The Loss Of Carrefour

[dthomasss]

The Pattaya store has become a shadow of itself in the past week. The fresh vegetables have turned to the typical Big C brown variety, yesterday celery was 65 baht a kilo, and today it is up to 185 baht! At the food court, the breakfast place that made good American breakfast, sandwiches, salads etc closed down overnight. Lots of the farang food in the store itself is gone, the cooked steaks, chops etc are now just cooked issan type sausages. All the products that were marked in Thai and English are now just in Thai. The staff, many of whom spoke some English, have been replaced with typical Big C, unfriendly staff.

A real loss for the farang population of Pattaya...

[NALAK]

certainly gone down hill fast, i am back to using groseco now, its nearer and just as bad so may as well go there, miss the kebabs in the food court though.

[Theo007]

They appear to have lost a number of customers judging by the fact that during the week, when there are fewer Thai visitors, there are more available parking spaces. Yesterday I had a problem over a price and it took ten minutes to sort it out. Under the old Carrefour policy I would have got the item concerned free however that was not the case now. I was just charged the correct lower price.

[Exsexyman]

So many people have been telling me the same thing. So i went there today to check for myself. Most of the check outs were empty. Went to the bakery which thankfully was still the same. The rest of it was typical Big C, crappy plastic toys, crappy tee shirts that nobody would be seen dead in. Very cheap though, maybe they are targetting the Russian market! At the top of the stairs there were trestle tables laid out full of out of date clothes, 50 baht an item, which Carrefour used to do, always loads of Thai "Housewives" rummaging through picking up the bargains for their kids, husbands etc. Today they couldn't get a look in. Full of Russians pushing and shoving them out of the way. I stood there for maybe 20 minutes watching the bun fight, along with a few Westerners. We were all shaking our heads and laughing. Reminded me of when i was a kid and my mum used to take me to the village jumble sale. Anyone else remember this? Doors would open at 2 o clock and there was a stampede. But this was 40 years ago! Shit, this is happening today in Pattaya! Quality tourists for sure!

[FarangBuddha]

Well we still have Foodland just up the street and Villa (for now) and the nice Central Beach gourmet market.

[raro]

So it wasn't only me who noticed that fewer people were at the shop? Big C member card? I show my old Carrefour Card....nope...not good anymore. Looks like the customer database was not part of the package. Pay by credit card? Nope, not at this check-out. Just for the fun of it, I insisted on paying by CC and yes, it is possible, if all goods get cleared out at cashier A and then checked again at cashier B. Yes, there was a little sign at the cashier in Thai that i should have noticed...

[kamluan]

bye bye delicious and cheap carrefour mayionaise....

[Phil Conners]

bye bye delicious and cheap carrefour mayionaise....

Make it yourself. It's easy, taste a million times better and you get to choose which oil you use (low cholesterol).

[Jingthing]

I had a funny experience the other day there. It was magnified because I recently returned from the US.

I was looking at a computer electronics item and they were locked in a case so I needed service. They were indeed very surly from the start. Now I don't expect everyone to speak English in Thailand, but there was someone there who spoke English well enough. I really wasn't expecting anything, but there were four brand choices for the item I wanted. So I asked him for info, such as why is this one priced double this one, when it looks the same function. He just laughed incredulously and said SAME SAME. The point is this guy presumably works in this store most everyday and no motivation at all to learn the tiniest thing about the products he should be pushing. I guess there's no incentive, bad management, etc.

Anyway here's the contrast. I went to a bunch of electronic stores back in the US and every clerk I met sounded brilliant, and massively overqualified. The most amazing, I met a Singaporean-American working there who had an advanced engineering degree and I asked him for help with selecting the right cable for my needs. Let me tell you, I learned more about cables from this guy than I would ever need to know! BTW, these stores had incentive programs for staff, so a dumbo wouldn't even be hired in the first place.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[FarangBuddha]

I had a funny experience the other day there. It was magnified because I recently returned from the US.

I was looking at a computer electronics item and they were locked in a case so I needed service. They were indeed very surly from the start. Now I don't expect everyone to speak English in Thailand, but there was someone there who spoke English well enough. I really wasn't expecting anything, but there were four brand choices for the item I wanted. So I asked him for info, such as why is this one priced double this one, when it looks the same function. He just laughed incredulously and said SAME SAME. The point is this guy presumably works in this store most everyday and no motivation at all to learn the tiniest thing about the products he should be pushing. I guess there's no incentive, bad management, etc.

Anyway here's the contrast. I went to a bunch of electronic stores back in the US and every clerk I met sounded brilliant, and massively overqualified. The most amazing, I met a Singaporean-American working there who had an advanced engineering degree and I asked him for help with selecting the right cable for my needs. Let me tell you, I learned more about cables from this guy than I would ever need to know! BTW, these stores had incentive programs for staff, so a dumbo wouldn't even be hired in the first place.

I think it's called a recession, where you have over qualified college graduates working at Best Buy and serving you your fries at Micky D's. Contrast that with Thailand, where there is basically full employment so it is hard to find good employees for many service jobs. No necessarily a good comparison by the way.

[Zammo]

So many people have been telling me the same thing. So i went there today to check for myself. Most of the check outs were empty. Went to the bakery which thankfully was still the same. The rest of it was typical Big C, crappy plastic toys, crappy tee shirts that nobody would be seen dead in. Very cheap though, maybe they are targetting the Russian market! At the top of the stairs there were trestle tables laid out full of out of date clothes, 50 baht an item, which Carrefour used to do, always loads of Thai "Housewives" rummaging through picking up the bargains for their kids, husbands etc. Today they couldn't get a look in. Full of Russians pushing and shoving them out of the way. I stood there for maybe 20 minutes watching the bun fight, along with a few Westerners. We were all shaking our heads and laughing. Reminded me of when i was a kid and my mum used to take me to the village jumble sale. Anyone else remember this? Doors would open at 2 o clock and there was a stampede. But this was 40 years ago! Shit, this is happening today in Pattaya! Quality tourists for sure!

Quality post fella.

[toenail]

Because of living/working in Thailand I am always in shock the first couple days when I am back in the USA and I am experiencing friendly, concerned, efficient clerks and waiters in the stores and restaurants..."Hi, may I help you?" " Is everything fine with the food you ordered?" "Let me check the back of the stock room to see if we have the pair of shoes you want..." I don't see sales clerks standing around in front of the mirror combing their hair or taking care of their zit...or some cashier squatting behind the counter sipping on their soup. The problem with the employees and many of the stores in Thailand is that there is no encouragement to be a good worker, very little training, and no commission on items you sell. Many work long hours for little pay. --But I have noticed that the Western chain stores and restaurants the workers are more customer oriented, must be the training.

[craigt3365]

I had a funny experience the other day there. It was magnified because I recently returned from the US.

I was looking at a computer electronics item and they were locked in a case so I needed service. They were indeed very surly from the start. Now I don't expect everyone to speak English in Thailand, but there was someone there who spoke English well enough. I really wasn't expecting anything, but there were four brand choices for the item I wanted. So I asked him for info, such as why is this one priced double this one, when it looks the same function. He just laughed incredulously and said SAME SAME. The point is this guy presumably works in this store most everyday and no motivation at all to learn the tiniest thing about the products he should be pushing. I guess there's no incentive, bad management, etc.

Anyway here's the contrast. I went to a bunch of electronic stores back in the US and every clerk I met sounded brilliant, and massively overqualified. The most amazing, I met a Singaporean-American working there who had an advanced engineering degree and I asked him for help with selecting the right cable for my needs. Let me tell you, I learned more about cables from this guy than I would ever need to know! BTW, these stores had incentive programs for staff, so a dumbo wouldn't even be hired in the first place.

I think it's called a recession, where you have over qualified college graduates working at Best Buy and serving you your fries at Micky D's. Contrast that with Thailand, where there is basically full employment so it is hard to find good employees for many service jobs. No necessarily a good comparison by the way.

That may be a partial reason, but it has been that way for years. I use to be lucky enough to shop at B&H Photo in NYC. Incredibly smart staff. Many are professional photographers.

I have shopped at Frys for many years. Their staff are usually pretty darn smart. And if you are walking around in kind of a daze due to all the "stuff", they will walk by and politely ask if you need help. This happened even during the boom times.

Huge difference compared to here.

Back to the OP...we shopped there last week and won't be going back. Prices are stupidly high on some items and the selection is not that good. Foodland for us, or Tesco as it's easier to get to for us.

[thaimate]

So many people have been telling me the same thing. So i went there today to check for myself. Most of the check outs were empty. Went to the bakery which thankfully was still the same. The rest of it was typical Big C, crappy plastic toys, crappy tee shirts that nobody would be seen dead in. Very cheap though, maybe they are targetting the Russian market! At the top of the stairs there were trestle tables laid out full of out of date clothes, 50 baht an item, which Carrefour used to do, always loads of Thai "Housewives" rummaging through picking up the bargains for their kids, husbands etc. Today they couldn't get a look in. Full of Russians pushing and shoving them out of the way. I stood there for maybe 20 minutes watching the bun fight, along with a few Westerners. We were all shaking our heads and laughing. Reminded me of when i was a kid and my mum used to take me to the village jumble sale. Anyone else remember this? Doors would open at 2 o clock and there was a stampede. But this was 40 years ago! Shit, this is happening today in Pattaya! Quality tourists for sure!

I AM afraid that the quote "quality tourists" and Russian cannot be used in the same sentence, there is no such thing here in Pattaya anyway ,as for Big C taking over carrfour ,i was never a big fan of Carrefour , but yes it has gone downhill fast , i am afraid that our shopping days there are now a thing of the past .

[janverbeem]

Now you have two supermarkets in Pattaya Big Crap and Extra Big Crap.

[PattayaParent]

I had a funny experience the other day there. It was magnified because I recently returned from the US.

I was looking at a computer electronics item and they were locked in a case so I needed service. They were indeed very surly from the start. Now I don't expect everyone to speak English in Thailand, but there was someone there who spoke English well enough. I really wasn't expecting anything, but there were four brand choices for the item I wanted. So I asked him for info, such as why is this one priced double this one, when it looks the same function. He just laughed incredulously and said SAME SAME. The point is this guy presumably works in this store most everyday and no motivation at all to learn the tiniest thing about the products he should be pushing. I guess there's no incentive, bad management, etc.

Anyway here's the contrast. I went to a bunch of electronic stores back in the US and every clerk I met sounded brilliant, and massively overqualified. The most amazing, I met a Singaporean-American working there who had an advanced engineering degree and I asked him for help with selecting the right cable for my needs. Let me tell you, I learned more about cables from this guy than I would ever need to know! BTW, these stores had incentive programs for staff, so a dumbo wouldn't even be hired in the first place.

To be fair, they were just as useless in the electronics department when it was Carrefour.

We've now been shopping at Makro for the bulk stuff and Friendship for the other bits not available in Makro.

From the reviews sounds like there's no need to ever bother travelling across town to ex-Carrefour anymore.

[smedly]

My first visit to CF was when I first moved to Thailand to live and needed to buy lots of stuff for my new home, I went on a large shopping spree and CF met a fair share of my requirements, I had just filled 2x large trollies with various stuff and when I presented myself at the checkout there was a small gathering waiting for me, I had been fooling around in the store and had accumulated an audiance on the cctv, they claim they where in tears laughing, anyway I got all my stuff free of charge only had to pay the tax which came to around 2500baht

sad to see it go, healthy competition is always good in the marketplace

[willyumcr]

I thought CF was a big step up from Big C. Sorry to see competition go. Do they still do free delivery from new big C? Also does Macro do delivery? even if you have to pay. I only have motorbike and like to do major shopping once a month.

[Rimmer]

Inflammatory and unfounded accusation removed from view.

[richsilver]

bye bye delicious and cheap carrefour mayionaise....

Make it yourself. It's easy, taste a million times better and you get to choose which oil you use (low cholesterol).

I agree that homemade mayo is much, much better (and cheaper as well). But there is no such thing as low cholesterol oil. Vegetable oils contain no cholesterol. Cholesterol is only from animal products.

[bartender100]

Just been to BigC extra, what a bunch of moaners some of you are, you should be thankful we have the great selection of supermarkets that we do, OK Carrefour is a loss, but I just came back from shopping there.

Bakery selection = excellent

Fish Counter = excellent

Fresh Fruit and veg = excellent

Can't comment on the prices, if I want something I buy it

Can't see any difference to the electrical department, noticed lots stuff on sale as well.

Should have cashed in your Carrefour card before they went, wasn't worth sod all anyway

I am finding the cashiers much more friendly, they actually look like they enjoy working there.

And finally we have got rid of that god awful music they used to churn out.

One thing, the best sliced bread for toast is at Friendship they have a British baker "Ricks Bakery" Best I have found.

[EnhancePlus]

Because of living/working in Thailand I am always in shock the first couple days when I am back in the USA and I am experiencing friendly, concerned, efficient clerks and waiters in the stores and restaurants..."Hi, may I help you?" " Is everything fine with the food you ordered?" "Let me check the back of the stock room to see if we have the pair of shoes you want..." I don't see sales clerks standing around in front of the mirror combing their hair or taking care of their zit...or some cashier squatting behind the counter sipping on their soup. The problem with the employees and many of the stores in Thailand is that there is no encouragement to be a good worker, very little training, and no commission on items you sell. Many work long hours for little pay. --But I have noticed that the Western chain stores and restaurants the workers are more customer oriented, must be the training.

You've never been to Radio shack?

Edited July 7, 2011 by EnhancePlus

[EnhancePlus]

I had a funny experience the other day there. It was magnified because I recently returned from the US.

I was looking at a computer electronics item and they were locked in a case so I needed service. They were indeed very surly from the start. Now I don't expect everyone to speak English in Thailand, but there was someone there who spoke English well enough. I really wasn't expecting anything, but there were four brand choices for the item I wanted. So I asked him for info, such as why is this one priced double this one, when it looks the same function. He just laughed incredulously and said SAME SAME. The point is this guy presumably works in this store most everyday and no motivation at all to learn the tiniest thing about the products he should be pushing. I guess there's no incentive, bad management, etc.

Anyway here's the contrast. I went to a bunch of electronic stores back in the US and every clerk I met sounded brilliant, and massively overqualified. The most amazing, I met a Singaporean-American working there who had an advanced engineering degree and I asked him for help with selecting the right cable for my needs. Let me tell you, I learned more about cables from this guy than I would ever need to know! BTW, these stores had incentive programs for staff, so a dumbo wouldn't even be hired in the first place.

I think it's called a recession, where you have over qualified college graduates working at Best Buy and serving you your fries at Micky D's. Contrast that with Thailand, where there is basically full employment so it is hard to find good employees for many service jobs. No necessarily a good comparison by the way.

That may be a partial reason, but it has been that way for years. I use to be lucky enough to shop at B&H Photo in NYC. Incredibly smart staff. Many are professional photographers.

I have shopped at Frys for many years. Their staff are usually pretty darn smart. And if you are walking around in kind of a daze due to all the "stuff", they will walk by and politely ask if you need help. This happened even during the boom times.

Huge difference compared to here.

Back to the OP...we shopped there last week and won't be going back. Prices are stupidly high on some items and the selection is not that good. Foodland for us, or Tesco as it's easier to get to for us.

Frys?!?!?! They're the worst. Helpful service?!?!? All they want to do is con you into buying an extended warranty. I've had numerous problems with their products. Ever buy an open box item there? Well, don't. What's going to happen in LOS when they raise the minimum wage? You probably won't see as many places way over staffed with zombies checking for the next SMS

[craigt3365]

That may be a partial reason, but it has been that way for years. I use to be lucky enough to shop at B&H Photo in NYC. Incredibly smart staff. Many are professional photographers.

I have shopped at Frys for many years. Their staff are usually pretty darn smart. And if you are walking around in kind of a daze due to all the "stuff", they will walk by and politely ask if you need help. This happened even during the boom times.

Huge difference compared to here.

Back to the OP...we shopped there last week and won't be going back. Prices are stupidly high on some items and the selection is not that good. Foodland for us, or Tesco as it's easier to get to for us.

Frys?!?!?! They're the worst. Helpful service?!?!? All they want to do is con you into buying an extended warranty. I've had numerous problems with their products. Ever buy an open box item there? Well, don't. What's going to happen in LOS when they raise the minimum wage? You probably won't see as many places way over staffed with zombies checking for the next SMS

Hmmm...OK. I've been shopping there for many, many, many years. I would never buy an open box item (not worth the 10% discount) and never buy extended warranties. I have returned many items and never had a problem...other than you only get a store credit. Not bad, can buy more good stuff!

Just my experience.

I think no matter where you are, sales staff are hit and miss. This coming from an ex-salesman!

[EnhancePlus]

That may be a partial reason, but it has been that way for years. I use to be lucky enough to shop at B&H Photo in NYC. Incredibly smart staff. Many are professional photographers.

I have shopped at Frys for many years. Their staff are usually pretty darn smart. And if you are walking around in kind of a daze due to all the "stuff", they will walk by and politely ask if you need help. This happened even during the boom times.

Huge difference compared to here.

Back to the OP...we shopped there last week and won't be going back. Prices are stupidly high on some items and the selection is not that good. Foodland for us, or Tesco as it's easier to get to for us.

Frys?!?!?! They're the worst. Helpful service?!?!? All they want to do is con you into buying an extended warranty. I've had numerous problems with their products. Ever buy an open box item there? Well, don't. What's going to happen in LOS when they raise the minimum wage? You probably won't see as many places way over staffed with zombies checking for the next SMS

Hmmm...OK. I've been shopping there for many, many, many years. I would never buy an open box item (not worth the 10% discount) and never buy extended warranties. I have returned many items and never had a problem...other than you only get a store credit. Not bad, can buy more good stuff!

Just my experience.

I think no matter where you are, sales staff are hit and miss. This coming from an ex-salesman!

Agreed.

[jeanpierre]

Just been to BigC extra, what a bunch of moaners some of you are, you should be thankful we have the great selection of supermarkets that we do, OK Carrefour is a loss, but I just came back from shopping there.

Bakery selection = excellent

Fish Counter = excellent

Fresh Fruit and veg = excellent

Can't comment on the prices, if I want something I buy it

Can't see any difference to the electrical department, noticed lots stuff on sale as well.

Should have cashed in your Carrefour card before they went, wasn't worth sod all anyway

I am finding the cashiers much more friendly, they actually look like they enjoy working there.

And finally we have got rid of that god awful music they used to churn out.

One thing, the best sliced bread for toast is at Friendship they have a British baker "Ricks Bakery" Best I have found.

isolation foam you mean

i give this to the chickens

[timekeeper]

That may be a partial reason, but it has been that way for years. I use to be lucky enough to shop at B&H Photo in NYC. Incredibly smart staff. Many are professional photographers.

I have shopped at Frys for many years. Their staff are usually pretty darn smart. And if you are walking around in kind of a daze due to all the "stuff", they will walk by and politely ask if you need help. This happened even during the boom times.

Huge difference compared to here.

Back to the OP...we shopped there last week and won't be going back. Prices are stupidly high on some items and the selection is not that good. Foodland for us, or Tesco as it's easier to get to for us.

Frys?!?!?! They're the worst. Helpful service?!?!? All they want to do is con you into buying an extended warranty. I've had numerous problems with their products. Ever buy an open box item there? Well, don't. What's going to happen in LOS when they raise the minimum wage? You probably won't see as many places way over staffed with zombies checking for the next SMS

Hmmm...OK. I've been shopping there for many, many, many years. I would never buy an open box item (not worth the 10% discount) and never buy extended warranties. I have returned many items and never had a problem...other than you only get a store credit. Not bad, can buy more good stuff!

Just my experience.

I think no matter where you are, sales staff are hit and miss. This coming from an ex-salesman!

like Craig, i have shopped at Carrefour since it opened

i still shop there as Big C Extra

i thought maybe i wouldn't but everything i buy from there is still available so its no different for me

the staff were always iffy at best and still are, that won't change

i remember buying a small TV from there for my security cameras

a week later it burst into flames in front of my eyes

i took the remains back to customer service and they laughed as is usual.

i did point out rather sternly that had i not been there it might have burnt my house down

so they asked me if i wanted a new one

i said what do you think!! ????

i could do without the pukey green colour after a night on the tiles

a view seems to be shared by many if the amount of indoor sunglass wearing farangs are anything to go by

it really doesn't look cool.........but that another thread i expect

[sotsira]

Been to the new Big C extra twice now since it took over from Carrefour,

both times in the middle of the week and afternoons, the place was very quiet hardly any customers.

I know it's low season but i've always shopped there before and never seen it this quiet.

Have all the old Carrefour customers moved on to somewhere else?

Also noticed that many of the regular items i purchase have increased in price since Big C came in,

is that why it's called Extra, for the extra costs?

Well i gave it a couple of tries and im not impressed seeing that Tescos & Makro have the same items for less,

thats where im going from now on.

[FarangBuddha]

Did some real grocery shopping there today for the first time since the handover and didn't really notice much of a change. All my favorite departments were pretty much the same, including the dairy/cheese, meats, and bakery. There was still a good selection of imported dairy and canned/jarred cheeses and sauces and all my favorite breads were still there. Don't know about prices as like someone said, if I need/want something I just buy it. Fruits and veggies seemed the same as well...not as good as Central Beach but on par with Foodland.

[janverbeem]

I was in there this evening,Friday around 6 PM.In case some other members were there at the same time,I was the customer with the red t-shirt,and it clearly seems to be a case of the last customer will switch of the lights.