King Power - From The Other Side

[TAWP]

With the bag-snatching last night I forgot to post what I actually had intended to share.

I have a friend who works at King Power at Suvhanaphumi. She came home the other night and was upset.

I talked to her on the phone and got the general gist of the story was that yet again someone shoplifted one of the wares (to avoid ID issues, I'm not gonna tell you in which shop she works) that are moderately high priced items for ladies and men of good taste. And the sad fact is that 70% of the value of the wares stolen gets directly lifted from the employees salary, as punishment.

I have recently asked her about the whole scam-angle as some posters think exist, that there is some conspiracy going on in King Power. And I can without doubt say that there is no such thing as a conspiracy amongst the normal staff to ever frame any shoppers. And it makes no sense that the staff in any way would be a part of such a thing or try to frame 'innocent' customers.

What we have is real thieves that are caught and then offered to pay their way out of their legal trouble. And this is where the 'scam' is taking place, at the hands of the police and their negotiators - but this isn't a scam in any way related to King Power and its staff it is infact something you will also encounter outside this venue of getting caught. It is not even uncommon, as some others have testified.

And that scam is double-sided. The price is fairly high for a foreigner to get out of a smaller mess (that still could give short jail-time but anything over a few days are too much for many westerners, so...they pay up) but the foreigners are also taking part of a process that makes sure the justice system is scammed by not allowing due process to be carried out which means victims in other cases might not receive the justice they deserve due to the defendants paying their way out of it.

That is all...

[PattayaParent]

Well I can testify tht I was in King Power Duty Free a few days ago and bought some df booze and was not arrested for doing so.

Seems to me that the only ones that have anything to complain about are the ones that have done something wrong.

[Donnyboy]

still wouldnt shop there, still way overpriced imo

[ricklev]

I don't believe that all of the people caught in the scam are guilty of shoplifting. It would be interesting to know the truth, but ......

[IanForbes]

still wouldnt shop there, still way overpriced imo

Too true. I haven't seen a so called "duty free" shop in any airport in the world that wasn't over priced. If I buy anything in an airport it's a magazine, a newspaper or a snack to hold me over until I can find a proper, reasonably priced meal somewhere else. I don't even check the prices anymore because I can buy the same item cheaper at "full price" at home.

[kurnell]

I have been going on regular cricket tours around asia for 10 + years, along with 10-20 team mates, several times a year. Most of us buy booze for the trip and I have never heard one of them claiming to have been scammed, cheated, short changed or anything of the like. As I've said before on this forum, the only people being caught shoplifting at the airport are thieves.

[spongeman]

I have been going on regular cricket tours around asia for 10 + years, along with 10-20 team mates, several times a year. Most of us buy booze for the trip and I have never heard one of them claiming to have been scammed, cheated, short changed or anything of the like. As I've said before on this forum, the only people being caught shoplifting at the airport are thieves.

True that.

Its still too expensive though. Always has been.

[kurnell]

I have been going on regular cricket tours around asia for 10 + years, along with 10-20 team mates, several times a year. Most of us buy booze for the trip and I have never heard one of them claiming to have been scammed, cheated, short changed or anything of the like. As I've said before on this forum, the only people being caught shoplifting at the airport are thieves.

True that.

Its still too expensive though. Always has been.

It's fine for booze

[angiud]

Always buy something in King Power. Alcohol is cheaper there than in Thailand. I don't give .... about any conspiracy and shoplifters.

Sometime some TV member just looking for some new complaint about Thailand.

Merry Christmas.

[MiG16]

Ive checked out prices for alcohol in most airports around Asia, and have to say I found Bangkok to be the cheapest.

(with exception of wine I think..)

[mrtoad]

I think the duty free is poor at the airport, and the customer service isn't exactly great. I generally don't bother using it when I am passing through, in fact I really try to spend as little time as possible at Swampy as it really is a rather boring and uncomfortable airport.

I have to say that what TAWP has said makes me cringe even more that a company would hold staff responsible for other peoples thieving behaviour, that in itself says a lot about the way that KP operates.

[gregb]

Like any other scam, I would assume most employees would not be involved. However, that does not imply that there are not a few bad apples in the bunch who are taking advantage of their position to increase their take home pay.

Anecdotal arguments do not convince me one way or the other. An employee who framed a customer as a shoplifter and then subsequently caught that framed felon would presumably not be charged 70% of the item.

It is a specious argument that can neither be proved nor disproved. I for one would not trust King Power, and I applaud anyone who refrains from purchasing anything at their establishments. It is just the safest thing to do, and I will continue to encourage people to avoid any of their shops at every opportunity.

[LaoPo]

TAWP:

I take your and your friend's word for granted but that doesn't mean nothing could be wrong with KP and 100% of the staff is to be trusted.

It's the same as what happened to us and a friend of us after a burglary on Samui.

The supervisor (well known housing/rental company) of the working staff came along the next day and told us that it was IMPOSSIBLE that one of her staff (or eventual accomplishers) could possibly have been involved in the burglary.

She KNEW that her staff was to be trusted and she also KNEW that HER staff didn't do it....and would NEVER burglar any of the villas....

I asked her how she knew....

The odd thing was that there were 5 villas and only 2 occupied; one of them occupied by the lady/manager and one other by us and we were out from 7.00/11.00 PM.

Lesson: be careful to stick your hands in the fire place for somebody else; you might get burned.

LaoPo

[torrenova]

And the sad fact is that 70% of the value of the wares stolen gets directly lifted from the employees salary, as punishment.

And there is a very good reason why they may be in league to recoup past losses. Sorry but no smoke without fire and King Power is ablaze.

[thai3]

I have been going on regular cricket tours around asia for 10 + years, along with 10-20 team mates, several times a year. Most of us buy booze for the trip and I have never heard one of them claiming to have been scammed, cheated, short changed or anything of the like. As I've said before on this forum, the only people being caught shoplifting at the airport are thieves.

I have heard some people claim to have heart attacks, however they must be lying as nobody I know has had one. The only people caught are shoplifters eh ha ha how the hel_l would you know, do you work a King Scam?

[gvallee2]

havnt they only arrested australians, uk's and germans?

when they start arresting Canadians, fins, japanese or singaporians.. then ill believe its a scam.

[Colonel_Mustard]

I have never understood why some people find it so difficult to believe that there will be people that shoplift at airports (despite video evidence in at least one of the cases), when there are people that shoplift pretty much anywhere where it's possible to do so. When you consider the number of people passing through the airport, it's hardly surprising that a few of them will shoplift and get caught doing it.

The only reason this broke in the news was because of the attempt by the police to extract a special 'don't go to court/jail fine'. Consequently I really don't see a scam here at all. Just a few shoplifters getting caught.

[andyww]

As I said when this whole thing came out originally, I cant understand why so many people assumed KP or its employees were involved in the scam. A case of the usual "all Thais are out to scam us" brigade thats so vociferous on here.

One of the videos clearly shows a girl stealing something.

The problem was that KP were so inept in the way they handled the cases. In the West, stores keep quiet about shoplifting cases as the publicity can only be bad. KP were crazy to post a defence on their website.

What they should have done is accompany the perpetrators to the Police Station, if they wished to press charges, and ensure it was all dealt with as quickly as possible. Or, better still, just held the guilty in a room somewhere until they missed their flight, thus causing them massive inconvenience, then let them go.

[MiG16]

..... makes me cringe even more that a company would hold staff responsible for other peoples thieving behaviour, that in itself says a lot about the way that KP operates.

actually, thats not an uncommon practice in a lot of businesses

Ive been to lots of restaurants where staff tell you that if they bring out wrong order, they have to pay for those

[caf]

I have never understood why some people find it so difficult to believe that there will be people that shoplift at airports (despite video evidence in at least one of the cases), when there are people that shoplift pretty much anywhere where it's possible to do so. When you consider the number of people passing through the airport, it's hardly surprising that a few of them will shoplift and get caught doing it.

The only reason this broke in the news was because of the attempt by the police to extract a special 'don't go to court/jail fine'. Consequently I really don't see a scam here at all. Just a few shoplifters getting caught.

it was not the police that attempted the extraction as you call it but an agent that they deny any knowledge of.

the cctv footage did not show the theft, it shows a couple looking for goods. the couple may or may not have been those involved. don't believe all the propaganda put forward. i suppose you know the thai ambassador in london was called to the foreign office and left in no doubt that they were unhappy about how the news was being managed in thailand. the case has been "quietly" closed.

[PattayaParent]

still wouldnt shop there, still way overpriced imo

Then I suggest that before your next flight you check out the price of say a bottle of Johnny Walker at you local 7-11/supermarket and then at the DF on departure and tell us where it's cheaper.

Tip: it's cheaper at DF arrivals than at departures.

[DP25]

The crime here is that these shoplifters are allowed to pay a bribe to go home immediately rather than being forced to go to court. There would be less shoplifting at the airport if people didn't think they could get away with it in case that they are actually caught. And if they don't want to pay, they can just cry to the foreign media and their problem will go away.

[jackr]

havnt they only arrested australians, uk's and germans?

when they start arresting Canadians, fins, japanese or singaporians.. then ill believe its a scam.

<deleted>

[ricklev]

I guess what's going on is that some people are unwilling to accept that bad things happen to innocent people. If they believe that then it means that they are at risk. If everyone that has problems is guilty they are safe....

[mrtoad]

..... makes me cringe even more that a company would hold staff responsible for other peoples thieving behaviour, that in itself says a lot about the way that KP operates.

actually, thats not an uncommon practice in a lot of businesses

Ive been to lots of restaurants where staff tell you that if they bring out wrong order, they have to pay for those

Yes, I know of that one - but being held responsible for thieving scum is <deleted>. IMO the penalties on employees financially by some of the employers are grossly unfair, and amount to nothing buit another way of screwing what a lot of wmployers believe to be the uneducate underclass. Shame on them, and KP is a crock of <deleted> both or customers and employees.

[torrenova]

Yes, I know of that one - but being held responsible for thieving scum is <deleted>. IMO the penalties on employees financially by some of the employers are grossly unfair, and amount to nothing buit another way of screwing what a lot of wmployers believe to be the uneducate underclass. Shame on them, and KP is a crock of <deleted> both or customers and employees.

I heard that 7/11 employees have to put up a bond before they are employed. I know of a hotel cashier who definitely had to do the same. I do not know the Thai labour law on this but it is a very strange situation where the prices of many things in the shop are much more than the monthly salary of the staff and in some cases, more than their annual salary.

I've had cashiers come to work for me who thought they would have to put up a bond. In one particular instance, I cut the whole staff for negligence in allowing a bill to go unpaid. In general though, a business incorporates losses due to theft into their profit margins and then works to reduce these in much the same way as a company manages bad debts. The balance is not to make staff personally responsible but still remain accountable or some will blatantly use your weakness to rob you.

[Donnyboy]

still wouldnt shop there, still way overpriced imo

Then I suggest that before your next flight you check out the price of say a bottle of Johnny Walker at you local 7-11/supermarket and then at the DF on departure and tell us where it's cheaper.

Tip: it's cheaper at DF arrivals than at departures.

whos saying im interested in comparing KP to 7-11?

i usually pick up my df from the country im departing from when returning to los,

or @ arriving when leaving los

[caf]

I have never understood why some people find it so difficult to believe that there will be people that shoplift at airports (despite video evidence in at least one of the cases), when there are people that shoplift pretty much anywhere where it's possible to do so. When you consider the number of people passing through the airport, it's hardly surprising that a few of them will shoplift and get caught doing it.

The only reason this broke in the news was because of the attempt by the police to extract a special 'don't go to court/jail fine'. Consequently I really don't see a scam here at all. Just a few shoplifters getting caught.

it was not the police that attempted the extraction as you call it but an agent that they deny any knowledge of.

the cctv footage did not show the theft, it shows a couple looking for goods. the couple may or may not have been those involved. don't believe all the propaganda put forward. i suppose you know the thai ambassador in london was called to the foreign office and left in no doubt that they were unhappy about how the news was being managed in thailand. the case has been "quietly" closed.

[Nio]

Here we go again! I have a friend who.......................................

Do you have any idea how much those girls get paid at King Power? 6,000 thb per month.

So their opinion on anything is probably quite irrelevent as they are not experts in anything except showing up to work on time.

To understand King Power, look behind the hourly employees at the company itself?

How do you think King Power managed to get so much space in the airport while keeping other companies at bay?

Did they do this 100% honest on the up and up?

They were being sued here less than a year ago for all the shady contracts relating to all the square footage they had at the airport but that story eventually was swept under the table probably with a few million dollars.

The moral here is the big picture, if a company is willing to obtain space and block other companies illegally, what limits will they go through for shoplifters?

By the way, who in fact catches the person shoplifting if it is not the employees?

So to say employees have never turned anyone in or called security is bogus.

KP is just another strong armed Thailand company using their financial strength and influence to gain an unjust monopoly at the airport.

So if you feel you can trust them, good for you.

[TAWP]

Here we go again! I have a friend who.......................................

Do you have any idea how much those girls get paid at King Power? 6,000 thb per month.

So their opinion on anything is probably quite irrelevent as they are not experts in anything except showing up to work on time.

1) No, they don't make 6k baht per month. Shows how much up to date you are.

2) You per sieve them as low wage-earners and therefor untrustworthy? Wonderful human being you are.

By the way, who in fact catches the person shoplifting if it is not the employees?

So to say employees have never turned anyone in or called security is bogus.

If I worked in a store I would call the cops or security if I saw someone steeling or caught it on the CCTV. No-one ever claims they have not. What are you on about?

The fact of the matter is that there isn't any incentive for the normal staff to frame any innocent people. They don't get any cut of the 'police-money' - that all goes to the negotiator and the police that is corrupting the justice system!