Bum Conspiracy

[dave111223]

I had an appointment at an upmarket home builder in Bangkok. Their office/showroom is about 50 meters into a small soi. There are no other businesses in the soi, and there is no sidewalk, so pretty much no foot traffic.

The showroom is set back from the road with a parking area in front. To my surprise there is a one-legged guy sat outside the showroom when i arrive (pretty much next to the door). He has a few wicker baskets with him that he's selling, and he calls out to us to buy one. I'm an a**hole so just walk on by without much thought, but my wife who's a kinder soul asks how much...450 Baht each! (these were the kind of baskets you might expect to pay 50-100baht i'd think at the market).

Ok so get inside without a basket and talking in a conference room (no other customers appear to be in the showroom/office). We go out of the conference room to look at some sample stuff (door handles or something) and there is the one-legged guy...now inside the showroom almost all the way to conference area! Again yelling at us to buy a 450baht basket...we decline again.

After a while he goes back outside. 10 minutes later we leave and he's already disappeared (and no security or staff had asked him to leave as would have noticed it).

Is it totally out of the realm of possibly that someone inside tipped him off that someone had an appointment at XX:AM and he'd have a chance at ripping them with a 450 basket? It just seemed like such a weird place for him to be...i could imagine he'd see almost no people all day sitting there.

The whole thing struck me as very weird...although the staff didn't seem to blink.

[bkkjames]

Yea, I think he is in cahoots with the maid mate who takes a look at the appointment book for likely times that farangs will visit. The security guard probably gets 10% to look the other way.

[TheLaughingMan]

Obviously he was tipped off, but in his greed induced frenzy of retardedness he cant even make a sale by asking a price that is only slightly higher than normal instead of blatantly insulting.

[happyrobert]

Nah, he's just the local basketcase.

[transam]

He is family of your interviewer.

[eagleflyinghigh]

He is family of your interviewer.

This is unlikely, but God sends you a warning never to buy property in Thailand. Rent and after one year ask for a lower rental or move out if others bother you (which is most likely in Thailand).

[Kwasaki]

Don't know about paranoid but you come across a bit up tight, come on lighten up, this is Thailand.

[zzaa09]

He is family of your interviewer.

This is unlikely, but God sends you a warning never to buy property in Thailand. Rent and after one year ask for a lower rental or move out if others bother you (which is most likely in Thailand).

What if GOD is Thai? I'm sure that she has an amusing sense of humour.

[surayu]

Likely to be another of the winning strategy of the local businessmen.

Things that to our eyes can look crazy/stupids/whatever else are often seen around here as succesfull opportunities based on their perception of foreigners.

I personally know some people that everytime they are so blatantly scammed, they just say "...ohh it's just a few Euros after all, why bother, just give it to them", no wonder then some strange ideas came up....

[jombom]

Or maybe he was an English teacher and got upset ----- ''To my surprise there is a one-legged guy sat outside the showroom''