Warning to Thai tourism sector: Unfriendly staff, poor services hit competitiveness

[Frito]

"After the ASEAN Economic Community crystallises" . . .

IMO, this will happen about the same time snowballs "crystallize" in hell.

[Pi Sek]

It's the managements fault for allowing the staff to get away with it.

The management is equally as guilty.

The owners of hotels are more at fault than the management in a lot of cases.

Everything in hotels has to be managed, even to the point of having receptionists stand up every time a guest comes to the front desk, towels being placed and drinks being cleared by the pool or security guards not sleeping on the job. And it has to be done 24 hours a day.

Senior management positions such as EAM and RM are being phased out as the minimum wage increase has forced hotels in areas such as Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin and Pattaya to pay basic members of staff 9,000 per month plus a guaranteed minimum service charge of 3,000 Baht. That's 12,000 Baht for what cost about 5-6k ten years ago or 9k eight months ago. Salaries of those with computer/language skills like Front Office operators and restaurant supervisors must go up proportionally to that. In many cases, that justifies employing Filipino waitresses and so on.

This increase in labour cost has to be balanced somewhere and, with the Baht so strong and with all the negative press over the last decade, they certainly can't rely on the consumer to shoulder this cost increase - so they have to cut budgets elsewhere. They have to make a choice between lowering staff levels or mis-managing their hotels. Most owners choose both. Many hotels are asking Housekeeping Supervisors to perform the Executive Housekeeper role, or Engineering Supervisors to be Chief Engineers, even though they are fully aware that these roles are outside their capabilities and training. Front Office Managers are often having to take care of Human Resources and Housekeeping departments, as well as having the Accounting staff hassle them all day for their revenue reports (which are always wrong because the receptionists aren't being supervised properly - their manager is off doing someone else's job at the request of the GM). F&B Managers can't oversee service levels because they have to do things like their own graphics design and purchasing. Service suffers as a result (e.g. fewer preventative maintenance checks, decreasing cleaning standards, salt & pepper pots not being put out for breakfast).

The owners have been panicking. The only way for them to cover increasing labour costs (and inflation of everything else as a result) has been to increase revenue, often to the point that the increased numbers of consumers cannot possibly be serviced properly by the hotel staff levels both at basic and management level. General Managers are now increasingly expected to do the roles of Marketing Managers as well as being responsible for management of operations, as well as making administrative decisions to increase revenue and cut costs (which is their real job). GMs are often being employed because they have some experience with agencies, even though in many cases they have no idea how to run a resort or even a department.

[harrycallahan]

I'd like to see a thank you note in my luggage after it's been rifled of it's valuables.

[alanferdi]

"Other issues that foreign visitors are worried about include political stability, travellers' safety, integrated service facilities and Internet services. Cultural tourism should be promoted as foreign visitors appreciate Thai culture and tradition, the centre said."

---Not to mention kidnapping, extortion, robbery, murder, train derailments, floods, poisonings in hotels, and being massacred on the roads.

Forgot; falling off balcony ..... If you get into an argument make sure it's on the ground floor and not on the street.

[pookiki]

My experience with customer service in the Thai hotel industry is abysmal. I will qualify this by saying that I spent most of my life in Hawaii working with unions that represented hotel workers. As such, I am very familiar with the standards for customer service expected by the major hotel chains in the US. To put it bluntly, there is no comparison between the levels of service in the US and in Thailand. I will never forget an incident in 1999 when I checked into a four star hotel on Sukhumvit. Upon checking into the room, I went to drink a class of water. One of the glasses was broken. I immediately called housekeeping and asked for the glass to be replaced. No one ever came. When I went to check-out, the hotel clerk wanted to charge me 100 baht for the broken glass! But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Edited August 28, 2013 by pookiki

[geriatrickid]

How about a reality check, please.

I find it puzzling that any foreigner would have the temerity to complain about Thai attitudes in the tourist trade. If one compares to other tourist destinations, despite the shortcomings of Thailand, it still delivers a much better customer experience than in faring land. Perhaps, some of the local Thai tourism critics should visit the EU or Carribean and get a taste of the surly attitudes.

The quality of service at Thai 4 and 5* resorts still is comparable to anywhere else. The service level at the lower end hotels and guest houses still beats the service levels at their counterparts in faring lands. Thailand service levels are Nirvana compared to China.

[Cuban]

Never. Thai managers will not admit their staff are wrong, stupid farang - not like go home !

[geriatrickid]

My experience with customer service in the Thai hotel industry is abysmal. I will qualify this by saying that I spent most of my life in Hawaii working with unions that represented hotel workers. As such, I am very familiar with the standards for customer service expected by the major hotel chains in the US. To put it bluntly, there is no comparison between the levels of service in the US and in Thailand. I will never forget an incident in 1999 when I checked into a four star hotel on Sukhumvit. Upon checking into the room, I went to drink a class of water. One of the glasses was broken. I immediately called housekeeping and asked for the glass to be replaced. No one ever came. When I went to check-out, the hotel clerk wanted to charge me 100 baht for the broken glass! But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, the US hospitality industry is a leader in service. However, there are major destinations in the USA such as LA & NYC where even a 3* Thai hotel looks like heaven compared to higher end US hotels. I could go on about the filth levels and obnoxious rude staff at major US hotel chains in NYC, but what's the point? A crappy hotel in NYC can get $300 night. A basic Thai hotel in BKK will charge $50. And yet that Thai hotel will usually deliver a superior guest experience. I have stayed in Honolulu at a major chain. Rate was $350 a night. Nasty experience. I stayed in a low end chain hotel in Krabi a few months ago, no comparison. Krabi was a better experience, even in busy season.

[geriatrickid]

Never. Thai managers will not admit their staff are wrong, stupid farang - not like go home !

I woish a great many farang visitors would go home. They are rude, ill mannered slobs. You should see how some of the guests leave their rooms. Because of Thailand's affordability, it attracts the yobs, louts and slobs of the world.

[ginjag]

I have service in Thailand always be found to be excellent but maybe that is because I don't stay in cheap flop houses.

SNOB, there are other people after spending 40,000 bht on an airfare and also wanting enough pocket money to have a fab time, they only want to have a clean bed, they do not want grand piano's and super receptions, so they go to your cheap flop houses, some of which are great value.

[JO1973]

I've already noticed lots of Philipino service staff in resorts in Phuket recently. They just have better English skills and work ethic.

I've known business owners in Cambodia and Vietnam who say the same thing. There is an element of nationalism that needs to be mentioned also. A lot of Thais dislike having to cater to foreigners and specifically Westerners in their own country. This isn't specific to Thailand by any means, but there is a lot of anti-foreign rhetoric drummed up by media outlets and the government -- much more than your average foriegner is aware of.

[pookiki]

My experience with customer service in the Thai hotel industry is abysmal. I will qualify this by saying that I spent most of my life in Hawaii working with unions that represented hotel workers. As such, I am very familiar with the standards for customer service expected by the major hotel chains in the US. To put it bluntly, there is no comparison between the levels of service in the US and in Thailand. I will never forget an incident in 1999 when I checked into a four star hotel on Sukhumvit. Upon checking into the room, I went to drink a class of water. One of the glasses was broken. I immediately called housekeeping and asked for the glass to be replaced. No one ever came. When I went to check-out, the hotel clerk wanted to charge me 100 baht for the broken glass! But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, the US hospitality industry is a leader in service. However, there are major destinations in the USA such as LA & NYC where even a 3* Thai hotel looks like heaven compared to higher end US hotels. I could go on about the filth levels and obnoxious rude staff at major US hotel chains in NYC, but what's the point? A crappy hotel in NYC can get $300 night. A basic Thai hotel in BKK will charge $50. And yet that Thai hotel will usually deliver a superior guest experience. I have stayed in Honolulu at a major chain. Rate was $350 a night. Nasty experience. I stayed in a low end chain hotel in Krabi a few months ago, no comparison. Krabi was a better experience, even in busy season.

I guess we exist in separate realities. Another experience about two years ago in the 'highest end' hotel in Mae Sot. I was using my laptop when I noticed stinging sensations on my legs. They stings were from ant bites. I called the front desk and asked to change rooms. Instead, they sent a housekeeping staff to my room and sprayed insecticide in the room while I was in the room! Incredible. When I complained further, I was finally able to change rooms. Some people are allergic to such bites and can go into anaphylactic shock. If I were in Hawaii, I would have had my room changed and I would have been 'comped' for my stay. I could go on and on. The food and beverage service is lacking as well. You seem to equate relative levels of price for service expectations. I don't think I can agree. Find it hard to believe about your experience in Hawaii as well.

[julemanden]

It's the managements fault for allowing the staff to get away with it.

Yep the managers are too lazy to manage the staff

[julemanden]

Never. Thai managers will not admit their staff are wrong, stupid farang - not like go home !

I woish a great many farang visitors would go home. They are rude, ill mannered slobs. You should see how some of the guests leave their rooms. Because of Thailand's affordability, it attracts the yobs, louts and slobs of the world.

I hear you !!! But those who's not and treat people kindly, should they be treated as pigs as well??? .... Just wondering, because i just came back from a 3 night stay in BKK and i was treated like S**t there and everything was overpriced as well.... Still i left my room in a almost clean way and still talked nicely to the staff, even though they did their very best to cheat and scam money of me constantly!

[GrantSmith]

Saying that service standards in the west are better than here in thailand... Funniest thing I've heard for a while...

On a like-for-like basis, service standards in 5 star hotels in Thailand are well in front of those in Farangland. The funny thing is, the majority of these hotel management companies are based in farangland...

On a like-for-like basis, the service that I've received here is much better than in farangland. Sure, you get the odd lapse in brand standards, like the Four Seasons Bangkok not giving me a kerbside check in and having to wait in line to check in instead of doing those formalities in the room, such is life when has these first world problems. But there's a warmer sense of welcome here than in farangland.

Sure, your mileage will vary and if you're staying at the Nana Hotel you can't expect the red carpet treatment (you might, if you're unlucky, get another kind of red carpet treatment )

But overall, you're not going to get the eye rolling or trumped up excuses that you'll get in farangland.

[ginjag]

Tourism Authority Of Thailand, With your 6 billion bht budget per year surely your not happy with the report.

Instead of spending vast amounts of that budget on MAD ideas re encouraging tourism--sales in shopping malls, Cat shopping bags, High end Chinese tourists, Your meeting places for there dreamed up Ideas are at many high end spa's and resorts, your budget is fantastic, easy to spend ??? I could do what you are doing BUT if I run your FRANCHISE I would address the real issues that have been pointed out a million times, TAKE CARE of ALL your tourists.

This warning should be directed for TAT. You have the power, WORK for your money and address the issues.

[smileydude]

There is certainly room for improvement in the following areas:

1. English speaking skills, as for ASEAN languages I doubt any country will be able to accommodate most or alll of them but its worth a try if it fits your target population.

2. Personal safety. Thai police suck big time and and being of low quality and low pay they will continue to concern themselves with filling their own pockets with bribes instead of protecting the public until they are seriously overhauled.

3. Transportation standards. Thai drivers are reckless, especially those involved in public transportation, eg. vans, buses, taxi's etc. Need to require stricter rules regulating renewal of licenses and punishment of offenders.

4. Tourism related mafias like tuk tuks, jet ski scammers, illegal taxi's etc. A real no brainer here. Problem is Thai authorities are adept at turning a blind eye and acting like its okay to cheat people from time to time.

Having traveled around the world I think every country has it pros and cons. For Thailand, I think we are fortunate that many of the major areas of improvement are attainable as they not part of the culture or nature of the people with an exception being the Thai attitude of sabai sabai and tending to accept the drawbacks of their fellow countrymen too easily, that is why corruption and incompetence still exists at a national level.

We need to stop taking the back seat attitude and wait for someone else to solve the problem.

Edited August 28, 2013 by smileydude

[arminbkk]

"Foreign visitors are less satisfied than they once were with the "Siamese Smile", as many Thais, particularly people working in service businesses, look displeased, according to the study."

Most of them do.

I don't expect to be treated as a superstar, but showing some gratitude is deserved IMO when I spend money at a person's business and

approach them in a friendly respectful manner. Not a dismal attitude that says more something like "don't bother me" or "you're interrupting".

You would think that a person dependent on selling to you would be welcoming to service you, but the facial expression appears to

say the opposite.

Of course, this is not exclusive to Thailand, but it is very common here, to foreigners and Thais alike by the way.

[GrantSmith]

I guess we exist in separate realities. Another experience about two years ago in the 'highest end' hotel in Mae Sot. I was using my laptop when I noticed stinging sensations on my legs. They stings were from ant bites. I called the front desk and asked to change rooms. Instead, they sent a housekeeping staff to my room and sprayed insecticide in the room while I was in the room! Incredible. When I complained further, I was finally able to change rooms. Some people are allergic to such bites and can go into anaphylactic shock. If I were in Hawaii, I would have had my room changed and I would have been 'comped' for my stay. I could go on and on. The food and beverage service is lacking as well. You seem to equate relative levels of price for service expectations. I don't think I can agree. Find it hard to believe about your experience in Hawaii as well.

You're comparing Mae Sot to Hawaii, guava and pomelo.

[JO1973]

Never. Thai managers will not admit their staff are wrong, stupid farang - not like go home !

I woish a great many farang visitors would go home. They are rude, ill mannered slobs. You should see how some of the guests leave their rooms. Because of Thailand's affordability, it attracts the yobs, louts and slobs of the world.

If you wish "a great many farang" would go home you would be another Laos -- nothing to offer and poor as dirt. Tourism is your economy, don't ever forget that.

And I don't think it's Thailand's affordability that attracts all the bad elements of the world. It's Thailand's long history of promoting itself as a sex-holiday destination and Thais willingness to use their own people to enrich themselves.

Have you ever asked yourself why Thailand has had this reputation for centuries? You can't blame foreigners for this. The country has been catering to, in your words, "yobs, louts and slobs of the world" for a long, long time. If Thais want to be another Malaysia -- which does not have this reputation and attracts more tourists -- then it is up to them to clean up their image.

[lee b]

Just an idea, why not pay them a little more to put that smile back on their face ????

[culicine]

I've already noticed lots of Philipino service staff in resorts in Phuket recently. They just have better English skills and work ethic.

How do they manage work permits for service work? I thought it was a protected industry...for Thais only.

[GAZZPA]

Thailand has the most resilient tourism industry in the world today.

If one tenth the incidents that happen here in LOS happened in Australia we would be hauled before international courts and heavily penalised by Korean 'ban the moon' boss of UN and others.

Thailand's tourism industry will continue to grow regardless of the slow/useless hotel service and no matter how many people are murdered ,drugged ,kidnapped,disappear,crippled ,scammed,ripped-off ,filthy beaches or even bankrupted.

Where else in the world can you get a hotel with pool + a drinking session + girl = about 70 dollars ? Not even in the Phillipines. ( not necessarily a girl either, tens of thousands of men and some women come here for the Issan boys).

Thailand is strategically placed in Asia with a major int airport and one smaller in Phuket.

Farangs arent coming here in as big numbers but that will change with the UK pound and euro climbing the ladder. Thai's are chasing the Chinese,Ruskie,Indian an Nth Asian markets now.

The Thais love us for it !.......... huge money. Their major industry for sure.

I visited guests at two 4 star hotels recently. Staff took 45 minutes to bring whisky glasses even though i had ordered wine glasses.

The other hotel took about 30 minutes to serve one person but not the other. Nothing, probably because i ordered a glass of iced water. No money in that ! ...f##k 'im.

Service used to be good here but they get rid of the 'old staff' and bring in pretty young faces. no experience.

interesting you say that despite all the downsides of coming to Thailand (which there are many) tourism will still grow because it is cheap for hotels, booze and hookers. i think there is probably some truth in that but it is not the direction Thailand really want to be heading. This road does not attract middle class families with kids or wealthy people looking for a luxury vacation. All it will attract longer term is low spending power drinkers and perverts,, not exactly a reputation to be proud of.

Now that I am living and working in Thailand would i heartily recommend it to folks back home as the number 1 or even 2 holiday destination in Asia? No, is the simple answer, unless it was for a group of guys wanting a destination for a dirty stag weekend.

[arminbkk]

I've already noticed lots of Philipino service staff in resorts in Phuket recently. They just have better English skills and work ethic.

I've known business owners in Cambodia and Vietnam who say the same thing. There is an element of nationalism that needs to be mentioned also. A lot of Thais dislike having to cater to foreigners and specifically Westerners in their own country. This isn't specific to Thailand by any means, but there is a lot of anti-foreign rhetoric drummed up by media outlets and the government -- much more than your average foriegner is aware of.

Many Thais, but certainly not all, find it hard it seems to give the same treatment to foreigners that they give to their own fellow countrymen.

Thankfully not all.

[pookiki]

I guess we exist in separate realities. Another experience about two years ago in the 'highest end' hotel in Mae Sot. I was using my laptop when I noticed stinging sensations on my legs. They stings were from ant bites. I called the front desk and asked to change rooms. Instead, they sent a housekeeping staff to my room and sprayed insecticide in the room while I was in the room! Incredible. When I complained further, I was finally able to change rooms. Some people are allergic to such bites and can go into anaphylactic shock. If I were in Hawaii, I would have had my room changed and I would have been 'comped' for my stay. I could go on and on. The food and beverage service is lacking as well. You seem to equate relative levels of price for service expectations. I don't think I can agree. Find it hard to believe about your experience in Hawaii as well.

You're comparing Mae Sot to Hawaii, guava and pomelo.

Yeah, I guess you are right. It was ok to for the hotel staff to come and gas me in my room. I few more sprays and I would have been in the dumpster with the other guests who complained about service! And this was at a hotel chain that does business throughout the country! And I guess you know what they call 'guavas' in Thai. Not sure about pomelos!

[jonstarjon]

Thailand has the most resilient tourism industry in the world today.

If one tenth the incidents that happen here in LOS happened in Australia we would be hauled before international courts and heavily penalised by Korean 'ban the moon' boss of UN and others.

Thailand's tourism industry will continue to grow regardless of the slow/useless hotel service and no matter how many people are murdered ,drugged ,kidnapped,disappear,crippled ,scammed,ripped-off ,filthy beaches or even bankrupted.

Where else in the world can you get a hotel with pool + a drinking session + girl = about 70 dollars ? Not even in the Phillipines. ( not necessarily a girl either, tens of thousands of men and some women come here for the Issan boys).

Thailand is strategically placed in Asia with a major int airport and one smaller in Phuket.

Farangs arent coming here in as big numbers but that will change with the UK pound and euro climbing the ladder. Thai's are chasing the Chinese,Ruskie,Indian an Nth Asian markets now.

The Thais love us for it !.......... huge money. Their major industry for sure.

I visited guests at two 4 star hotels recently. Staff took 45 minutes to bring whisky glasses even though i had ordered wine glasses.

The other hotel took about 30 minutes to serve one person but not the other. Nothing, probably because i ordered a glass of iced water. No money in that ! ...f##k 'im.

Service used to be good here but they get rid of the 'old staff' and bring in pretty young faces. no experience.

I'm guessing you are Thai.

Yeah I think this person is someone called Fon. How's the holiday husband business going?

[Halion]

I am always amazed and counfounded when I read that tourists "appreciate the Thai culture and traditions".

What are these exactly. There is more culture in a yogurt and I fail to see what traditions they feel are laudable.

[GrantSmith]

Yeah, I guess you are right. It was ok to for the hotel staff to come and gas me in my room. I few more sprays and I would have been in the dumpster with the other guests who complained about service! And this was at a hotel chain that does business throughout the country! And I guess you know what they call 'guavas' in Thai. Not sure about pomelos!

No need to agree and then justifying your agreement by disagreeing...

I'm not sure of the hotel chain you're referring to, and I'm guessing that due to "name and shame" laws here you can't reveal the name.

So lets do it the way a certain former DPM solves cases here.

The hotel has the first letter C?

If so, hardly a shining example of hospitality, no matter what they claim!

As for farang and guava, pomelo translates to sôm oh in thai. I hope that doesn't offend you

[john baah jumper]

there are two reasons why malaysia gets more arrivals than thai

1. they have the biggest low cost airline in the region.

2. to get from singapore, also a big airline hub, to thailand you need to go through malaysia ditto overland from indonesia. and then they have to go back to reconnect.

3. possibly also malaysias visas are more comprehensively available than thailand. malaysia allows many middle eastern countries that thailand visa harasses, eg iran.

only mad dogs would prefer malaysia over thailand and most who know that just transit malaysia on their way to thailand thus raising malaysias arrivals stats

.

if the criteria were tourist days then the media number of days a tourist stayed would be much higher for thailand for sure. eg. how many retirees has malaysia compared to thailand or singapore for instance?

Edited August 28, 2013 by john baah jumper

[wilcopops]

Customer Service in Thailand in all areas is and always has been DREADFUl - this doesn't actually represent a change - rather a lack of it - as more and more people come to Thailand it just becomes more and more evident.

Other surrounding countries are leaving Thailand behind on this.

It seems that slowly some people are begging to cotton on to the fact that Thailand's policies of "grab the money and run" and "shitting in one's own nest" are coming home to roost.....if you'll pardon the plethora of metaphors