Aggressive Bali Hai vendors draw scrutiny

By Somchai Khotlamhaek

 

  

PATTAYA: -- Local officials and soldiers inspected speedboat and other vendors at Bali Hai Pier after complaints about aggressive and possibly illegal sales tactics.

 

Local officials and soldiers confront Bali Hai Pier vendors after complaints about aggressive and possibly illegal sales tactics.

 

Banglamung and Pattaya regulatory enforcement officers and soldiers mobilized Sept. 17, looking for speedboat vendors pestering tourists and others illegally collecting parking fees at the public jetty.

 

Officials said complaints centered around speedboat operators who aggressively try to persuade tourists to use their services to go to Koh Larn. Vendors start off with a very high price and force people to spend lots of time bargaining to strike a deal.

 

The vendors cooperated with authorities, but were ordered to attend a short meeting to explain their behavior. They claimed they were only trying to do business and that the complaints were exaggerated.

 

Full story: http://www.pattayamail.com/news/aggressive-bali-hai-vendors-draw-scrutiny-150206

 

-- Pattaya Mail 2016-09-30

They claimed they were only trying to do business and that the complaints were exaggerated.

 

What these guys (and a lot in the hospitality business that should know better) don't understand is that the customer's perception is the reality you have to live with.  

 

Regardless of what you think of your product or service.

 

I cannot accept this story,Thai,s trying to rip off tourists............no way

...as if they had no idea...all these years....

1 hour ago, SOTIRIOS said:

...as if they had no idea...all these years....

 

I'm not defending these guys specifically because I rarely get to Bali Hai pier.  But on a general note:

 

If a pansy like me walked into a biker bar in the Mojave Desert, I may well walk away feeling treated less than amicably when the bartender treats me just like all of his other customers.  To a western tourist who's not accustomed to negotiating prices, a trip to an Asian market or a tourist trap where prices aren't fixed and firm may seem harsh, but it's just the norm here.

 

On the other hand, the Chinese are very accustomed to aggressive negotiating, and if they're complaining- something more is going on.  They're not accustomed the threats of violence if the negotiations are fruitless.

 

That said, the fact is that their bread an' butter is pansies like me who come on holiday to get away from having to deal with negotiations and money issues.  It would serve them to learn to temper their enthusiasm for getting top dollar.

 

Have a look at these people. Business lol. They look like they are former inmates. This is what tourists encounter.  Rude standover fat boys. Look at the goose on his phone. A senior officer is addressing him. 

You just can not buy this footage funny.

Services

A lot of them are in the hospitality business and if you don't agree you can easily end up there in the Hospital

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My first time in Thailand was in 1999........during a walk along Beach Road I got "lured" into a return-trip to Koh Larn by speedboat for 1,200 baht.

In my plain naivety I thought it was a fair deal since it was still cheaper than a similar event in my home country.

During that holiday I learned to negotiate and I learned as well that doing business in the tourist industry is focused on short-term (NOT short time) results or "How do I make money in the shortest possible time?"

 

Take just the markets along 2nd road and Beach Road, offering souvenirs; souvenirs 'Made in China' bought for 50 baht on offer for up to 1,500 baht. Some negotiating will result in paying 50% which is still too much.

 

This naivety and lack of negotiating skills of (especially) tourists is abused by asking ridiculous prices for products and services. Luckily, more and more tourists come to Thailand with normal glasses instead of pink colored glasses and don't accept this kind of a-commercial behavior.

 

A bright example is the taxi driver in Bangkok who charged THB 2,xxx for a 6 km taxi ride, I mean: "How plain stupid can you be?"

They should also tell them to stop dressing like ugly beggars !

22 hours ago, ScotBkk said:

Services

A lot of them are in the hospitality business and if you don't agree you can easily end up there in the Hospital

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<deleted> they are pretenders