Two Weird Happenings in Thailand.

[dragonfly94]

Got the bus from lopburi back to Bangkok in 2002. Got on at 9 am not many on the bus, bus driver said early as he's not due to go until 9.45. So got off to look around the market only to see the bus leaving at 9.30 without us. Ran after it and got on, no explanation or apology from the driver, I guess it was 'full'.

[steven100]

I love Thailand. Beer and my sex. I don't worry about the minor problems here because you're never going to fix it.

Be smarter and say you want ice 'nic noy'

[Happy Grumpy]

I guess the OP is a glass half empty kinda guy.

Who wants to pay full price for half empty glass? Or a half full one? Thais love to sell ice for the price of an expensive drink. The excessive ice is a form of cheating; why call somebody who doesn't want it a "cheap Charlie." And the fact is, if you take out all the shaved ice (shaved to pack more in), you are NOT left with a glass that is half full or empty. You are left with less than a quarter glass of the product -- very expensive.

I went round and round on this several years ago. And I NEVER won a round. I finally gave up and simply stopped buying the drinks. No iced coffee, no juice (its sugared, too), none of it. Solved the problem, and healthier, too!

As for the bus, you've probably been here long enough, Possum, to know that time means nothing here. It's why I ALWAYS carry a book to read.

Wow.

There are actually people like this.

[Fullstop]

Anyone ever experience anything like these?

That and more ... on a daily basis. I've gone through the surprised stage, through the angry stage ... now i'm in the dribbling and insanely giggling stage.

You'll get used it eventually ... or not.

[Happy Grumpy]

If the people get you so angry over nothing OP, probably best for you if you leave.

[No Apologist]

OP - my foreign friend - you are here to adapt to Thailand; not for Thailand to adapt to you. 50% of the time, things are going to happen differently from your plan.

The thing about Thailand is, everyone's watching you closely as a foreigner. When you show frustration (in your facial expression, or a tone) - their respect for you is diminished instantly. And that's when they wall you out with smiling. Once you've hit that wall of 'stupid' smiles (which aren't really so stupid), then you'lll go through the rest of your experience never getting close to what people are really like.

Take my advice; if you want to experience what Thailand has to offer, enjoy whatever experience is happening at the moment with an attitude that patience and gentle action will reveal something unexpected to you. After 5 years here, and finally going home at the end of the month, I think every great thing this country has taught me has been when I let go and just went with what Thailand was doing.

There are times when something is too much - sure. If it goes way beyond what you're willing to take, that's when you gently excuse yourself. Sometimes you'll lose some baht in the process. But, there's something for sure in Thailand every time; showing frustation or anger will make them start smilling, and acting weird to you. You don't want that, even if you think it's getting things on track again. It never works, ha

Edited May 10, 2015 by No Apologist

[pegman]

I do travel a lot on buses and I usually use Chan Tours or Nakhon Chai Air.

Never encountered this problem.

Buses are usually on time with a 5 or 10 minute the most delay.

As about the lemonade and I presume you mean Sprite, your best bet is 7/11 where you can fill your own cup to the top with any ice or not.

No I don't mean sprite, this was a shop that deals mostly with drinks and ice cream. The drinks are already cold so why

fill your glass with ice when you are only left with two or three mouthfulls? Yes I know, screw the customer. Money is king.

Would a full smaller cup have satisfied you?

[Fullstop]

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If the people get you so angry over nothing OP, probably best for you if you leave.

I've never heard that advice before!

[NoshowJones]

I love Thailand. Beer and my sex. I don't worry about the minor problems here because you're never going to fix it.

Be smarter and say you want ice 'nic noy'

Yes, but do you think they'll listen, a 'little bit' of ice would probably mean the glass getting almost filled.

[SiSePuede419]

You've been accused of being "cheap" by asking for no ice. And perhaps you think the vendor was being cheap by giving you a partial glass.

I think they were just looking out for your best interests. Ice (water) is healthier than soda. You're a rich, educated Farang. You should know that:

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-soda-is-bad-for-you-2013-5

After all, you can't milk a dead cow!

555

[Happy Grumpy]

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If the people get you so angry over nothing OP, probably best for you if you leave.

I've never heard that advice before!

Yes, it's really amazing how many Westerners aren't intelligent enough to adapt, and explode with rage over nothing at all.

Bizarre.

Why they torture themselves (and every local unfortunate enough to deal with them) is bizarre.

Desperation?

[pegman]

I guess the OP is a glass half empty kinda guy.

Who wants to pay full price for half empty glass? Or a half full one? Thais love to sell ice for the price of an expensive drink. The excessive ice is a form of cheating; why call somebody who doesn't want it a "cheap Charlie." And the fact is, if you take out all the shaved ice (shaved to pack more in), you are NOT left with a glass that is half full or empty. You are left with less than a quarter glass of the product -- very expensive.

I went round and round on this several years ago. And I NEVER won a round. I finally gave up and simply stopped buying the drinks. No iced coffee, no juice (its sugared, too), none of it. Solved the problem, and healthier, too!

As for the bus, you've probably been here long enough, Possum, to know that time means nothing here. It's why I ALWAYS carry a book to read.

Now South Korea, wow! I visited there a few years ago and was <deleted> amazed at the trains and buses. If a bus or train was scheduled to leave at 2:00 p.m., you could look at your watch as the second hand moved toward the scheduled time of departure. At the very moment the second hand crossed the 2:00 point the bus or train began to move -- EVERY TIME! If ever there was a discrepancy, I could rest assured that it was my timepiece and NOT the bus/train.

And they are quiet, too. If you raise your voice above a mere whisper, somebody was sure to turn around and give you a "shhhhhhhh!"

You are right about what you are saying Linda, I know very well that time, and customer service does not matter here, like I said, people traveling could be depending

on getting to their destination for some appointment, we would all allow some time in case the bus is late, I just thought this was very weird, the main point being

I was told that the bus is waiting until it was full, what if it took another hour, or even more?

As for the half full drink, what about the very many expats here who love their beer. what would they say if they were given half a pint instead of a full pint?

I rest my case.

Come on, a pint is an imperial measurement. A large whatever is whatever they determine it to be unless stated otherwise.

[jdinasia]

Bus leaves late.

Not weird.

Person wants only the expensive part of something and vendor supplies the same amount as usual.

Not weird

[TheFishman1]

I when into. KFC TODAY ASKED for coke no ice she feeled it up for me maybe try to act more nice lol

[Happy Grumpy]

Bus leaves late.

Not weird.

Person wants only the expensive part of something and vendor supplies the same amount as usual.

Not weird

Tell that to the angry bloke that can't adjust to a culture different to what he's used to and would be much happier else where.

What do you get?

More of his anger.

Sad.

Edited May 10, 2015 by Happy Grumpy

[No Apologist]

I love Thailand. Beer and my sex. I don't worry about the minor problems here because you're never going to fix it.

Be smarter and say you want ice 'nic noy'

Yes, but do you think they'll listen, a 'little bit' of ice would probably mean the glass getting almost filled.

I know the answer to that, actually According to my experience, anyway.

You're never getting a great deal the first time you meet anyone in Thailand. Period. You'll get a great deal, later....after you figure out who around that place is their family, get to know them, and have fun making jokes. Once people like you, and they know they'll see you again tomorrow, it's a totally different place.

Edited May 10, 2015 by No Apologist

[Bangkok Barry]

Yes. No shop will give you a full glass of anything if you ask for no ice. It is a cheap charley move that they know.

As for the bus leaving, I have never had that problem with a VIP bus, but normal buses yes. If people already bought tickets and called and told them to wait, that would make more sense but companies want to make as much money as they can and a full bus makes more money.

Sounds like you are homesick and need to be in your own environment.

I am not saying that things have never bothered me or that I have never got irked over minor things, but nothing makes me write a complete whinge on a forum over minor issues.

My post was not meant to be a complaint, I have asked for no ice for years regularly all the time and never had a problem.

Your second paragraph, yes it's true about making money, but what about customer service? Someone could need to catch transport at the other end, yes

I know money is king in any country, and even worse in the UK.

Sounds like you are one of the "go home brigade". you obviously don't know me.

This is only a post about two weird happenings.

Customer service? How long have you been in Thailand? Funny. Money number one.

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts have been removed.

[Suradit69]

Oh come on. I've sat waiting for delayed flights, cancelled flights and even been on flights that were diverted to a different airport from the one scheduled and that includes airports in the glorious west and often for a lame reason or absolutely no reason offered. And try complaining to check-in people and you'll get your head snapped off or get a grimace-smile meant to placate someone they consider demented. Using transport of any kind requires some patience.

My favorite transportation schedule warning was at the Bulawayo Train station in (pre-Mugabe) Rhodesia.

It stated something along the lines of: "The scheduled departure time is the time before which the train will not depart."

As far as complaining about trivial things in order to get improved customer service. Complete nonsense. You're venting on someone who is at the lowest level of the company/corporate ladder. Do you really think some bus conductor or waitress is going to convey your whining to a manager or anyone who might implement a change? You're just making some minimum wage employee feel like crap and/or reinforcing the valid notion that some farang are a pain in the ass.

Edited May 10, 2015 by Suradit69

[anon4546543]

I see a bit/lot of bitching on these threads. A common response is to say go home. Not an intelligent answer. Give the poster a right to bitch. Let him learn to live in and accept being in Thailand. Saying that he should just go home does not help the poster, nor does it make you superior in any way.

[Shiver]

I think OP is right to expect a glass to be reasonably full. Maybe they should have a sign that says "Glass is too big enough for content". I think what I would have done is look at it, order another, then pour the two together and pay the price, without embarrassing the cashier of course, then come back next day and see if anything changed... scratch that, we all already know the answer.

To say it is being cheap, could just as easily be reformulated to "why are you being cheap giving me ice when I asked for a drink?". It's not like sugar water is expensive to produce (ice on the other hand costs electricity).

As for the bus, I have little experience of them, but I would guess VIP buses would go out on time, and standard buses I guess I'd understand that they need to run them at capacity so will wait (unless it ruins their schedule completely, as they'd be missing out on customers in the other direction and need to find a balance).

[Happy Grumpy]

some farang are a pain in the ass.

These types of guys would complain that the 10 dollar, 20 year old oil-masseuse only spent 40 minutes 'massaging their groin' and angrily demand a refund.

[dragonfly94]

I love Thailand. Beer and my sex. I don't worry about the minor problems here because you're never going to fix it.

Be smarter and say you want ice 'nic noy'

Anybody who is here for beer and sex really should not be IMO, and it's nit noy.

[frankwhite]

Wow what a bunch of losers complaining about ice in a drink. You are in Thailand deal with it. You life must suck if i let something like that bother u

[somchaismith]

Yeah, seen these weird farang before.

Edited May 10, 2015 by somchaismith

[Saan]

I've experienced the wait for the bus to leave several times, even on the VIP buses, up to about 30 minutes. They make the time up of course!

Yes, your right, this bus did make up the time, but my question is, what if the bus took an hour or more to fill up?

It would not have made up the time then.

That's the frightening bit - making up time. Which usually results in speeding and sometimes overtaking on blind corner. Better to leave when scheduled. Passengers will soon learn departure time mean bye, bye bus.

[gandalf12]

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Thai Airways is no different.

At Melbourne, they've waited waited up to almost a half hour for some thai bird who was slowed by traffic.

The aircraft still made it to BKK, ahead of schedule. But still heard a passeger complaining why it took so long to leave? (as he was disembarking) - idiot alt=blink.png>

I guess the cost of fuel isn't the issue???

for the record, most airlines are considered to be on time (leaving) if it within 30 minutes of stated time

[Dumbastheycome]

Step back and take a look at the major bus stations. Many operators running same or similar routes. Profit margins are minimal. The make or break on a run may be 1 or 2 travellers. So yes thay sometimes wait. And sometimes they wait for a pre purchased ticket holder because they do not want to get a bad rep. How many times in an airport have you experienced or heard desperate calls for late showers ? And if the arrival time is to schedule whats the problem? And you complain about a soft drink? Take your own in bulk pack from a wholesaler! No ice, full container!

[zeichen]

The thing that I find ironic which most people seem to miss is the person pouring the beverage doesn't make the rules. He/she will have to do what the owner says. If she pours you extra without ice, it comes out of her pay check. You don't complain to or about the cashier, you go to management. Arguing with a person making 300 baht a day over 2 mouthfulls of lime juice is a waste of your time and hers.

I also think the love it or leave it banter is useless. The OP just needs a break, if the little things don't get to you ever, then all the power to you, but I know that I have lost my cool over minor things and of course regretted it.

[1FinickyOne]

Isn't that part of the charm of being here? Less of a concern for time. This is surely not a good place to be in a rush… and no, I doubt any of the Thais mind too much - they are more relaxed and accepting.

As to your drink - maybe they see what a rush you are in and figure a half glass is better. I have not run into this here, but in other countries I have - they figure pricing and profit margins based on % of ice and % of drink… just order a 2nd drink if still thirsty...