PeaceBlondie Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 sclapxdreพำ่ารññíioúัีีรั - do you speak/read Thai fluently? If not, you can't communicate. I never spoke to a worker. I let Thais tell Thais in Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phomsanuk Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 its really not that complicated... you pretend to pay them and they pretend to work Very Pragmatic......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaka Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Although it's clearly not restricted to Thailand, common sense seems to be very uncommon!For example, I had a bathroom renovated, by removing the bathtub - we left the faucets where they were, and put a shower with heating unit above the lot. My "worker" blocked off the already installed drain under those faucets and installed another in a further corner of the bathroom. Where's the common sense in that? Same worker, installing an outside electrical outlet for me, and I insisted on a weather protection casing, put it in with the electric wiring coming from the attic area into that casing from the top! Now there's a small opening I'm going to have to get sealed to ensure water won't drain into the casing! Now anyone (maybe?) with common sense, would understand the purpose of that casing and realize that the purpose would be defeated by leaving an opening in the top of it. Unfamiliarity with some aspects of western building might be a partial reason, but the lack of common sense is another major one! quote/Serious Question: Do they have real trade schools in Thailand?/unquote/ Answer: NO. Not what you mean by real. Try tell a thai he needs to train for three years in school, then do an apprentice year and then he can start working. He will shake his head and go home. And about Common Sense. Simple, there is no common sense here. Not the way a westerner interprete the meaning. Forget it. You need to revaluate your way of thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pdaz Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 sclapxdreพำ่ารññíioúัีีรั - do you speak/read Thai fluently? If not, you can't communicate. I never spoke to a worker. I let Thais tell Thais in Thai. Well if you plan to live in Thailand long term... Learning the language makes everything easier.. Or hire a bi lingual project manager for those big jobs... (cue rant of - I'm too old, to lazy, to busy to learn a language ) I never cease to find the situation funny when I see a farang trying to explain in 'baby' English to his ex bargirl missus what he wants/how to do something... The girl has been living in the ar*e end of nowhere most of her life and now she is expected to have a huge knowledge of how everything is done in farangland.. FAF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 A reminder: 7) Not to post slurs or degrading comments directed towards any group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais. bigotry is an unattractive quality and not one particularly welcome on this forum. bear that in mind when considering posting degrading slurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yabaaaa Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Last week growing rice this week building houses!!! They simply dont know half of the time. I had to show a guy chopping up re bar how to do it and this was at a builders merchant, he simply got the cutter put all his weight on it and I watched as the blade almost ground to a halt and blew up! I showed him to let the weight of the disc cut thru with no extra weight from himself. It made me realise when i start construction sometime in the future I will have to supervise absolutely every possible thing even which end of the shovel to hold I suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapout Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 When you look at the various professions and the change that has taken place over the past 20/30 odd years, I am amazed that we even get so called shoddy work done. most of the middle aged people outside the larger cities were raised within a village where the only cement/brick structure may have been the temple. Houses were wooden construction with no running water, few electric lights and fewer sockets, all of which was connected to a 5 or 10 amp safety cut??? Bicycle or a few cases a motor bike was transport back and forth to the farm. Nothing was mechanized on the farm until the iron buffalo came along. The next generation (those entering the work force in past 10 years) could not learn to repair autos, tractors, trucks, television, karaoke machines, Mobil phones, cameras, plumbing, electrical problems, etc as no training school was available and they sure could not learn from their parents. Yes, I have seen examples of every complaint mentioned so far, and a few more, in Thailand. I like to think of it as we are still seeing them climbing learning curve, just wish they would use a rope we throw to them once in a while instead of sliding back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaParent Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Last week growing rice this week building houses!!! They simply dont know half of the time. I had to show a guy chopping up re bar how to do it and this was at a builders merchant, he simply got the cutter put all his weight on it and I watched as the blade almost ground to a halt and blew up! I showed him to let the weight of the disc cut thru with no extra weight from himself. It made me realise when i start construction sometime in the future I will have to supervise absolutely every possible thing even which end of the shovel to hold I suspect. Nope, they got the shovel sussed already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 sclapxdreพำ่ารññíioúัีีรั - do you speak/read Thai fluently? If not, you can't communicate. I never spoke to a worker. I let Thais tell Thais in Thai. Well if you plan to live in Thailand long term... Learning the language makes everything easier.. Or hire a bi lingual project manager for those big jobs... (cue rant of - I'm too old, to lazy, to busy to learn a language ) I never cease to find the situation funny when I see a farang trying to explain in 'baby' English to his ex bargirl missus what he wants/how to do something... I won't rant; I didn't marry a bargirl. My partner is an ex-hotel manager who lived in a bamboo hut. I left house building to Thai construction staff who speak Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pdaz Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 sclapxdreพำ่ารññíioúัีีรั - do you speak/read Thai fluently? If not, you can't communicate. I never spoke to a worker. I let Thais tell Thais in Thai. Well if you plan to live in Thailand long term... Learning the language makes everything easier.. Or hire a bi lingual project manager for those big jobs... (cue rant of - I'm too old, to lazy, to busy to learn a language ) I never cease to find the situation funny when I see a farang trying to explain in 'baby' English to his ex bargirl missus what he wants/how to do something... I won't rant; I didn't marry a bargirl. My partner is an ex-hotel manager who lived in a bamboo hut. I left house building to Thai construction staff who speak Thai. The 'Ex BG rant' quip wasn't intended for you personally.. sorry.. It was just my take on the normal post that follow anyone suggesting that farangs living in Thailand should adapt a little and show some interest in the language.. Didn't mean to disparage you or your partner.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loz Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 On a related note of the half @rsed work ethic. Its the norm and gets my goat particularly as it never seems to be a mistake that costs them or inconveniences them. asked for 1000bht B5 at the fuel pump noticed it reading 1100bht and got him to stop. He they proceeded to tell me (who had been standing by the filler because they can't work out how to open it, if they can even find it! I kid u not*) "you said tem tank!" Now he had double checked me before inserting the nozzle so I had said, "B ha, Neung Pan" twice in front of 3 of his co workers. Did this mean anything to him? Noooooo he just ranted, "u must pay, I no have money" even though I had been speaking to him in thai. If he'd simply concentrated on this fairly simple task it would not have been a problem. I paid my 1000bht and left they said police, I said, "kwam kit dee" (good idea). I will later return the 121 baht of diesel I left without paying for. I won't charge them for the labour of extracting it from the tank. But at the end of the day, its Thailand and as long its home, remember the age old phrase,"when in rome..." Of course, when the airports are open, you can leave Rome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loz Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 It's all about majorities & minorities, the same as everything in life..I have been in the Construction Business in Thailand for the past 5 Years, i've witnessed things that have horrified me, made me laugh, made me clap & made me angry & it's all down to different things on my opinion such as incompetence, laziness & plain & simply not understanding & p*ss poor communication.. I also strongly believe that WE are the one's that are naive because we expect Thai's, the majority of whom in what we're talkign about are unskilled & extremely poor & for want of a better term, the bottom of society ladder amongst Thai's & get paid a pittance so why on Earth would we think that they'll just come in to build our House & we'll get a good, skilled Job done ?? Forget it.. Problem is, like many seem to think about the Women here, people think they're different, people take it personally when things go wrong but to the Thai's, both Labourers & the Women, it's juts work & you are no different to anyone else, no matter how much you pay them. Took me a while to come round to the thinking offered in the last paragrah... but it now make perfect sense. It explains everything that relates to "customer sevice" type issues. There is a reason "mai pen 'rai" is such a popular expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yabaaaa Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Last week growing rice this week building houses!!! They simply dont know half of the time. I had to show a guy chopping up re bar how to do it and this was at a builders merchant, he simply got the cutter put all his weight on it and I watched as the blade almost ground to a halt and blew up! I showed him to let the weight of the disc cut thru with no extra weight from himself. It made me realise when i start construction sometime in the future I will have to supervise absolutely every possible thing even which end of the shovel to hold I suspect. Nope, they got the shovel sussed already. I'll get 'em some saucepans later for the digging then?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRichard2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 It's cultural ..... It's buyer beware here plain and simple. That being the case most contractors are looking for the cheapest materials and workers. Even if the cheap products are assembled or installed by an expert it's still not going to last. The best thing is to really know what your buying. But this reminds me of an explanation a Thai told me when I first got here. ..... In America if you rip someone off your looked down on, in Thailand your considered a shrewd businessman. ...... I'm glad he told me that because I keep it in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 The poor workmanship is evident everywhere. My Thai neighbors built a beautiful new home about 6 years ago. They have a double plot of land and tore down the brand new existing homes and constructed this large house. They had a supervisor to oversee the construction (I am pretty sure he was an engineer). There was even an architect. It took two years of pounding, grinding and incessant noise before it was inhabited. There was some real nonsense that caused additional problems. They put in lovely parquet flooring, then started hauling bricks through to the back portion of the house. Then had to replace the floor. Two years later, the house was crumbling--and I don't mean cracking. I mean crumbling. They tore out most of the walls on the inside and started over again. The same 'professional' staff. The past year it has been drilling, pounding, grinding and incessant noise. In the meantime they bought a third house, which is next to the big one and are living there as this one is being rebuilt. Like the first time, when the 'professional' staff are there, the workers work. When they aren't, they sit down and do nothing. I don't care how much money they spend, but the constant work day and night and on weekends and every holiday is driving me nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnyboy Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I don't think it is ignorance or laziness, more like incompetence.Case in point, a few years ago we were moving offices to a well-known building on Sathorn. Our space was being renovated with new flooring, paint and lighting prior to moving in. A couple of weeks before moving in as they were nearing their completion, we did an inspection to see how it was shaping up. All was good except for one thing... they didn't put in any light switches. When queried the contractor walked us over the main circuit breaker box and said 'here, you pull this down and all the lights come on'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Forum rules: "8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais." It's a pastime of ignorant people on this forum. They find something in Thailand to complain about (predominantly a British pastime), and all of a sudden it's TIT, or the Thai way, or part of Thai culture. To call laziness a Thai thing is absolutely ridiculous. I'm lazy too and most visitors are pretty lazy from what I've seen. On the other hand, there are a number of Thai workers where I live that work their a**es off all day long and I'm amazed at their energy. Most of the complaints can be made in any country. Bad workmanship is not a Thai thing at all...it happens everywhere, as does laziness. Most of the complaints come from naive people who only know 2 countries. Their own and Thailand. For some reason they cannot see the warts back in their home countries. As soon as something is seen as not up to scratch, it's a Thai thing. They need to get out more and explore the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyww Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 (edited) Forum rules: "8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais." It's a pastime of ignorant people on this forum. They find something in Thailand to complain about (predominantly a British pastime), and all of a sudden it's TIT, or the Thai way, or part of Thai culture. To call laziness a Thai thing is absolutely ridiculous. I'm lazy too and most visitors are pretty lazy from what I've seen. On the other hand, there are a number of Thai workers where I live that work their a**es off all day long and I'm amazed at their energy. Most of the complaints can be made in any country. Bad workmanship is not a Thai thing at all...it happens everywhere, as does laziness. Most of the complaints come from naive people who only know 2 countries. Their own and Thailand. For some reason they cannot see the warts back in their home countries. As soon as something is seen as not up to scratch, it's a Thai thing. They need to get out more and explore the world. Absolutely spot on. Thanks. You dont even need to go out of Europe to see appalling construction standards. Try Greece for example. I have many friends who have houses in Thailand which are superb. If you buy a fairly decent house in the UK you might get a nice kitchen and bathroom but all other rooms will be bare shells. Even modest Thai houses have features such as hardwood coving, recessed false ceilings with downlighters, hardwood flooring and other detailing which would not be found in the UK execpt on a very high-end property. A friend just had her apartment re-done in Pattaya and they have done a superb job. Its all down to good project management. Edited December 9, 2009 by andyww Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayong09 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 The builders had to replace some floor tiles in the upstairs bathroom which one would presume would be a straight forward enough job. When we went to the house in the morning to check on other works going on there was water pouring from the downstairs ceiling! I said <deleted>? is this? It was translated to me that they forgot to turn the tap off in the sink upstairs when they went home!!! The all stood about and grinned along with my partner (The Thai way) If I had of been in England I would of thrown all their tools out on the street and told them all to f-off, but I'm not, I'm in Thailand, so I had to count to 3 and try and keep my cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Forum rules: "8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais." It's a pastime of ignorant people on this forum. They find something in Thailand to complain about (predominantly a British pastime), and all of a sudden it's TIT, or the Thai way, or part of Thai culture. To call laziness a Thai thing is absolutely ridiculous. I'm lazy too and most visitors are pretty lazy from what I've seen. On the other hand, there are a number of Thai workers where I live that work their a**es off all day long and I'm amazed at their energy. Most of the complaints can be made in any country. Bad workmanship is not a Thai thing at all...it happens everywhere, as does laziness. Most of the complaints come from naive people who only know 2 countries. Their own and Thailand. For some reason they cannot see the warts back in their home countries. As soon as something is seen as not up to scratch, it's a Thai thing. They need to get out more and explore the world. I once read a long time ago in a Psychology book that its a problem with almost all countries around the equator.. In the past food was hunted / collected and there was enough of it... Situation has clearly changed as most of what was posted here could have been posted about many countries in that strip.... It likely excludes Singapore and some places like it were people have learned to think... However learning to think is not something you learn out of the air... In addition many foreigners have adjusted too well to these circumstances... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 It likely excludes Singapore and some places like it were people have learned to think... However learning to think is not something you learn out of the air... In addition many foreignershave adjusted too well to these circumstances... Interesting. So where do people learn to think? Where to people think the most? This post amounts to just another Thai basher. You're basically saying that Thais don't think. They may not think the same way you do, but there are thinkers here just as there are non-thinkers in Singapore and everywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 A reminder: 7) Not to post slurs or degrading comments directed towards any group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais. bigotry is an unattractive quality and not one particularly welcome on this forum. bear that in mind when considering posting degrading slurs. 9) Not to assume that the way things are done in your home country is the only 'correct' way to do things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanook2me Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I once read a long time ago in a Psychology book that its a problem with almost all countries around the equator..In the past food was hunted / collected and there was enough of it... Situation has clearly changed as most of what was posted here could have been posted about many countries in that strip.... It likely excludes Singapore and some places like it were people have learned to think... However learning to think is not something you learn out of the air... In addition many foreigners have adjusted too well to these circumstances... I think you're on the right track...almost every hot sunny climated country without indigenous white folk or colonised/helped by us Brits (aka Singapore/Australia) basically is an emerging country and most probably not classed 1st World... being pompous is not easy for us Brits... These petty prevarications are so much more entertaining than another sin sod/my Thai gf /scam thread.. With due respect to Tracer, your sentence is just another knock knock knocking desultory posting about Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Societies in warm weather climates are considerably different than those in temperate climates. A whole different pace to life. It's not genetic, it's not nationalistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccaroni man Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 The builders had to replace some floor tiles in the upstairs bathroom which one would presume would be a straight forward enough job. When we went to the house in the morning to check on other works going on there was water pouring from the downstairs ceiling!I said <deleted>? is this? It was translated to me that they forgot to turn the tap off in the sink upstairs when they went home!!! The all stood about and grinned along with my partner (The Thai way) If I had of been in England I would of thrown all their tools out on the street and told them all to f-off, but I'm not, I'm in Thailand, so I had to count to 3 and try and keep my cool!! i had a small remodel job being done; enlarging a master bedroom toilet, one day i come in to inspect and see that a teak bar stool i left in an other part of the house is covered in cement, chipped as if an ax had been taken to it, clearly they had decided to use it for a ladder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Societies in warm weather climates are considerably different than those in temperate climates. A whole different pace to life. It's not genetic, it's not nationalistic. In the case of Australia, where you can have tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates at the same time of year (example 25 - 30C in Northern Queensland and Northern Territory and snow down south all in the same month), society doesn't differ much at all. Activities obviously do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llso Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 All was good except for one thing... they didn't put in any light switches. When queried the contractor walked us over the main circuit breaker box and said 'here, you pull this down and all the lights come on'. I got a real chuckle out of this one! I built a factory in Thailand and this is the epitome of thai workmanship. Hey, The lights come on. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sokal Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 It's all about majorities & minorities, the same as everything in life..I have been in the Construction Business in Thailand for the past 5 Years, i've witnessed things that have horrified me, made me laugh, made me clap & made me angry & it's all down to different things on my opinion such as incompetence, laziness & plain & simply not understanding & p*ss poor communication.. I also strongly believe that WE are the one's that are naive because we expect Thai's, the majority of whom in what we're talkign about are unskilled & extremely poor & for want of a better term, the bottom of society ladder amongst Thai's & get paid a pittance so why on Earth would we think that they'll just come in to build our House & we'll get a good, skilled Job done ?? Forget it.. Problem is, like many seem to think about the Women here, people think they're different, people take it personally when things go wrong but to the Thai's, both Labourers & the Women, it's juts work & you are no different to anyone else, no matter how much you pay them. The women are different, allot of guys come here for the women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHammer Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Societies in warm weather climates are considerably different than those in temperate climates. A whole different pace to life. It's not genetic, it's not nationalistic. There is some truth to this I think. Build a crappy house in Northern Europe and you are going to freeze, maybe even die (before central heating). Western craftsmanship didn't just happen overnight. If you ever looked at some medieval castles you would know. Our tradition of crafts have been perfected over a 1000 years, it's really not strange that it's better work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaParent Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 ^ but those medeaval castles are still standing, as are the pyramids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts