Are Thai Companies

[mark45y]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

This is not so universally true....as reference to your common sense. Many Thai companies and their higher-ups, execs, management, and those with the responsibilities towards communication with the outside world will almost always have a degree of English comprehension. So what you might find as common {whatever that is}, might not be so observed elsewhere.

I agree 100%. They have a decent comprehension of English and normally their written English is 100% better than their spoken English.

[thomo]

And the :

higher-ups, execs, management,

Are going to be answering email enquiries for most Thai businesses?

Edited August 4, 2010 by thomo

[Garry9999]

And the :

higher-ups, execs, management,

Are going to be answering email enquiries for most Thai businesses?

Your right, it's more likely to be the 6000 Baht per month girl who is more interested in Facebook or MSN.

[Chunky1]

And the :

higher-ups, execs, management,

Are going to be answering email enquiries for most Thai businesses?

Your right, it's more likely to be the 6000 Baht per month girl who is more interested in Facebook or MSN.

5555... and all they need to do is hit delete and the problem goes bye bye.

[mark45y]

There are a lot of English teachers on the industrial east coast of Thailand who make good money teaching those 6000 baht employees business English. Someone in the company has a clue what’s going on.

They pay the teacher 1000 baht per hour 20 ladies do the class a couple of hours a week. Per person it is not much of an expense.

A couple of companies that I know are doing it rent industrial equipment and generators and a number of small companies that service tankers and other boats that work in the oil and gas business. The boss speaks English and wants the ladies who answer the phones and take orders to be able to screen the calls and give the orders to someone who speaks better English than the phone answerers.

[thomo]

Your right, it's more likely to be the 6000 Baht per month girl who is more interested in Facebook or MSN.

5555... and all they need to do is hit delete and the problem goes bye bye.

All too true.

Will Thai priorities progress at this level... hopefully, but it'll be a slow progression.

[Garry9999]

better English than the phone answerers.

Perhaps you should invest 1000B then.

[thomo]

There are a lot of English teachers on the industrial east coast of Thailand who make good money teaching those 6000 baht employees business English.

I think most of these are forced to study it in the evenings (5pm-7pm?) once or twice a week after 10 hours of work, and probably work 6 days a week. Hardly the all important motivation to learn.

It also takes a lot more than a few hours a week to confidently comprehend and confidently reply correctly to business emails in a foreign language. Thai culture also has to enter the equation. Avoid the possible loss of face, doing something incorrect, causing problems and misunderstandings, by simply avoiding it. Much easier. Unfortunately.

Edited August 4, 2010 by thomo

[mark45y]

There are a lot of English teachers on the industrial east coast of Thailand who make good money teaching those 6000 baht employees business English.

I think most of these are forced to study it in the evenings (5pm-7pm?) once or twice a week after 10 hours of work, and probably work 6 days a week. Hardly the all important motivation to learn.

It also takes a lot more than a few hours a week to confidently comprehend and confidently reply correctly to business emails in a foreign language. Thai culture also has to enter the equation. Avoid the possible loss of face, doing something incorrect, causing problems and misunderstandings, by simply avoiding it. Much easier. Unfortunately.

They get paid to study. The teacher signs a timesheet for each employee. A part of the teaching of Thais is not just the English language but the interaction with an English speaking person. One of the teachers I know is a funny guy. Young and good looking. I went to class with him one time because he told me all of the women were looking for foreign males to interact with. We were there for two hours. It was like a party. The ladies brought soft drinks and food and he told jokes and taught. They watched us interact on the phone. I got three phone numbers out of the deal and the ladies got to hear two English speaking people talk like salesperson and client.

They all spoke a little English I assume from school M/3 I think was minimum hiring requirement. It was simple, the phone people found what the Falang wanted and for how long and then transferred the call. The ladies did not come across as shy to me. They were outgoing and not afraid to ask questions. Nice bunch of people, they seemed happy at work.

They all knew how to say in English, “are you married, how long have you lived in Thailand, where do you work, do you have a house.”

[yabaaaa]

It is common sense really. I wrote a business plan for a VP of a large IT company. She was estimating growth at 15% a year.

I also write her sales emails to potential customers who speak English. I also look at their answers and questions and proof her responses.

There is a lot of business opportunities in Thailand doing business with foreign companies.

Thailand is a rental economy because they can’t do much technical themselves. Hence the airport or transit systems in Bangkok are done by foreign firms.

Some day when Thailand develops the expertise to build things like cars and airplanes and basic infrastructure they may not need to rent overseas people.

For now with little local technical know how they better learn to respond to their emails if they want to get ahead in the international business community.

It is just common sense really.

Thailand and common sense ????

[yabaaaa]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

And the international language of business is?????? Thai??????

[thomo]

They get paid to study.

It's far more likely they get paid to attend.

How many Thai lessons would you need to study, in order to confidently read and reply to emails - remembering that it needs to be perfect to represent the company that employs you?

The teacher signs a timesheet for each employee. A part of the teaching of Thais is not just the English language but the interaction with an English speaking person. One of the teachers I know is a funny guy. Young and good looking. I went to class with him one time because he told me all of the women were looking for foreign males to interact with. We were there for two hours. It was like a party. The ladies brought soft drinks and food and he told jokes and taught. They watched us interact on the phone. I got three phone numbers out of the deal and the ladies got to hear two English speaking people talk like salesperson and client.

They all spoke a little English I assume from school M/3 I think was minimum hiring requirement. It was simple, the phone people found what the Falang wanted and for how long and then transferred the call. The ladies did not come across as shy to me. They were outgoing and not afraid to ask questions. Nice bunch of people, they seemed happy at work.

They all knew how to say in English, “are you married, how long have you lived in Thailand, where do you work, do you have a house.”

Well then, they must all be confident enough to comprehend every English email they receive, and reply correctly, despite the heaviness of Thai culture baring down on their lithe little shoulders not to make mistakes, or not have it perfect as that is the face of the company that the client will see.

Try to read it. and see if they can reply correctly.

Panic.

Delete.

MSN.

Make up and mirror.

Lunch.

At least they'll look nice in their uniforms for people visiting.

Edited August 4, 2010 by thomo

[thomo]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

And the international language of business is?????? Thai??????

If you don't agree that people doing business here should learn Thai or have a Thai PA to communicate and correspond with Thai businesses here, then I feel you haven't been here very long.

[tig28]

If Thailand hopes to compete with the likes of Singapore, China, Vietnam, etc. their business firms had best learn to respond to email inquiries in ENGLISH. It is indeed the international language of business. Next ...

Spot on!!

[mark45y]

They get paid to study.

It's far more likely they get paid to attend.

How many Thai lessons would you need to study, in order to confidently read and reply to emails - remembering that it needs to be perfect to represent the company that employs you?

The teacher signs a timesheet for each employee. A part of the teaching of Thais is not just the English language but the interaction with an English speaking person. One of the teachers I know is a funny guy. Young and good looking. I went to class with him one time because he told me all of the women were looking for foreign males to interact with. We were there for two hours. It was like a party. The ladies brought soft drinks and food and he told jokes and taught. They watched us interact on the phone. I got three phone numbers out of the deal and the ladies got to hear two English speaking people talk like salesperson and client.

They all spoke a little English I assume from school M/3 I think was minimum hiring requirement. It was simple, the phone people found what the Falang wanted and for how long and then transferred the call. The ladies did not come across as shy to me. They were outgoing and not afraid to ask questions. Nice bunch of people, they seemed happy at work.

They all knew how to say in English, “are you married, how long have you lived in Thailand, where do you work, do you have a house.”

Well then, they must all be confident enough to comprehend every English email they receive, and reply correctly, despite the heaviness of Thai culture baring down on their lithe little shoulders not to make mistakes, or not have it perfect as that is the face of the company that the client will see.

Try to read it. and see if they can reply correctly.

Panic.

Delete.

MSN.

Make up and mirror.

Lunch.

At least they'll look nice in their uniforms for people visiting.

I am certainly not omnipresent but I don’t think you are correct. There are a number of companies in Thailand that do have good customer service. Perhaps the owners are all non Thais but they still do business in Thailand. I think it depends on the boss. Good boss good employees.

[tig28]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

And the international language of business is?????? Thai??????

If you don't agree that people doing business here should learn Thai or have a Thai PA to communicate and correspond with Thai businesses here, then I feel you haven't been here very long.

... Very constructive!!. Your "feelings" re the "length of service" others have in Thailand is about as relevant to the subject as yesterdays football scores --- who (but you) cares??

When any company provides a website in English (there is a hint here) --- who would respond to it in a language other than English??

[thomo]

... Very constructive!!. Your "feelings" re the "length of service" others have in Thailand is about as relevant to the subject as yesterdays football scores --- who (but you) cares??

Actually... with regards to one's knowledge (or lack of) of the culture, and experience with the average Thai employee across many sectors, then it's actually quite relevant. But hey, don't worry, you'll probably pick it all up.

When any company provides a website in English (there is a hint here)

Face. Status. To impress.

This guy covered it well:

Sometimes, the English language version of their website was only created to impress potential Thai customers. The firm wants to create the impression that it is modern and has international connections. You can sometimes observe that the Thai language version has been updated, while the English version remains as an empty shell, unchanged from whenever it was created.

Low level Thai staff often freeze when they see English, and then hit the Delete key, thinking that if it is in English, it must be junk mail.

It's also been raised that many Thai businesses don't have spamware or any knowledge of such, and have email inboxes filled with junkmail. But you learn these types of things the longer you are here.

who would respond to it in a language other than English??

Someone who understands a bit about Thailand, and has been intelligent enough to have a Thai employed to communicate with local Thai business.

It's really quite a simple concept.

Edited August 4, 2010 by thomo

[zzaa09]

Your right, it's more likely to be the 6000 Baht per month girl who is more interested in Facebook or MSN.

5555... and all they need to do is hit delete and the problem goes bye bye.

All too true.

Will Thai priorities progress at this level... hopefully, but it'll be a slow progression.

Or....if you don't care for how they conduct business practices, don't do business with them. A sure sign of inferiority is to cast such whinging and superlatives in their direction. Yet, you still won't get it.

[petedk]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

And the international language of business is?????? Thai??????

I have done business with companies in S. America, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Japan. All correspondence was of course in English.

Thai people are generally afraid to use English for fear of making mistakes. Try calling a Thai company and speaking English ( I don't mean the big international companies) and see how many times your call is forwarded to someone else. I know a Thai company very well where all the managers love to use English words and the staff have no idea what they are talking about and ask me the meanings of the words.

Apart from that try sending an email in Thai and see how few responses you get. Yes, I have tried that too.

I might also add that many European companies don't always answer emails.

Last Friday I sent an email to Panasonic Thailand. Surprise surprise I received a very full reply to my inquiry Monday morning.

[zzaa09]

I guess there is a supposed standard or absolute to as what business might be. Or not.

[kurnell]

Have you tried emailing more than once? I wanted assistance from JVC to replace a remote control and received no replies for several weeks, but I kept emailing and finally got a response, and a new remote.

[lingyaiyai]

^ ^^

Both absolutely correct.

Some people come here and still think they're in Kansas. Learn how to do things the Thai way if you really want to be in business in Thailand.

Get somebody proficient in the local language and culture to deal with the locals.

It really is simple common sense.

Thomo seems to be completely missing the point in his or her numerous posts. The point being that if a Thai company has gone to the trouble of creating English language pages on their website they should employ someone to service the responses generated.

In post number 12 he or she arrogantly states:

"Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level."

Presumably he or she believes this to be the case even if one happens to live outside Thailand - Kansas for example. Does he or she know what 'www' stands for I wonder?

Please remember to engage brain before allowing fingers to make contact with keyboard - it's "simple common sense of the lowest level"!

[thomo]

I have done business with companies in S. America, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Japan.

Unfortunately Thailand is stuck in a different dimension.

[thomo]

Thomo seems to be completely missing the point in his or her numerous posts. The point being that if a Thai company has gone to the trouble of creating English language pages on their website they should employ someone to service the responses generated.

Absolutely correct.

Of course they SHOULD.

But it's Thailand, so they don't... (or the person employed is the boss' niece or friend's daughter to whom he owed a favour.)

Hence the disbelieve, confusion and bemusement by many (slightly ignorant) foreigners attempting to do business here without knowledge of how Thais and Thailand work.

:jap:

BTW... doing a thread on what Thailand should do to progress, would get about 100,000 posts.

Edited August 4, 2010 by thomo

[Peterbigeyes]

Google translate for the win

[thedivezone]

For all those frustrated with Thai web companies, i have found one that actually replies to e-mails AND sends the products as well : www.condomshopping24.com Highly recommended !

[yabaaaa]

How many responses would an email written in Thai get from Western companies in the West?

Learn Thai, or at the very <deleted> least have a Thai PA if you're doing business here, in order to contact Thai companies you're looking to deal with. It's simple common sense of the lowest level.

And the international language of business is?????? Thai??????

If you don't agree that people doing business here should learn Thai or have a Thai PA to communicate and correspond with Thai businesses here, then I feel you haven't been here very long.

84 years 3 months 12 days 18minutes and 54 no 55 no 56 seconds does that help?

[yabaaaa]

who would respond to it in a language other than English??

Someone who understands a bit about Thailand, and has been intelligent enough to have a Thai employed to communicate with local Thai business.

It's really quite a simple concept.

I want to buy fridge from a Thai company with an English/Thai website and ????????? or is that not the kind of "business" you had in mind?

Edited August 4, 2010 by yabaaaa

[wolf5370]

The title of this thread is: "Are Thai Companies un interested in doing business ?". It is not, 'should we speak Thai to interact with Thai companies that offer only emails for contact and have English language websites".

Therefore, posts stating that you should speak/write Thai to do business here (or even buy anything) is irrelevent however much it may be true. The fact is that for any economy to grow it has to do international business. For any company therefore to thrive in such an environment, there must be English speaking sales staff. If 6k a month Mrs SomTam can't make muster, then to do such business, they need to hire someone that does - or do what many ompanies do and contract out to an Indian helpdesk.

It does not take much to have brochures and price lists (PDF files) in English and auto send out both Thai and English versions based on the 'contact us - For price lists - click here' button - or on an autoreply on the company email. This would allow for automated responses (that are basically free one set up) and gives a professional feel. Online ordering and payment can also remove a lot of the headache. That way only serious (speific) sales queries or orders in English need to be routed through to the better paid better qualified reps.

Not rocket science. The op's question is a valid one I feel.

[jackr]

Very rarely not had a response to an email here, from dentists to exercise equipment, rare bottle of booze, books, fibre glass, service centres, you name it. Perhaps your email address is flagging up their filters and being trashed. Do you have a crappy Hotmail account? Also be sure to have a non-spammy subject and make the content nice and basic.