Window Seat for Sleeping.

[eek]

Went to buy a bus ticket to Udon Thani at Arcade. Chose the company which dates suited me better.

Got home, then when i went to mark it on my calendar, i noticed the day i chose (to hand my application at Thai consulate in Laos), falls on a public holiday. Arghh!

Dashed back up to the bus station, only about a hour and a half after buying my ticket.

Would she budge on refunding the ticket so i could go with the company next door...would she heck.

But, eventually, after exhaustive negotiations, was able to get a 50% discount.

But still, she sat there with a Cheshire cat smile. Has me wondering what the policy on refunds is.

But well..visions of what i would like to do with that Cheshire cat grin vanished after a fast and furious drive up Doi Suthep. I suppose its silly how something like that would get under my skin. Although its not about the money, more about the principle (that old chestnut)..yes, laughable to some i know...but i really dislike a sense of unfairness. Or..maybe i was being unreasonable in my expectations..? :/

If it had been a man, im sure he would have been much more fair. But she was a grumpy middle aged fat Thai Lady. Ok..i know..im being mean.. time to shut up.

[uptheos]

Bet that feels better eek.

[richard_smith237]

I'm sure the frustrating thing here is that we all know and have been in a similar situation whereby if we had been there on a different day or a different time she would have decided to like us, be helpful and the situation would have resolved itself fairly with smiles all round.....

That's the irritating part of these issues for me; The Inconsistency.

Someone will no doubt mention Air-Asia's policies... This is not an airline though (I lost £200 to easyJet when they wouldn't let me my wife and I share our 60 kgs of luggage with my parents, who only had 20 kgs, we were traveling together but made the bookings separately).

[eek]

Bet that feels better eek.

Took the edge off, yes!

---

richard, ouch. As you say, the inconsistency can be frustrating..as its often just how the persons day is going, or what they feeI about you.

[Ulysses G.]

I would have tried swiching to the next date that was available for the same company. I have noticed that very few Thai places will refund one's money, but usually they are good about trading to something else that costs a little more money.

[eek]

The problem is that there is another holiday later in the same week, which would leave me staying in Laos longer than i want to. Weighting it up meant that i would save money by actually just accepting the 50% refund.

Would be good to know their refund policy though. Will check later for curiositys sake.

[NancyL]

Yup, I agee with UG on this one. If you'd been able to do something like changing your Tix without a refund, they would have agreed to it. They don't like to give back money. I don't think it has much to do with your being a western woman. At least for me, being a well-dressed/well-groomed western women with a working knowledge of the Thai language gets you extra perks.

[eek]

Well the whole conversation was in Thai, and i was well dressed. But, i actually thing with some women it works against you! I find with men they are usually more accommodating, but some women are a tad...no i wont use the b word..i just wont...

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

I think we have all been burned at some point by a holiday. One time I spent about a week in KL because of Divali celebration.

Thailand 2011 holidays

Laos 2011 holidays

[realthaideal]

Hey Eek. Are you actually advocating a little flirty sexism ? Hmm. I find the women and the men to be unyielding when it comes to refunds and discounts usually. Only occasionally does me acting and speaking like a local get me some favors. Ok, maybe all the time, but it's when purchasing, never when asking for my money back. They have a saying in Thai "Oy kao pbak chaang" which is to say 'The sugar cane is already in the elephant's mouth.' This is how Thais think and it's pretty darned set in stone. I think like another said, it's that discrepancy about consistency, and then not knowing if the person even really gives a $hit or si smiling the way she does because she enjoys your upset. I think in this case it could have even been the lady feeling awkward but unable to refund and so smiling (one of the numerous occasioned different Thai smiles) to smooth over her feelings. But I will tell you that I have met one straight up B-I-T-C-H of a ticket seller in the corner several years ago when buying a ticket to BKK. I mean, how inspiring is that stinky, exhaust filled bus station anyway ? Talk about no room for personal or job growth ! It's not a place that I find easy to be cheerful in. From the parking to the station, to the idea that my azz is gonna sit on a bus for several hours, I'm never really excited to know I'm headed there.

Ok, my reply rant is finished. DOn't forget, even a bad day in CM is still a day in CM.

[Thighlander]

United Airlines, Bank of America, Block Buster Video...........All would cease to exist if it weren't for their ability to gouge people, who make honest mistakes.

Wrong date for ticket, late credit card payment, forgot to return the movie.....you learned Thai, you should learn to use a calendar. I don't speak Thai (just numbers) and I know there are "no refund" signs all over Arcade.

[Flatouthruthefog]

<br />United Airlines, Bank of America, Block Buster Video...........All would cease to exist if it weren't for their ability to gouge people, who make honest mistakes.<br />Wrong date for ticket, late credit card payment, forgot to return the movie.....you learned Thai, you should learn to use a calendar.  I don't speak Thai (just numbers) and I know there are "no refund" signs all over Arcade.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Yup! And with 7,000+ posts to your credit (and I mean that most sincerely folks) and a diary, and the knowledge that there are more public holidays in May than ANY other month of the year, weeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll...............!

[eek]

Was wondering when the lyncher grouchers would start in. Roll on..roll on.

[Thighlander]

It is another "I just got screwed exactly the same way they screw people in my own country and in fact that is probably where they adopted the policy from." The lady with the grin would have had sideburns and a crew-cut in the UK or USA.

[flying]

Yeah I feel for ya eek

Years ago on my 1st trip I found out about Thai refund policies at a big book store on Sridonchai Road

Bought a Besta Cyber Dict 10 went back to hotel & found it defective.

Refund? Exchange? No way....They said since the serial number card had been filled it had to be sent by them for repairs

Edited April 26, 2011 by flying

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup Khun Eek,

Glad you got at least 50% back: that's an accompishment !

Who knows, if, in this specific situation, the person, behind the counter, may not have been enjoying a little frisson of temporary power of their low-social-status "trumping" the "mighty farang," at your expense ? Particularly, if you were visibly reactive.

As for what's "behind the Thai smile:," at any given moment, well, it's so rare we even bother to try and, to paraphrase Bob Dylan (Gates of Eden), "shovel the glimpse Into the ditch of what each one means:" that it really makes us consciously notice when we do (try to figure out what it might mean, that is).

In our eleven+ years here we feel we've learned the "Thai smile" is a ubiquitous one-size-fits-all veneer useful in almost any given social situation, and always "used if in doubt."

And, to fully 'fess up, we did pass through a phase, living here, which maybe many of you have shared, in our first years, of getting angry when in some "difficult" situation ... where there was conflict or trouble in communication ... because the Thai person was smiling, or, even worse, laughing ! (it was part of my young human's southern USA upbringing that to smile, or laugh, when someone was frustrated or angry was a form of "baiting" that person; and, equally: if someone was smiling or laughing when you were angry or frustrated with them that was downright insulting !). I remember mudpies being thrown, and broken teeth, on the elementary school playground over behavior like that

And, it is fascinating to us when we have guests, usually from the US, visit, how it seems they "scowl," or kind of un-smile frequently, or smile less (as well as talk continuously)

And, guess we have become "converts" in a way: we actually do feel it's probably mentally healthier to smile rather than to scowl (even if that means you gotta take your frustrations out somewhere else) in interpersonal situations.

Oh my, did we pay a price to learn to somewhat get over that USA-southern cultural way of behavioral interpretation of facial gesture, which in Thailand, ioho, is dysfunctional (if you act it on it, or escalate the anger in an interactional context, that is)

Useful link in planning a Vientiane visa-run: Royal Thai Consular Services in Vientiane Hours and Holidays

Hope your journey to Laos goes well, and, if you need a good quiet little hotel, check out the Mekong Sunshine, which we've posted our comments on other threads you can easily search for here on TV.

best, ~o:37;

[IanForbes]

Sorry to hear of YOUR mistake, eek, you are entirely within your right to vent. But, like Realthaideal said, I think the smile is just what Thais always do in an unusual situation. it wasn't meant as gloating. Of course, I could be wrong. There is no way of telling. I learned a long time ago that refunds are NOT in the Thai concept. I like Realthaideal's quote... the sugar cane is already in the elephant's mouth.

I also wouldn't relish the thought of a 14 hour bus ride to Udon Thai. Anything longer than 5 hours is too much for me. For that very reason I don't visit several of my friends who live that far away, and where a bus is the only form of transportation. I'll fly or I'll drive, or I won't go.

[Thighlander]

That trip is a beast, and you don't know if the pricks at the RTE Laos are having a bad hair day until you get there. They have some bad hair days at "Friendship Bridge", too. I had great luck giving the guy 50 THB in front of gate in Vientianne to fill out the papers for me.