The Only Man With The Key!

[msg362]

Is everyone in Thailand incredibly stupid when it comes to emergencies? I hope not.

Here on my Moo Baan, the water pumps stopped a month or so ago. Security could not start them because the (only) man with the key had gone on holiday to Pitsanulok for a few days!!! ( A lot of Farang style assertion got the pumps working, but no Thai would have done it)

Then tonight, my wife is a lecturer at CMU, and here is a student party with dances, music etc. The power fails but 'the man with the key' lives over 1 hour away so they all sit there in the dark! The party is spoiled.

What is wrong with them? why can't there be an emergency procedure and a key kept locally? ( Excuse me, it was my job for a while)

I can't work it out, is it the 'mai pen rai' stuff? the 'don't trust anyone else' ? 'it's not my job'?

Why on earth do such uncessary things have to happen? Is it a work share programme?

Sorry for the rant. It's so simple to get it right and so much of a problem if it goes wrong

Edited August 24, 2012 by metisdead
: Post corrected.

[frankold]

Err.. get used to it?

[msg362]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

[overherebc]

I will probably get some stick for this but here goes.

In general a lot of people out here don't want to take responsibility for anything that doesn't affect them directly. In the case of the keyholder he/she most likely didn't want to take the responsibility and it was pushed onto them. The result is that they think on the lines of, if I am not home then it's their fault for giving me the key, or I am not in charge of the system, only the key, so why should I get upset if the system breaks down.

You are probably thinking on the same lines as me, I am going on holiday so I should let people know and give the key to someone while I am away.

I think it was on TV where someone posted that they were watching a large fire somewhere in BKK and the fireman were not exactly busting a gut to to get things going, when he asked his girlfriend why they were going so slow the answer was, they're not trying to save their own houses .

End of my rant

[msg362]

I will probably get some stick for this but here goes.

In general a lot of people out here don't want to take responsibility for anything that doesn't affect them directly. In the case of the keyholder he/she most likely didn't want to take the responsibility and it was pushed onto them. The result is that they think on the lines of, if I am not home then it's their fault for giving me the key, or I am not in charge of the system, only the key, so why should I get upset if the system breaks down.

You are probably thinking on the same lines as me, I am going on holiday so I should let people know and give the key to someone while I am away.

I think it was on TV where someone posted that they were watching a large fire somewhere in BKK and the fireman were not exactly busting a gut to to get things going, when he asked his girlfriend why they were going so slow the answer was, they're not trying to save their own houses .

End of my rant

Yes, the

I will probably get some stick for this but here goes.

In general a lot of people out here don't want to take responsibility for anything that doesn't affect them directly. In the case of the keyholder he/she most likely didn't want to take the responsibility and it was pushed onto them. The result is that they think on the lines of, if I am not home then it's their fault for giving me the key, or I am not in charge of the system, only the key, so why should I get upset if the system breaks down.

You are probably thinking on the same lines as me, I am going on holiday so I should let people know and give the key to someone while I am away.

I think it was on TV where someone posted that they were watching a large fire somewhere in BKK and the fireman were not exactly busting a gut to to get things going, when he asked his girlfriend why they were going so slow the answer was, they're not trying to save their own houses .

End of my rant

Yes, in both my cases the answer is to leave a key with security and have a responsible person ( are there any in Thailand?) to take charge locally.. I've just heard that after 1 hour in darkness for 70 students and staff, the 'key man' turned up, flipped a switch and the lights are on again!! Took him 30 seconds!! TIT!!!!!!!!!!!

[Semper]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Because you are not living in your home country. As said above, get used to these things or relocate.

[endure]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Because that's the way it works in Thailand.

[thenervoussurgeon]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Because that's the way it works in Thailand.

And the average Thai if brains were gunpwder they couldnt blow their hats off.

but we love em anyway T.I.T

[jacktrip]

you usually get what you pay for.

[msg362]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Because you are not living in your home country. As said above, get used to these things or relocate.

No, because some times lives can depend on it. Such stupidity should be pointed out

[msg362]

you usually get what you pay for.

An old quote something like 'Pay peanuts, get monkeys'????????

[Bagwan]

This reminds me of the the story about a guy who bought his first PC. He managed to get it out of the box but had great difficulty connecting up all the peripheral devices so he called the help line. After about 20 minutes the support guy had had enough of the guy's ineptitude to follow simple instructions so he advised him to put all the gear back into the boxes and return it to the shop where he had bought it and ask for his money back.

The guy asked why he should do this. Wasn't the PC any good?

The support guy responded that there was nothing wrong with the equipment but that our hero was too stupid to own a PC.

[fletchsmile]

you usually get what you pay for.

Back in the west there is usually some correlation between price and quality.

For Thailand the phrase "you pay for what you get" springs to mind more frequently.

Regardless of what price you pay the quality is often the same, and paying more simply guarantees paying more. In many cases you pay for something and then you get what you get regardless.

[fletchsmile]

you usually get what you pay for.

An old quote something like 'Pay peanuts, get monkeys'????????

Except here it's often you pay peanuts you get monkeys. You pay baht you get monkeys. You pay big baht you get monkeys. There's a pattern if you notice.

In fairness sometimes you pay peanuts and get great results. Then again you pay baht and get great results, or you pay big baht and get great results.

The message really is, that regardless of your input, Thailand is Thailand. Little that you do or say or even pay will change the way the country is

[fletchsmile]

..

Edited August 24, 2012 by fletchsmile

[jacktrip]

you usually get what you pay for.

Back in the west there is usually some correlation between price and quality.

For Thailand the phrase "you pay for what you get" springs to mind more frequently.

Regardless of what price you pay the quality is often the same, and paying more simply guarantees paying more. In many cases you pay for something and then you get what you get regardless.

yep, your paying less for just about everything here in most cases then you did in your home country. that's why a lot of people are here.

so learn to accept cheap junk and service. you get what you pay for.

'no such thing as a free lunch'

[bkkjames]

the other 364 days of the year, they wouldnt need the key man so if they have to wait one hour on the day they need him, so be it.

Expectations: keep them low and you'll rarely be left feeling at a loss.

[slapout]

A good set of bolt cutters in the car come in handy, as do the jumper cables.

[daoyai]

There does seem to be many examples here of not anticipating future problems, for example, we would anticipate that we may need to access some important bit of equipment so we arrange access to keys.... Another example is potential dangers, when installing a hanging sign or awning, we would place it above head hight of the tallest person, here? it is just hung and people will bang into it, everyone laughs. A hotel builds a swimming pool but uses smooth tile around the pool, nobody points out that those tiles will be dangerously slippery when wet. Examples of this lack of forethout are all around, be careful out there, watch you step.

[Rsquared]

Have said it before, but unfortunately it is the case of the missing "what if" gene in the general population.

You cannot put brains in statues.

[Gaccha]

Sane issues occur in the UK but from different epistemes.

The fire alarm went off at my apartment block and nobody could switch it off. The fire brigade arrived and switched it off. They said we were lucky there was no real emergency or else they could not have come for several hours. I mentioned that nobody knew the code. They would not give it for health and safety reasons.

Eventually, I extracted the code off him by telling him I would turn it off only if I was certain there was no fire, and that I was a volunteer police officer.

[colinneil]

T.I.T. at our school we have solar electric, no sun no electric, next to solar panels beautiful (never been used ) diesel generator, 2 weeks ago no sun for 3 days no electric , i asked for the key to start generator, man who has the key stays in chang mai !!what the f...!! we are outside mae hong son 330 kilos from chang mai.

[Pseudolus]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Careful now - you will be told to leave Thailand soon due to your insolence of asking why logical thinking is a bad character trait here.

More likely to be a power trip thing from the guy with the actual key. If someone else has a key, he loses face in front of the boys so he clings onto that responsibility for dear life. I would hazard a guess that people have been shot here for meddling with someone elses key.

[Beetlejuice]

I used to enjoy the times when all the lights went out a party. Especially if I had a girl in my arms at the time.

[TommoPhysicist]

A man with a hammer and a sturdy screwdriver never needs a key!

[zziffle]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

For selfish reasons. You will have more enjoyable days and possibly live longer.

[Crossy]

A whole bunch of off topic / /bickering posts deleted.

Back on-topic. This concept of one-man one-key along with the whole consensus vote principle is one major reason we don't live in a condo / moo bahn any more. Six months with no mains power due to committee bickering after the flooding sealed the deal.

[travelmann]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Careful now - you will be told to leave Thailand soon due to your insolence of asking why logical thinking is a bad character trait here.

More likely to be a power trip thing from the guy with the actual key. If someone else has a key, he loses face in front of the boys so he clings onto that responsibility for dear life. I would hazard a guess that people have been shot here for meddling with someone elses key.

Shot thru the brains or did the chamber only hold 6 rounds?

[overherebc]

A whole bunch of off topic / /bickering posts deleted.

Back on-topic. This concept of one-man one-key along with the whole consensus vote principle is one major reason we don't live in a condo / moo bahn any more. Six months with no mains power due to committee bickering after the flooding sealed the deal.

I 'm not kissing moderators xxx by the way but I do 110% agree. We have our own front door and no-one except me and the boss has any power over what happens inside that front gate. I could not live in a "condo" ( up-market name for a council flat) where I had to conform to rules and regs that other people make.

I can handle all the other things in Thailand like visas etc, but to use a well used phrase , with a slight change, "Our home is our castle"

[msg362]

Err.. get used to it?

Why should I?

Careful now - you will be told to leave Thailand soon due to your insolence of asking why logical thinking is a bad character trait here.

More likely to be a power trip thing from the guy with the actual key. If someone else has a key, he loses face in front of the boys so he clings onto that responsibility for dear life. I would hazard a guess that people have been shot here for meddling with someone elses key.

I have already, this quote from Semper

Because you are not living in your home country. As said above, get used to these things or relocate.

Amazing, you can live somehwere, like lots of things, but if you have a issue with something you are told to go home!