip away, that is probably bad service by Thai standards, but nothing is perfect. I don't think it is our role to change the culture of Thai waiting standards. No of course I am not in the Thai-ier than Thai camp, I just think it is reasonable for foreign residents to adapt somewhat to local expectations. It tends to make westerners feel GUILTY to have a "servant" stand there like that and that makes many of us uncomfortable. However, THEY are not uncomfortable, in fact shooing them away is weird behavior by their expectations.

I dont feel guilty I feel pressurised to order quickly and once I feel pressurised Im less co-operative

[ThaiPauly]

I have only visited two establishments in CM that I refuse never to set foot in again, both restaurants of a type.

The lsat one was the worst because this place had been critised pretty badly on the CM Forum and I stuck up for it because I had never had a bad experience there.

Then low and behold the next time I go there for a Sunday Roast , as usual I say can we have a few extra rost poatoes as they are so delicious.

This time the owner took our order, but instead of the usual side dish of potatoes there seemed to be just a few more on each of our plates.

They were also undercooked, I did not compalin , it was the fisrt time it had happened and they never charge us for the few extra ones anyway so give and take I thought.

When I go the bill I noticed an extra 50 baht charge, I queried this with the waitress who went away and came back and said the extra was for the potatoes...I then sought out the ownere and said to him that I was astonished at the extra charge, I had been eating Sunday Roasts there for two years and never been charged, he just kinda looked at me a bit weird and said sorry witha shake of his head....at this point I told him the potatoes were undercooked, he said "I'll have a word with him (the chef)...fat lot of good that was going to do me.

I paid my bill and left.

Like I said I had always defended and praised this establishment, but I won't be going back, nor recommending the place.

I'm not a cheap charlie, and his roasts are not that cheap to begin with but nowhere (to my knowledge) in the menu does it list prices for extra portions, if we had paid for them during our previous 15-20 lunches there I would/ would not have accepted it from day one.

LAST TIME THERE

[polecat]

I think you're being a bit harsh ThaiPauly. It seems you're pi$$ed off because you didn't get something for nothing.

[Lost in LOS]

business models in Thailand always amaze me. I go to movies in major once a week. the theater hasn't had more than 8 people last 10 times i have gone due to business going to central mall. my girlfriend, like all Thai girls, loves the discount cards. I hate them. i let her talk me into the latest promotion where you pay 1000 baht for the card and instead of the movie being 120 baht it is 100 baht for the next 10 times, from the on you get 10% off. We get 8 of them and then they tell us that's it, no more movies included but we can still have the 10%. After much discussion between her and my girlfriend, we let it go, used the card and got the 10% discount. next time we went, we show the card and it is no good. "owner want new promotion, no like this one" Again, after much discussion between her and my girlfriend we give up and pay full price. Girl said owner know people upset, so here is coupon for free popcorn. we order sweet popcorn upstairs and the counter girl says, coupon only good for regular popcorn. Again, my girlfriend and her have a long discussion pointing out all three kinds of popcorn are the same price. Girl says OK after long discussion with other worker behind counter, gives us the free sweet popcorn and then charges us for everything. big line now so i just pay. we go back yesterday to see the wrestler , now the normal price of 120 baht is now 130 baht. My girlfriend and her have another conversation, "owner says this movie got academy award so many people want to watch so we raise price". 8 people in the movie theater. will they never learn. business slow, must raise prices to get people back.

amazing Thailand

wrestler was a great movie by the way and if you go to major dont worry about long lines

[Beacher]

Not a restaurant, but my wife and I have been avoiding a Shell gas station closest to our house because one attendant with somewhat of an attitude. I forgot exactly what it was, it was very minor but still an attitude, and from a gas pump attendant! It was something like me confirming that he was going to put in B5 Biodiesel and not the horrendously overpriced unnecessary crap called V-something diesel. And his response was more or less to point at the label on the pump and have a slight attitude about it.

So we've been avoiding that whole pump for half a year now, and could easily become forever.

So there you have it. Staff and staff training are very important in getting and KEEPING customers.

(Do I win the prize for the most insignificant event leading to a personal boycott? )

I think I can win that one.

For a couple of years I would stop at a small villiage store a few times a week on my way home from work to pick up cigarettes and maybe a couple of beers. I was always charged what I knew to be the proper price for these things, i.e. 63 baht for Marlboro Light. One Friday the girl decided to up the price of my smokes to 65 baht. Of course, I didn't say anything for fear of sounding terribly cheap, but as I drove away it started to bother me that after giving them my business for that long they would decide to stick me for 2 extra baht. Did they think that their shop was the only one where I could buy these things? As it turns out, I have never gone back to that shop again, and if they've even noticed, the unfortunate thing is that they've probably can't figure out why I just drive past their shop and stop at the one a little further down the road. Needless to say, it isn't the 2 baht that cost them all future business, it's the principle of treating me badly.

[polecat]

I went through a phase of buying John Langford shirts. Not that they're anything special, but they just seemed to fit me nicely. Whenever I was in a department store (which is far too often) I would browse through the JL shirt section to see if they had any new styles in.

One Saturday I was in Paragon with the Mrs, and while she was off doing her thing, I wandered over to the JL concession. I picked out 2 shirts I liked, tried them on and wanted to buy them. The assistant gave me the old "buy 3 get 1 free" spiel. But I didn't want 4 shirts, I wanted 2, which I explained with a smile. But she would not leave it and kept on at me to buy another one, grabbing random shirts and thrusting them at me. Seriously, she was like a pitbull: "Siiir, siiiir!"

It went on so long and really started to drive me crackers. In the end I dropped the 2 shirts I wanted and walked away, just to get away from her. I've never bought a JL shirt since.

[IMA_FARANG]

When they have a note on the menu saying....10 baht charge for napkins.

Or....glass of water 10 baht. (Not the bottled water, I accept paying for that. But I won't pay for a glass of tap water served from a pitcher.)

Or...when they leave a dish of salted nuts on the table...which they charge you for even if you don't eat any. (This is a common scam in Singapore by the way).

As for tipping...my Thai G/F's son usually takes the bill and while the waitress is standing there, looks through the bill...if it is correct, he tips. On a few occasions, he has caught a mistake...like having a large beer charged to us, which was actually served to the next table, not us.

And another thing, I have high blood pressure. I can't eat MSG in food as it triggers my high blood pressure. About two weeks ago I was at a seafood place. The food was good, but about 20 minutes after I ate, my blood pressure shot up. It was up to 180 over 90. The sauce they served for the fish had MSG in it. My fault really that time, as I forgot to ask before I ate.

Anyway, those are examples of places that lost my business due to that "Golden Moment"

And just to even out the complaints. I once stayed in a guesthouse owned by a Thai Chinese family. There were two room types. The cheaper one had a small refrigerator and a single bed. The larger one, which cost about $10 more had a double bed, and a larger refrigerator.

One British guy was asked to leave and never return, The reason was he wanted the cheapest room, but asked the owners to move the double bed and the larger refrigerator into his room. Of course, he didn't see why he should pay for the double bed or larger refrigerator, since it was the same room.

His "Golden Moment" was to be told to leave.

[Jingthing]

I think you're being a bit harsh ThaiPauly. It seems you're pi$$ed off because you didn't get something for nothing.

No. Those little extras to please specific customers are something smart businesses love to do because they know it builds loyal repeat business and also good word of mouth.

[Neeranam]

Reung Thai, Khon Kaen.

With my mother who left a big tip even though the food was terrible and service bad. The waitress looked at the 100 baht and walked away without as much as a wai or thank you.

[Cuban]

....they took it back because it was bad and this was the replacement. he insisted we pay. we paid and he now misses his 3x weekly guests including many of my friends that used to go there.

I know that place, when I used to meet people in the area I would often sit there as it offers a nice seat and good vantage point. It reminds me of a good customer experiance in a nearby gogo a few years ago; one evening I had gone out with some tea bags with me and asked for a cup of hot water while in a gogo (yes I know - bit I do buck the trend) the cup of water was provided, my friend drank a beer. After 15 minutes or so we wanted to move on, it was my 'round' at that place so I queried the check-bin as the total was only for the beer. "You bring your own tea-bag, no charge for water!" was the reply. I can't remember how much I left to compensate for bringing it/washing the cup etc. But I considered that experiance more than fair.

[polecat]

....they took it back because it was bad and this was the replacement. he insisted we pay. we paid and he now misses his 3x weekly guests including many of my friends that used to go there.

I know that place, when I used to meet people in the area I would often sit there as it offers a nice seat and good vantage point. It reminds me of a good customer experiance in a nearby gogo a few years ago; one evening I had gone out with some tea bags with me and asked for a cup of hot water while in a gogo (yes I know - bit I do buck the trend) the cup of water was provided, my friend drank a beer. After 15 minutes or so we wanted to move on, it was my 'round' at that place so I queried the check-bin as the total was only for the beer. "You bring your own tea-bag, no charge for water!" was the reply. I can't remember how much I left to compensate for bringing it/washing the cup etc. But I considered that experiance more than fair.

That's fantastic. Not only do you drink tea in go-gos, but you bring your own bags.

[barky]

Having spent over 20 years previously in a sevice industry I think I have learnt a thing or two about good/bad/mediocre service. And I think I have seen it all in many establishments around the world. As for Thailand, here too I have seen the good, bad and ugly of customer service. Overall, outside of the 4-5 star hotels the service is on the whole OK. But, unfortunately, I have far too few examples here of good service.

Without going through a list of examples, one of my pet hates is being totally ignored by sales/customer service staff.

A case in point. MK Suki. To first staff member in fairly reasonable Thai, a small bottle of heineken please. Order acknowleged. 2-3 minutes..nothing. To 2nd staff member exactly the same as the former...nothing. So, after these 2 attempts I got up, walked to the front, found the manager, told her the problem, re-ordered and then she personally delivered it to my table. Finally, good result.

There was no misunderstanding with the 2 staff as they only stock 2 brands of small beer (Singha and Heineken) .

They just unilaterally decided to totally ignore me. The little f*****s.

The real problem is of course the manager, as far as I could tell, did not talk to the two staff about their pathetic non-service. Maybe because I am a westener, they, like many other Thais, feel they can get away with this kind of stuff with impunity.

The over-riding problem here in Thailand is that it is quite obvious these people are not trained well, I'm sure most receive no training at all. It's a case of monkey see monkey do. ie: They see their senior/manager give none or poor service and they simply follow suit.

In the end, I, like most of us, just go somewhere else as we are spoilt for choice. And the places that do not understand the customer is always right (even when they're wrong) deserve to go out of business.

Sadly though, for their business sake, the average Thai only thinks about the here and now.

Edited March 13, 2009 by barky

[henryalleman]

Every year its one of the most important day's in Flanders when the new mussel season start, everybody is waiting with water in their mouth for that day, and weeks beforehand newspapers comment the quality of the mussels that year. In short is the culinary highlight of the year. Every restaurant try to get the first harvest.

Now the story. We had one of favourites restaurants where my wife (a very chai yen yen person) always ordered mussels mixed whit all kind of shell food, a real delight for her. But that evening not even one other shell food in the pot. I called the waiter and pointed this out to him. He said that they where inside but underneath , my wife roared in the pot to show him there where non, the manager saw the quarrel and came to our table, he also said Madame, I talked with the cook and he guaranteed me they are inside but underneath.

My wife got so angry she turned the pot upside down on the table, and told them, OK you show them to me.

Result they apologized and offer a free dinner, but my wife refused and we left.

That would have been fun to see I cant help but smile.

Now I can laugh with it, but that moment I realy felt embarrassed a lot.

[Birdman]

Now I can laugh with it, but that moment I realy felt embarrassed a lot.

If there would not be Henry, I would not have a clue about Flemish life styles

[Sabum]

....they took it back because it was bad and this was the replacement. he insisted we pay. we paid and he now misses his 3x weekly guests including many of my friends that used to go there.

I know that place, when I used to meet people in the area I would often sit there as it offers a nice seat and good vantage point. It reminds me of a good customer experiance in a nearby gogo a few years ago; one evening I had gone out with some tea bags with me and asked for a cup of hot water while in a gogo (yes I know - bit I do buck the trend) the cup of water was provided, my friend drank a beer. After 15 minutes or so we wanted to move on, it was my 'round' at that place so I queried the check-bin as the total was only for the beer. "You bring your own tea-bag, no charge for water!" was the reply. I can't remember how much I left to compensate for bringing it/washing the cup etc. But I considered that experiance more than fair.

Buck the trend? No sir, you do a little more than that... stark raving mad comes to mind, bring your own tea bags to a gogobar and then ask for hot water? Hehe, you must be quite a character.

[Jingthing]

stark raving mad comes to mind,

Yes, if he is poor he is stark raving mad.

However, I have an old friend who is massively wealthy and he does the same kind of thing with teabags (demands not to pay for the hot water); we call him eccentric.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Jingthing

[Moonrakers]

I've just experienced a "Golden moment" in a salon.

When I arrived I asked how long before I could get a haircut. "Pep Dio" came the answer, and the Lady went on to explain that she had one more nail to finish on her customer and then I would be next. So I sit down to wait.

About 5 minutes later she had finished with her customer and then disappears put front, 20 minutes after that I am still waiting for her to return and so stick my head out of the front door to see what is happening only to find her sitting about chatting and eating with friends, of course I leave and shall not be returning.

If she had just told me I would have to wait for a bit so that she could eat then it would have been different and there would be no hard feeling, instead she clearly told me what I wanted to hear so that I would agree to the cut and then leaves me sitting around like a spare prick at a wedding.......... HOW RUDE.

It worked to my favour though as I have now found somewhere that gives a better cut.

[wefearourdespot]

A few month ago got a haircut at the barber in Soi Yensabay. The place is a shithole, but the haircut a decent one for 60 baht.

I returned today and this time was asked 80 baht. Surprised by the steep price increase I was pointed at a sign showing the price was still 60 baht for Thais, but 80 baht for foreigners now.

Needless to say, last time there.

[wefearourdespot]

My last time at Timeout Ice Cream inside Tukcom was instead a couple of months ago.

What happened then ? Absolutely nothing , but today was thinking to buy a small cone until I got there and saw the price was now 95 baht compared to previous 58. So I guess my time there a couple of months ago was my last one.

Edited March 15, 2009 by wefearourdespot

[angiud]

n Italy they do the same,you get a bill of meter long

they charge

table

spoon and fork

bread

sauce

butter

etc... etc...

Fake, in Italy the restaurant charge for "pane e coperto", bread and kind of service, it's illegal charge for anything else, the VAT is already included in the menu price; usually, but not everywhere, service is not charged, but waiters expect a tip.

[wefearourdespot]

....they took it back because it was bad and this was the replacement. he insisted we pay. we paid and he now misses his 3x weekly guests including many of my friends that used to go there.

I know that place, when I used to meet people in the area I would often sit there as it offers a nice seat and good vantage point. It reminds me of a good customer experiance in a nearby gogo a few years ago; one evening I had gone out with some tea bags with me and asked for a cup of hot water while in a gogo (yes I know - bit I do buck the trend) the cup of water was provided, my friend drank a beer. After 15 minutes or so we wanted to move on, it was my 'round' at that place so I queried the check-bin as the total was only for the beer. "You bring your own tea-bag, no charge for water!" was the reply. I can't remember how much I left to compensate for bringing it/washing the cup etc. But I considered that experiance more than fair.

Had you brought your own sugar as well ?

[SoiGirlHunter]

Only good experiences w Pizza company in pattaya, a bit pricey but way better than any pizza back in the usa

[Sabum]

Only good experiences w Pizza company in pattaya, a bit pricey but way better than any pizza back in the usa

Perhaps you have been away a little too long, pizza company is garbage compared to most North American pizza eaterys. But it is a huge step in the right direction compared to the way pizza used to be in Thailand! Bread with ketchup!

[luisparis]

[When some dumb waiter tries and tells me what to eat when I'm reading the menu... like the fuc_ker has a clue of what I like and even of what the food looks like if it's western... today had yet another problem in my condo's restaurant, ( Very pleasant, but the restaurant opened recently and is desert and needs to invest more on the service if they want to justify prices similar to The Oriental), the waiter who looks more like a motorbike taxi than a waiter in a posh restaurant which is already upsetting, stood over my shoulder and tried to push the club sandwich while I was readin the selection, later he couldn't even understand the new set menu offered only two dishes (it used to be 3 until a couple of days ago, and that was too much of a challenge for him to understand the new menu and he just went on reading it wrongly sure of his three dishes selection... he had to call the manager in to get confirmation the menu had been indeed changed .. than I have no idea why but it reckoned I wanted to eat somtam ( "spicy papaya salad" was for some reason translating he manager) which isn't even on offer... at which point I went mental and screamed something in the tune of " Do you think I'm a negroid flat nosed braindead simian dwarfish lao like you to feel the urge to eat somtam ?" and other sweet love words than cancelled orders for everybody on the table than we bought some ready made chinese raviolis in 7/11) . I'm generally short tempered and thai clueless service people tend to get on my nerves rather easily. Not fun when it's the only restaurant in my compound along a Starbucks.

[luisparis]

Reading about "The Wrestler" higher on this thread, great movie indeed !

Did it find a large public in Thailand though?

[dave111223]

than I have no idea why but it reckoned I wanted to eat somtam ( "spicy papaya salad" was for some reason translating he manager) which isn't even on offer... at which point I went mental and screamed something in the tune of " Do you think I'm a negroid flat nosed braindead simian dwarfish lao like you to feel the urge to eat somtam ?" and other sweet love words than cancelled orders for everybody on the table than we bought some ready made chinese raviolis in 7/11)

That's classy