Today at GLOBAL HOUSE Udon Thani...

[UTH001]

This is not about THAI BASHING, I enjoy living here but sometimes, I lose it a bit, like this morning!

GLOBAL HOUSE must be the store with the most staff I have ever seen. They are all friendly, they all greet but that's about it...

All I wanted to buy was a new rainfall shower for my bathroom. While I was checking all the models on display, three staff hung around me like flies looking for food but not saying a word to me. I am used to that, I know that most don't speak any English and me not speaking much Thai does not help, I know I know. But today, I took a Thai friend with me but they did not talk to him either.

Fine! After about 20 minutes, I finally made my decision and pointed to the shower I wanted to buy. NOT HAVE, I was told, I nearly flipped. No note on the display that the unit was out of stock, no mention of 'special order', I assumed (wrongly) that it meant that the item was available.

I was then shown a similar unit, I asked SAME PRICE and was told SAME SAME. Well, it was NOT 'same same', the damn thing was THB 2,000 more and I was not willing to pay that. Back to that particular isle, same staff still there, the section manager then telling me that the unit was a different model and due to that, it was more expensive.

I left in disgust, and went to HomePro instead. Better service (very helpful staff), found a unit at a better price, left the store happy, all good.

[chiang mai]

All that just to tell us how upset you were that there wasn't an "out of stock notice on the item"! You sound like a drama queen, get over it.

[gerry123]

bit of harsh reply i get pissed off sometimes with incorrect information and sudden price increases and the general mai mee first answer

the only difference being i dont post about it i guess i have joined the mai pen rai squad

[chiang mai]

There are still westerners who have been here for long enough periods to know and still don't, those who continue to think that this is Kingston Upon Thames or Kansas.

Things don't work here to the same standard as you are used to back home, adjust.

[curtklay]

Things don't work here to any standard of any kind, and that's damn hard to adjust to.

Edited September 7, 2015 by curtklay

[kamalabob2]

I did some shopping at the Home Hub in Udon Thani on Saturday morning on my drive from Laos. No English was understood when I asked questions, but they had a fine selection in many departments. The Cotto display of shower units did not indicate if in stock or special order. It might have something to do with if the store put up the display or a company hired by the manufacturer put up the display in a store if you see the "special order' sticker. Wall tiles and floor tiles often do not indicate that special order status even if only one box is in the store. I was looking at a VRH shower display with a Stiebel Eltron water heater and a PC from Mazuma did his best to show me a completely different item he represented. In most any modern builders merchants a good 30% of the floor staff are not actual employees of the store. They are paid by various companies to represent a particular brand. You could be looking at a Teka oven and a Hafele PC walks up and suggests Hafele is made in Germany. The selection of higher end Cotto toilets was amazing and I wondered if they really had any 39,000 baht toilets in stock. Or if they really had any 38,000 baht Teka exhaust fans in stock. I believe the OP has many options in Udon Thani for building materials and it must vary from store to store if they put a "special order" sticker on a display.

[KhunBENQ]

Things don't work here to any standard of any kind, and that's damn hard to adjust to.

True.

But one should not bash people for speaking out again.

If bored: next thread.

Visiting home stores has become one of my less favorable past times.

[klikster]

I did some shopping at the Home Hub in Udon Thani on Saturday morning on my drive from Laos. No English was understood when I asked questions, but they had a fine selection in many departments. The Cotto display of shower units did not indicate if in stock or special order. It might have something to do with if the store put up the display or a company hired by the manufacturer put up the display in a store if you see the "special order' sticker. Wall tiles and floor tiles often do not indicate that special order status even if only one box is in the store. I was looking at a VRH shower display with a Stiebel Eltron water heater and a PC from Mazuma did his best to show me a completely different item he represented. In most any modern builders merchants a good 30% of the floor staff are not actual employees of the store. They are paid by various companies to represent a particular brand. You could be looking at a Teka oven and a Hafele PC walks up and suggests Hafele is made in Germany. The selection of higher end Cotto toilets was amazing and I wondered if they really had any 39,000 baht toilets in stock. Or if they really had any 38,000 baht Teka exhaust fans in stock. I believe the OP has many options in Udon Thani for building materials and it must vary from store to store if they put a "special order" sticker on a display.

We bought most of the fixtures, tile, cabinets, etc from Home Hub in Khon Kaen. Service is more personal and prices are just as good/better than most of the bigger-box stores. Only (small) problem is the distance from our house.

[Assurancetourix]

Things don't work here to any standard of any kind, and that's damn hard to adjust to.

True.

But one should not bash people for speaking out again.

If bored: next thread.

Visiting home stores has become one of my less favorable past times.

Sometimes you can have a good surprise when the boss of a similar " home Pro " come to you;

ask you from which country are you ?

And speaks easily in english or german or japanese and also in french;

In Phangkhon an amphoe of Sakon Nakhon you have a big shop which is selling many things from paint to iron, plastic tubes and so on;

The boss has many children ;

one of her daughter speaks fluently french ( 5 years at Aix en Provence university ) and another daughter speaks fluently english;( 4 years at university in London )

another one is at university in China and when she will return to her home ...she will speak chinese if necessary .

That big shop is TOA Paint at the entrance of the town on the left side coming from Udon Thani .

Ah ! Maybe that can explain, this family like 80% of Phangkhon inhabitants are vietnamese peoples , with thai nationality of course .

[meatboy]

the op needs to see a stess therapist,oh sorry he did go to HOME-PRO.

best he have's a trip down to SOI COWBOY.

[ubonrthai]

I like to make make a game in stores like that when frustrated. Stand in one location, do a 360 degree turn and count how many workers you see doing nothing. My record is 27. It relieves the stress. That, or wait until someone starts following you like a hawk and then sneak around trying to lose them. Good fun...

[PeVee1st]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

[JLCrab]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/suzynam/2013/07/03/thailands-richest-newcomer-is-a-retailer-who-made-his-fortune-in-nations-poorest-area/

[chiang mai]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

Why?

[meatboy]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

and one chinese,dutch,german,french,italian,american and an irish one, sorry we dont have anyone who can speak welsh.

[UTH001]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

I can mostly handle it when there are no English speakers in stores but like I stated in my posting (which one person responding did not seem to read fully, probably due to time constraints, completely understandable due to his enormous amounts of postings...), I was with a Thai friend, who is Thai and speaks Thai. Nobody even spoke to HIM, which I found a bit odd...

Many stores here have huge numbers of staff, most who appear to do nothing or hide somewhere, playing games on their phones or whatever. And THAT gets me, as it would in any country. Not necessarily the staff's fault but poor management / supervision? If items are out of stock, surely some of these not-doing-anything staff could be used to update the displays? Or point out that if one looks at a particular item three times that the item is not in stock?

I do not believe in 'giving up' or accepting low or no service when giving people my hard-earned cash, neither here nor in the countries I previously lived in. Things are changing in Thailand too (with or without Asean), there is competition out there for one's Baht! I have had some very nice experiences, better than one could even expect in Europe, or probably in Kansas. So, it CAN be done, right? But when things don't work, I say my five cents worth. I know, most managers are not interested in the least but that's fine. And just because I am one of these apparently damn foreigners, I do not feel "inferior" and am entitled to state my opinion as an educated consumer.

[JLCrab]

Without specific regards to the OP, they are probably all looking at each other and saying 'I handled the last pain-in-the-ass farang -- now it's YOUR turn'.

As far as Thailand goes, I operate on the principle that an item is in stock when you see it; there is nothing in the back room.

Edited September 10, 2015 by JLCrab

[meatboy]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

I can mostly handle it when there are no English speakers in stores but like I stated in my posting (which one person responding did not seem to read fully, probably due to time constraints, completely understandable due to his enormous amounts of postings...), I was with a Thai friend, who is Thai and speaks Thai. Nobody even spoke to HIM, which I found a bit odd...

Many stores here have huge numbers of staff, most who appear to do nothing or hide somewhere, playing games on their phones or whatever. And THAT gets me, as it would in any country. Not necessarily the staff's fault but poor management / supervision? If items are out of stock, surely some of these not-doing-anything staff could be used to update the displays? Or point out that if one looks at a particular item three times that the item is not in stock?

I do not believe in 'giving up' or accepting low or no service when giving people my hard-earned cash, neither here nor in the countries I previously lived in. Things are changing in Thailand too (with or without Asean), there is competition out there for one's Baht! I have had some very nice experiences, better than one could even expect in Europe, or probably in Kansas. So, it CAN be done, right? But when things don't work, I say my five cents worth. I know, most managers are not interested in the least but that's fine. And just because I am one of these apparently damn foreigners, I do not feel "inferior" and am entitled to state my opinion as an educated consumer.

i have to agree with you 100%,but for a lot of us going elswhere is out of the question.

just have a read of my topic in the isaan forum gmmz.package and you will see also its staff everywhere that dont care a monkey's wether you spend 10bht.or 100,000.

you should have been here in the 80's when you ordered a meal,eg.steak and chips,chips came first and steak 20min.later.

nothing has changed.

[kamalabob2]

It's been my observation of ten years of shopping various Builders merchants in Surin Province, Nakhon Ratchasima Province and primarily Buriram Province that the manager or owner of a store makes some decisions on how diligent the store staff work. The Buriram Thai Watsadu store has a clean parking lot, yet late in the evening when I shop there I have to wake up clerks in the mosaic tile section. The Surin Thai Watsadu has a parking lot that is on par with after an Oakland Raiders Football game. Years ago I received personal service from an owner who spoke English at the Korat Neo House. Tuesday night the assistant manager of the Buriram HomePro spoke very good English as I shopped for more window curtains. I can speak English in Buriram with Mr. Nop, Mr. Moses Lopez or Mr. Pichai at Ruangsangthai. Quite a few store staff understand some English, but they are often shy to speak English to a Farang customer unless the store owner encourages the to answer questions in English. I have plumbing services at my home off of Highway 219 by a plumbing team in which the lead plumber can understand and speak English. A different plumbing team from the same store did the pipes and a temporary water pump installation recently at a new home I am building on Highway 2229 and they understood my questions but were not as confident to answer in English. I am thrilled if a store has an English speaking transport coordinator who will call my phone and speak in English about possible delivery times. The same person can also phone my wife and speak Thai. The truck drivers and loaders I have come to my Buriram Home from Global House, IQ House, Home Mega Mart, Buriram Home Mart, Ruangsangthai, Surin Home Mart or Neo House did not speak or seem to understand much English. I try to get stores to put some English on any invoice where the products will be sent by transport at a later dates.

[stoneyboy]

Does staff training exist ?

Are the people in these jobs even remotely interested in their chosen profession ?

Did any of them ever have a job before starting work in any of these vast DIY stores ?

Would 300 baht or whatever the salary be enough to interest anyone working in these shops ?

The shear numbers possibly leads to people becoming completely disinterested in doing anything as it's easier to stand around chatting ?

Global House and Thai Watsadu in particular are not air conditioned meaning it gets increasingly hot inside the shop leading to people becoming lethargic and tired ?

[kamalabob2]

Mr. Moses Lopez tells me that people apply every single day at the builders merchants store he works in Buriram. Given options of working at a rice mill, working construction, doing work in the fields, or washing cars, the ability to work inside is a desirable job for many staff according to Mr. Moses. My wife has asked our plumber how much he is paid by the store to fix our plumbing and install water pumps. Most every store also has College students working at a reduced wage, and they might not last as long as adults who work to support a family in Buriram. A working person in a store such as Home Pro, Thai Watsadu , Global House, or family owned franchise of Home Mart will most often be in a proper health scheme with the Government Hospital. They will get paid on a regular basis and be offered real paid holidays. They might often get an employee discount on building materials according to Mr. Moses Lopez from California. The PC staff who are paid by a manufacturer can be transferred to another branch of Global House if they want to move. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.861182740587482.1073741832.828283507210739&type=3

[elliss]

I agree with the Op, with the countless number of staff on duty & most doing absolutely nothing, one would think the boss could employ at least one english speaker.

Visited Thai what2do in Udon, @ 8,30 am this morning , all the staff were , not interested in serving the only customer .

What a boring life i have in Thailand , are there any like minded early shoppers, we can have a self help group .

Maybe we can share a basket , and visit Tesco , or any somewhere.

together,, we can do it .

[JLCrab]

Shopping at one of the big-box stores is easy -- if you see it, they have it.

One way to get the attention of the staff and to have them serve you is to make it clear to them that you don't need or want their attention or to have them serve you.

[slipperylobster]

This is the old "bait and switch" technique, which has become popular here. We had this alot in the USA years ago. They have a big stock of the high dollar units but cannot sell them. Their solution is to stock one or two fantastic bargain units and put them in their flyers. Also they are displayed with the special price. Once they got you looking to buy that unit, they then tell you it is out of stock...but they have plenty expensive alternatives. Sales people are there to pressure us. They stand around and smile so that we don't want to disappoint them. A psychology tactic that ofen works. I feel ok disappointing one floor walker, but a whole group of smiling faces is a bit harder. I learned to deal with it. I try talking to them and telling jokes. If you invade their body space and talk alot, they back off....

Edited September 18, 2015 by slipperylobster

[SussexExpat]

Theother day I went to Thaiwatsitsname in Udon. I took a basket and asked the first assistant I saw where were the light bulbs. She directed me to where they were. The lady at the light bulbs asked me what I wanted. I told her, and she took the items I wanted to be tested. I then asked where I could find window cleaner and was directed to where they were.

ALL conversations in English.

[Nice Boyd]

This is the old "bait and switch" technique, which has become popular here. We had this alot in the USA years ago. They have a big stock of the high dollar units but cannot sell them. Their solution is to stock one or two fantastic bargain units and put them in their flyers. Also they are displayed with the special price. Once they got you looking to buy that unit, they then tell you it is out of stock...but they have plenty expensive alternatives. Sales people are there to pressure us. They stand around and smile so that we don't want to disappoint them. A psychology tactic that ofen works. I feel ok disappointing one floor walker, but a whole group of smiling faces is a bit harder. I learned to deal with it. I try talking to them and telling jokes. If you invade their body space and talk alot, they back off....

They are called Teasers,just to get u into the store,just 2 or 3 on sale,like when u see 70%off and nobody is in the stores

[Jessi]

bit of harsh reply i get pissed off sometimes with incorrect information and sudden price increases and the general mai mee first answer

the only difference being i dont post about it i guess i have joined the mai pen rai squad

Please tell me how to join that SQUAD?

Are there forms to fill out + Must have passport + Blue book + long term visa + Married = "No Have"

[Jessi]

the op needs to see a stess therapist,oh sorry he did go to HOME-PRO.

best he have's a trip down to SOI COWBOY.

You being a man of the world meatboy..............Is there a soi cowboy in Korat?

I need some stress relief

[meatboy]

now lets see hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm we have a wicked katoey who lives close by,as for the city i have only been out once and that was with the wife.

what about those spa places in city walk.

i releive my stress with 6 cans of john kepplers.