Newbie Stupid question: Are the locals friendly?

[whatproblem]

Most the time friendly but stay away from thai men when they are drinking or when Thai men drive

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

 

Stealing, lying and cheating seem to attract little or no serious penalty in Thailand, even when someone is caught red-handed, so I would say that there is not much pressure on people not to cheat.

 

What you say is true, but the result is a buyer beware culture, even among Thais. The vendors are aware that buyers are on the lookout and try it on less. In the west I usually blindly trust the vendor to give correct change, In Thailand the vendor is aware the buyer will count the change so gives correct change.

[Destiny1990]

In general yes but be prepared for miscommunications due to the language issue.

[Emster23]

 If you are friendly, usually get friendly response. Learn as much language as quickly as possible. Even if off, they appreciate at least you are trying. Average Thais are a bit reserved on meeting new people informally and probably a bit shy regarding English ability, if they have any, Your blundering attempts at language may break the ice.

 Business? Follow up, service after the sale is pretty much lacking. Most warranties not worth the paper printed on. Good idea to test any electrical product before leaving shop. Acting like you know what you are doing (even if you don't) often goes a long way.

 Sense of humor and keeping it light improves odds of positive outcome. Usually....

[SaintLouisBlues]

3 minutes ago, Emster23 said:

 Learn as much language as quickly as possible.

If you go down that path do learn it off a professional. If you learn it from bar girls/boys you'll be spotted by the locals as soon as you open your mouth

[maechanman]

It depends where you are in Thailand, I've lived in Pattaya,  Phuket and Chiang Rai and visited countless other places here.

I find the locals a lot more friendly in rural Thailand than in the tourist centres.

[impulse]

12 hours ago, what2do said:

Is there perception that it is okay to cheat? Here in China where you go to restaurant and order 1 kg fish it's probably 700 gram. Is it like that in Thailand?

 

You realize, of course, that they weigh the fish right out of the tank, and when a 1 kg fish has been gutted and cooked off, it's probably going to weigh about 700 grams?

 

And you're going to leave about half of that 700 grams on your plate in the form of bones, scales and the head, meaning you paid for 1 kg and only get to eat 350 grams.

 

That's not the same as cheating.

[Berkshire]

5 hours ago, rogeroc said:

 

Integrity, honesty, probity, take your pick of words, better than trying to defend the indefensible. So overcharging is treating with dignity and respect is it?  The Ops question is reasonable but i have seen a stupid reply.

 

I can see you're easily confused as you've got two different issues mixed-up.  One, are the locals friendly?  Well, it depends on who you're dealing with, the situation, and you yourself.  As for the merchants, it's free market capitalism. 

[chilli42]

Nicest people money can buy.

[Rockhopper]

Friendly but not polite.

[Ireland32]

I don't trust Thai men, scoundrels, if it wasnt for the women, Thailand would not exist, they do the brunt of the work in this country

[Brock]

I have been coming to live in a Village not far from a Tourist area for about 12 years now, I spend about 4 to 6 weeks here every Xmas, and occasionally 3 to 4 weeks during Songkrahn.

 

I find the local people friendly and honest, this includes restaurants and other businesses. I have always been friendly and treat every one with respect, and it is returned with interest. In fact, at one noodle shop that I eat at very regularly, the only problem with price that I have is that the owner wants to charge me nothing, or a heavily discounted price. I always try to pay the full price ( doesn't always happen).

 

The only way to find out if the people are friendly to you is visit here and find out.

 

As for being safe, that can depend a lot on you. If you tend to display large amounts of cash, drink your self stupid and upset the peole around you, you probably wont be too safe.

 

[lkn]

1 hour ago, Emster23 said:

Follow up, service after the sale is pretty much lacking. Most warranties not worth the paper printed on

 

I bought an amplifier at Neo Entertainment Gallery, it had a loose connection on one of its input sources, so they delivered a new one. Similarly, one of the speaker cable plugs got its soldering “undone” after ~6 months, so they sent a guy to fix it, no problem, no charge!

 

I bought tailored pants at Jolie Femme and asked for a coin pocket. Having used the pocket, I found it too deep, so I went back to have it adjusted, no problem, no charge!

 

I bought pillows in Baan & Beyond, when I came home and tried them out proper, I found them to be the wrong type for me. Went back two days later and exchanged them, no problem!

 

I bought a Dyson fan in Central Department Store, used it for ~1 week and found it not powerful enough, took it back and exchanged it to a bigger model, no problem!

 

I bought a doorbell at HomePro, did not work properly when I got back home, so back to HomePro, and they exchanged it without issues!

 

I bought a condo ~1 year ago, and the developer has done several changes/additions after I got the title deed, even upgrading my ceramic plates to induction without making me pay the difference.

 

I got custom made closets installed in my condo from a third party, and one of the rails for a drawer started to make a sound when closing. Exchanged by the supplier without problems!

 

So my experience seems very different than yours. I experience great service in Thailand and have never had a problem with supporting a product after the money changed hands.

 

Even buying clothes on the street, my girlfriend did that, but the size was wrong, so she came back the next day, and it was not an issue. I do not recall if she got it changed to the proper size or her money back, only that I was skeptical that a street vendor would take back items bought without a receipt, but I was proven wrong.

 

Later I bought two shirts myself in the Platinum Fashion Mall (BKK), I was unsure about the size, and there is no fitting room, so the vendor told me to just come back with it, if it turned out to be the wrong size.

 

[SunsetT]

12 hours ago, kenk24 said:

 

I would say only a very small percentage... people are mostly friendly by nature - the further you get from the busy cities, the friendlier they tend to be... but that might be everywhere too... 

I would say 'the further you get from tourist areas'.

[thairookie]

TS, you need to attend a course in Thainess in order to understand how the local culture works.

 

For example, in a Thai vs Farang fight, Thainess dictates that it's 5 Thais against 1 Farang.  Thais will never fight one against one with Farang.  It's Thainess.

[SunsetT]

3 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

Stealing, lying and cheating seem to attract little or no serious penalty in Thailand, even when someone is caught red-handed, so I would say that there is not much pressure on people not to cheat.

Maybe only religious pressure.....Fear of bad karma, hell, bad spirits and ghosts

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, Emster23 said:

 If you are friendly, usually get friendly response. Learn as much language as quickly as possible. Even if off, they appreciate at least you are trying. Average Thais are a bit reserved on meeting new people informally and probably a bit shy regarding English ability, if they have any, Your blundering attempts at language may break the ice.

 Business? Follow up, service after the sale is pretty much lacking. Most warranties not worth the paper printed on. Good idea to test any electrical product before leaving shop. Acting like you know what you are doing (even if you don't) often goes a long way.

 Sense of humor and keeping it light improves odds of positive outcome. Usually....

.....and a smile.

[lkn]

3 minutes ago, thairookie said:

TS, you need to attend a course in Thainess […] For example […] Thais will never fight one against one with Farang.  It's Thainess.

 

Given the different physiques, a one-on-one fight is hardly fair. That said, why on Earth would you want to fight a Thai in the first place?

 

Your Thainess information seems to be stuff that no normal person should ever need to know.

 

[NoshowJones]

Are the locals friendly?

Apart from the odd drunk, they are as friendly as you will get.

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, whatproblem said:

Most the time friendly but stay away from thai men when they are drinking or when Thai men drive

"but stay away from thai men when they are drinking". If that's the way you think, what about men who are drinking in any UK city?

"or when Thai men drive".  I will go along with that one.

[Mousehound]

14 hours ago, poohy said:

Business wise , i would say the only thing straight about them is their hair!

Thais dont even trust Thais.

 

I trust Thai business people just as much as I trust my own countryman in business.  If not family I don't really trust anyone in business anywhere in the world.  But I find Thai people exceptionally friendly.  But then I like them so maybe they pick up on that. Also I speak reasonable central Thai and some Northern Thai which I find helps a lot.

[Suradit69]

16 hours ago, Lannig said:

There are nice people, there are nasty a*holes, there are honest and trustable people, there are thieves and criminals. Like in any country.

 

And the same applies to other foreigners that you might encounter here. 

[Petchou]

It should start by asking yourself if you are friendly.

If you are, you will attract friendly people.

 

[silent]

17 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Short answer is Yes. Basically friendly and nice people. You can find bad people anywhere if you look hard enough or do stupid things. There are a few Thais that have had bad experiences with westerners and have grown to dislike them. Alternatively there are westerners that will have you believe the revolution is coming any day now and we will all be in trouble.

The sky is falling any day now :)

 

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, Berkshire said:

 

I can see you're easily confused as you've got two different issues mixed-up.  One, are the locals friendly?  Well, it depends on who you're dealing with, the situation, and you yourself.  As for the merchants, it's free market capitalism. 

I few years ago, one morning, at a stall in a Pattaya market, I bought something and was shortchange by exactly 100Bt, I then said to the guy " I am 100Bt short in my change", he said "no! no!, I said OK, walked a few steps away and stood watching him making sure he could see me, I pretended to speak on my mobile, stood watching him again, then again pretended to speak on my mobile, after a little while, I just walked away.

Later that afternoon I was walking past that same stall, and he was not there, I asked another stallholder where he was, "he go away this morning and not come back". Maybe he will now be wary of shortchanging people again.

[nongsangcity]

16 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

 

Its all about making money. You need to remember Thailand has no pensions, wefare etc, people need to eat. Lots of creative ways to have you part with your money. Normal practices like asking how much something is before buying, checking the bill, pay as you go etc, you wont have problems. Bill padding and higher price for westerners will happen, actual theft is not common.

 

 

Thailand has pensions and wellfare...my mother in law gets 500b pension and 700b for been deaf......Teachers,Police,Cival servents etc all get pensions when they retire at 60 and themselves and family get free health care whilst in work...

[SunsetT]

37 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Are the locals friendly?

Apart from the odd drunk, they are as friendly as you will get.

I find the 'odd' drunks too friendly. They smile and continue their one-sided conversation and never understand that you cannot understand a word they say.

[Peterw42]

2 minutes ago, nongsangcity said:

Thailand has pensions and wellfare...my mother in law gets 500b pension and 700b for been deaf......Teachers,Police,Cival servents etc all get pensions when they retire at 60 and themselves and family get free health care whilst in work...

 

Yes, I was aware of that. Probably should have said small pensions etc. I was trying to make the point that countries with low or no welfare often have a higher petty crime rate. People do scams to eat.

[elgordo38]

Life is a long journey. Live and learn. Education has taught you how to think so think. 

[khunPer]

The natives here are Buddhists, so think their way: »What you send out, is what you get back«; i.e. if you smile to the natives in so-called "Land of Smiles", you can be certain to have friendly smiles back...