land of no returns

[stevehaigh]

we're doing a small building job at my house and i bought too many superblock (eet muan bau) for the job. so i took them back to the building shop on sai yuan, (100m from vichit lights) and wanted them to exchange for other stuff (no refund needed, i would have spent more money). i've been buying stuff there for years and they know me very well and always very nice with me. when i'm in there, i often translate for the occasional farang who don't know the Thai name for building stuff.

anyhow, they wouldn't take back the superblock even through its still in exactly the same condition as when it left their warehouse 2 days ago!

i realize this is probably common for many building shops in Thailand but since they know me so well, i was pretty shocked.

anyhow, i made it very clear i would never be shopping there again and their reaction was pretty much, go f yourself!

[phuketjock]

Last time me and the missus were doing up our second condo never had any

problems getting refund from Home Pro for any unused materials, maybe you

should ask before you buy Steve?

[LivinginKata]

Over the years we have bought loads of building materials from a number of places. Quite honestly I would never even think about asking for a credit on returned materials. I would expect to the reaction to be no ...

[NomadJoe]

Over the years we have bought loads of building materials from a number of places. Quite honestly I would never even think about asking for a credit on returned materials. I would expect to the reaction to be no ...

Yeah I wouldn't think it would be possible to return construction matierial of any kind. The shop could not know if it's integrity were somehow compromised while out of thier control.

[macahoom]

I know they don't sell construction materials but, in my experience, Keehin, on the Bypass Road, have a proper western-style returns policy. A great shop.

If you're not happy with what you've bought, bring it back (I'm not sure how many days you've got) and you get a full cash refund.

HomePro, as far as I know, will refund but only give a credit note which has to be used within a specific timeframe. And you spend an hour sitting at Customer Services while they process it.

[nedkellylives]

In what country do they alow you to return buildjng materials if you order to much of anything

I am not talking about bathroom fittings etc if still boxed and in original condition

[samtam]

This is slightly off topic, (sorry), but it always amazes me when you go to a manufacturer to have something bespoke made and they are not remotely interested unless you order 10. I'm quite happy to pay more for my one, but, no 10 or 100 or 1000 is the minimum. An example is of a silver frame I wanted made with a specific design, each costing THB23,000 and the minimum requirement is 3. Six months later they agreed to make one. I'm still thinking about it....

[stevehaigh]

Over the years we have bought loads of building materials from a number of places. Quite honestly I would never even think about asking for a credit on returned materials. I would expect to the reaction to be no ...

Yeah I wouldn't think it would be possible to return construction matierial of any kind. The shop could not know if it's integrity were somehow compromised while out of thier control.

superblock! its a brick, not a car, its pretty much what you see is what you get

my point it, they were happy to throw away a loyal customer for no reason at all. superblock is a standard item that they always stock, i brought them back, they could have put them back in the warehouse in 2 minutes and i would have even paid a restocking fee if they asked me

[fiddlehead]

An opposite scenario, I am presently in the states and bought my wife (Thai) a skirt the other day that she didn't like.
I said, "no problem" we'll just take it back and get our money back.
She didn't believe we'd be able to do this and was a bit shocked when it happened and she saw how easy it was and how many people were doing similar returns.

This is one of the cultural differences in shopping and I suggest you learn it quickly and make sure you get what you need. Because it's very hard to return an item bought in Thailand.

I used to get mad about it too.
Now, I'm only mad at myself. (OK, still a little bit mad, especially when it is something that doesn't work)

[phuketjock]

Over the years we have bought loads of building materials from a number of places. Quite honestly I would never even think about asking for a credit on returned materials. I would expect to the reaction to be no ...

Yeah I wouldn't think it would be possible to return construction matierial of any kind. The shop could not know if it's integrity were somehow compromised while out of thier control.

Maybe you should think Joe, I have already said that Home pro were happy to give me a refund, albeit in the form of credit, which

I immediately used to buy further items for my refurb at the time. The items I returned were floor and wall tiles, with of course the

receipt that I had from the time of purchase, no questions asked, arranged instantly, done in about ten minutes at the customer

service desk. How on earth would you compromise a tile other than break it? in which case of course they would not give a refund

Same goes for Steves superblocks.

[PattayaPhom]

After spending almost 3 mil in one suppliers I went there for a few small items, I saw her take the price off one and try to charge more, I went to the shelf and got another with price on. When opening the lock, it was broken, took it back.... No refund! Roared out of the yard cussing, one hour later came round with new lock and apologised. Was too late for that. Since then have 2 more constructions, not spent one Sentavo there.

Sent from my ST27a using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[falkan]

thai people think about today only, not tomorrow..

[David Mault]

Look at the thread properly. He states that he wanted to EXCHANGE the blocks and buy other goods, not get his money back. Bad customer service.

[happyaussie]

Sounds like it wasn't a stock item. If so, I don't think you should expect a return / swap. Over time they'd end up with a lot of bits and pieces. Which takes up space.

But if it was a stock item, as a loyal customer they should have taken back and given you a credit.

[andreandre]

Sounds like it wasn't a stock item. If so, I don't think you should expect a return / swap. Over time they'd end up with a lot of bits and pieces. Which takes up space.

But if it was a stock item, as a loyal customer they should have taken back and given you a credit.

Refer to the post above.....

[Billmont]

I had a different experience with my local building supply shop. I wanted to run a new supply from my house to our electric gate underground. I measured and added a couple of metres and also bought conduit pipe, joints etc. The contractors were waiting and I explained how I wanted it, wired directly into a spare in the house fuse box. They started and I left them to it and after half an hour I checked and the cable was laid out beside a newly dug trench...... but in two parts. I obviously wanted it laid in one length to avoid an underground joint. I took the cable back in two parts and explained what happened.I asked for a new cable and would he take back the two parts in part exchange. I think the original cable cost about THB 2000 and I had to pay an additional THB 300. I was very happy. My wife was very surprised. I had used this supplier several times before, nothing that big, but I now use him whenever I can. I always ask him first and if he does not stock it only then do I look further afield. He is a young guy, very well educated and obviouly understands customer care.

[IrishIvan]

I look at it like this. If you go to a reputable shop like homepro and the nuts and bolts refuse to fit then they will give you a refund. However if you go to Somchais construction or Nok and Yings Kareoke on Chao faa road you are going to get dudded. You get what you pay for

Edited October 12, 2013 by LivinginKata
off topic content removed

[hansgruber]

I think you just need to get yourself a calculator and measure correctly so you don't over buy.

Works for me.

[zyphodb]

In what country do they alow you to return buildjng materials if you order to much of anything

I am not talking about bathroom fittings etc if still boxed and in original condition

In the UK any Builder's merchant will take returns of excess materials, it's called customer service.. something sadly lacking here I'm afraid, having said that some shops here do which, given your average Thai builder's habit of over ordering is good.

A tip learned the hard way by me is always work out what you need then buy it yourself, saves a lot of extra expense when house building...

[madmitch]

A slightly different take on the no return scenario.

I bought six copy DVDs last week at the weekend market. The guy at the stall said I could return any faulty ones. Well, one was jumping and freezing so I took it back yesterday (I was going anyway so didn't specifically make the effort for a 50 baht disc).

The stall owner spoke to the GF in Thai and his was translated back to me. As he had not sold anything that day, he wasn't able to exchange the DVD as it was unlucky. You have to make a sale before giving a refund! And my GF confirmed this so the faulty DVD is now sitting in the car where it'll probably stay until I throw it away.

So remember, if you are taking something for exchange or refund, go later in the day!

[stevenl]

A slightly different take on the no return scenario.

I bought six copy DVDs last week at the weekend market. The guy at the stall said I could return any faulty ones. Well, one was jumping and freezing so I took it back yesterday (I was going anyway so didn't specifically make the effort for a 50 baht disc).

The stall owner spoke to the GF in Thai and his was translated back to me. As he had not sold anything that day, he wasn't able to exchange the DVD as it was unlucky. You have to make a sale before giving a refund! And my GF confirmed this so the faulty DVD is now sitting in the car where it'll probably stay until I throw it away.

So remember, if you are taking something for exchange or refund, go later in the day!

You managed to find a Thai salesman, they seem to be getting rarer by the day.

[Mooner]

thai people think about today only, not tomorrow..

Exactly! It amazes me that they cant rationalize that losing 100 Baht today means gaining 1000 tomorrow.

I remember being in Bkk in September time(low season) and was looking to stay somewhere to live for 3 months. I was looking in the Lad Phrao are so not exactly tourist central.

I asked at an apartment/hotel if they had any rooms. "Monthly or daily i was asked?" "For 3 months i replied" "Only have daily" was the reply.

Now the room was 600bt a night and the monthly fee was 12,000 so they they would of gained 6000bt if they had the room filled every night for a month. I couldnt seem to get them to understand that the chances of that in any time of the year not less September were quite unlikely!

[stevenl]

thai people think about today only, not tomorrow..

Exactly! It amazes me that they cant rationalize that losing 100 Baht today means gaining 1000 tomorrow.

I remember being in Bkk in September time(low season) and was looking to stay somewhere to live for 3 months. I was looking in the Lad Phrao are so not exactly tourist central.

I asked at an apartment/hotel if they had any rooms. "Monthly or daily i was asked?" "For 3 months i replied" "Only have daily" was the reply.

Now the room was 600bt a night and the monthly fee was 12,000 so they they would of gained 6000bt if they had the room filled every night for a month. I couldnt seem to get them to understand that the chances of that in any time of the year not less September were quite unlikely!

Maybe they already had some reservations?

Without having all information it is really difficult to judge these things.

[stevehaigh]

I look at it like this. If you go to a reputable shop like homepro and the nuts and bolts refuse to fit then they will give you a refund. However if you go to Somchais construction or Nok and Yings Kareoke on Chao faa road you are going to get dudded. You get what you pay for

totally different places, builders merchants and home pro sell completely different things. try buying sand, rock and cement at homepro

actually about homepro, i bought a sink there a week ago and when i opened the box at home i saw the drain hardware was missing (was supposed to be included). i took it back to homepro not really expecting any joy as there was no way for them to know if the drain was in the box or not, but they did give me a new one, no questions asked

[keestha]

actually about homepro, i bought a sink there a week ago and when i opened the box at home i saw the drain hardware was missing

In my experience, wherever you buy, they are always willing to open the box in the shop so that you can check the contents. If it is an electrical appliance, you can also ask them to turn it on to test, if this is just a matter of plugging it into a power outlet.

Edited October 14, 2013 by keestha

[NamKangMan]

A slightly different take on the no return scenario.

I bought six copy DVDs last week at the weekend market. The guy at the stall said I could return any faulty ones. Well, one was jumping and freezing so I took it back yesterday (I was going anyway so didn't specifically make the effort for a 50 baht disc).

The stall owner spoke to the GF in Thai and his was translated back to me. As he had not sold anything that day, he wasn't able to exchange the DVD as it was unlucky. You have to make a sale before giving a refund! And my GF confirmed this so the faulty DVD is now sitting in the car where it'll probably stay until I throw it away.

So remember, if you are taking something for exchange or refund, go later in the day!

Why didn't you buy one more DVD movie, so he gets his first sale for the day, then say to him now refund or exchange the faulty one? :)

[madmitch]

A slightly different take on the no return scenario.

I bought six copy DVDs last week at the weekend market. The guy at the stall said I could return any faulty ones. Well, one was jumping and freezing so I took it back yesterday (I was going anyway so didn't specifically make the effort for a 50 baht disc).

The stall owner spoke to the GF in Thai and his was translated back to me. As he had not sold anything that day, he wasn't able to exchange the DVD as it was unlucky. You have to make a sale before giving a refund! And my GF confirmed this so the faulty DVD is now sitting in the car where it'll probably stay until I throw it away.

So remember, if you are taking something for exchange or refund, go later in the day!

Why didn't you buy one more DVD movie, so he gets his first sale for the day, then say to him now refund or exchange the faulty one?

Of course this idea crossed my mind but this particular stall had nothing I wanted to watch.

[NamKangMan]

A slightly different take on the no return scenario.

I bought six copy DVDs last week at the weekend market. The guy at the stall said I could return any faulty ones. Well, one was jumping and freezing so I took it back yesterday (I was going anyway so didn't specifically make the effort for a 50 baht disc).

The stall owner spoke to the GF in Thai and his was translated back to me. As he had not sold anything that day, he wasn't able to exchange the DVD as it was unlucky. You have to make a sale before giving a refund! And my GF confirmed this so the faulty DVD is now sitting in the car where it'll probably stay until I throw it away.

So remember, if you are taking something for exchange or refund, go later in the day!

Why didn't you buy one more DVD movie, so he gets his first sale for the day, then say to him now refund or exchange the faulty one?

Of course this idea crossed my mind but this particular stall had nothing I wanted to watch.

In that case, you should have told him to purposely sell you another faulty DVD and then ask for two refunds. :)