The Ticket Was 7505 Bht, I Gave Her 8005 Baht

[chuang]

Suggest next time you buy anything just pay the exact price...if you feel uneasy when they used the calculators

[Tonto21]

Try this one.At Carrefour they sell the donuts 8 baht a piece or 6 for 40 baht.Some time ago I needed 50 donuts for my boy to take school.I called the bakery servant and asked her if I could get them packed in 1 box.Of course this wasn't possible as 50 can not be divided by 6.After some meddling in from the Farang manager it was possible and she counted 50 times 8 Baht.Another involvement of the manager explained her that 40 Baht divided by 6 pieces multiplied by 50 was the correct sum.

So after that I got the correct price calculated and paid............Needless to say that when i arrived home I found only 40 donuts in the box.

Fantastic! That is so Thai, Ha ha,

This is why living here will always make me smile, (sometimes though gritted teeth)

It’s always funny because it happened to someone else......But Oh so frustrating when it happens to you.

[ozzieovaseas]

Yes its amazing isnt it

On the other side of the coin its a amazing how some people cant do basic sums..YET, when it comes to money diversion for baht against other currencies (in big sums) they seem have no trouble at all

[473geo]

Try this one.At Carrefour they sell the donuts 8 baht a piece or 6 for 40 baht.Some time ago I needed 50 donuts for my boy to take school.I called the bakery servant and asked her if I could get them packed in 1 box.Of course this wasn't possible as 50 can not be divided by 6.After some meddling in from the Farang manager it was possible and she counted 50 times 8 Baht.Another involvement of the manager explained her that 40 Baht divided by 6 pieces multiplied by 50 was the correct sum.

So after that I got the correct price calculated and paid............Needless to say that when i arrived home I found only 40 donuts in the box.

40 divide by 6 =6.666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

so quite confusing!

correct charge is 8 x 40 baht = 320 baht

+ 16 baht

= 336 baht

[SomTumTiger]

Congratulations OP - you've discovered that Thai people lack a real quality education. I think you might be the first to discover that. You should write a book.

[Donnyboy]

Another all Thais are stupid thread.

I started work as a shop assistant when I was 14.

In those days there were no calculators or tills that worked out the change for you. It was either work out the sums on paper or in the head.

Since the introduction of calculators, adding machines and computers, people have become lazy and now totally rely on the micro chip instead or having to use the brain for arithmetic and spelling.

It`s the same the world over, not only unique to Thailand. Technology has turned people into blockheads as they consider that pushing a button or key is easier than thinking.

it works the other way around too

my dad had a business handling money daily, he didnt need a calculator he just did it in his head

fast forward...

all the new technology baffles him, he wouldnt know where to turn on a computer, work out which of the 4 remotes at home turns on the satellite top box.

All of which my 4 year old nephew can do

[Garry9999]

Another all Thais are stupid thread.

I started work as a shop assistant when I was 14.

In those days there were no calculators or tills that worked out the change for you. It was either work out the sums on paper or in the head.

Since the introduction of calculators, adding machines and computers, people have become lazy and now totally rely on the micro chip instead or having to use the brain for arithmetic and spelling.

It`s the same the world over, not only unique to Thailand. Technology has turned people into blockheads as they consider that pushing a button or key is easier than thinking.

It's the same with GPS, take the GPS out of someones car and they can't find their way home!

Reason for edit spell checkers don't always work

Edited June 13, 2010 by Garry9999

[Loz]

usually I am very good about correcting errors with change that are in my favour. But the other day I bought three packs of cat food. they are 17 baht. the teller at 7/11 charged me 17bhat. I was so staggered that they couldn't figure out that 17 doesn't divide into three ( prime number ) and that even if it did, how could three packs of cat food cost so little I just let it be... Amazing Thailand!

Service levels are one of the biggest issues that would take this country out of the dark ages. It's not easy of course and needs many things addressed. But the sevice levels that are tollerated here have to be holding back Thailand from being a world competitior in all but the rice and tapicoca starch industries.

[garyh]

Another all Thais are stupid thread.

I started work as a shop assistant when I was 14.

In those days there were no calculators or tills that worked out the change for you. It was either work out the sums on paper or in the head.

Since the introduction of calculators, adding machines and computers, people have become lazy and now totally rely on the micro chip instead or having to use the brain for arithmetic and spelling.

It`s the same the world over, not only unique to Thailand. Technology has turned people into blockheads as they consider that pushing a button or key is easier than thinking.

It's the same with GPS, take the GPS out of someones car and they can't find their way home!

Reason for edit spell checkers don't always work

A Thai friend of a Thai friend can not even remember where she leaves her car keys and has to ring her friend to see if she knows where they are, this happens nearly every day. Also her Farang husband took her to the doctor to get her on the pill, he told her to take these, so she put them in her hand bag and takes them everywhere she go'es, now they have a 3 year old son.

[hhgz]

I find it interesting that several TVers, given an electric bill indicating the number of units consumed, and the total price, can't calculate the cost of a unit of electricity...even with a calculator.

[elkangorito]

This is nothing more but counting.

If, for example, the total cost of items bought comes to 22.37 (Baht, Dollars, Pounds...it doesn't matter which) & the money tendered was 30.00, simply count backwards:

22.37 + 0.03 = 22.40 (take 3 Satang, cents, pence etc from the till). Current total - 22.40.

22.40 + 0.10=22.50 (take 10 Satang, cents, pence etc from the till). Current total - 22.50.

22.50 + 0.50=23.00 (take 50 Satang, cents, pence etc from the till). Current total - 23.00

23.00 + 2.00= 25.00 (take 2 Baht, dollars, pounds etc from the till). Current total - 25.00

25.00 + 5.00= 30.00 (take 5 Baht, dollars, pounds etc from the till). Current total - 30.00, which is the amount tendered.

I have noticed that Thais do not do this & also that foreigners hardly ever do this. The only reasoning I can find is that 'shop owners' who employ staff, realise that they (the staff) may not be able to count but can use a cash register. As a result, staff are instructed to use the 'change' button on every occasion.

Edited June 13, 2010 by elkangorito

[dumball]

They is wot dey iz an yu int gonna change a darn fing , unerstan ? Britolian : de ousnt if de cust , oust ? Just one of our local dialects LOL

[Donnyboy]

Another all Thais are stupid thread.

I started work as a shop assistant when I was 14.

In those days there were no calculators or tills that worked out the change for you. It was either work out the sums on paper or in the head.

Since the introduction of calculators, adding machines and computers, people have become lazy and now totally rely on the micro chip instead or having to use the brain for arithmetic and spelling.

It`s the same the world over, not only unique to Thailand. Technology has turned people into blockheads as they consider that pushing a button or key is easier than thinking.

It's the same with GPS, take the GPS out of someones car and they can't find their way home!

Reason for edit spell checkers don't always work

A Thai friend of a Thai friend can not even remember where she leaves her car keys and has to ring her friend to see if she knows where they are, this happens nearly every day. Also her Farang husband took her to the doctor to get her on the pill, he told her to take these, so she put them in her hand bag and takes them everywhere she go'es, now they have a 3 year old son.

[crudski]

If I come across a young sop worker using a calculator to subtract 25 from 100, I take the calculator off them and tell them to use their brain to work it out, or what remains of it will deteriorate more quickly than it seems already to have done.

Yeah right,i bet you do this all the time,by the way whats a sop?

[lovelomsak]

I find it just the opposite where i live it amazes me how quickly they do the math in their head. I go to a bakery regularly customers come up with varied things and varied amounts, the girl bagging every thing just gives the amount for everything as hse puts it in the bag and gives a runnibg total and at the end the full total, done as fast as she can bag.

Where i go for coffee it is also the local small convenience store, people come in pick up various things and the owner again bags and gives a total all done in her head.same as bakery. All the restaurants where we go at the end of the meal simply come to the table name off what we had and the price for each item then give a total. Never see a calculator and seldom wrong if we think there is a mistake they can go over the whole list by memory and do a verbal check for us. It always amazes me.

All the small stores here are the same these were just a few examples to give the idea.

[Moonrakers]

I have a maths A-Level yet I don't know my times table.

I may not be able to add particularly well without a calculator, but I do know pythagoras and advanced algebra

[monkfish]

If you ask a Thai shopkeeper how much something costs they will often type it out on the calculator and show you the price on the display.

Why?

[enginerevision]

It's not only in Thailand haha, also in the West, today's kids can't even do simple head calculations and have to use calculator. Seems the school system is also even encouraging use of calculators

[Richard W]

If you ask a Thai shopkeeper how much something costs they will often type it out on the calculator and show you the price on the display.

Why?[/img]

Universal translator! European digits are far less likely to be misunderstood than spoken words.

[SiangDeeMahk]

Try this one.At Carrefour they sell the donuts 8 baht a piece or 6 for 40 baht.Some time ago I needed 50 donuts for my boy to take school.I called the bakery servant and asked her if I could get them packed in 1 box.Of course this wasn't possible as 50 can not be divided by 6.After some meddling in from the Farang manager it was possible and she counted 50 times 8 Baht.Another involvement of the manager explained her that 40 Baht divided by 6 pieces multiplied by 50 was the correct sum.

So after that I got the correct price calculated and paid............Needless to say that when i arrived home I found only 40 donuts in the box.

Err.. the FARANG manager...??? Since when can a Farang do a Thai (managers) job, especially in a very obvious and public place like a large corporate chain-store?..

Or nearly any job that a Thai can do, for that matter?

I'm not challenging your story; I'm genuinely curious.

[siampolee]

Remember that the checkout or till staff have to make up shortages out of their own pocket. Not a fun experience when you're on around 5-6,000. baht a month..

Yes I can calculate without a problem, however my schooling from 1950 to 1960 plus two degree courses later on was rather comprehensive in its content.

I wonder how loud you would shout if you were short changed, or how deafening the silence would be if you were given too much change ?

Edited June 13, 2010 by siampolee

[Heng]

If you ask a Thai shopkeeper how much something costs they will often type it out on the calculator and show you the price on the display.

Why?

Lower margin of error and also the as mentioned somewhat more discreet nature of showing the price to each customer instead of announcing it publicly.

[basjke]

Try this one.At Carrefour they sell the donuts 8 baht a piece or 6 for 40 baht.Some time ago I needed 50 donuts for my boy to take school.I called the bakery servant and asked her if I could get them packed in 1 box.Of course this wasn't possible as 50 can not be divided by 6.After some meddling in from the Farang manager it was possible and she counted 50 times 8 Baht.Another involvement of the manager explained her that 40 Baht divided by 6 pieces multiplied by 50 was the correct sum.

So after that I got the correct price calculated and paid............Needless to say that when i arrived home I found only 40 donuts in the box.

Err.. the FARANG manager...??? Since when can a Farang do a Thai (managers) job, especially in a very obvious and public place like a large corporate chain-store?..

Or nearly any job that a Thai can do, for that matter?

I'm not challenging your story; I'm genuinely curious.

When you are a bit longer in Thailand,or maybe I should say whenever you will come to Thailand,you will find out that ALL the international concerns in Thailand are managed by farangs.

[evanson]

But the one I really find bloody stupid is when I ask for something in Thai, with the relevant classifier, and the shop assistant/stallholder holds up their calculator AND two, three, four fingers to let me know the price! Yes, I've just asked you IN THAI!

A few of my open market type tenants do that calculator thing to communicate with customers, no matter what language is required. In part it's to keep the competition 'somewhat' unaware of what your minute-to-minute final price is (whereas if you announced it with every sale, it's like reading a stock ticker for all to hear). But I'm sure you KNEW THAT!

I don't know if you've ever visited a talad nat/sot, but if you had you will have noticed that a kilo of mangkut/gruay/lamyai is exactly the same price on each and every stall. So there goes that rather elaborate theory.They're not listening because all they see is your farang face. If you ignore the calculator being waved in your face and repeat the price IN THAI, you get all the 'poot Thai geng jang lui' and smiles all round.

What does impress me though is the fact that you can ask any Thai the percentage of anything, and they will give you the correct answer simply by working it out in their heads.

Edited June 14, 2010 by evanson

[Birdman]

Try this one.At Carrefour they sell the donuts 8 baht a piece or 6 for 40 baht.Some time ago I needed 50 donuts for my boy to take school.I called the bakery servant and asked her if I could get them packed in 1 box.Of course this wasn't possible as 50 can not be divided by 6.After some meddling in from the Farang manager it was possible and she counted 50 times 8 Baht.Another involvement of the manager explained her that 40 Baht divided by 6 pieces multiplied by 50 was the correct sum.

So after that I got the correct price calculated and paid............Needless to say that when i arrived home I found only 40 donuts in the box.

The correct price would be (8x40)+16

and I would count every thing. Friend withdrew from a bank and deposit that in the next one after 5 minutes > 10.000 were missing. He did not count it in either banks

[Heng]

I don't know if you've ever visited a talad nat/sot, but if you had you will have noticed that a kilo of mangkut/gruay/lamyai is exactly the same price on each and every stall. So there goes that rather elaborate theory.They're not listening because all they see is your farang face. If you ignore the calculator being waved in your face and repeat the price IN THAI, you get all the 'poot Thai geng jang lui' and smiles all round.

What does impress me though is the fact that you can ask any Thai the percentage of anything, and they will give you the correct answer simply by working it out in their heads.

Nothing elaborate about it, I'm just saying that is one reason for the calculator, not saying it's a universal mandate. I've seen plenty of farangs haggling and purchasing items in Thai without anyone batting an eye, but no doubt those with a FOB aura, those who run into merchants intent on tiered pricing, those who by some chance have never seen a farang might still produce a potpourri of positive or negative shopping experiences.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Heng

[phutoie2]

When I placed an order for my meds at a pharmacy in Tesco's it was for 3 boxes of tablets at 500 Baht per box.

I paid 750 Baht as a deposit.

Yesterday I went back to collect them and was told by a member of staff, "So sorry only have 2 box"

"Fine, I owe you 250 Baht"

Well it took 3 members of staff studying a computer screen for 10 minutes to then reach the conclusion that I pay 250 Baht.

However my TW with the most basic of education will stuff you at cribbage & 5 & 3's.

Admittedly taught by my good self

[Naam]

"With the exception of food stall owners, Thai shop keepers need a calculator do do the most simplest of arithmatics."

some people need calculators to do calculations, others need a dictionary to learn how to spell arithmetics

[somtampet]

This is why degrees arent worth anything in Other countries as the universities just give them out like candy.

Remember one night a cashier worked my bar bill out 3 times on calculator,and i had already worked this out and told her in thai.She agreed and i asked why 3 times,she said make sure calculator not broke,so i said if calculator broke you may have wrong 3 times instead of 1I had 6 drinks and she couldnt work out and she had uni degrees,so is it the teachers no good or the pupil.

mai pen rai kap

[phutoie2]

"With the exception of food stall owners, Thai shop keepers need a calculator do do the most simplest of arithmatics."

some people need calculators to do calculations, others need a dictionary to learn how to spell arithmetics