Quality Of Service

[gisele]

Maybe it was just my experience this past weekend. About once every 6 weeks or so I go to Samui just for a weekend to see friends but also to eat farang food, and I look forward to good food.

I went to reliable places (not expensive places but long established hang-outs) and I was surprised at the decline of quality in food and/or service. Maybe I was just unlucky

Maybe there's so many customers anyway, with new places popping up to serve the increasing numbers of customers, there's no need to please regular patrons.

Really, even since I was here in February, I can't believe how quickly the place is changing, you can't hardly find any green spaces left along the road driving from Nathon to Chaweng.

What has been your experience lately?

[taxexile]

What has been your experience lately?

much the same , i'm afraid.

but the days of grinning toothless locals welcoming foreigners into their homes as family and feeding them and giving them their daughters for free have long gone.

we've spent a lot of time here in the past three years and its just got busier and busier and the speed of development is awsome to behold.

lots of big new hotels have opened recently and what with the tsunami in phuket and krabi , the past three months have been very busy indeed.

a good thing ??? not for us it isnt , but for others , maybe.

consequently the roads , although not exactly choked with traffic , are getting busier by the day and as their dont seem to be any plans to widen or improve them (or even maintain them) , its only a matter of time before traffic is reduced to a crawl all over the north side of the island.

service has gone downhill in a lot of places , the big hotels are fine , but smaller places either give traditional "island service" i.e. very slow like its always been , or give what is becoming very common now at busy places , service with a grunt.

customers are a bit of a nuisance.

even the checkout staff at tescos seem to be surlier than their counterparts in inner city england.

its a sign of the times .

holidaymakers will always come here for two or three weeks and there is no need for businesses to serve with the aim of getting repeat business.

as one load of customers departs by plane , another load is arriving.

for those who live here , its a matter of seeking out businesses and restaurants that do please , and sticking to them.

but it leads to disappointments when you want to try somewhere new , and disappointments when businesses close down and the owners move on.

and that seems to be happening a lot now.

people come here with a view to settling and starting a business , six months later they are gone. thai entrepreneurs too find it difficult here , what with the expenses here and the competition.

but once you get off the main road , and away from the chaweng and lamai high streets , it really is a beautiful place , the beaches are good , and still empty over most of the island.

Edited March 28, 2005 by taxexile

[joinme2leave]

unfortunately, I have to confirm all of the above said....

[snoophound]

Lackadaisical at best.

But then try Fiji!

Seems many Falang places on Samui start of well,etc...but then the owners eventually go troppo and things start spiralling down.

unfortunately, I have to confirm all of the above said....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Noodles]

What has been your experience lately?

much the same , i'm afraid.

but the days of grinning toothless locals welcoming foreigners into their homes as family and feeding them and giving them their daughters for free have long gone.

we've spent a lot of time here in the past three years and its just got busier and busier and the speed of development is awsome to behold.

lots of big new hotels have opened recently and what with the tsunami in phuket and krabi , the past three months have been very busy indeed.

a good thing ??? not for us it isnt , but for others , maybe.

consequently the roads , although not exactly choked with traffic , are getting busier by the day and as their dont seem to be any plans to widen or improve them (or even maintain them) , its only a matter of time before traffic is reduced to a crawl all over the north side of the island.

service has gone downhill in a lot of places , the big hotels are fine , but smaller places either give traditional "island service" i.e. very slow like its always been , or give what is becoming very common now at busy places , service with a grunt.

customers are a bit of a nuisance.

even the checkout staff at tescos seem to be surlier than their counterparts in inner city england.

its a sign of the times .

holidaymakers will always come here for two or three weeks and there is no need for businesses to serve with the aim of getting repeat business.

as one load of customers departs by plane , another load is arriving.

for those who live here , its a matter of seeking out businesses and restaurants that do please , and sticking to them.

but it leads to disappointments when you want to try somewhere new , and disappointments when businesses close down and the owners move on.

and that seems to be happening a lot now.

people come here with a view to settling and starting a business , six months later they are gone. thai entrepreneurs too find it difficult here , what with the expenses here and the competition.

but once you get off the main road , and away from the chaweng and lamai high streets , it really is a beautiful place , the beaches are good , and still empty over most of the island.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very well said....I can't believe the changes to this island in the last 5

years. The trouble is, I don't see it slowing down. If anything, it's accelerating.

What with the tsunami, the developers are just buying more land for more

big hotels and complexes. What will there be left to develop. I think there

is now 600 odd rai available in the big bhudda mountains.

The beauty of the island will be soon gone.....this place will soon be like

Tenerieffe, if it isn't already.