Carefulness and Meticulousness in Thailand

[laolover88]

The electricians are installing new air-con. It is 36 degrees today

Drilling holes in the wall he made a little paper bag to catch the dust

My wife says my daughters who are luk khreung have problems in school, because they are not this:

I think one of the Thai words is ละเอียดถี่ถ้วน

She says one of the reasons why there is 'animosity' or 'disregard' between Thais and foreigners is that unlike Thais they are not 'particular' in behaviour,

manners, speech, appearance

What do you think?

[Nautilus05]

Careful and meticulous? I guess she's not including the people who drive their motorbikes with 3 adults, 2 kids and a baby on them?

[robblok]

I think you are really lucky to have such a good electrician that really does take his work serious and that you are not as lucky with your wife.

[marko kok prong]

I see little evidence of either,the first part of your post ,i had air con put in recently and they vacummed up the dust,better care than some jobs i have had done in Australia,but in general no, i don't see it much,builders never seem to clear away buiding waste etc,leave rubbish everywhere,the second part of your post i do not really understand,are they suffering racism or something,thais i have found don't really have much perception of this i get called falang to my face all the time,my wife calls black people nikko,

[tim armstrong]

Once worked in a place near Kanchanaburi that had a number of wooden cabins. Inevitably white ants were a constant issue. When I became aware that the low hum in my cabin was ants in the wall, we got the pest guys in. Unlike in other countries where these guys carefully act like detectives to track down the nest, and treat the whole area, the thai guys 'carefully' listened to all the walls, found the source in an upright pillar, checked that the wood was rotten, then 'meticulously' cemented over the hole and the upright and left. 'when I asked if this would work - I was told - 'that's how we do it'. Ants: 1 - Cabin: 0

[Briggsy]

I can only think that your wife is referring to the tendencies of your daughters to fail to act in a sufficiently servile manner to those above them in the Thai hierarchical system. This questioning of the "divine right of teachers" here may well serve them well over the long run. Nothing to do with meticulousness though. I suspect something has been lost in translation.

Try setting up a spy camera and see how careful and meticulous workmen are when nobody is watching them. Get an expert to examine their finished job and see how careful and meticulous they were. The workman at my condo routinely hammers in screws. Is that meticulous?

Many Thai/English abstract adjectives are mistranslated as the focus in Thai is on the immediate effect on the relationship with another party, whilst the English word is used in a wider moral context. "Kind" and "Mean" are good examples of this.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Briggsy

[namdocmai]

I 've never seen any Thai constructioncompany or builder bring a vacuumcleaner. When you offer it to them they even don't know how to use it. I won't offer them any tools no more because they don't give it back or damage it.

You shouldn't complaint though, if they have to be pro's like in the West then the price would go up like a rocket.

For your daughters i guess it's better to live in BKK.

[Morakot]

OP, I like your post the way you linked these issues!

About your daughter, perhaps the teacher meant mindfulness. Best to ask the teacher for an example and how the girls can improve in their opinion.

Best of luck!

[NancyL]

My Thai/English dictionary translates the word as "thoroughgoing" As for those who say they've never seen a Thai crew bring a vacuum -- well, they didn't see the aircon service crew who showed up two weeks ago at our condo and did a splendid job of cleaning out our aircon units with an air compressor and power washer and managed to clean up just fine. I think a vacuum was involved, but I was so busy trying to keep the cat from entering the next planetary system that I didn't pay attention to their clean up equipment.

[wym]

I 've never seen any Thai construction company or builder bring a vacuum cleaner.

Fifteen years in Thailand never seen a vacuum cleaner in a private home, only hotels and offices.

I'm sure most of the Thais I know haven't seen one their entire life, nor even heard of such a thing, if I bought one they'd probably react like your average cat for the first time.

Edited March 20, 2014 by wym

[benalibina]

I 've never seen any Thai construction company or builder bring a vacuum cleaner.

Fifteen years in Thailand never seen a vacuum cleaner in a private home, only hotels and offices.

I'm sure most of the Thais I know haven't seen one their entire life, nor even heard of such a thing, if I bought one they'd probably react like your average cat for the first time.

My wife used to clean the inside of the car. I used it a couple of times inside the house. I guess it has been used in total less than 10 times. Anyone interested ?

[Thai at Heart]

Your wife has rose tinted glasses and is placing appearance over substance.

Its all very nice having nice deportment, or manners, but what you achieve is a hell of a lot more important than appearing to achieve something.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[Seastallion]

Some of my best Thai friends are so meticulous that it borders on obsessive compulsive disorder and is very frustrating.

Eg, sweeping a floor that takes me 5 minutes, my friend Kai, takes half an hour to do....every last imagined speck of dust is thrice removed.

The GF takes twice as long to do the dishes as I do, as she scrubs every utensil meticulously and rinses each one separately.

Yes, I think some Thais can be very meticulous.

[mmh8]

we had a waching machine installed, was happy cos it was a contractor used by the dad . v professional apparently. came back from work and yeah very nice job. looked at how they had done th plumbing to outdside, oh dear.

why they left a flipping great big hole on the outside of the house, twas a small pipe inserted and the only thing the worker had done outside was put a bit of old plywood that was proopped agianst the wall previosly in front of it. yes pull away plywood and see big hole, a five year old could crawl through it, so I guess any rodents that want in can use it too.

if I knew how to get hold of a professional worker/builder/ handyperson in Thailand I would pay a lot of money for it. Its not as if I can't do myself, but I already have a full time job and ought be able to pay someone for their time. additionally I know I am amateur but I can do a bit of electrics , a bit puttiing up shelfs , plaster etc with a good finish on it. have even been known to take a plane to a door. but here , what if I get upset about poor workmanship the worker gets all ruffled due to loss of face, on my behalf. lol

such bloody amateurs.

[sustento]

There seems to have been a rather large number of provocative threads opened recently by relative newcomers that all ask 'what you think'. Not a new way of drumming up business surely?

[ezzra]

"Thais are careful and meticulous" Surly you're saying that in gest right?

[Borzandy]

Carefulness and Meticulousness in Thailand, totally disagree, this words cannot be translated in Thai. Could say careless and un-meticulous

[HeavyDrinker]

If anyone sees them bleedin' painters what was supposed to be here 3 months ago can you give me a call?

Not what I'd call 'meticulous', the slackers especially after i agreed to their frankly ludicrous 'estimate' of 4000B ....If they don't come by the weekend it's the shaky ladders and huge bucket, and broom for old Surachard this weekend....

Edited March 21, 2014 by HeavyDrinker

[kamahele]

Is this a humorous post?

[indothai]

Generalizing way too much. Some PEOPLE are careful and meticulous with their work, some are just slack-asses and slobs. Just because you live in a developing nation, does not mean all their citizens are native-primitives. (note: I'm not pointing a finger at you or your wife).

But as with the first word I used. Most humans do generalize, thereby simplifying the complicated to help "process" their surrounding environment so that they can quickly interact with other humans... but to make matters worse, humans have categorized themselves by "culture" and "behavior" that can seem insensitive between groups.

Why do most Americans wear shoes in their homes? I never lived in the UK or Australia, so maybe they do as well? (Most Asians will find this rather "dirty")

Why do most Asians wear sandals/flip-flops in public? Most Americans may find this rather....inappropriate?

Being "luk khreung" has nothing to do with lacking Carefulness or Meticulousness, it just means the poor kid needs to learn multiple cultures in his/her household, something that will take time. So, a "luk khreung" will end up knowing and understanding much more than the average person.

You know. It doesn't hurt to help explain and teach about culture. And just because it's done at a home, does not make it culture... that can be called personal habit.

And most importantly, the culture you are following does not make it a de facto culture.

*note to self, it's Friday...

[oxo1947]

See how careful and meticulous Thai workmen are after you have paid them & you find something is wrong..............................

[godden]

Yes Thais #1 in the whole world, Hmmmmm

[monkey4u]

Yes Thais #1 in the whole world, Hmmmmm

But they know sod all about the world

I come from Australia and have stopped reacting to the question You near Germany

Ask most Thai's about WW2

It never happened

[sawadeeken]

I think 'Thai's' ain't different from anyone else any where else......................... There are diverse differences and it all depends on the people that touch 'your' life...............

[robblok]

If anyone sees them bleedin' painters what was supposed to be here 3 months ago can you give me a call?

Not what I'd call 'meticulous', the slackers especially after i agreed to their frankly ludicrous 'estimate' of 4000B ....If they don't come by the weekend it's the shaky ladders and huge bucket, and broom for old Surachard this weekend....

Don't start about that I am importing cheap Dutch labor (on an old age pension) to tile my toilet put in a new sink and toilet. I have found Thais are not really that good at it. At least the ones I got.. I am sure there are good ones but they are probably always busy.

So I told the old guy he could either spend a month with his wife or come over and work for free and pay his own flight. Dad did not have to think long and ill see him in May

Too bad he hates painting

[Nautilus05]

Yes Thais #1 in the whole world, Hmmmmm

But they know sod all about the world

I come from Australia and have stopped reacting to the question You near Germany

Ask most Thai's about WW2

It never happened

heh, reminds me... I've met Thais who don't even know who Pol Pot is. Jesus... how horrible.

[laobali]

All I can say, having lived the best part of my life in the 'developing world' in both African and SE Asian countries, things like bricks and mortar, straight lines, right angles, building plans, electrics including tools and appliances, running water and plumbing originated mostly in the West. People in these countries need time (perhaps more than they have had) to not only learn how to use them but fully integrate them into their personal and professional lives, combining them with their traditional lifestyles, methods and beliefs. Foreigners need to appreciate that more. Education is the key. Skills and knowledge need to be taught. Unfortunately, there are not enough good teachers and trainers available. Probably never will be. Labourers learn as they go along from their own only partially skilled teachers and work colleagues. It may take another few generations.

[Jimmu]

Some of my best Thai friends are so meticulous that it borders on obsessive compulsive disorder and is very frustrating.

Eg, sweeping a floor that takes me 5 minutes, my friend Kai, takes half an hour to do....every last imagined speck of dust is thrice removed.

The GF takes twice as long to do the dishes as I do, as she scrubs every utensil meticulously and rinses each one separately.

Yes, I think some Thais can be very meticulous.

You have found the one thing that Thais pay a great attention to. The Floor! If you look two feet above the floor nothing is touched. It is natural because Thais live on the floor - eat, sleep etc. Over the years I have struggled teaching my Maids to clean areas that they can't seem to see for themselves.

[nuananddon]

I agree with some of the posters, people throughout the world are basically the same, some are careful and some are not, some are meticulous , some are not. What I've discovered in Thailand ,the drivers, are neither careful or can think ahead. That's really my only negative concern about the Thais, their driving habits suck.

[bushman1666]

Totally agree. All the local Thai shop keepers and market stall holders where I live are careful and meticulous in charging me extra money for being a white buffalo.