Ever Been Told To Leave A Thai-Owned Shop ?

[MrWorldwide]

I've had the odd run-in with cranky stallholders - women, fwiw, and usually the 'no have' wave - but I've never been explicitly told to p*ss off by a Thai business owner in an airconditioned shopping centre. Never.

Apologies to CarlBKK, but I wanted to bring this to a wider section of TV than the few here who seem to have an interest in high-end audio, because I believe this has less to do with high-end audio and more to do with the attitude of certain Thai merchants.

There are dealers in BKK that I like, and others I don't. You'll know pretty quickly which are anti-farang (i.e they consider any foreigner walking into the shop a timewaster) and which are open-minded and customer-friendly. Piyanas is good, I found Image to be good (and the Levinson dealer next door). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. KS Sons at Paragon good. Worst so far is the new Hi End shop in MBK - great great stuff, but got waved OUT by an old Chinese woman sitting in there (mother of the youngish owner). I'm young, I was wearing smart shorts/polo shirt that day, I used to work for a hifi mag and I purchase high end hifi. She, nor the other two guys in there, ever considered that I might not be a timewaster.

I read that a couple of weeks back, and it has grated on me since. No argument that shop owners can refuse to serve a customer if that customer is clearly wasting their time/being abusive etc, but n this case CarlBKK's crime appears to be that he was a young Farang wearing shorts. I know confrontation is a big no-no with the Thais, but I would have gone to the owner and made my feelings very clear that I didn't appreciate being treated like that - in Australia, I'd get the Police involved. No question that stores that have shiny toys inside must have their share of tyre-kickers, but why open a brick-and-mortar store if you cant deal with that ? I've seen a very similar attitude from the Chinese at The Adelphi in Singapore - 5 or 6 floors dedicated almost entirely to high-end audio - but not one of them had the gall to 'wave me out'. I wonder if that woman waves hi-so Thais out of her store ? And how they would react if she did ?

If I seem to be over-reacting, its because this is a button-pusher for me. I try very hard not to get on the wrong side of Thai people - for very obvious reasons - but an attitude like that really raises my blood pressure, particularly in a country where so many people work very hard to get customers into their business. Exactly what a 'Hi-End Shop' is doing in a dump like MBK is anyone's guess - such businesses tend to cluster around CentralWorld and its ilk - but you just cant put yourself in front of that much foot traffic and sit there waving people out of your store, <deleted> ! I know - its their country, TiT, suck it up, you cant do shit to change anything - but I'm curious nonetheless.

Interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience and how you reacted to being told to 'hop it' for no apparent reason. The 'no have' wave has never worried me, and none of those stallholders has anything I cant find at the next stall anyway, but for toys with potentially high profit margins I find the treatment doled out to CarlBKK seriously xxxxxx up. As for the owner, it might be time to leave mama at home if she is going to get cranky with the customers - all that waving might kill the poor old duck ....

Edited March 15, 2013 by metisdead
Edited to remove shop name and profanity.

[diddums]

Got chased out of a gun shop once.

Did not argue.

[HeavyDrinker]

Maybe Carl had 'history' with mama.....

If I had a shop and my mum shoo-ed away punters, she'd not be sitting there much longer no matter what country I was in....

[Barabbas]

Not if it was her money you opened your toy-shop with...

[HeavyDrinker]

Fair point...

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

invest in some deodorant

but seriously Chinese business owners can be not so polite or friendly as compared to Thai's.

[Barabbas]

However the proportion of Thai-owned businesses and Chinese-owned businesses makes it difficult to be picky, in Bangkok at least. Anyway, I can't think of a stiuation, when I would be told to bugger off in 99% of places. Especially like hi-end audio boutiques. Funny.

[MrWorldwide]

Not if it was her money you opened your toy-shop with...

Yeah, that did occur to me - where does a young guy come by the capital to open a high-end audio store ? Might go a long way to explaining why they found themselves in MBK - surely *the* bargain-basement destination in inner BKK - surrounded by people selling cheap tat and endless rows of mobile phones. Not the market I'd be looking for - it would be like trying to open a Porsche dealership outside Tesco.

The upside, for me, is that I wont be revisiting MBK unless its at the point of a gun, so I am unlikely to ever encounter Mama EatMySh*t.

[Pacificperson]

The Chinese seem to have a bit of a problem with window shoppers. I know. I am married to one, and when I percieved to be window shopping for the wrong things, I get in big trouble.

[Indrid Cold]

I was literally thrown out of shop here in Sarakham a couple of days ago.

The story goes. I was going to do some electrical repair for a haidresser close to me and for that i needed certain spare parts. Walked in to a typical thai shop close to the wet market that looked as if could have what i needed. The shop was managed by a very old thai lady. Ok i started to explain in swedish, englit and ununderstandable thai what i needed, she looked devastated, sign language and pointing at things did not improve the situation. Probably out of pity for me old thai lady decides to stop this charade, she takes me by arm and walks me out to the street says something to me that i off course did not understand and points down the street at the pharmacy. I say kapom kap does that palm to palm bow and smiles to her, she looks very relieved. I did not find spare parts this day but managed to do temp repair for hairdresser.

[HeavyDrinker]

I was literally thrown out of shop here in Sarakham a couple of days ago.

The story goes. I was going to do some electrical repair for a haidresser close to me and for that i needed certain spare parts. Walked in to a typical thai shop close to the wet market that looked as if could have what i needed. The shop was managed by a very old thai lady. Ok i started to explain in swedish, englit and ununderstandable thai what i needed, she looked devastated, sign language and pointing at things did not improve the situation. Probably out of pity for me old thai lady decides to stop this charade, she takes me by arm and walks me out to the street says something to me that i off course did not understand and points down the street at the pharmacy. I say kapom kap does that palm to palm bow and smiles to her, she looks very relieved. I did not find spare parts this day but managed to do temp repair for hairdresser.

Blimey! You don't half know how to live!!!

[Barabbas]

I was literally thrown out of shop here in Sarakham a couple of days ago.

I don't think what happened to You can be classified as being "thrown out" Anyway, you might just saved yourself and the shop-owner some precious time if the parts in question weren't available after all. I bet you've found them at last, eh?

2MrWorldwide: personally, I don't find MBK that bad a place - if one knows what and where to look for... Surely I don't go there shopping for Ming china and Zegna clothing But there's plenty of stuff pretty useable for other occasions - gifts, small time electronic stuff etc. Bargaining for another fake Patek is always jolly good fun

[andrew]

Not if it was her money you opened your toy-shop with...

Yeah, that did occur to me - where does a young guy come by the capital to open a high-end audio store ? Might go a long way to explaining why they found themselves in MBK - surely *the* bargain-basement destination in inner BKK - surrounded by people selling cheap tat and endless rows of mobile phones. Not the market I'd be looking for - it would be like trying to open a Porsche dealership outside Tesco.

The upside, for me, is that I wont be revisiting MBK unless its at the point of a gun, so I am unlikely to ever encounter Mama EatMySh*t.

Aren't all the hi-end audio shops in the upper floors of Ploenchit Plaza?

Used to go there a lot. Some seriously expensive gear. They let you browse as much as you want.

[Indrid Cold]

I was literally thrown out of shop here in Sarakham a couple of days ago.

I don't think what happened to You can be classified as being "thrown out" Anyway, you might just saved yourself and the shop-owner some precious time if the parts in question weren't available after all. I bet you've found them at last, eh?

2MrWorldwide: personally, I don't find MBK that bad a place - if one knows what and where to look for... Surely I don't go there shopping for Ming china and Zegna clothing But there's plenty of stuff pretty useable for other occasions - gifts, small time electronic stuff etc. Bargaining for another fake Patek is always jolly good fun

Ok it was not a violent or agressive thrown out. Im sure she had what i needed i one of her million boxes but the time yes.

I have managed to salvage the essential parts from one of the junk piles behind the nudel kitchen that is wall to wall with her. My repair now looks like a genuine thai repair, I am very proud of myself and haidresser is so happy that she has offered me a free hair dye. Success!

[HeavyDrinker]

Ingrid, you should have stood firm and made the old lady root through a million boxes....

[MrWorldwide]

Andrew - no, they aren't all at the top of the Ploenchit Center

Piyanas even have a store waaaayyyyy down on Sukhumvit 101, and others even further out including one in Sri Racha. There is a spreadsheet with links to every dealer in Thailand in the 'Audio' subforum if you are interested in exploring further, Personally, I much prefer the idea of auditioning gear in a standalone store on Suk 101 than in one of the shopping centres, but many of the hi-end dealers have located themselves within easy walking distance of Siam Paragon. High rents, but TiT.

http://www.piyanas.com/showroom/

[Indrid Cold]

Ingrid, you should have stood firm and made the old lady root through a million boxes....

I know im weak and a disgrace to the farang comunity here but i just couldnt do that to her

Edited March 13, 2013 by Indrid Cold

[andrew]

Andrew - no, they aren't all at the top of the Ploenchit Center

Piyanas even have a store waaaayyyyy down on Sukhumvit 101, and others even further out including one in Sri Racha. There is a spreadsheet with links to every dealer in Thailand in the 'Audio' subforum if you are interested in exploring further, Personally, I much prefer the idea of auditioning gear in a standalone store on Suk 101 than in one of the shopping centres, but many of the hi-end dealers have located themselves within easy walking distance of Siam Paragon. High rents, but TiT.

http://www.piyanas.com/showroom/

Well they certainly used to be!

Are we talking about the same gear? By hi-end, I'm referring to (primarily) American stuff that costs more than a small car.

I'm also talking about turntables.

Perhaps they all moved out of Ploenchit. If so, that's your loss, I'm afraid. I used to love walking around those shops.

And yes -- many had insulated sound rooms where you could truly appreciate great speakers.

[Sheryl]

I have had it happen that a storekeeper immediately tries to wave me out on sight, in small shops where it would not be a question of thinking I'd waste their time by not making a big purchase. I think it is an assumption that they will not be able to communicate with me/understand what it is I want,. Annoying nonetheless, particularly if done with rude gestures, and especially since I speak passable Thai and the item I seek is often right there on the shelf behind them.

But it is a rare occurrence. The more common one, same cause, is the seller running off in frantic search of someone who speaks English or is brave enough to try, without letting me first get a word out, which had they, would have been in Thai thus eliminating the problem. This sometimes leads to me shouting after them "I speak Thai" . Which not infrequently they wildly mimic "no understand (English)" back at me until I have said it enough times that someone notices I am in fact, speaking Thai.... (and it's not that my accent is so terrible..I've been here for decades and no one has trouble understanding me when they try).

Sometimes to really complete the comedy, other Thais join in the uproar shouting at the seller "kao pood dai! kao pood dai (She can speak (Thai)!) who even then continues to try to mimic the impossibility of dealing with me until it finally sinks in.

I even get this driving in to my local gas station. The odds that farang driving herself in a car with local plates into such a small upcountry place would not speak at least enough Thai to manage has got to be extremely low, but still sometimes I get that reaction.

But it's hardly worth getting upset over. In fact it often ends with a good laugh all around.

[varun]

Having worked in Pro-Audio/Visual for the better of my career, I regret your friend's mis-treatment.

This reflects poorly on the industry as a whole, and in particular the distributor network/ their treatment of customers in Thailand.

The only thing you can do is avoid such shops, and nothing more.

On a related note, here some are hi-end home audio/pro-audio/MI (Musical Instrument shops) that I can personally recommend

- Pro-Plugin shops (Fortune Town / Lad Phrao / Ekamai)(customer service is usually good

- Music Solution (Phetchburi road, after Pantip Plaza)(good selection of guitars/synths/keyboards and studio monitors, the bespectacled guy who is usually there is passionate about music and will let you listen to whatever gear you want)

- Hi-Fi Part (Lad Phrao 87), inside the CDC (Crystal Design Center) on the 2nd Flr.

I avoid the KS entertainment shops like the plague, their markups are ridiculous.

Edited March 13, 2013 by varun

[vtjforyou]

This is the problem here: they are too rich and don't pay tax.

[MrWorldwide]

Andrew - I'm not saying there are *no* dealers in Ploenchit - simply that they aren't *all* in the one location. I appreciate what you are saying though - no-one wants to tramp all over BKK if they dont have to.

[Bluenose BKK]

I was literally thrown out of shop here in Sarakham a couple of days ago.

I don't think what happened to You can be classified as being "thrown out" Anyway, you might just saved yourself and the shop-owner some precious time if the parts in question weren't available after all. I bet you've found them at last, eh?

2MrWorldwide: personally, I don't find MBK that bad a place - if one knows what and where to look for... Surely I don't go there shopping for Ming china and Zegna clothing But there's plenty of stuff pretty useable for other occasions - gifts, small time electronic stuff etc. Bargaining for another fake Patek is always jolly good fun

The Zegna shop in Siam Paragon is woeful if you've ever been to one in somewhere like Passeig de Gracia,Barcelona before,believe me!

[chiangmaikelly]

My old girlfriend got banned from Foodland in Pattaya. Yes to both meanings of old. I never met a Thai person who got banned from Foodland before. I considered it quite an accomplishment. I'd tell all the drunks on Soi BuaKhow and they would all nod in amazement. No one had ever met a person who had been banned from Foodland.

[Bluenose BKK]

I normally have the opposite problem,can't get away with the shop owner's dollar signs lighting up their eyes!
That's normally dressed in the old wife beater and thongs also,maybe I just look like a tourist shopping for take-home electronics and duty-frees?

[Bluenose BKK]

My old girlfriend got banned from Foodland in Pattaya. Yes to both meanings of old. I never met a Thai person who got banned from Foodland before. I considered it quite an accomplishment. I'd tell all the drunks on Soi BuaKhow and they would all nod in amazement. No one had ever met a person who had been banned from Foodland.

How on earth do you get banned from a 24hr supermarket full of all the flotsam and jetsam of Thailand usually,very impressive!

[Thereisnoif]

Just give her the finger. She will get it

[chiangmaikelly]

My old girlfriend got banned from Foodland in Pattaya. Yes to both meanings of old. I never met a Thai person who got banned from Foodland before. I considered it quite an accomplishment. I'd tell all the drunks on Soi BuaKhow and they would all nod in amazement. No one had ever met a person who had been banned from Foodland.

How on earth do you get banned from a 24hr supermarket full of all the flotsam and jetsam of Thailand usually,very impressive!

She was quite a woman. It ran in the family. Her daughter gave a sea captain a heart attack off the coast of Rayong on her 19 birthday. She eventually married the first mate.

[bangkokburning]

I go out of my way not to do business with Chinese.

Ecstatic when big box stores and 711 arrived in Thailand and the dreary mom pop Chinese shops disappeared.

Have to say, when I pass a quaint little shop with some old Chinese guy sitting in it wasting his life away I get a bit misty eyed...then I smile and move on.

They did it to themselves. The Thai's not keen on them either. I think my wife has more sour taste than me for them. She days they exploited her mother for years (while working in Chinatown).

[MrWorldwide]

Some of the Chinese shopkeepers here in Oz seem pretty insular too, but I think a lot of that has been worn down with the increased popularity of Asian food over the last two decades, and an explosion in Asian supermarkets for those who want to cook at home. Still get the odd 'hairy eyeball' though but they know they cant openly discriminate against Gwailo in Oz. The Chinese have been here since the Gold Rush, but there have been waves of new arrivals since the 1970s.