Deputy Pm Want Public To Inform Him About Suvarnabhumi Airport Mess

[ausiekid]

For a start:

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geaussie (does it really mean dogsh.... in Chinese?) I never had a bad welcome in Sydney and I travel regularly.

[neverdie]

Yes, it generally has something to do with either you being a GRUB or an Attitude problem if you find your arrival at any airport like Sydney a 'problem'. However this is about Suvarnabhumi airport where just about anyone and everyone is fair game.

I've travelled in and out of there too often since it was opened & on my last entry I had my first problem, which isnt too bad considering the amount of travelling I've done through there.

As for the problem I had recently, surely the deputy PM doesnt need this stuff spelt out to him, this isnt rocket science

[andyww]

It is no surprise that the Deputy PM did not know anything about the problems.

Anyone who understands the way the Thai class system works will know why. In the West, a lowly employee might spot some kind of problem going on, and escalate this to his boss, and maybe the problem would be addressed and the employee possibly thanked for bringing it to the managements attention.

This does not happen in Thailand, it is not acceptable for a person to tell his superiors that something is not right. So nothing ever gets escalated upwards. Add to this that many officials are simply incompetent because they have not been promoted on the basis of ability, and there is an obvious problem.

On the other side of the coin, employees will alert management if its part of their job description and training to do so, so that in the case of the King Power issues, the staff raised the alarm without a second thought, and then KP had to follow it through to avoid loss of face, despite the huge amount of negative publicity it caused them. Yes I know most people on here believe the KP thing was a scam from start to finish but I happen not to. To me the issues there were total stupidity of KP in following through the prosecutions (one of which was certainly an accidental removal of the item from the store) and then the outrageous extortion at the police station. In fact the guy in the British Couple case stated that in his view the scam did not start until they reached the Police Station.

Several of my wifes family are officials at the top of government (which is handy as the Police would never bother us unless we did something really bad), and my wife has discussed all these airport issues with them, after I researched all the available information and passed it to her, including the all-important Western Press coverage. The repies she got confirmed they were for the most part in blissful ignorance of the whole sitiuation.

In the case of the behaviour of the police in the KP cases, I know that action was definitely taken in this area once they became aware.

On the subject of immigration officials, my wife is always commenting on how the officials at Heathrow are so casual and often laughing and joking. She says that in Thailand anyone in a position of authority caught smiling excessively would probably be given a talking-to by their boss. Its just the system. Staff must toe the line. If the heads of immigration initiated a "smile" campaign they probably would do so. Maybe I will put the idea to her government family members....

[neverdie]

^I would find it strange if the deputy PM has never actually travelled or had friends travel or someone somewhere along the line hasnt mentioned something about whats going on at some of Thailands airports, not to include at least Suvarnabhumi airport.

In your scenario the deputy PM is deaf, dumb and blind, which perhaps in this place may be possible, but then again he would most likely be sitting on a footbridge with a cup if that was the case.

Get real, he knows what the problems are and most likely lacks the ability to do anything about it......making him no different to any of the others that have or are likely to walk in his shoes. I say this after observing the way things work here in Thailand over the last 20 years or son (& most likely well before that too).

[andyww]

^I would find it strange if the deputy PM has never actually travelled or had friends travel or someone somewhere along the line hasnt mentioned something about whats going on at some of Thailands airports, not to include at least Suvarnabhumi airport.

How would he and his class of friends know about whats going on? They would certainly never become victims. Despite travelling regularly I would not have known myself unless I had read all about it on the web.

You are right, however that knowing about it is only one part. Having the ability and willpower to do something is another.

[brahmburgers]

Let's just call him Gassous Clay.

Since they have done away with the immigration cards which I am sure they have assiduously stored, why don't they simply give every visitor a complaint/recommendation card which can be returned by post?

Having a card earmarked for complaints from farang is far removed from Thai tradition. Granted, Thai hospitality is good at some things, especially when they put efforts in to being accommodating.

However, having a 'courtesy card' type of thing - for farang input, could never happen here. For starters, has anyone ever been asked by Thai management of any venue whether the music or sound level is satisfactory? If you reply 'yes, then you're either lying or perhaps you're a personal friend of management who experienced a one in a billion occurance. Same goes for temperature and any other ambient discomforts one might experience in a commercial space.

The other reason response cards would never happen in Thailand, is Thai employees would have to read English. It's a chore which they'll avoid any way they can. Plus, reading complaints would only bolster their belief that farang complain too much. Most likely it would just cause offense and defensiveness, similar to the T.Visaites who so quickly jump on any farang who broaches a complaint about Thailand by saying, "if you don't like it, then why don't you leave."

As to whether constructive complaints/suggestions would ever serve a purpose of getting things/services improved. Fogget about it.

[andyww]

In China many public officials desks have small boxes with three pushbuttons which can be pressed to rate them, Good, Average or Poor.

I am not sure what these buttons are connected to. Maybe they are wired to electrodes attached under the desk..

[moe666]

I have been flying in and out of Bangkok since 1998 using both airports and have never been scammed. Staff as friendly as one would expect handling thousands of people a day.

Of all the people writing and complaining here how many have been scammed at the airport. I donot doubt that there are scams but what is the actual number of people who get taken for a ride to read this forum you would think it is 100 per cent of all arriving and departing passengers.

[Hawaiian]

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

When you say interrogated do you mean they were strapped to chairs and whipped, or do you mean they were questioned under caution about suspected drug smuggling. sensationalism at its bet there my friend. maybe they should just ignore suspicions, also <deleted> does a british accent have to do with anything or tracing their ancestry back to england have to do with anything, I guess the immigration or customs should have guessed this and since they are connected to the UK just let them pass and ignore the suspicions.

What was the suspicion, was it prescription drugs by any chance

Sorry that my post wasn't clear as to what actually happened to this couple. They were detained and questioned. The contents of their luggage was searched and then they were escorted to a room and questioned about where were the illegal drugs they were supposed to be carrying. I mentioned Kenya, Canada and Hawaii because this was part of the line of questioning. It was was also implied that their accents were phony. Six hours of wasted time.

Hawaii is well known for high grade marijuana and perhaps this is what they were looking for. I realize the most innocent looking people can be the most successful drug runners. Still a most unpleasant experience for this very pleasant couple.

They will never visit Australia again and neither will I.

[Artisi]

"They will never visit Australia again and neither will I." That's a shame, I was really looking forward to seeing you.

[glegolo]

Since they have done away with the immigration cards which I am sure they have assiduously stored, why don't they simply give every visitor a complaint/recommendation card which can be returned by post?

It may take a while to get through the 5mn complaints in the first month, but at least they could do something with the info as opposed to asking "How much do you earn?" on the tourist arrival cards.

If that is too much get hold of 500 Thai Airways gold card holders who are regular flyers and get them to complete surveys.

But then, that would probably give them too much proper information which might actually lead to them having to do something about the crappy airport.

----------------------------------------------------------

Good reply, I like it. get information from people coming here regularly, but as you said, it will anyhow ends up in.... nothing!!

Glegolo

[chillibilly]

... I think it is a no-brainer why a government official would ask the "common folk" to report any illegal "doings" at the airport; for, those guys get VIP treatment at the airport, so how would they know? And many Thais (due to their nature/culture) do not feel comfortable making complaints (Westerners do). So as a expat working in Thailand, WHERE do I file a complaint if I see something illegal? Is there an web sight/ an office to go to???

I just landed at Swampy last week (from Hanoi) after midnight and sure enough, I was approached by some slime ball asking me where I was heading wanting to take him as a driver ...then he followed me all the way out the door. I finally turned around and told him he was there illegally, but he just grinned and continued to pester me.

[redscouse]

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

When you say interrogated do you mean they were strapped to chairs and whipped, or do you mean they were questioned under caution about suspected drug smuggling. sensationalism at its bet there my friend. maybe they should just ignore suspicions, also <deleted> does a british accent have to do with anything or tracing their ancestry back to england have to do with anything, I guess the immigration or customs should have guessed this and since they are connected to the UK just let them pass and ignore the suspicions.

What was the suspicion, was it prescription drugs by any chance

Sorry that my post wasn't clear as to what actually happened to this couple. They were detained and questioned. The contents of their luggage was searched and then they were escorted to a room and questioned about where were the illegal drugs they were supposed to be carrying. I mentioned Kenya, Canada and Hawaii because this was part of the line of questioning. It was was also implied that their accents were phony. Six hours of wasted time.

Hawaii is well known for high grade marijuana and perhaps this is what they were looking for. I realize the most innocent looking people can be the most successful drug runners. Still a most unpleasant experience for this very pleasant couple.

They will never visit Australia again and neither will I.

But they were not taken to a hotel by a dodgy sri lankan and ordered to pay extortionate fees to gain their freedom

[Hawaiian]

Hope you are just being facetious and not trying to have the last word.

[samran]

In China many public officials desks have small boxes with three pushbuttons which can be pressed to rate them, Good, Average or Poor.

I am not sure what these buttons are connected to. Maybe they are wired to electrodes attached under the desk..

by pressing 'poor' you stand a good chance of summary execution

[caf]

... I think it is a no-brainer why a government official would ask the "common folk" to report any illegal "doings" at the airport; for, those guys get VIP treatment at the airport, so how would they know? And many Thais (due to their nature/culture) do not feel comfortable making complaints (Westerners do). So as a expat working in Thailand, WHERE do I file a complaint if I see something illegal? Is there an web sight/ an office to go to???

I just landed at Swampy last week (from Hanoi) after midnight and sure enough, I was approached by some slime ball asking me where I was heading wanting to take him as a driver ...then he followed me all the way out the door. I finally turned around and told him he was there illegally, but he just grinned and continued to pester me.

Are you saying because they travel VIP they do not know what is going on?

[catmac]

Of course, they could follow the lead of China........

"The former head of the state-firm that owns Beijing airport has been executed following his conviction on corruption charges, state media have reported".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8189042.stm

[Thai at Heart]

... I think it is a no-brainer why a government official would ask the "common folk" to report any illegal "doings" at the airport; for, those guys get VIP treatment at the airport, so how would they know? And many Thais (due to their nature/culture) do not feel comfortable making complaints (Westerners do). So as a expat working in Thailand, WHERE do I file a complaint if I see something illegal? Is there an web sight/ an office to go to???

I just landed at Swampy last week (from Hanoi) after midnight and sure enough, I was approached by some slime ball asking me where I was heading wanting to take him as a driver ...then he followed me all the way out the door. I finally turned around and told him he was there illegally, but he just grinned and continued to pester me.

Are you saying because they travel VIP they do not know what is going on?

Maybe they do or don't know. The fact that these scams and dodgy stuff at the airport have been running since day one of operation at the airport would tend to show that they don't CARE.

[Maestro]

An post attempting to disrupt the discussion and the replies to it have been deleted.

--

Maestro

[brahmburgers]

It is no surprise that the Deputy PM did not know anything about the problems.

Anyone who understands the way the Thai class system works will know why. In the West, a lowly employee might spot some kind of problem going on, and escalate this to his boss, and maybe the problem would be addressed and the employee possibly thanked for bringing it to the managements attention.

This does not happen in Thailand, it is not acceptable for a person to tell his superiors that something is not right. So nothing ever gets escalated upwards. Add to this that many officials are simply incompetent because they have not been promoted on the basis of ability, and there is an obvious problem.

I don't concur that the Deputy PM knows nothing about problems at the airport(s). That's not inferred. Instead, the article infers he's open to others (who may not yet have stepped forward) to express their bad experiences. I think that's ok, and generally shows good leadership.

However, you're right about why easily-fixed problems fester. Thais are loathe to complain to authorities, at least on an individual basis (when not in a mob scenario). They hate for anyone to lose face, even if it's military grunts (or their superiors) stacking young Muslim men like cordwood in the back of flatbed trucks.

One big exception was 'pastrygate' when Thaksin's appointees got caught. If it was T or his wife or kids who brought that big stack of bribe money in to the judicial office, it wouldn't have been revealed - or T or his ilk would have simply said something like, "oh, how silly of me, I forgot I stored that cash in the donut box." Come to think of it, that's what they said - right after the pay-off attempt was bolloxed.

Another exception to the rule was when one of Oak's teachers (Oak is T's son) caught the kid cheating on an exam. Needless to say, the kid got off and the University president issued a statement to the effect, "no big deal, all students cheat."

On the subject of immigration officials, my wife is always commenting on how the officials at Heathrow are so casual and often laughing and joking. She says that in Thailand anyone in a position of authority caught smiling excessively would probably be given a talking-to by their boss. Its just the system. Staff must toe the line. If the heads of immigration initiated a "smile" campaign they probably would do so. Maybe I will put the idea to her government family members....

Before Suwanboom, I was stuck at Don Muang for several hours. All the announcements that day were very loud, shouted by an obvious katoy, who was sniveling and giggling between every utterance.

give me smiling faces instead of shouting katoy any day.

Edited August 11, 2009 by brahmburgers