MrWorldwide Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 This is a rant - I'm venting - if you consider it Thai bashing, fine, but I think there are some people in Central Festival who could use a few hours training in customer service, something I had previously considered an inherent part of the hospitable personality of most Thai people. Clearly, I was wrong. I cringe when i see some of the tourists here in action, particularly the people who seem to think shouting is the answer to the language barrier, but this isnt about tourists - its about accepting that they'll be walking through those doors for a long time to come. Read on at your peril Had three very different customer service experiences today. The (gorgeous) ladies at a Charoen Optical store on Bukhao fixed the frame on my glasses completely free of charge and threw in two beaming smiles when I thanked them - top notch, old school Thai hospitality. Second was the new hairdresser at my preferred barber (ok - its a salon, but what can you do ?) : the usual chat but she definitely has a personality and I'll go back the next time I need my ears lowered. The third was McDonalds at the Beach Rd entrance to Central. Not everyone's first choice, but I like their scrambled eggs and the sausage patty - go figure - somewhat less enthusiastic about Ms Poopypants manning the register this morning. Passive-aggressive and seemingly incapable of anything resembling a polite particle in any language. 'Sawatdee kh®ap' (no response other than to look up from the cash register) 'I'd like the big breakfast, please' '150 baht' (I cant recall the exact price, but there was definitely no 'please/thank you' or even mi'ter attached) (I pay and she hands me my change) 'Khrap' 'Sit down - I bring to your table' If she was a lone case, fine - sadly, she isn't. I just cant believe how rude some of the male staff - and a few of the women - are in Powerbuy on the 3rd floor. Throw in the Sony store across the way and neither business would survive in Oz or even BKK - I have to ask why open a business in a high rent location like Central Festival if you cant find staff capable of dealing with foreign customers ? Incompetence is one thing, but passive-aggression and petulance have no place in a professional service-oriented business. If you cant fake the famous Thai smile, why bother even putting on a uniform and coming to work in a centre that's a magnet for a large chunk of the foreigners in Pattaya at any given time ? Last time I checked, our money is still legal currency and my bank is usually happy to see me, as are the ladies in Asia Books - the rest are a very mixed bag IME OK - enough ranting - sane feedback most welcome. If I'm Robinson Crusoe I'll take it on the chin, but I find it odd that the woman who sells me chicken can share a laugh regardless of the madness on the street in front of her cart, while Thais working in airconditioned comfort cant seem to manage much beyond a pained expression that leaves me wondering if they're getting enough fibre. I dont need fluent Thai to interact with most Thais on the street in Pattaya, yet the supposedly better educated service staff in Central Festival frequently look pole-axed when you ask them a simple question. I guess standards at Buriram High arent as exacting as I'd previously hoped - lets hope there's still a slot for them at the next harvest. Have at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Believe me or believe me not, matters not one jot. My Thai mrs has the same ploblem. I guess standards at Buriram High I can tell by your spelling you are new to these shores, Boo Lee Lam is the accepted spelling. Next time you speak, ,,,,,,,,,why bother it would only be deleted. Learn some Khmen or Lao, that usually puts them in their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I love it when you look at them or approach to get "help" and they literally scurry away! Priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 I love it when you look at them or approach to get "help" and they literally scurry away! Priceless. That's usually the guys - many of the women will stand their ground. The Central department store is particularly bad in this regard - the males will often look around furtively for a Thai woman to answer your query. I've read various posts from English teachers over the years that Thai students have very little motivation to learn English, yet the ladyboys seem to do quite well. Perhaps thats the answer - rotate staff between the ladyboy bars and Central Festival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabid old goat Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 you still have some major hurdles to jump over before you pass thai expat 101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgegeorgia Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) I guess sounding by the Mcdonalds experience you are looking for "friendliness" rather than service. I find the service very good and even at Home Mart and as you mentioned OZ /Australia where last year I went looking for a vacuum cleaner and received no service at all..even after i tested the vacuum out vaccuuming the entire Harvey Norman Store at Bondi Beach still no one asked me if i needed assistance...msybe they thought i was the cleaner i dont know !!!! Edited February 12, 2015 by georgegeorgia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoePai Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Have always found service good - the problem being they know nothing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradenroger Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Yes, sir, this has been my experience at Central Festival as well and especially the comment on the staff at Central Dept. Store is right on. I'm also not impressed with the Central Dept. Store staff in BKK either for that matter as no one ever seems to be able to assist you - language notwithstanding...I'm not sure if Thai customers are treated with the same indifference or not but I suppose they are...My other two pet peeves are when staff cluster themselves together chatting and giggling instead of making themselves readily available and when the staff are grooming themselves in the large mirrors around the store. This goes on big time when the store first opens - seems there was no time to put the make-up on before they left home. One guy was even looking up his nose for hairs - all in public view. I wonder if this is condoned by management as it goes on a lot. By the way, this also happens in other SE Asian countries as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I guess sounding by the Mcdonalds experience you are looking for "friendliness" rather than service. I find the service very good and even at Home Mart and as you mentioned OZ /Australia where last year I went looking for a vacuum cleaner and received no service at all..even after i tested the vacuum out vaccuuming the entire Harvey Norman Store at Bondi Beach still no one asked me if i needed assistance...msybe they thought i was the cleaner i dont know !!!! Friendliness is not the same as simple polite speech - I dont need ka on the end of every sentence, but a greeting would have been nice. If you heard the tone her instruction to 'sit down' was delivered in you might rethink your post - she was very clearly 'over it' at a very early stage in her shift. We've all been there, but this is the job she signed on for - som nam na, Tirac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giddyup Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 As a polar opposite. went to the beach at Jomtien yesterday and was greeted with a beaming smile by the lady "deck chair attendant" who promptly brought me and my gal a couple of ice cold Leos. Then one of the food sellers offered me the usual deep fried everything, which I declined. Once again, a big smile even though I hadn't bought a thing, and she has to trudge up and down that beach all day. I felt that I was truly in the LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 you still have some major hurdles to jump over before you pass thai expat 101 Sure - 'accept what you cant change' and 'roll with the punches', right ? I like to think I get that - maybe I dont - but I doubt that I'm the only one who has had some very poor/rude encounters with the staff at said retail destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 As a polar opposite. went to the beach at Jomtien yesterday and was greeted with a beaming smile by the lady "deck chair attendant" who promptly brought me and my gal a couple of ice cold Leos. Then one of the food sellers offered me the usual deep fried everything, which I declined. Once again, a big smile even though I hadn't bought a thing, and she has to trudge up and down that beach all day. I felt that I was truly in the LOS. Precisely the experience I had in the Charoen Optical, even though they work in airconditioned comfort and dont have to trudge anywhere. People happy to see a potential customer, even if they didnt make a sale despite my offer to pay for the repair. Solid gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgegeorgia Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Sound like you need people to be smiling and jovial to you. They are only employees they dont personally care if you order or not. I guess I never now expect customer service staff to be nice to me personally. Unfortunately the customer then becomes likes them after a while too...thats why theres so many miserable faces walking around Pattaya. But now i have a attitude of "being nice smiling and friendly" including when im haggling over prices. A lot of times I am friendly even when the supermarket or store employee is rude to me eg..putting my change on the counter instead of my hand. But i dont get angry anymore..i look them in the eye and say thankyou with a disapointed face and especially if they have colleagues around. I just order the Mcdonalds..i dont care if she smiles or not as long as she doesnt keep me waiting too long. Some here can perceive being friendly to weakness. I said hello to a farang last week that kept staring at me and listening to my conversation..i thought he wanted to join in...he then snapped " Do i know you from somewhere ? In his sarcastic tone...so sometimes if your friendly people think it can be weakness...but the trick is to be consistent and stay firm at the sametime so someone doesnt advantage of you...But never hopefully get to that stage of thinking everyones bad..going to take your money etc and then walk around Pattaya with a hypervigilant body language and a sour face. Never forget the time i saw a elderly farang finding it difficult to walk down the stairs in Tukcom, here's me Mr DO GOODER rushes over to help him and ask if he needs help...in a loud American accent he shouts " Are you trying to sell me something or what??? After that i admit i was put off by being nice and become hypervigilant to everyone. But now im smiling and nice and if they arent..i dont care...nor do i let them think im weak because im nice either...they dont cross that line with me ! Edited February 13, 2015 by georgegeorgia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitawatWatawit Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 No George. When you decide to become a sales assistant, you accept Sales Assistant 101 - the basic rules of selling and representing your employer. The OP is not expecting anything more than a required level of service due to a paying customer - perhaps best summed up by the word "civility". If you watch the eyes of sales staff when you approach them, you will see most often a kind of veil that descends. You know that they are dreading the thought of dealing with a foreigner, probably because of the language problem. I've always characterised it as the brain shutting down as a defence mechanism . In a place like Central Festival, I try (not always successfullu) to find a staffer who looks adequately prepared to deal with me - I approach, if there's no stiffening of the body, no blank look starting to cloud the face, then I think ok, go ahead. But then I might also just toss a coin and hope for the best. Whoever would have thought shopping could be such a fun game with a skill element thrown in? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 No George. When you decide to become a sales assistant, you accept Sales Assistant 101 - the basic rules of selling and representing your employer. The OP is not expecting anything more than a required level of service due to a paying customer - perhaps best summed up by the word "civility". If you watch the eyes of sales staff when you approach them, you will see most often a kind of veil that descends. You know that they are dreading the thought of dealing with a foreigner, probably because of the language problem. I've always characterised it as the brain shutting down as a defence mechanism . In a place like Central Festival, I try (not always successfullu) to find a staffer who looks adequately prepared to deal with me - I approach, if there's no stiffening of the body, no blank look starting to cloud the face, then I think ok, go ahead. But then I might also just toss a coin and hope for the best. Whoever would have thought shopping could be such a fun game with a skill element thrown in? Bingo - civility is the word I've been looking for and its just not the same thing as being 'friendly' - the touts outside the tailor's shops are extremely 'friendly' but its as fake as a 3-dollar bill. i agree that strangers smiling at you can be offputting, but most people in a retail setting understand that it's part of the process of helping customers find get what they need, part with their money, and leave happy with the overall experience. I suspect that the induction process in many Thai businesses consists of handing you a uniform, telling you what shifts you'll be working and showing you where the staff toilet is - for some, that's probably all they need but clearly my friend from McDonalds is in need of a little more guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asiantravel Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Have always found service good - the problem being they know nothing That's why the future lies in these................... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitawatWatawit Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 All hail the Oshbot. Phew, what a revelation that would be in the local hardware shops . But they'll never replace those cute young things in their butt moulded black slacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giddyup Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 All hail the Oshbot. Phew, what a revelation that would be in the local hardware shops . But they'll never replace those cute young things in their butt moulded black slacks. I dunno, remember the tasty replicant (Sean Young) in Blade Runner? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattaya28 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 2 weeks ago I had my hair-cut at a salon in Big C central Pattaya. How about this for Thainess. About 80% into my hair-cut the guy just walked out of the salon and did not return. So on a "customer-service" scale, I'd give "Zero". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 2 weeks ago I had my hair-cut at a salon in Big C central Pattaya. How about this for Thainess. About 80% into my hair-cut the guy just walked out of the salon and did not return. So on a "customer-service" scale, I'd give "Zero". Wow. How did that end? I assume someone else took over and finished? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asiantravel Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 All hail the Oshbot. Phew, what a revelation that would be in the local hardware shops . But they'll never replace those cute young things in their butt moulded black slacks. Then maybe you will take a fancy to " Pepper " ? http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/29/business/corporate-business/nestle-japan-hiring-1000-robots-sell-espresso-machines/#.VN3tgFQ5Ny0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) you still have some major hurdles to jump over before you pass thai expat 101 Sure - 'accept what you cant change' and 'roll with the punches', right ? I like to think I get that - maybe I dont - but I doubt that I'm the only one who has had some very poor/rude encounters with the staff at said retail destination. It's the all too typical farang obsession with loss of face. Seriously you can run into clueless, unhappy store clerks in low end shops everywhere in the world. You take your business elsewhere or you shrug it off and get on with your life. Considering what must wander in off the beach and actually choose to dine at McDonald's they probably find it difficult to find anyone willing to work there and put up with the crap 7 days week. Waaaaaa, the minimum wage cashier in a fast food dump didn't kiss my tush. Edited February 13, 2015 by Suradit69 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLew Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Have you ever worked at a fast food joint? Now add in you are in the tourist place like Pattaya Dealing with a lot of drunk people Crappy wages Long hours And you expect a smile? Not likely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgegeorgia Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 For your info I have a Thai friend and his daughter works there every weekend...she goes to University on weekdays. He wont let her work the weekend nightshifts because its full of louts and hoodlums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy666 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Dealing with Russians can be Overwhelming , I'd run myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaoboi Bebobp Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I think there's definitely a difference in service quality between the beach side and my side of, let's say, Buakhao. Might even put the divider line at Third Road. I dislike going to Buakhao and beyond for some product or service because of bad service attitude and a high level of tourist weariness. However, convenience store and fast-food clerks must get the worst of the worst. No wonder they're surly what with dealing with blank-faced Russians, uncivil Indians and Chinese and drunk palefaces. Second, how clerks treat customers is often reflective of poor or unsympathetic managers. I am also aware that in some shops, maybe all, in Central Festival, anything missing from inventory must be covered and paid for by staff. Sometimes this can take quite a cut from the monthly salaries. Outside of the tourist zone, especially here on the Darkside, service is pleasant and the shop folks are lovely. To the OP, try living and shopping east of Third and north of Klang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luudee Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I'm not sure they are being rude on purpose. I think they just lack basic manners. I mean what can you expect ? Look how Thais raise their kids ! It's all about 'me'. Zero or very little consequences for any crap they pull. The result is a workforce with little or no education that does not give a crap ... luudee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaoboi Bebobp Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 ^^^ Agreed, luudee. Both male and female clerks will step right in front of you while you're shopping, reach across in front of you as you're eyeing the goods, push carts into your path, won't move when you're surveying the goods, on and on. They haven't got a bloody clue. My favourite though is the sawut dee ka/krap from just about any direction a couple of aisles away when they have nothing else to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Have you ever worked at a fast food joint? Now add in you are in the tourist place like Pattaya Dealing with a lot of drunk people Crappy wages Long hours And you expect a smile? Not likely I didnt see too many drunks in that store at 10am and the Manager was able to summon a smile when she came out to serve another group of customers. As for crappy wages, I didnt think 15K a months for a Thai in her twenties was considered especially crap by local standards but maybe it is. Go to the McDonalds down at The Avenue complex on Second Road and tell me if they respond to you the same way this particular young lady did to me - even the Big C Extra staff are an improvement on many of the Central Festival mob. If it's overload from serving so many tourists each day, fine, but this was a low point even within that context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 @suradit69, that's exactly what I said to my friend at McDonalds - kiss my tush - because that's exactly what I expect people to do all over Tbailand. Next time she'd better remember to curtsy too, or I'll have my manservant deal with her .... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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