Service

[loong]

It's been one of those days today. I wanted a part for our borehole pump and it had been difficult to find a supplier. I went to the shop before Songkhran and they told me that their engineer was already away for the holiday. I explained that there was no need for an engineer as I would change the part myself, so I just wanted to order the part. She said yes, I could order it and it would cost 2,800 Baht. I said good, please order it. She says cannot do because the engineer is on holiday.

I'm thinking why do they need an engineer when I just want to order a part and I have the model number?

I figure that this is one of those times that my Thai language skills have failed me and so I tell them that I will get my Missus to telephone and sort it out after Songkhran.

The Missus telephones them after Songkhran and gets absolutely nowhere.

Today we go to the shop, I'm confident that as the Missus went with me, we will get it sorted.

No such luck!

The staff was asking questions about the size of the pipes. I don't understand why they need to know this. I say that the pipe size is irrelevant and showed her on a display pump just the part that I needed. She tells me that I will have to bring the whole pump in, because maybe that part won't fit. No, I don't want the part from this pump, I want the equivalent part from the model that I have and the model number that I have supplied.

Both my Missus and I are getting frustrated because this is such a simple transaction that is getting very complicated.

My Missus explained why we were having difficulties. In her words "This woman is really stupid"

The woman then said that if we were in a hurry, we may be able to get the part at another shop and gave directions to the Missus. So off we went. The Missus drove as she had been given the directions. Of course the directions were not so great and we had a lot of difficulty finding the shop. We had just about given up when I spotted a shop selling pumps.

Nowhere to park, I jumped out and went to the shop.

It was the right place. I expained to one of the staff what I wanted and gave the model number. He understood exactly what I wanted and said that they have it. 2,500 Baht. Great

The staff member went out back to get the part that I needed and the boss came out to chat with me. He speaks pretty good English and it was very nice chatting with him.

It was great that the Boss spoke English, but when I was speaking to the staff, it was in Thai and they understood perfectly. I don't know why I had such difficuly explaining what I wanted in the other shop.

The shop name is Samritphon and if you need pump stuff in Khon Kaen, the service is excellent.

Then I went to the supermarket, my frustation at having problems at the first shop and then difficulty at locating the second shop had been offset by the good service at Samritphon... But!

Waited patiently in line at the checkout although it seemed to be rather slow.

Put all my stuff on the conveyor belt and pushed my trolley to the end.

My attention was taken by my daughter for a while and I looked back to see that my stuff had been pushed back and a woman had put her goods on the belt in front of mine and the check-out girl was serving her.

I asked her what she was doing and she apologised with a big smile.

I asked the check-out girl why she was serving the woman and she shrugged and said that she didn't have too much.

I did my nut because I had waited patiently in line and that the staff had allowed such blatant queue jumping.

I just left all my stuff on the conveyor belt and stormed off.

The Missus asked me waht about the stuff i had "bought" I told her that they will have to put them back on the shelves. She thinks that I am crazy, but at the same time finds it hilarious. She says that although she would be annoyed, she would have waited until the q jumper was served.

Trouble is that I have to go shopping again, so who is the idiot here?

[Travel2003]

Liked especially the part about leaving your stuff on the belt.

Exactly how I would have done it.

I left my stuff in the cart once, due to lack of service.

[thequietman]

That would be you.

No, seriously give it a while and the experts on here will be saying:

1. Learn how to speak the language better

2. Its not just Thailand where this happens

3. You don't understand Thai culture

4. Its the way its done here, accept it

5. If you weren't in the shop, then you wouldn't have this problem

and finally................

6. If you don't like it........ go home.

I sympathise with you. You try to explain in Thai. Then you get your wife to explain in Thai and it doesn't get you anywhere. The problem is that people here in retail don't listen.

Your story did make me laugh though and I am sure it has happened to many people on here.

Thanks for the story.

[SamsonSW]

Are you British by any chance?

I find Americans take "queue jumping" pretty seriously, but really nowhere else in the world is it considered a major felony.

Time just doesn't have that much value here, if you were that important you wouldn't be spending any of your valuable life's time shopping for yourself, people with real value in Thailand have servants do that for them.

[pattayadingo]

Are you British by any chance?

I find Americans take "queue jumping" pretty seriously, but really nowhere else in the world is it considered a major felony.

Time just doesn't have that much value here, if you were that important you wouldn't be spending any of your valuable life's time shopping for yourself, people with real value in Thailand have servants do that for them.

Huh? Did you read the whole of the OP's post?

[itchybum]

You ran off doing something else and the queue was vacant somewhat, the lady only had a few things by the sound of it, so what is the problem?

Maybe you lost 30 seconds.

Maybe that 30 seconds saved your life later on with some mad drunk driver that missed your car because it was not there because you were now 30 seconds late.

[Travel2003]

Are you British by any chance?

I find Americans take "queue jumping" pretty seriously, but really nowhere else in the world is it considered a major felony.

Time just doesn't have that much value here, if you were that important you wouldn't be spending any of your valuable life's time shopping for yourself, people with real value in Thailand have servants do that for them.

I read weekly in a Norwegian news paper about someone who got his face smashed in due to "queue jumping" when buying food late at night on the way home from a pub, bar, etc.

Pretty sure this is the case in Britain as well.

I know for a fact that most Thais hate "queue jumping", but they accept it, due to the "make no scene" issue.

[SamsonSW]

I think "hate" is a strong word for Thai feeling about the issue.

But I'd gladly admit that other northern European countries may be as willing to respond with passion to minor violations of etiquette.

What people call "first world problems", really should find more important things to get het up about hey?

Edited April 24, 2013 by SamsonSW

[Munger]

That would be you.

No, seriously give it a while and the experts on here will be saying:

1. Learn how to speak the language better

2. Its not just Thailand where this happens

3. You don't understand Thai culture

4. Its the way its done here, accept it

5. If you weren't in the shop, then you wouldn't have this problem

and finally................

6. If you don't like it........ go home.

I would call them expert apologists.

[Travel2003]

I think "hate" is a strong word for Thai feeling about the issue.

But I'd gladly admit that other northern European countries may be as willing to respond with passion to minor violations of etiquette.

What people call "first world problems", really should find more important things to get het up about hey?

Too late for me to edit, so let us call it "dislike".

[loong]

You ran off doing something else and the queue was vacant somewhat, the lady only had a few things by the sound of it, so what is the problem?

Maybe you lost 30 seconds.

Maybe that 30 seconds saved your life later on with some mad drunk driver that missed your car because it was not there because you were now 30 seconds late.

I hadn't ran off anywhere. I was standing right next to where they put the filled bags, but I was facing my daughter, not the till.

I had heard the beep beep of the scanner and turned back expecting to see a couple of full bags and was surprised to see none. That was when I saw the woman, who was still putting her items on the belt. It was more than just a few items, about 4 bags full, I guess.

Just for the record, I have often let the person behind me go first if they only have a few items, but this was more than just a few and I wasn't given any choice.

Yes, I know that I should have been cooler, that is why I finished my post with

Trouble is that I have to go shopping again, so who is the idiot here?

Did I mention that the Missus had bought an iced drink and I had tried some. Suffered extreme "brain freeze" and the headache was still with me

[JLCrab]

I would say with pump shop #1 that what they really wanted to do was to sell you a complete new pump.

As for the grocery line, what gets me is when a Thai person puts a few things on the belt ahead of me and then runs off to do some more shopping then is surprised when I have pushed (usually) her stuff back and my stuff is now in check-out process. I guess we were all supposed to wait for her few extra incidentals.

[itchybum]

We all make mistakes.

Well not all, some people are angels.

I cannot go back to a certain shopping centre because I abused the parking attendant one time, he stood up and wanted to whack me.

I do not want to go back because scared of him, just don't want my car scratched to the max while away shopping.

[Beetlejuice]

Welcome to Thailand, where everything always happens tomorrow and when it comes to requiring advice, or who, where and how, no one knows anything about anything.

Over the years I have accepted the fact that nothing is going happen pronto in Thailand. What you want to do today, will have to be put off till tomorrow.

The problem is that we have been spoiled in our own countries and getting used to this later rather than sooner type of attitudes and pace, takes a lot of adapting to.

[taotoo]

Just had a watch battery changed at a small booth. Lady said 350 baht. Figured she was double-charging me but said okay as it doesn't really matter and I normally try and go with the flow.

Got home to find she'd scratched my watch. If she'd charged me a fair price I would have just put it down to incompetence and next time gone to a proper watch shop. However if you're going to charge falangs double, you should at least do the job right.

So drove back, cut-through the inevitable "scratches were there already" line, waited while a Thai customer cut in (and got their battery changed for 150 baht...), got the old battery put back in and my money back.

No doubt she won't have learnt a thing from this minor incident with a tight-fisted farang, but at least I know she's 350 baht worse off.