What's Wrong With Foreigners In Thailand?

[barrelhead]

I’ve been in business more than 7 years now in Pattaya and Phuket….and I’ve been pissed off so many times that I can’t even count’em!

Maybe the term “pissed off” is a bit too harsh….but let me explain what I mean:

You have a property or a business for sale.

You advertise this in different spaces, either online or in print media.

You get tons of responses….and here the “problems” start:

Many responses are from curious “farangs” with dreams in their eyes but no money in their pockets to actually purchase your offer. “Time wasters” to use a well-known term.

I bet we all know them…and I bet we all hate them! Am I wrong?

These time wasters all pretend they’re interested, and maybe they really are, but how on earth will they ever pay for your property/business!! They very well know they don’t have the money, so why the h… waste the time of serious foreign business men who just try to make an honest living? Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

As a professional business man you know very well the importance of follow up emails, SMS messages or phone calls…

You do some follow up…. But in most cases you get no response at all…

When you get response you can’t help thinking that you now “have a sale”.

At least you hope so! Even the toughest business man with many years of experience can’t help feeling kind of excited each time he gets a positive response even though he very well ###### know that this is possible just another dammed time waster…..!

Back to my question: What is wrong with foreigners in Thailand?

Why do they keep pissing you off?

Yes….why??

I have often wondered why!!

There might be a simple explanation, but so far I’m still waiting for the answer!

Some answers could be:

- The guy is lonely? He just needs someone to talk to!

- The guy is just dreaming? “If I had the money I could buy this property/business!”

- The guy is envious? “Why does everyone except me have a property/business?” So it’s maybe only a kind of “revenge”…? “Make the life of those lucky bastards with properties/businesses a h_e_l_l…..” ????

- The guy is simply lying to himself? “I take a look at this property/business because I know I’ll get the money to buy it soon…”….

- The guy is just a simple looser? The only way he can get some “content” in his life is to make other people feel like losers!? A saying goes: “Do to others as you want them to do to you!” . But those losers change the context: “If you’re a looser, make others feel like losers, too!”

Bet there are many of you who’ve been in contact with time wasters…what is your best bet? Why do people act like this?

I have met all of the above mentioned time wasters….if any of you time wasters read this please let us all know why you act like this!? Thanks in advance! I don’t expect any responses!

But one thing I want to tell all of you time wasters! “Keep away from me! I have better things to do!”

[ProfessorFart]

Better to have 100 curious people than none at all surely?

Maybe it grates more that you can't flog your businesses. Maybe your selling technique needs brushing up if this is a continual problem for you.

[kankaroo]

Successful businessman my ass ! If your business had that much success you wouldn't be wasting your time posting your rants on various forums !

Am I Bad??

[CymruAmByth]

Successful businessman my ass ! If your business had that much success you wouldn't be wasting your time posting your rants on various forums !

Am I Bad??

Maybe SO successful he doesn't have to work anymore?

[barrelhead]

Successful businessman my ass ! If your business had that much success you wouldn't be wasting your time posting your rants on various forums !

Am I Bad??

He he... Not too bad....but did I mention anything about "successful"

It's a simple reality that all property and business brokers waste a lot of time on people who doesn't even care replying to your emails or phone calls....why not just tell me that they're not interested?

[ProfessorFart]

I suppose it depends on the level of interest.

If I were curious as to seeing how a bar may or may not operate and make money, then I could well pop along just for a nosey even if I had not even the slightest inclination to buy it.

[jackr]

I suppose it depends on the level of interest.

If I were curious as to seeing how a bar may or may not operate and make money, then I could well pop along just for a nosey even if I had not even the slightest inclination to buy it.

Exactly. Perhaps when he gets there he realises he doesn't like it and the mistake he's made, but is just being polite and not telling you to your face?...

[Rinrada]

Simply depends on the markets...

Couple of years ago if you put your house up for sale (over "ere)you would have everybody and their grannys turning up on a Sunday afternoon ...just for a nose....

Nobody is going to really give anything away but you can usually suss them out with comments like...OOOO...dont like the wallpaper,kitchen is a bit small,how many bedrooms did you say it was?....

Could be interested but more likely a couple of chavs on a day out.

(nothing on telly)

Bit different now since the markets changed and buyers are most likely to turn up on the doorstep with a handbag full of money (always women)hoping that you will flog the place to them....there and then....

[Ling Kae]

Barrelhead I hate time wasters too especially the farangs that approach me on motorcycles trying to sell me condos, nothing annoys me more.

Perhaps these farangs have been in Thailand too long and are doing things the Thai way. Maybe you could try selling to Thais and see how you go, good luck anyway.

[Phil Conners]

A business man who can't accept that not every contact lead to a sale perhaps need to find something else to do.

The "no time wasters" line in ads are just pure rude. If I am interested in buying something I want to see it. I will decide after I see it if I want it. If not, I'll be a time waster - so generally I'll just ignore ads like that.

[thankuverybig]

is it a wind up to stir up the rabble?

anyway its refreshing to read a bit of farung bashing for a change.

[Donz]

I’ve been in business more than 7 years now in Pattaya and Phuket….and I’ve been pissed off so many times that I can’t even count’em!

Maybe the term “pissed off” is a bit too harsh….but let me explain what I mean:

You have a property or a business for sale.

You advertise this in different spaces, either online or in print media.

You get tons of responses….and here the “problems” start:

Many responses are from curious “farangs” with dreams in their eyes but no money in their pockets to actually purchase your offer. “Time wasters” to use a well-known term.

I bet we all know them…and I bet we all hate them! Am I wrong?

These time wasters all pretend they’re interested, and maybe they really are, but how on earth will they ever pay for your property/business!! They very well know they don’t have the money, so why the h… waste the time of serious foreign business men who just try to make an honest living? Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

As a professional business man you know very well the importance of follow up emails, SMS messages or phone calls…

You do some follow up…. But in most cases you get no response at all…

When you get response you can’t help thinking that you now “have a sale”.

At least you hope so! Even the toughest business man with many years of experience can’t help feeling kind of excited each time he gets a positive response even though he very well ###### know that this is possible just another dammed time waster…..!

Back to my question: What is wrong with foreigners in Thailand?

Why do they keep pissing you off?

Yes….why??

I have often wondered why!!

There might be a simple explanation, but so far I’m still waiting for the answer!

Some answers could be:

- The guy is lonely? He just needs someone to talk to!

- The guy is just dreaming? “If I had the money I could buy this property/business!”

- The guy is envious? “Why does everyone except me have a property/business?” So it’s maybe only a kind of “revenge”…? “Make the life of those lucky bastards with properties/businesses a h_e_l_l…..” ????

- The guy is simply lying to himself? “I take a look at this property/business because I know I’ll get the money to buy it soon…”….

- The guy is just a simple looser? The only way he can get some “content” in his life is to make other people feel like losers!? A saying goes: “Do to others as you want them to do to you!” . But those losers change the context: “If you’re a looser, make others feel like losers, too!”

Bet there are many of you who’ve been in contact with time wasters…what is your best bet? Why do people act like this?

I have met all of the above mentioned time wasters….if any of you time wasters read this please let us all know why you act like this!? Thanks in advance! I don’t expect any responses!

But one thing I want to tell all of you time wasters! “Keep away from me! I have better things to do!”

What business/property do you have for sale? how much, can you tell me more details?

[taxexile]

Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

any business man worth his salt will know who is serious straight away.

its the inexperienced salesmen who waste time e-mailing and phoning.

an interested buyer wont need to be hassled by a salesman with sms , e-mails and phone calls.

they will do their sums and get back to you if they want to take it further.

there is nothing worse for a prospective buyer than being bothered by annoying e-mails and even more annoying phone calls etc. from a falang salesman desperate to close the deal and trouser his commission or profit in time for the weekend.

we know where you are , we've seen your product , we can make up our own minds.

dont call us , we'll call you.

Edited June 21, 2006 by taxexile

[lannarebirth]

I believe the original poster got off on a bit of a rant which caused his message to get lost along the way. I too have experienced the "time wasters" he talks about. I've had a certain measure of success with land here and trading markets abroad. I seem to attract a lot of people who want to "pick my brain" to "do what you do". I don't care that much as I'm happy to share what little I know. When they discover that the success comes from doing an icredible amount of footwork to weed out poor opportunities, meet helpful persons in related fields and government, research, education, great monetary risk and the management of that risk, well they just seem to fall away, after wasting a considerable amount of your time. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. I think possibly they didn't regard me very highly and figured if I could succeed at things, surely anyone could. Well, anyone can of course, but not without those pre-requisites mentioned above.

[Noel]

These time wasters all pretend they’re interested, and maybe they really are, but how on earth will they ever pay for your property/business!! They very well know they don’t have the money, so why the h… waste the time of serious foreign business men who just try to make an honest living? Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

So how do you know how much money anyone has?

If you were so smart as to know that, surely you would know not to waste your time with them whilst falsely building up your expectations.

It seems that you are mentally banking your perceived profit as soon as you get an enquiry.

Perhaps you should review your business mindset and how you deal with prospective clients.

There can be many reasons why a prospective client goes elsewhere. Pushy and irritating sales people who may promise the earth and end up providing a tatty second-hand atlas are not uncommon...

[Thaising]

Customer is always rights, sale personal using hard sale tactics without products knowledge is only themselves to blame. By saying customer are time waster, you are just another impatient salesman. A sales person always gives their utmost services even they don’t close a deal, what they have in return is future potential.

[ROFL]

I’ve been in business more than 7 years now in Pattaya and Phuket….and I’ve been pissed off so many times that I can’t even count’em!

Maybe the term “pissed off” is a bit too harsh….but let me explain what I mean:

You have a property or a business for sale.

You advertise this in different spaces, either online or in print media.

You get tons of responses….and here the “problems” start:

Many responses are from curious “farangs” with dreams in their eyes but no money in their pockets to actually purchase your offer. “Time wasters” to use a well-known term.

I bet we all know them…and I bet we all hate them! Am I wrong?

These time wasters all pretend they’re interested, and maybe they really are, but how on earth will they ever pay for your property/business!! They very well know they don’t have the money, so why the h… waste the time of serious foreign business men who just try to make an honest living? Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

As a professional business man you know very well the importance of follow up emails, SMS messages or phone calls…

You do some follow up…. But in most cases you get no response at all…

When you get response you can’t help thinking that you now “have a sale”.

At least you hope so! Even the toughest business man with many years of experience can’t help feeling kind of excited each time he gets a positive response even though he very well ###### know that this is possible just another dammed time waster…..!

Back to my question: What is wrong with foreigners in Thailand?

Why do they keep pissing you off?

Yes….why??

I have often wondered why!!

There might be a simple explanation, but so far I’m still waiting for the answer!

Some answers could be:

- The guy is lonely? He just needs someone to talk to!

- The guy is just dreaming? “If I had the money I could buy this property/business!”

- The guy is envious? “Why does everyone except me have a property/business?” So it’s maybe only a kind of “revenge”…? “Make the life of those lucky bastards with properties/businesses a h_e_l_l…..” ????

- The guy is simply lying to himself? “I take a look at this property/business because I know I’ll get the money to buy it soon…”….

- The guy is just a simple looser? The only way he can get some “content” in his life is to make other people feel like losers!? A saying goes: “Do to others as you want them to do to you!” . But those losers change the context: “If you’re a looser, make others feel like losers, too!”

Bet there are many of you who’ve been in contact with time wasters…what is your best bet? Why do people act like this?

I have met all of the above mentioned time wasters….if any of you time wasters read this please let us all know why you act like this!? Thanks in advance! I don’t expect any responses!

But one thing I want to tell all of you time wasters! “Keep away from me! I have better things to do!”

Wow, welcome to the real world, this has nothing to do with Thailand.

Get a real estate agent and let them qualify the buyers, if you dont want to pay the commission that quit the boo hoo hooo, one way or another you gotta pay.

As a As a

professional business man

you should have learned this a long time ago. Sound like a noob to me.

[tourleadersi]

I know what the OP is talking about.

Just up the road from where I live there is an amazing house for rent that has been sat empty for well over a year. I know the reason, they are asking about 600% over the rent that most people are paying in the area. Although the house looks 600% better than the others, it is really in the wrond neighbourhood.

Everyday I pass this house and get just a tantalising glimpse of it through its gates, attached securely to a very high wall. More than once I have been tempted to call the number and arrange a viewing, pretending to be a prospective client just so that I can get to the otherside of those oh so high walls.

But I don't as I cannot bring myself to waste someone elses time. I run my own business and time is precious. The last thing I can well afford is to use it chasing dead ends. I agree with some of the posts here that as a salesman you should treat every enquiry as a potential sale, but surely the customer should enter into it believing that they might be potential just that, a customer? People who tie up your time knowing full well that they are not a potential customer could be the difference between you making ends meet from month to month.

At this time I cannot afford that house. The day will come when I can, and then I will make that call and go and view it with the mind to possibly rent. The way I see it, if do go and view it now and yet never reach the financial position to rent the place, I will spend the rest of my life bitter because I have touched something I wanted but could never grab a hold of it. Having dreams is essential to success, but taking steps to make them tangible before they can be realised is dangerous.

So to all you time wasters and dreamers out there, please bear in mind it is not only the salesmans life who may be affected by your call.

[Noel]

I know what the OP is talking about.

At this time I cannot afford that house. The day will come when I can, and then I will make that call and go and view it with the mind to possibly rent. The way I see it, if do go and view it now and yet never reach the financial position to rent the place, I will spend the rest of my life bitter because I have touched something I wanted but could never grab a hold of it. Having dreams is essential to success, but taking steps to make them tangible before they can be realised is dangerous.

So to all you time wasters and dreamers out there, please bear in mind it is not only the salesmans life who may be affected by your call.

A sad admission, but at least a realistic and honest one by the sound of it.

There is little point in test-driving a Ferarri when one only has a chance of possibly realising a Honda Dream...

[tourleadersi]

I know what the OP is talking about.

At this time I cannot afford that house. The day will come when I can, and then I will make that call and go and view it with the mind to possibly rent. The way I see it, if do go and view it now and yet never reach the financial position to rent the place, I will spend the rest of my life bitter because I have touched something I wanted but could never grab a hold of it. Having dreams is essential to success, but taking steps to make them tangible before they can be realised is dangerous.

So to all you time wasters and dreamers out there, please bear in mind it is not only the salesmans life who may be affected by your call.

A sad admission, but at least a realistic and honest one by the sound of it.

There is little point in test-driving a Ferarri when one only has a chance of possibly realising a Honda Dream...

Noel, what is sad about the admission? That I don't want to clutter my mind with things I can't yet have for fear of distracting myself and ending up with nothing? I'm not being defensive, just 100% curious as to what you thought was sad.

Mate, if someone called me up and offered me a spin in a Ferrari I would be there in what can only be described as a 'Honda Dream flash'! I'm not a trappist monk, although a good morning flogging certainly stimulates the senses. Its just that focussing on one's dreams too much makes you into a dreamer. The Levellers wrote a song about it called Hope Street, talking about how people never really pushed on as they spent most of their time living on 'Hope Street' with reference to the lottery etc.

[Phil Conners]

Yeah but is that really so common? Maybe too many people with too much time on their hands

[Donz]

When I was a youngster in my late teens, me and my mates (just getting our licences) went out to (parramatta rd for the sydney viewers) and test drive cars all weekend until we got board doing it, we had no intention in buying, just driving nice cars.

[ThaiPauly]

As far as I am concerned "Time Wasters" are part and parcel of the business you are in. You are in Sales.

You know the average amount of viewings that it takes to sell a property?

When one door closes another one always opens..

When I used to sell avertising space if I could not make a sale, I would just make another call. Eventually I would get the sale.. Its just a numbers game and when you are selling something "The More You Tell- The more you sell".

I can remember going to inordanante lengths when soembody said they were interested in buying something from me.. Artwork prepared, stats , charts the whole thing... send it all out ..only to be told they have put all their budget with a rival publication.... Yeah sure, its a kick in the teeth, never more so than when I had an Advertising Company in Bangkok... it was very hard to sell anybody ANYTHING, but you just have to move on to the next potential customer.

Thats life..if you are in Sales then this is what you have to deal with day in-day out.

There are easier jobs ...but there is nothing like the "thrill of closing" there is the buzz and that's what makes it all worthwhile ..and thats probably why you are still doing it !!

[Noel]

I know what the OP is talking about.

At this time I cannot afford that house. The day will come when I can, and then I will make that call and go and view it with the mind to possibly rent. The way I see it, if do go and view it now and yet never reach the financial position to rent the place, I will spend the rest of my life bitter because I have touched something I wanted but could never grab a hold of it. Having dreams is essential to success, but taking steps to make them tangible before they can be realised is dangerous.

So to all you time wasters and dreamers out there, please bear in mind it is not only the salesmans life who may be affected by your call.

A sad admission, but at least a realistic and honest one by the sound of it.

There is little point in test-driving a Ferrari when one only has a chance of possibly realising a Honda Dream...

Noel, what is sad about the admission? That I don't want to clutter my mind with things I can't yet have for fear of distracting myself and ending up with nothing? I'm not being defensive, just 100% curious as to what you thought was sad.

Perhaps you miss the irony of your own words.

You refer to dreamers in an almost derogatory way that suggests they have no hope of realising their fantasies. That is fair enough in itself as dreams are little to do with reality as they reside in one's imagination.

You then refer to dreams being essential for success and confirm that you may well not achieve yours (quite understandably of course, in the case of dreams).

That is what I found sad.

Perhaps the words 'target', 'objective' or 'goal' might have been more in line with your thoughts...?

[jing jing]

Why the h… make the business man think that he “has a sale” and then just “disappear”….in other words….they often make the foreign business man think they has a sale and then they just stop replying to your phone calls, emails and SMS messages…like they’ve vanished from the surface of the earth!

any business man worth his salt will know who is serious straight away.

its the inexperienced salesmen who waste time e-mailing and phoning.

an interested buyer wont need to be hassled by a salesman with sms , e-mails and phone calls.

they will do their sums and get back to you if they want to take it further.

there is nothing worse for a prospective buyer than being bothered by annoying e-mails and even more annoying phone calls etc. from a falang salesman desperate to close the deal and trouser his commission or profit in time for the weekend.

we know where you are , we've seen your product , we can make up our own minds.

dont call us , we'll call you.

True, for the most part. One of the most important parts of becoming a successful salesman or businessman is learning how to "qualify" your prospects. In sales, time is your most precious commodity, and you can't afford to let yourself be jerked around by every looky-loo and his brother. The time you waste on someone who isn't a real buyer is time you should have spent looking for one who is.

On big ticket items like real estate or business opportunities, buyers will be sophisticated enough not to be swayed by pressure from a desperate salesman. As stated above, if the prospective buyers are interested and the numbers make sense to them, they will call you back.

If you're spending too much time with people who aren't real buyers then you don't know how to properly qualify a prospect.

[Thaipwriter]

There are loads of skint farangs in Thailand acting like they have plenty money.

Learn how to spot them, its not too difficult if you reflect on your interactions with them

[Heng]

Pretty easy to spot indeed, with some experience. That's why it's usual to have 200-300 Baht a day peons on staff. That way when a time waster comes knocking, you have your peon show the property or whatever.... if it takes up 1-2 hours, it's only costing you about $1-2.

[britmaveric]

Well get as many interested parties as you can and hope it pays off. Odds are for you the more people you attract!!

[Firefan]

Another tip is to make the INITIAL info part easy for oneself. Before even advertising the biz/real estate or whatever, it makes great sense to prepare a FAQ and fact sheet on the business one can submit by email to interested parties, saving time answering the same questions over and over.

Additional (good) questions from prospective buyers can then be added to the FAQ/fact sheet along the way.

Cheers!

[taxexile]

200-300 Baht a day peons

thats what i would call peeing on your peon.