Frustrations in Thailand!

[MaeJoMTB]

sexpat: someone that moves to Thailand primarily because it is the only place on planet earth that they can get their dick wet.

Sexpat: foreigner that has sex with a local.

So nearly all of us.

[lostinisaan]

i bought a new "high quality" lol shower hose from big c (199 baht) was defective and wall end leaked water from the outset. i took it back to big c requesting change it for another that would hopefully work.

manager no less tried to tell me i couldnt return it as i had already opened package and exposed item to water.

i can read thai and have near native pronunciation ability. i asked her from what world she is from since the defective item carries water and one cannot not know if it works as intended unless they connect to water. cannot connect if the package is not first opened.

they ended up changing it for me and it seems they will simply put the defective one back on the shelf for sale.

the style of reason and logic and disconnect can boggle the mind.

"Near Thai native pronunciation ability." How comes that I can ( and always could) give my stuff that doesn't work back at the counter, without a question?

I always got my money back, but not when you've got the brownish stuff on the hose and trying to give it back after three weeks.

Edited January 26, 2016 by lostinisaan

[lostinisaan]

Now I've built seven houses for different women in Isaan and I don't have my own house. They all loved me and not my money.

What am I doing wrong? Please only serious and helpful advice.

[Ghostnigel]

Thailand is the 6th country I have lived in.

Each of those countries had different cultures and their own idiosyncrasies.

This 10th rate article is written by a sexpat. So whilst we can't expect it to be too cerebral, we could hope that the people at Thai Visa don't reproduce this sort of tripe to cause some sort of anti-Thai discussion.

Thailand is an easy place to live. You are welcome to leave any time. You fit in with the culture of the host country. I lived in Japan for over a year and I can tell you that Thailand is a much easier culture to adapt to.

If the author of the article actually knew Thailand a little better, he may find that in many establishments, if a server gets an order wrong, then they end up paying for the order. This is not unique to Thailand.

I was with my family in Hoi An once and amongst the many dishes we ordered came a dish that admittedly sounded like the one I ordered but was something else. The girl disagreed initially but eventually took it back with a smile. We later spotted someone consoling her as she was crying close to the cashiers till. We pulled over another waitress and I asked "will she have to pay for the dish we sent back?" and she told us that she would. So we pulled the girl over and told her to add it to our bill. By that time we were full anyway, so we told them they could eat it themselves if they liked. Cost to us - about $10. Cost to her - a days wages.

I wouldn't do this all the time - but she was a nice girl, service was good.

So sometimes, the reason for someone disagreeing that they made a mistake is not so much face but the fact that they stand to lose a significant amount of their days earnings for making a mistake at work.

Some people though - they just drift through this country with only a superficial knowledge of what is going on around them.

So not quite the "Sleuth" ht thinks he is...

If they will lose out substantially by making a mistake with your order, why, in that case, don't they double check the order?....just like when you are receiving your change at a check-out, they count and count and count the notes to be sure they are correct, so it doesnt come out their wages.

[rogeroc]

I agree it seems strange but my understanding is that the same happens in bars, gogo etc. It is not that rare to buy a girl a drink, for her to gulp it down in 2 seconds and ask for another immediately. Refuse and she will walk away. If you complain to the boss i am told the girl must (quite correctly in my opinion) pay the bill.

I think a small proportion (most are fine) of serving staff and bar girls have a bad, could not care less and frankly rude attitude. For some reason they are willing to 'try it on' despite the risk to themselves. If it really is a genuine mistake i would not let the girl pay but as commented in the Post Thais tend to double and triple check and i think it is primarily about being lazy.