Midweek rant: Hey Mister Salesman - stop stalking me!

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Midweek rant: Hey Mister Salesman - stop stalking me! 

 

 

File Photo

 

Growing up in England in the seventies the main problem was finding a sales assistant at all. 

 

The girl in Woolworth’s was usually far too busy chatting with her friend or looking in a compact case mirror to pay the customer any attention whatsoever. 

 

Customer service seemed but a distant dream – if it ever arrived there at all. 

 

I know not – I left Blighty’s shores in search of warmer climes and came to Thailand. 

 

And wow – what a transformation! There always seemed someone around to serve you! 

 

At last the customer seemed if not right, at least reasonably right. 

 

That was until the reality sank in. 

 

Until they started stalking me. 

 

Go into most large stores and there they are – arraigned and aligned almost like a cordon of cops but they let you pass then the cat and mouse game begins. 

 

It’s always the same. I want to look at some televisions or compare a line of fridges. 

 

I move through the cordon and notice from the corner of my watchful eye that the stalking has begun. Close on my heels, there he is – for it is normally a man. And he is waiting to pounce. 

 

I quicken my pace determined to shrug them off. I turn into the next aisle, but no! 

 

A colleague has headed me off at the pass and now there is no turning back – I am cornered next to the Toshiba promotion. 

 

So apparently I should buy this one. “Why it that I ask?” (In the vernacular as Thai language is not the issue here). 

 

“Because it is better – because it is more popular”. 

 

This is in fact Thai for “because I get more commission on this model”. 

 

I smile the smile of determination and move on at pace but once again an advance guard has tracked my intentions. 

 

They have found out I can speak Thai – now there is really going to be trouble as they gang up by the microwaves. 

 

So I find something I am genuinely interested in. Remembering Woolworth’s at least there is someone to ask. 

 

Just one problem – they haven’t got a clue about what they are selling. 

 

They only know about the one on promotion – the better one – the more popular one – the one over there. I’ll show you. 

 

I have tried everything. 

 

When realizing I am being stalked I turn around abruptly colliding with them like a ten wheeler and a moto-sai on the Mitraphap Highway. 

 

It’s no good – the collision is expected. They bring back-up and I am cornered again. 

 

The only way out is to leave the store having bought nothing – and do a face-saving lie about coming back tomorrow. 

 

Now I know that the sales staff are probably under orders from their floor managers to provide service. I get it – it is not usually the underling’s fault. 

 

So my message is simple. To all the managers out there can you tell your staff to be there but to let me browse in peace? 

 

And not follow me – I get scared. Keep a respectable distance. 

 

But when I do have a question can you train them so that they can give me some answers. 

 

Some information about the product that isn’t “it’s the most popular one – it’s on promotion”. 

 

Or this one is cheaper – even a fool like me has worked that one out. 

 

Homepro and Power Buy – you’re the biggest offenders, but not the only ones. You all know who you are and I know where you live. 

 

So I end up in Lotus. And there’s not a salesperson in sight. 

 

They are hiding somewhere doing a “Woolies” clicking “like” on their mobiles in some corner. 

 

There’s no one to ask. 

 

What goes around comes around. I’m back in the UK in the seventies. 

 

I just can’t win. 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-04-19

[lemonjelly]

Lol, would make an excellent comedy clip, soundtrack to Jaws... I usually baffle them with a couple of questions that only a fluent speaker would understand.... throws them off the scent; they tend to leave me alone now

:)

[wayned]

Most have no knowledge of the products. I've been in Home Pro searching for a specific product with the entourage following me.  The last time it was Elmer's wood glue.  I knew that they had it as I had bought it there before at a different store.  I finally spotted it out of the corner of my eye but decided to ask one of the "stalkers" . After I explained what I wanted they had a conference and I was asked to follow them. They took me to the nuts and bolts section so I explained again and after another conference they told me "Mai Mee".  I said "Mee" and I motioned for them to follow me and took them back to where we started and picked up the bottle of glue.  The response was the normal group "giggle"!  You sometimes have to actually get rude to get them to leave you alone.

 

That also goes for the checkers in Tesco and Big C that want to bag your frozen food with the toilet cleaner!  They don't have a clue or just don't care!

[tonray]

Electronics departments are the worst ! Power Mall is particularly egregious. I pull "I'll be back tomorrow" or 'I have to wait until I get paid" all the time. But most of the time I just walk briskly thru, noting some brands/models of interest and then hunker down in the coffee shop to research over the net. It's an Asian thing, service is something all Asians expect in a transaction. I bought an exercise bik from Lazada because it was the same model as Central Dept Store had for 1000 baht less, my girlfriend was incredulous when she learned I had to assemble it myself, they are accustomed to service from sales to assembly, no matter what the price.

[wayned]

Could you imagine the chaos if all of a sudden all petrol stations were self serve!  They would have to install automated whistle blowers!

[canuckamuck]

I do my best to be stealthy and to sneak in without being seen. It is best not to have a Thai person with you when you shop. The employees are more aggressive when they see a native speaker. When I am faced with a hand to hand situation I do my best to ignore them. The main problem occurs when you have to ask a question. Then you enter the nonsense zone.

The best solution is to find the model numbers you are curious about and then go to a safe place and look them up on your smart phone. Then If you want to buy, walk straight to the item and tell them this is the one you want.

 

[Thechook]

I hate it as it makes me feel uneasy

[habanero]

The simple phrase, " Let us know if you need any help, I'll be right over there", would be nice to hear again.

[steven100]

I just say  '  mai pen rai '    and they walk away  ..... 

[Canceraid]

The problem with most of these buffoons working as sales in Thailand  is that they have no product knowledge of the products they are selling. Ask them questions and they do not know! I speak fluent thai when asking them mind you and not even English! Normally I when they cannot answer, I will rudely tell them to bugger off and go read the product manuals of the items they are trying to sell. Worst are the sales girls at  dept stores....do you ahve this size....no have(they did not even check!)

[rkidlad]

There is good and bad to both sides. I was in England at Christmas and bought a couple of things from PC World. I was allowed free reign to just walk around and look without being bothered. I found the items I wanted to buy but had to stand around waiting to catch the attention of a sales person. One of the items I wanted was locked away. After an annoying 10 min wait, I finally got someone over. I asked a few questions and they knew their stuff. That's always great. 

 

In thailnd I feel staff are always on top of me. Sometimes I just wanna look and not be bothered at all. I tell the shop assistant I'm just looking, they take one step back, and then they follow me around. Anytime I look at a any product they start telling me about it. The information is usually about how great it is and how many central points I'll get, etc. I get annoyed and walk away. 

 

It's very easy to get served here but make sure you do your product research before or have your phone with google on hand. I prefer the UK system of having to wait and then getting the correct info when I ask. It may take longer, but if I'm buying something more expensive, it's worth it. 

[fruitman]

Shops as homepro you better visit late at night when the staff is tired. Also i don't speak to them at all and if they chase me i look at them like they were a soidog.

 

The staff realy is totally useless so don't waste your time by speaking to them. Before you know it there are 10 of them to "hell you" in a group.

 

When i want to get away from the sales i always tell them i 'll go get my wife so she can decide which color. 

[Colabamumbai]

There is one service industry that does quite well in Thailand, regardless of the language.

[dotpoom]

3 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Lol, would make an excellent comedy clip, soundtrack to Jaws... I usually baffle them with a couple of questions that only a fluent speaker would understand.... throws them off the scent; they tend to leave me alone now

:)

That's exactly what I do every time I go into Home Pro with the Mrs......I start humming the sound track from "Jaws". (Of course, they are chasing a commission).

Edited April 19, 2017 by dotpoom

[JAG]

We have got a relatively new " Global House" in Chang Rai.
Whilst I think it is better than " HomePro" next door, they do have a weird system.
I bought a pack of rawlpugs and screws the other day. The checkout girl handed me the item in a plastic bag, along with an itemised A sized receipt and a till receipt. I took one pace and two hovering members of staff, who had watched the transaction delved in the bag, examined the pack of screws, scrutinised both receipts carefully, stamped the A5 receipt and sent me on my way with a wai. why?

[Crossy]

"security"

 

Makro is the same, the man spends a minute or so looking at the (metre long) receipt before stamping it. There is no way he's checked the content of our two trolleys in that time.

[Familyaffairs]

Take the wife too, then when the shark appears, split up in different directions, that throws them off a bit. Come back and keep circling the aisles again and again and again, clock and counter clock wise, not unlike a roundabout, its good exercise into the bargain as well.. Sooner or later (the latter more likely) they tend to get the point.

 

Also, remember in  places like HomePro you can negotiate the price somewhat, comes off the sharks' commissions, they don't like that, another way to get your own back....Still, always surprised how customers are totally outnumbered by enormous hordes of staff....do they clone them one wonders ?

[wump]

I hate clothes shopping over here. Go to Central Festival into a 40 sqm store and you'll have 5 people hovering around you. Mega-annoying. I wish there was something like Amazon over here :/

[Familyaffairs]

5 minutes ago, JAG said:

We have got a relatively new " Global House" in Chang Rai.
Whilst I think it is better than " HomePro" next door, they do have a weird system.
I bought a pack of rawlpugs and screws the other day. The checkout girl handed me the item in a plastic bag, along with an itemised A sized receipt and a till receipt. I took one pace and two hovering members of staff, who had watched the transaction delved in the bag, examined the pack of screws, scrutinised both receipts carefully, stamped the A5 receipt and sent me on my way with a wai. why? They worked for Makro before ?

 

Just now, Familyaffairs said:

Take the wife too, then when the shark appears, split up in different directions, that throws them off a bit. Come back and keep circling the aisles again and again and again, clock and counter clock wise, not unlike a roundabout, its good exercise into the bargain as well.. Sooner or later (the latter more likely) they tend to get the point.

 

Also, remember in  places like HomePro you can negotiate the price somewhat, comes off the sharks' commissions, they don't like that, another way to get your own back....Still, always surprised how customers are totally outnumbered by enormous hordes of staff....do they clone them one wonders ?

 

[Toshiba66]

When I am really in need of someone to help me with a purchase all the staff seem to have their heads buried in their phones. Hard to get help when you need it most. 

[Toshiba66]

7 minutes ago, Crossy said:

"security"

 

Makro is the same, the man spends a minute or so looking at the (metre long) receipt before stamping it. There is no way he's checked the content of our two trolleys in that time.

Same as security getting on the BTS. They flash their torch over whats at the top of the bag. Never check whats in the bag. Makes me chuckle each time I see it.

[Prbkk]

All too familiar. The day I bought a (ridiculously expensive) coffee machine the sales girl looked like the cat that got the cream, presumably from the windfall commission; meanwhile the boy who usually sells me stuff looked very down in the mouth when observing the sale. 

They are nice kids, poorly paid and it's management who force them into the stalking thing.

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, Toshiba66 said:

When I am really in need of someone to help me with a purchase all the staff seem to have their heads buried in their phones. Hard to get help when you need it most. 

 

Oh that's soooo true

 

Zillions of staff trying to sell me something I don't want, none to help me buy something I do.

 

I find the appliance sales people the most annoying, because they are on commission they want to sell you "their" brand and not the one next door. Whereas the paint and hardware staff do actually seem to know what they have, where it is, and at least something about it (the colour).

 

For small items I like to go to our local Mystery Shop (hardware store), zero English spoken so I'm armed with a photo or a sample. I've rarely been disappointed (down to getting a priming bulb for my Honda brush-cutter).

 

 

[steven100]

1 hour ago, Colabamumbai said:

There is one service industry that does quite well in Thailand, regardless of the language.

that wouldn't be the boom boom industry by any chance would it    .........  

[SpeakeasyThai]

7 - 11 is a different story. You are in a line waiting to be served whilst only 1 of the staff is prepared to serve. Meanwhile, the other three are either playing on their phones, or trying to look busing not serving the customer, or the usual Thai trait of mopping the floor. When you finally do get served they take an endless amount of time counting your change before giving it to you. The only saving grace at 7-11 is that when you hand over a 1,000 baht note they don't have the usual Thai meltdown and go into panic mode calling up their friends and family trying to russtle up the change from a 1,000 baht. The last time i had to wait 15 minutes for my change out of a 1,000 note that was not a 7 -11 shop!!

Edited April 19, 2017 by SpeakeasyThai

[PremiumLane]

I feel sorry for the sales staff, bunch of grumpy old farrangs speaking to them in horrible pidgin Thai that no one can understand and expecting 5 start service in a Tesco Lotus.

 

Just thought I would throw that one into the mix 

[scottiejohn]

I just do the silent ‘camera’ trick for non food stuff shopping. Put phone to camera mode, walk around talking to self on phone (no interruptions from staff while talking on phone) find the items I am interested in then take photos/video the items I like. Walk out go the café or home, research the items, go back straight to the item I want and demand it. No discussion, no nothing.

[PezJon]

 

Many Thai stores do not understand the concept of "window/browsing" I do it. Hot season cool shop great combo.

 

At a main car dealership english training session(I was a guest) I asked what did they do when a Ferang came in the show room "go hide" so why are you trying to lean english? Find ferange husband. All my own experiance. Life is fun in Thailand ?

 

Some months before I did go to that dealership I searched for somebody to help in the end I found(cornerd) a manager in a second floor office.

[electric]

Up here in M.Buriram, we have IQ, Thai Watsadu, Global, Home Pro, Homemaker, and many others that I cannot remember. Too many stores all flogging the same stuff. How the hell any of them make a profit is unknown. At most of them, the sales stalkers outnumber the customers by a long way.

 

Anyway ..... we also have one very large independently owned non aligned hardware store that totally outshines all the biggies. To compete with the bigger franchise opposition, this store has several fantastic aces up their sleeve.

 

1 - The owner is very hands on in the store. He has endless product promotions with scantily clad lasses, workshop demos,  free car washes, family days etc etc, all very well advertised in the community. These events are a lot of fun and draw big crowds of locals and expats.

 

2 - He's also a very savvy owner. To tap into the large expat English speaking customer base, he has permanently employed an American as a floor walker. All legit. As soon as a farang walks through the door, the American guy magically appears and offers his assistance. His product knowledge is superb, and you never leave the store without your intended purchase. It's brilliant in every way. Only store I've ever experienced this.

 

For many of us farangs in Buriram, this independent store is our first and only stop when sourcing anything hardware related.

[ratcatcher]

There is an interesting difference between big DIY stores like Home Pro, Do-Home, Global and Thai Watsadu and their North American counterparts.

In Thailand. the staff may know where the product is but have , in most cases never used it or seen it used. At Home Depot, in Canada anyway, they employ large numbers of retired men and women who have years of experience and know the safety features, benbefits and drawbacks of many tools and products. As others have said, they try to push the make that is on sale or where their commission is greatest.

Going into a major Thai department or DIY store and expecting to have a conversation in English is ignorant to say the least. It always helps if you can speak some Thai.

As some posters have suggested, have a picture of what you want or access to Google to show the staff. They are usually trying to be helpful, but in many cases when they see a farang, they panic and prefer to say "Mai mee - no have", in which case you either leave or continue your search. In my experience, female staff in the big stores are often more helpful than some of the males.

None of these staff members have proper sales training, where they ask a few polite questions and make  suggestions, it is often the fault of management that they annoy customers .