Where's my change?

[Heng]

Kind of sad to see there is a trend of normal everyday cashiers 'cheating the till' and short changing customers. I have caught it 1-2 times a month on average, but it happened on 5 different occasions just yesterday. Just small 10-30 Baht type amounts on 200-600 Baht type bills.... Au Bon Pain Central Bangna, Burger King at the Motorway rest stop, Tesco Lotus Pattaya Tai, S and P Pattaya Tai, and 7-11 on Pratumnak Hill Soi 4.

I know it's nothing new, but I had never seen it so rampant before. I say 'sad' because in the big picture it's pretty futile.... and to keep it real I accept that the lower classes do get paid like slaves.... and it's nothing compared to what the higher ups are doing with their respective 'tills.'

Edited August 18, 2013 by Heng

[Upnotover]

You certainly know how to eat!

[Heng]

Yeah, I know, hardly a healthy diet.... it was an eat and run kind of day.

[AhFarangJa]

It's very strange but exactly the same happens when the wife goes out to the shops for something.....(usually som tam etc.) there never appears to be any change at all?

[i claudius]

You must look like the sort of guy who wouldnt miss it or a bit green ,in all the years i have lived here i have never been shortchanged .

[pmarlin]

Post Office on soi 23 Sukhumvit has tired this on me several times during the last few months.

[harrry]

Good to see you counting your change while your driver awaits with the mercedes. Seriously change matters, I feel very cheated even if 50 satang short and any thought of tips would go out the window.

[Bluetongue]

To be fair I have been over changed just as often as I have been under changed, and etiquette here is, I believe, to stand there and fix up the error either way.

[theblether]

What I'm finding is that a lot of Thais just can't count even with a calculator. I think it's a counting issue as much as anything as I'm often given too much change.

They find it amazing that I can calculate bills in my head, I find it sad that they can't.

Oh, and anyone that's been out for dinner with a Thai lady knows that they strike like a cobra to grab the bill when it comes, and they pour over it with forensic accuracy. They are more aware of overcharging and over pricing than any of us.

I used to sit there and say "just pay it already" but a couple of sharp stiletto blows to my shin put and end to that.

[transam]

What I'm finding is that a lot of Thais just can't count even with a calculator. I think it's a counting issue as much as anything as I'm often given too much change.

They find it amazing that I can calculate bills in my head, I find it sad that they can't.

Oh, and anyone that's been out for dinner with a Thai lady knows that they strike like a cobra to grab the bill when it comes, and they pour over it with forensic accuracy. They are more aware of overcharging and over pricing than any of us.

I used to sit there and say "just pay it already" but a couple of sharp stiletto blows to my shin put and end to that.

Yep, the ladies do check restaurant bill's because of perhaps a top up , I find it embarrassing so my mrs just has a quick glance now . Think the bar code thing in many outlets is so the till must tally up.

[slapout]

I think many times the checking of the bill by the lady , is more counting the number dishes/drinks ordered/delivered vs checking the total is correct.

This is based on family experience as well as watching the times the female will ask for more money to pay the bill as it is more than expected/calculated

[NoshowJones]

You must look like the sort of guy who wouldnt miss it or a bit green ,in all the years i have lived here i have never been shortchanged .

You obviously don't use the BTS, I always check what they give me for the ticket machines. I have caught them out a few times with 10 Baht short here and there,especially the male tellers, but never 10 Baht over.

[Bender]

it's also happened to me time to time, and when i caught them, the funny thing is the cashier

never show any sign of astonishment.

Few years ago, i was the at the family mart, bought some stuff, the change would have been around 340 baht.

3 notes of hundred and 2 notes of twenty baht. The hundred baht note are red color. So you guess it!

He put some 20 baht notes with their border painted in red instead of a real 100 baht notes.

And again no sign of surprise when i caught him!

And to be fair this kind of story does happen to me only in tourist area!

Edited August 18, 2013 by Bender

[petermik]

It's very strange but exactly the same happens when the wife goes out to the shops for something.....(usually som tam etc.) there never appears to be any change at all?

You need to change the wife

[mogandave]

"Trust everyone, always count your change."

I've been shorted a couple times, but no more than in the US.

[yourauntbob]

I always count but rarely find it off although I dont go over bills. The missus doulbe checks everything though, and I for one like that she does.

[CPT]

To be fair I have been over changed just as often as I have been under changed, and etiquette here is, I believe, to stand there and fix up the error either way.

Is there some place where it is considered more appropriate to walk away with less change than you are due or pocket mistakes in your favor rather than "fix up the error"?

I have received more change than I was due on the vast majority of occasions when it was incorrect, but I have been rather clearly knowingly given less change than I was due on two occasions by male tellers (once at a 7/11 and once at a BTS cange window, they corrected the mistake too quickly for it to have been an accident). I have had to show tellers the bill and spend a fair bit of time explaining on several occasions when they gave me too much change and couldn't seem to figure it out. The error was in my favor and I don't particularly enjoy having to explain such things but the errors are often more than half their daily wage so I feel like I need to take the time even if they seem clueless. When it comes to restaurants, the problem is not so much incorrect change as incorrect billing. Often, not all dishes are delivered, the wrong dish is delivered, or changes have to be made to the order due to a lack of ingredients which seems to confuse most servers beyond hope at a certain class of restaurant.

[chickenslegs]

Funny, I had this happen to me this morning. 35 baht Khao man gai - gave him 40 and got no change back. And I'm a regular customer.

Maybe he gives his regular customers an extra 5 Baht worth of chicken.

[jbrain]

Funny, I had this happen to me this morning. 35 baht Khao man gai - gave him 40 and got no change back. And I'm a regular customer.

Didn't you read in the Gazette that it was approved for Khao man gai to be raised by 5 Bht ?

[Phronesis]

This is just another symptom. The underlying disease is debt. Most working Thais are drowning in a sea of personal debt and clutching at any straws to keep their heads above water. Workaday scams such as shortchanging and gas pump scams are not going away any time soon.

For the last few years I have eaten very regularly at the food court at Tesco Thalang. You have to purchase a plastic card at a booth before you go to the food vendors. This week there was a new girl on the register in the booth. She had a huge mole on her upper lip. I gave her 300 bath and told her sam roy baht cup. Lucky I caught the display on the register as she credited my card. It only had 100THB.

<deleted>...did she really think I wouldn't cause a storm when I cam back to get a refund on the residual on the card.

Anyway, I called her a kamoi to her face and demanded to speak to the manager. She hedged and said the it was the manager's day off. I said ok I will wait her until one of your managers come to speak with me. And I did. I line of about 7 or 8 other card purchasers grew behind me so I turned to them and said I am just waiting to speak to the manager of this girl because she has just tried to steal from me.

Eventually a manager arrived and I explain what had happened. I was given a new card with 300 THB on it.

In my subsequent visits to the food court I notice that the girl was not there. I hope she has lost her job.

The only issue here is that perhaps some people do just make an honest mistake....but what percentage are these people when compared to the DAILY occurrences of these petty scams.

[Heng]

I definitely got the feeling it was deliberate and NOT poor math skills. The receipts were correct so it wasn't 'cheating the till'.... it was straight up shortchanging. And yeah, agree that it's only going to get worse.

:-)

[arthurwait]

In a certain foreign owned mall between bang na and the airport in a burger joint not founded by the senior of the family the wife walked off to the loo and the cashier must have thought I was an easy target. Short changed me 100 baht from 1000 baht. I asked her in English (tired) she shrugged her shoulders and then tried to ignore me so asked loudly in Thai, tried to play dumb so I asked her louder in Thai, she looked around and then managed to make 100 baht appear from under the till without opening it.

[mca]

This is just another symptom. The underlying disease is debt. Most working Thais are drowning in a sea of personal debt and clutching at any straws to keep their heads above water. Workaday scams such as shortchanging and gas pump scams are not going away any time soon.

For the last few years I have eaten very regularly at the food court at Tesco Thalang. You have to purchase a plastic card at a booth before you go to the food vendors. This week there was a new girl on the register in the booth. She had a huge mole on her upper lip. I gave her 300 bath and told her sam roy baht cup. Lucky I caught the display on the register as she credited my card. It only had 100THB.

<deleted>...did she really think I wouldn't cause a storm when I cam back to get a refund on the residual on the card.

Anyway, I called her a kamoi to her face and demanded to speak to the manager. She hedged and said the it was the manager's day off. I said ok I will wait her until one of your managers come to speak with me. And I did. I line of about 7 or 8 other card purchasers grew behind me so I turned to them and said I am just waiting to speak to the manager of this girl because she has just tried to steal from me.

Eventually a manager arrived and I explain what had happened. I was given a new card with 300 THB on it.

In my subsequent visits to the food court I notice that the girl was not there. I hope she has lost her job.

The only issue here is that perhaps some people do just make an honest mistake....but what percentage are these people when compared to the DAILY occurrences of these petty scams.

Good to see you initially gave her the benefit of the doubt mate.

[chris2004]

What I'm finding is that a lot of Thais just can't count even with a calculator. I think it's a counting issue as much as anything as I'm often given too much change.

They find it amazing that I can calculate bills in my head, I find it sad that they can't.

Oh, and anyone that's been out for dinner with a Thai lady knows that they strike like a cobra to grab the bill when it comes, and they pour over it with forensic accuracy. They are more aware of overcharging and over pricing than any of us.

I used to sit there and say "just pay it already" but a couple of sharp stiletto blows to my shin put and end to that.

It's got nothing to do with counting. I get the wrong change loads of times but it's ALWAYS in their favour, so it's obviously an attempt to scam. I even got it at the cinema on 2nd road one time.

[rene123]

What I'm finding is that a lot of Thais just can't count even with a calculator. I think it's a counting issue as much as anything as I'm often given too much change.

They find it amazing that I can calculate bills in my head, I find it sad that they can't.

Oh, and anyone that's been out for dinner with a Thai lady knows that they strike like a cobra to grab the bill when it comes, and they pour over it with forensic accuracy. They are more aware of overcharging and over pricing than any of us.

I used to sit there and say "just pay it already" but a couple of sharp stiletto blows to my shin put and end to that.

I don't take Thai women out for supper, so I don't know what they do, but I do agree with the remainder of your reply. However, I NEVER trust gas station attendants. At least 6 or 7 times I've had them try and short change me.

[arthurwait]

What I'm finding is that a lot of Thais just can't count even with a calculator. I think it's a counting issue as much as anything as I'm often given too much change.

They find it amazing that I can calculate bills in my head, I find it sad that they can't.

Oh, and anyone that's been out for dinner with a Thai lady knows that they strike like a cobra to grab the bill when it comes, and they pour over it with forensic accuracy. They are more aware of overcharging and over pricing than any of us.

I used to sit there and say "just pay it already" but a couple of sharp stiletto blows to my shin put and end to that.

I don't take Thai women out for supper, so I don't know what they do, but I do agree with the remainder of your reply. However, I NEVER trust gas station attendants. At least 6 or 7 times I've had them try and short change me.

Gas station attendants are usually immigrant workers with even worse education than lower class Thais, while you maybe getting scammed it can also be a genuine mistake.

[farang000999]

I love that hilarious exaggerated face Thais give when they caught totally confused/confounded/I'm innocent!/Huh?...

[maxme]

Scams are everywhere but it's pretty obvious when it is one. However giving back the wrong change, in my opinion, has not much to do with trying to rip off a customer, more like poor mathematical skills or memory.

At one point the waiter forgot to give me the change which was only 50 satang but I wasn't unhappy about it, quite the contrary...