Another hour wasted in Thailand I will never get back

[menorah]

So i 'm not the only one that's getting aggrevated by the thai workingmentality. I do most things myself but no haircuts (yet).

I have visited many company's with a huge sign outside "BAKERY" , when i go in their shop they have 4 slices of pie for sale and a bag of cooky's.

Went to the garage with my wife and her car and told them to balance the wheels. They started lining out them wheels. When i told them that was allready done (by an other garage who could not even place those reflectors/mirrors properly on the rims) they told my wife that it was important to do that first so they continued doing that.

I needed a new battery for my notebook, went to Phuntip and found a batteryshop. I asked him how much it would cost and that was 1700. I decided to see other shops at well and came back to the first shop. There were 3 people behind the counter and the guy who helped me before was busy with another customer and then walked away with the customer. The other 2 didn't help me but started opening boxes. After 5 minutes i took my old battery of the counter and walked away when they called me back. Now he wanted to help me but i refused.

I wanted some jackfruit from a vendor, told him i wanted for 50 baht. Then he got a phonecall and after 5 minutes i still didn't have them, they were allready peeled in a bowl. I walked away again.

Many Thai have a villagers mentality, even in BKK. My wife would never walk away because she also has that mentality. They seem to not realise that there are plenty of vendors/shops who all sell the same product. If i get treated like that i won't come back.

Also for jackfruit i have been waiting for them when they are still peeling the fruits and then a local friend orders in the meantime and they do that order first. So when i think my fruits are ready they keep them apart for the friend and i have to wait for them to peel more. When they don't have customers waiting they start playing with their phone instead of peeling a stock of fruit for the next customer that might come.

I 'm happy with my barber though, costs 150 baht but i never have to wait because it is not busy there. I have been there sometimes before 1 o'clock. The shop is open then but they don't cut yet so i have to come back later. I know that now so that's fine.

I don't know about 'villager mentality' but up here in the province of Kampaengphet, a haircut costs 60 baht and that includes a shave. It usually takes about 40 minutes, which can sometimes be a problem when I'm in a hurry.

I rarely have to wait for a sales assistant attending to 'other business' but if it does happen I tell them 'Today, not tomorrow' ! Some thais like to 'play games' with foreigners and Thais alike, this works if you're too shy or polite to 'shake 'em up'.

[mjj]

I remember i went into a beauty salon in Pattaya with the intention of getting my back shaved. The girl told me to remove my t shirt off and sit in the chair and lean over. She then walked away and disappeared through the back. I sat for about 15 mins without seeing another soul no staff, no customers anyone, Then another older woman appeared and asked ''what you want'' I explained i wanted my back shaved. She then burst out laughing called me a ling(monkey) and asked me to leave the shop.

Brilliant!! :-D

[dotpoom]

I don't know why, but your story reminds me of my yearly visit to True Visions to pay a one year's subscription. For some unknown reason (which i still don't understand) it is never a simple case of taking my cash money and and just giving me a receipt. They can never find my A/C in the computer even though I have the invoice for the renewal in my hand. They then tell me I will have to phone Bangkok (I'm in a Pattaya branch). I tell them in return that they are a True Visions office so they can call BKK why should I have to do it. After a bit of twoing and frowing they eventually make the call while looking at me as if I was the devil incarnate.. then it usually gets sorted although on two occasions even BKK couldn't sort it out but they said if I paid by a different method they could do it
But hey...I call these problems "luxury problems" compared to some I'v had in life.

[laobali]

Not bothering to take into account the waiting time in most hairdressers in the U.K. that is, let alone the cost ?

Has it gone up a lot in the past 10 years ? my hair cut was always £1...

£6.50 for an OAP (Senior) - and that's up North.

Edited December 25, 2013 by laobali

[thailiketoo]

That kind of stuff really irritates me ! Same but different, in 7 / 11, I buy something frozen and they ask me 'wave mai' I say yes. Then they take my money and throw the frozen box on the counter behind them and try to serve the next customer. In the past I have had to wait for them to serve many extra customers during a rush before finally remembering to put my thing in and cook it. I refuse to let them do so now until they have put the dam_n box in the microwave asnd pressed the start button. Took a while but the local gets it now and doesn't mess me around so much. Bet they hate me though....

You know, "I bet they do hate you." I cant help but wonder about these stories. I think you are telling the absolute truth.

Walking home today I stopped in a coffee shop and everyone in the shop including two of the back room people were dragged out to my table and they all said Merry Clistmas, Happy Clistmas. They smiled and gave me the victory sign.

I have heard Thai dogs can tell the people who eat dog and they don't like them. Do you think Thai people are the same way with people who hate them?

[falangadang]

I know what you were thinking. You were hoping to spend some time with some cute Thai girls ooying and ahing over your adorable child while you starred at their cleavage and when that did not happen you got pissed off and mutilated your child's hair at home and then took yet another long shower.

Not really mate, no.

Although when I arrived here all those years ago, I would have found this hr a bit of a confusing head scratching moment. Now I just come to expect it a bit, and get on wth it. Sometimes its better just to do something yourself.

In Phuket Town about 9 years ago, I was getting my car serviced, so went for a stroll. There was a dog grooming shop with a big banner hanging outside that said "DOG TRAINING HERE". We had just got our first dog so I went inside.

-' Do you do dog training ?'

- 'No'

-'But the sign outside says dog training here'

-'Yes'

-So do you do dog training?'

-'No'

Q. Is this the arguing room?

A. No it isn't?

Q But the sign outside says this is the arguing room!

A. No it doesn't

Q. Yes it does!

A. No it doesn't

Q. Yes it..... hey wait a minute this IS the argument we're having right now right?

A. No it isn't!

Sometimes Monty Python makes much more sense than life in Thailand!

[myluckythai]

only 1 hour... thats what? 1 % of all the time wasted here by things only taking 5min back home

[hellodolly]

Wow, some people get pissed off at really trivial things!!! Maybe time to move on.......

no no................this is serious stuff.I find everywhere i go a lack of motivation except massage parlours.

Not sure about it being serious stuff. There is one of you here and 66,000,000 of them here. I think you are out voted.

[true blue]

love it that blog,after half a bottle of sang som it makes complete sense,well i think so.nice to be mau.

[StreetCowboy]

I have my barber on Line.

I'll walk by and if they're busy I give the sign I want a haircut and they know to message me.

Only problem is the message reads - "okey I do you now"

Maybe he's disappointed when you only go back for a shot back and sides Todd

Do you have to sit really close to the computer screen for an online haircut?

[StreetCowboy]

"Another hour wasted in Thailand I will never get back"

So, because they refused to cut your boys hair in those Ladies hairdressing salons.....you will never come back to Thailand to see your kid and wife!

Hmmmmm.....may be they are better without you!

"get back", not "go back".

he wasbewailing the unidirectional flow of time, believes that time wasted doing unproductive things is more of a loss than time spent doing productive things. The time is gone in either case. He should really have been bewailing the hairiness of his child but he manfully took it upon himself to shear the child himself, so really, he wasted a further few minutes with this scarcely-entertaining tale on his one-way trip to senility. Luckily, for some of us it's a destination, rather than a journey

SC

[alyx]

I have read your post à couple of times but something seems to be missing? where does this take place? London or Paris ?

As in both cities that would really not be uncommun

[lostinsurin]

So i 'm not the only one that's getting aggrevated by the thai workingmentality. I do most things myself but no haircuts (yet).

I have visited many company's with a huge sign outside "BAKERY" , when i go in their shop they have 4 slices of pie for sale and a bag of cooky's.

Went to the garage with my wife and her car and told them to balance the wheels. They started lining out them wheels. When i told them that was allready done (by an other garage who could not even place those reflectors/mirrors properly on the rims) they told my wife that it was important to do that first so they continued doing that.

I needed a new battery for my notebook, went to Phuntip and found a batteryshop. I asked him how much it would cost and that was 1700. I decided to see other shops at well and came back to the first shop. There were 3 people behind the counter and the guy who helped me before was busy with another customer and then walked away with the customer. The other 2 didn't help me but started opening boxes. After 5 minutes i took my old battery of the counter and walked away when they called me back. Now he wanted to help me but i refused.

I wanted some jackfruit from a vendor, told him i wanted for 50 baht. Then he got a phonecall and after 5 minutes i still didn't have them, they were allready peeled in a bowl. I walked away again.

Many Thai have a villagers mentality, even in BKK. My wife would never walk away because she also has that mentality. They seem to not realise that there are plenty of vendors/shops who all sell the same product. If i get treated like that i won't come back.

Also for jackfruit i have been waiting for them when they are still peeling the fruits and then a local friend orders in the meantime and they do that order first. So when i think my fruits are ready they keep them apart for the friend and i have to wait for them to peel more. When they don't have customers waiting they start playing with their phone instead of peeling a stock of fruit for the next customer that might come.

I 'm happy with my barber though, costs 150 baht but i never have to wait because it is not busy there. I have been there sometimes before 1 o'clock. The shop is open then but they don't cut yet so i have to come back later. I know that now so that's fine.

So go home, all will be well

[somchaismith]

Next time, try a barbers.

[lostinsurin]

I don't know why, but your story reminds me of my yearly visit to True Visions to pay a one year's subscription. For some unknown reason (which i still don't understand) it is never a simple case of taking my cash money and and just giving me a receipt. They can never find my A/C in the computer even though I have the invoice for the renewal in my hand. They then tell me I will have to phone Bangkok (I'm in a Pattaya branch). I tell them in return that they are a True Visions office so they can call BKK why should I have to do it. After a bit of twoing and frowing they eventually make the call while looking at me as if I was the devil incarnate.. then it usually gets sorted although on two occasions even BKK couldn't sort it out but they said if I paid by a different method they could do it

But hey...I call these problems "luxury problems" compared to some I'v had in life.

YES, LIFE'S A BITCH

[StreetCowboy]

I wonder if any of our fellows have helpful tips on how to avoid wasting time, or how to get it back?

I have sometimes thought of taking notes at football matches, to retrieve the excitement and drama, but my wife says I would just waste more time then reliving them.

I sometimes think that making appointments for things like haircuts can save a few minutes of the customer's time, at the possible expense of the barber's.

Would anyone else like to divert this thread to a more constructive and helpful line of discussion?

SC

[FritsSikkink]

So you had a nice walk with your son where is the waste?

[mark444]

Wow I was really shocked by the replies to this innocent little anecdote. Some of you are just too far gone in the sex tourist scene and seem to live in an expat bubble. Admittedly hair salons are often associated with sex shops, especially if Chinese run. But really...

Thai hairdressers have to work about 12-18 hours a day, starting at sometimes 4am (professional women- office workers!- come in before commuting to work). After two or three years many hairdressers' legs are covered with blue veins and after ten years or so many can hardly walk from all the standing they do.

The shops are also the front rooms for the trainees, who are piled high in sleeping rooms when not on duty. Apprenticeships are dragged out over a long time to get the maximum out of this almost free labour. This means many in the shop are not allowed (on pain of severe punishment) to cut hair or are simply not trained, (they must wash, clean and watch for two or three years). Shops never completely close as there is always some business to be done and they are also a living room . However, most of the genuine business for genuine salons happens before foreigners roll out of bed. Daytime is a downtime.

Kids are a pain for hairdressers who find them difficult to cut and for which they can not charge much. Plus if you make a mistake the consequences can be bad. No one wants to cut children's hair and most Thais would not understand why the mother or Grandmother does not do it anyway. In the village I lived in North Thailand the owner was one of three village hairdressers. They all wanted the beauty work, fixing hair for weddings and special occasions (for which they could get a months salary in a day). For normal cuts, for children or farm labourers, the customers had to bully or plead them into doing it.It simply was not worth their while - or pain. They only did it if they felt they had the stamina or patients at that point in their daily grind. It does seem strange to outsiders who often asked, I thought hairdressing was your business?

When you work the long long hours of a Thai, for little money, you develop an attitude to work. Work becomes part of everyday living, rather than something you do 9-5, before relaxation and enjoyment. Normal activities - watching a program on TV etc, take equal place to doing the work as pacing yourself is vital to keep going. It also pays to do the waiting game which means- refusing chicken shit work and looking for the opportunity of big money. It is the only way to make ends meet. Believe me, if you had to do the same you would look idle as well.

[kwaussie]

I wonder If op was a hansome man in a suit looking for a haircut what the reaction would be?????

[pacovl46]

Try to take him to a barber instead of a hair saloon because girls in the saloons usually specialize in cutting women's hair, only.

[MickGC]

reading this blog was - another half hour wasted in Thailand I will never get back

[Kitsune]

Time is an illusion. WE Westerners are more advanced in many things compared to Thai but they are miles ahead when it comes to understanding time.

When it comes to youthism time does count a great deal here.

A woman over 35 does not even exist anymore here

[Loles]

But you didn't mention the location. I guess this was not BKK. North-East?

[marquis22]

Should of set the clippers to 1 so you not have to worry for an extra month.

[chrissables]

So this is why they say :

"What do Thai do?"

" Kin, noon, kohok" ( Eat, sleep and telling lies)...

Maybe "gin, nawn and goh-hok" would be a better way to write it.

[Daffy D]

"Longballlary" I hate to be the one to tell you this but that is "LIFE"

If you hang around waiting for "LIFE" I'm afraid you are going still be looking for it when you die.

[rct99q]

Read the title....turns out it was about a haircut?? The old lady reads it and asks"no boom boom.?"

[MJP]

Took poor old D-Max thing in for a quick service this morning.

Pulled up on to ramps without parking in the waiting area first.

Bloke comes straight out, lifts the bonnet, puts the ramps up, blows the air filter out, oil filter and oil change . . . puts ramps down again. 850 Baht.

10 minutes. In and out.

Took old VW thing round for an oil change in Blighty. First garage, nah mate, no time. Second garage, nah mate we got to supply the oil (VW thing needs special oil which I have to supply or it will break in short order). Third garage, nah mate . . . Forth garage, come back Monday. Fifth garage, we're closing in 20 minutes.

A whole Saturday.

Monday comes. Two hour wait and even though I'm supplying oil and parts . . . 30 quid.

[peecee]

I know what you were thinking. You were hoping to spend some time with some cute Thai girls ooying and ahing over your adorable child while you starred at their cleavage and when that did not happen you got pissed off and mutilated your child's hair at home and then took yet another long shower.

Some imagination.

[longballlarry]

"Longballlary" I hate to be the one to tell you this but that is "LIFE"

If you hang around waiting for "LIFE" I'm afraid you are going still be looking for it when you die.

One for you then..

“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”

― Socrates