Double tier pricing at hospitals in thailand

[DonJuanDemarco]

To me, double pricing is just the unfettered free market at work. You are free to not pay. What more do you people want?

TH

So, if there was a line up of Thai office workers buying tea and when it got to the third person in line the shop keeper tells him, you pay 30 baht instead of 20 baht like everyone else. Then this person can either choose to pay more or walk away... While there might not be anything wrong with this in the sense that, as you say, he is not forced to shop at this stand, the state of mind of the shop keeper is hardly admirable. I am sure this person would feel that they were disrespected. I don't know about you, but I try to show the people around me in this world respect and I would like to receive it back.

[mauGR1]

Let's not stereotype. The Thais that cheat foreigners also cheat other Thais.

Yes, I completely agree. Lets not start stereo-typing otherwise this topic will be closed.

......................

Some Thai's will over-charge foreigners, they will over charge Thais as well, if the opportunity presents itself to make a quick profit.

Some Thai's will run down the street to give you mony that you dropped as well.

Just as in any other country on Earth.

I agree.

Moreover,if you live in some place long enough,even if you are a foreigner,you are less likely to be cheated than a same nationality tourist.

If you speak with Thais,you will listen many stories of Thais cheating Thais,only it's easier to cheat a foreigner,and it's less likely he's coming back to complain.

I'm not advocating overpricing,but if you live in Asia and you have time,you can bargain on almost everything.

[DonJuanDemarco]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

You do realize that someone else was already awarded the dinner coupon for worst post of the week already right? Why are you still trying?

[thaihome]

To me, double pricing is just the unfettered free market at work. You are free to not pay. What more do you people want?

TH

So, if there was a line up of Thai office workers buying tea and when it got to the third person in line the shop keeper tells him, you pay 30 baht instead of 20 baht like everyone else. Then this person can either choose to pay more or walk away... While there might not be anything wrong with this in the sense that, as you say, he is not forced to shop at this stand, the state of mind of the shop keeper is hardly admirable. I am sure this person would feel that they were disrespected. I don't know about you, but I try to show the people around me in this world respect and I would like to receive it back.

Why would you care about the "state of mind" of someone selling tea? Sometimes you people just crack me up.

TH

[Rionoir]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

You do realize that someone else was already awarded the dinner coupon for worst post of the week already right? Why are you still trying?

I'm dead serious... after reading both of the threads on this same topic going on tonight... some people just sound so dam_n cheap.  And yet, when I am with my Thai friends, it is always the poorest of my Thai friends that give 20 or even 100 baht to that poor child on the sidewalk, because they have it even worse than we do.

I've never seen my hi-so friends even look at those people, nor my farang friends except to say that they feel bad for them and how the government needs to do something about it.

And tonight it seems like half the farangs on the forum wanna throw a pitty party for themselves and how unfair Thailand is.  Boo hoo... look around the dam_n country and put your pity on the people it belongs on... trust me if you got a computer and the time to post on this forum, you don't have it so bad.

[soundman]

Some Thai's will over-charge foreigners, they will over charge Thais as well, if the opportunity presents itself to make a quick profit.

If I walk into a hundred different places of business and a Thai walks into the same one hundred places, I might get over charged in 50 of them and he might get overcharged in 3. I don't see the relevance of this defense.

It is quite clear to me that it is culturally acceptable in Thailand to cheat/over charge farang, but not acceptable to cheat/over charge Thais.

I totally dissagree with your hypothesis.

For arguments sake, let us pretend that the numbers you have proposed are correct. The factor that differentiates the rip off percentage, is the knowledge, or ignorance factor.

The person doing the ripping is not doing it on a basis of race, they are doing it for extra profit with the least aggravation. They will do it to Thai's, farangs, or aliens - whoever appears to be the easiest target.

I rarely get ripped off - even from the usual suspects; usually because I have a fair knowledge of the product or service I am buying, & the Thai's I am dealing with quickly realise that I have been here for a long time and have a good knowledge of the way things work in Thailand.

Good street smarts certainly help as well.

[EffectiveAnger]

To me, double pricing is just the unfettered free market at work. You are free to not pay. What more do you people want?

TH

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes you are a captive customer with little choice such as if you go to a hospital for critical care, the deed is done, you are stuck paying whatever they say you must pay, unless you choose to fight them.

How does one fight hospital staff while under their care? I can only imagine:

Doctor, if you don't lower my bill I'll stab you with that needle over there!

Administrator, I'm a poor falang and I have a sick buffalo too. My mother is dead and my father is just a rice farmer from Pigeon Forge, Kentucky. Please have mercy on me. I have only neatnoy money!

Nurse, if you talk the managment into lowering my bill, I'll marry ya and give you all the white skinned babies you want.

and if all the above fails, you scream, "I'm calling my Embassy right now!"

Then again, maybe you just leave the country and conveniently forget to pay the bill.

[thaihome]

To me, double pricing is just the unfettered free market at work. You are free to not pay. What more do you people want?

TH

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes you are a captive customer with little choice such as if you go to a hospital for critical care, the deed is done, you are stuck paying whatever they say you must pay, unless you choose to fight them.

An even better example of the unfettered free market, they have you by the “short hairs” in that example, don’t they?

So what you really want is for Thailand to start down the road of government intervention. Who decides when that is necessary and when it is enough? You? A majority vote of the TV membership? All the things that piss us off about the current state of the western world started with entirely justifiable intervention by the government into our lives and it just kept on and on.

TH

[carmine]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

Hopefully some do because the Thais certainly wont

[Maizefarmer]

Let's not stereotype. The Thais that cheat foreigners also cheat other Thais.

That's not true. There are plenty of Thais who will only try to cheat farang.

No more so than there are ex-pats who think only Thai's behave like this ............................. i.e. there is nothing "exclusively" Thai about this behaviour - it happens everwhere in the world - it is not culture/race/ethnic group or nationality specific - it's rather more universal- its called human nature. Problem is, only time we are senstive to it, is when it happens to us.

[miatai]

I visited a hospital and my Thai partner was very upset because the doctor overcharged me on the doctors fee and then they over charged me on the cost of medicine. Almost everywhere you go in Thailand, as a farang, you will be over charged. Even a doctor, someone you would expect to have some class, disappoints.

I don't think you can respect someone and cheat them at the same time. I am sure some of you will claim otherwise, but I think you are just deluding yourselves.

So the big question is why is it like that here?

......and what about farangs who cheat farangs after they think they have settled in thailand, through land deals, etc. etc???????

[richard_smith237]

An Ex girlfriend paid somewhere in the region of £13000 for her M.A. at Central St. Martins college. The same course is offered at about 25% of the cost to EU citizens and I believe it’s free to British nationals.

As far as paying extra to get into central parks etc – I try to get away with it by using local ID etc, but its not a big deal if I have to pay more.

In a hotel I walk out if I witness double pricing.

In the ‘Coffee shop’ example above, I’d just place the B20 on the counter and walk away with a smile.

I sometimes feel like a second rate citizen here, usually by some ignorant local guy or woman. Depending on the situation I have laughed it off, ignored it, or put the person right and received a varied response to apology and respect to total detest…

Some locals are incredibly confused when it comes to the ‘Pecking order’ and where we fit in compared to them. Some are just stupidly racist. Others think the sun shines out of our backsides. I think any minority in any country gets treated in a similar way.

I see Thai’s treat those who they see as below them in the hierarchal pecking order quite terribly. We are just an extension of that pecking order.

Given that we add a certain hierarchal confusion we can cross class boundaries quite easily, and as such we are often judged by our native peers rather than ourselves.

Mostly I am treated as an equal and get calls to go out, drink, have dinner, play golf etc with guys I have developed good friendships with.

[citizen33]

"We are just guests here". Absolutely 100% correct. To think in any other way will only give you a headache.

Somebody recently drew my attention to the fact that Muslims in the South are frequently referred to as 'khaaek' (the Thai word for guest) and indeed frequently use this word to describe themselves. Of course, these people also recognise that this word cen be a derogatory term for one type of foreigner, originally I think South Asians. Most societies have ways of distinguishing the 'other' from the in-group but my impression is that Thais draw the line rather more sharply than say many Europeans, and in a way where, while the words in themselves can be given a neutral meaning, there is ambiguity about possibly disparaging connotations (as with that other outsider category, farang).

[Hawkup2000]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

I agree. Some weekends I spend the whole day being driven around by tuktuk driver to various tailors and gemstores just to save their life.

Last Sunday I really felt good about myself. I wandered around Erawan Shrine looking like a tourist. After five minutes some Thai tour guide approached me. He became somewhat hostile, but hey it's easy to be like that when you have to work so hard in the heat all day. It ended with me paying 1000 Baht for two candles to put at the shrine. I feel that I really saved his life that day.

[carmine]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

And just as a follow up, your more likely to step in rocking horse shit than see a Thai hand out the cash, so who is "you people " refering to

[rgs2001uk]

To me, double pricing is just the unfettered free market at work. You are free to not pay. What more do you people want?

TH

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes you are a captive customer with little choice such as if you go to a hospital for critical care, the deed is done, you are stuck paying whatever they say you must pay, unless you choose to fight them.

Invest in adequate health insurance, no double pricing there, everyone gets ripped off after all its the insurance company picking up the tab.

[Beacher]

It's certainly not a Thai trait to think about the future. For example, it's painfully obvious that most Thai restaurant owners don't have a clue about the benefits of repeat business or word-of-mouth advertising - concepts that are absolutely essential to their counterparts in many other countries. I find that they would rather hit you up for a few extra (dishonest) baht now than worry if you'll ever come back again. I realize that they think we're here today and gone tomorrow, and for the most part, I guess that's true, but they also fail to realize that the world is getting smaller and we communicate faster and more frequently across greater distances than ever before.

Countries around the world are (and will) realize that competition for the tourist dollar is fierce. Unfortunately, it's a lesson that Thailand hasn't learned yet and may be incapable of learning before it's too late.

[eek]

I think there is quite a big difference between making a choice of helping someone out and not liking being ripped off. I imagine for most its not so much about the money as just that it feels like a bit of an "up yours!". I dont like it in any country, even my own, why would i like it here? On the occasion its happened, i dont let it get under my skin too much, but that doesnt mean im ok with it, and doesnt mean im cheap either.

One very simple example i recall is when buying a can of coke at a market whilst waiting for my bf. I read the price in Thai on the list as 15 baht, but didnt have any change so handed over a 100 baht note (and yeh its not cool to hand over a 100 baht note for a 15baht purchase. Its not often i do that, but heck, no change, and i wanted a cold drink, ok! ). I got back 70 baht change. When i politely pointed out to her that the change was incorrect she was pretty pissed off, practically throwing the 15 baht difference at me. ..Yeh, its only 15 baht..but i dont appreciate being overcharged like that just because she thinks she can. Actually its sometimes the case that prices will only be shown in Thai some places, or a higher price in English than in Thai. Same when i overhear the Thai price at a market, when a farang asks its often double that..more even. I realise some wish to make a profit (particularly from farang, who are super rich..so should pay more..right... ), but its often not even moderate price increasing, its greedy and shows a lack of respect.

(This is not a bash at Thai btw. I dont believe all Thai people are this way, just some. Same in other countries too).

Edited September 14, 2009 by eek

[ff978472]

So, if there was a line up of Thai office workers buying tea and when it got to the third person in line the shop keeper tells him, you pay 30 baht instead of 20 baht like everyone else.

That's exactly what happened to me in Munich (Octoberfest) 10+ years ago, while I was trying to buy a hotdog. I had to pay higher than farangs just because my skin is yellow.

Never complaint, just enjoy the beer and hotdog.

Oh, I don't think the guy thought that I am sub-human, he just wanted more money from easy customer.

Edited September 14, 2009 by ff978472

[livinthailandos]

I felt the need to put this in so here goes. If the owner of the establishment cheats / scams / rips off customers then it is said the employee's will to after all if its ok for the owner to do it then it must be ok. I've only had a few times of being ripped off but not many. The majority of the time I'm fine

1. I buy my things from Big C or Tesco

2. Never buy drinks / candy or anything from local establishments I by it from family mart or 7-11

3. Eat at places where I know the price and I know already what to expect

4. You guys ever realize even thai people get fed up by their own people

5. It helps that I understand some of the thai language, You'd be surprised how many thai people will say something about you in thai and then come to find out you understand in which results in 3 areas of either anger / more questions / embarrassment. most of the time I just get more questions. Never had any problems with taxi's in bangkok, even meet some friendly people there to.

Remember your a guest here NOT a citizen.

[MiG16]

if nothing else, Im changing the title of this topic

the original title "thais dont treat non-thais as equal human beings' is way over the top exaggeration.

if you want to discuss double tier pricing, then call it that

do not bring human rights into it

double tier pricing ofcourse has been done and overdone again and again on this forum.

but so be it

[Kf6vci]

I've had mostly good experiences, but the odd overcharging.

Once I dropped my wallet and a Thai guy handed it back. And 1000 surprise acts of kindness weigh more than the odd disappointment.

Lots of people are eager to help, in all kind of circumstances!

The most infuriating incidents were at dentists' -

[caf]

Some Thai's will over-charge foreigners, they will over charge Thais as well, if the opportunity presents itself to make a quick profit.

If I walk into a hundred different places of business and a Thai walks into the same one hundred places, I might get over charged in 50 of them and he might get overcharged in 3. I don't see the relevance of this defense.

It is quite clear to me that it is culturally acceptable in Thailand to cheat/over charge farang, but not acceptable to cheat/over charge Thais.

Cheating/overcharging has been in Thailand for as many years as there have been thai apologists posting reasons why it is acceptable.

[caf]

Some Thai's will over-charge foreigners, they will over charge Thais as well, if the opportunity presents itself to make a quick profit.

If I walk into a hundred different places of business and a Thai walks into the same one hundred places, I might get over charged in 50 of them and he might get overcharged in 3. I don't see the relevance of this defense.

It is quite clear to me that it is culturally acceptable in Thailand to cheat/over charge farang, but not acceptable to cheat/over charge Thais.

I totally dissagree with your hypothesis.

For arguments sake, let us pretend that the numbers you have proposed are correct. The factor that differentiates the rip off percentage, is the knowledge, or ignorance factor.

The person doing the ripping is not doing it on a basis of race, they are doing it for extra profit with the least aggravation. They will do it to Thai's, farangs, or aliens - whoever appears to be the easiest target.

I rarely get ripped off - even from the usual suspects; usually because I have a fair knowledge of the product or service I am buying, & the Thai's I am dealing with quickly realise that I have been here for a long time and have a good knowledge of the way things work in Thailand.

Good street smarts certainly help as well.

Sorry I disagree. Signs at national parks etc clearly state different prices based on race. If it were based on profit they would charge hi so thais more; but they don't do they

Taking your own example of a service where you know the price as you are street smart. You go to a national park, argue your supposition that you know the "correct" price . Most will not get in unless they pay the higher price

[samran]

Taking your own example of a service where you know the price as you are street smart. You go to a national park, argue your supposition that you know the "correct" price . Most will not get in unless they pay the higher price

Don't you mean, citizenship?

Though I rarely have to, I show the Thai passports of my two blond haired blue eyed scandanavian looking daughters and they both get the lower price. How is that based on race? Oh do tell.

[caf]

I felt the need to put this in so here goes. If the owner of the establishment cheats / scams / rips off customers then it is said the employee's will to after all if its ok for the owner to do it then it must be ok. I've only had a few times of being ripped off but not many. The majority of the time I'm fine

1. I buy my things from Big C or Tesco

2. Never buy drinks / candy or anything from local establishments I by it from family mart or 7-11

3. Eat at places where I know the price and I know already what to expect

4. You guys ever realize even thai people get fed up by their own people

5. It helps that I understand some of the thai language, You'd be surprised how many thai people will say something about you in thai and then come to find out you understand in which results in 3 areas of either anger / more questions / embarrassment. most of the time I just get more questions. Never had any problems with taxi's in bangkok, even meet some friendly people there to.

Remember your a guest here NOT a citizen.

Actually, aliens.

You must have a different definition from me of "guest". If you come to my home as a guest I treat you with respect whether you are a citizen or not. Bad choice of words I think but I have heard it from many expats apologising for the thais

[samran]

Taking your own example of a service where you know the price as you are street smart. You go to a national park, argue your supposition that you know the "correct" price . Most will not get in unless they pay the higher price

Don't you mean, citizenship?

Though I rarely have to, I show the Thai passports of my two blond haired blue eyed scandanavian looking daughters and they both get the lower price. How is that based on race?

Edited September 14, 2009 by samran

[caf]

Taking your own example of a service where you know the price as you are street smart. You go to a national park, argue your supposition that you know the "correct" price . Most will not get in unless they pay the higher price

Don't you mean, citizenship?

Though I rarely have to, I show the Thai passports of my two blond haired blue eyed scandanavian looking daughters and they both get the lower price. How is that based on race? Oh do tell.

My reply was to a post by a farang as you well realised. And the position remains the same, We are differntiated against and subject to dual pricing because we are farang. Look at the signs on price boards. The words are "farang" "thai" so they are differentaiting on race not citizenship.

But you are right, if you show a thai national id card or are have permanent residential status you are charged the thai price, but most are not in that category. ( showing a thai drivers licence or speaking thai can work too but that is not the point being raised)

[samran]

Taking your own example of a service where you know the price as you are street smart. You go to a national park, argue your supposition that you know the "correct" price . Most will not get in unless they pay the higher price

Don't you mean, citizenship?

Though I rarely have to, I show the Thai passports of my two blond haired blue eyed scandanavian looking daughters and they both get the lower price. How is that based on race? Oh do tell.

My reply was to a post by a farang as you well realised. And the position remains the same, We are differntiated against and subject to dual pricing because we are farang. Look at the signs on price boards. The words are "farang" "thai" so they are differentaiting on race not citizenship.

But you are right, if you show a thai national id card or are have permanent residential status you are charged the thai price, but most are not in that category. ( showing a thai drivers licence or speaking thai can work too but that is not the point being raised)

Never seen 'farang' written. Always, "Thai" and 'Foreginer". In fact, they barely write that these days. Thai prices are written in Thai...most foreigners think they are paying the 'normal' price. Sneaky? My word....

[Rionoir]

Some of you people are really f'ing cheap. LoL Makes me wonder how many of you drop 10 baht once a month in some little child's cup on the footbridge and think you just saved his life.

And just as a follow up, your more likely to step in rocking horse shit than see a Thai hand out the cash, so who is "you people " refering to

You clearly don't know what you are talking about, it's ONLY Thai I've EVER seen give money to children begging in the street.  Couldn't tell you the last time I saw a foreigner do it.  When my Thai friends do it they consider it a way of making merit.  Most foreigners are too jaded towards beggars... but should really stop and realize this child probably isn't going to take that money to go buy alcohol and drugs,they are genuinely hungry.