Boycott Boots Pharmacy At Thapae Gate

[bungalowbill]

Didn't they close the Boots on Chang Klan near the night Bazzaar? Maybe the new one in Tapae gate is where they moved it to. Other than that I think there's only two or three more in town. I go there because they carry the shampoo I like and always have condoms (the right size). I do use the other Pharmacys though for drugs, ecpecially when I don't have a prescription. But I'll support you on starbucks they can kiss my a..

Yes I did notice that they carry a line of extra small condoms.

"noticed" or "found"..... we'll add you to the list of satisfied boots customers...

[PeaceBlondie]

On another thread, maybe in the Health Forum, somebody pointed out that Boots and Watson's are mostly stores for cosmetics. I needed antibiotics when I was in Patpong (not for STD's), and one store like Boots had nothing, and the other store like Watson's would have to call across Bangkok to get it delivered. Neither would sell Viagra or Kamagra

Another nice thing about the good pharmacy just east of Tha Pae gate, is that they always have Kamagra in stock. That reminds me.....

[john b good]

I would wager that if you had a bunch of plain bottles without labels and filled them with a variety of Scottish beverages they wouldn't know one from the other

I wouldn't either, and neither would anyone else I know...

That wasn't the point in question (and I think that you are savvy enough to know that as well)

Thai's buy on fashion / trendiness etc., and not on quality.

When the price of mobile telephones here in the realm were the most expensive of pretty well anywhere in the world people would carry the shop dummy phones around so they could be seen with them in their possession.

A few years back when I was looking for a good hi-fi midi system the wife was more interested in what it looked like rather than the performance.

The point was that a good Dewars, Ballantynes etc., is every bit as good as Chivas and or Black (and likely better) but they are not "fashionable"

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I went to the Black Canyon that was at Sompetch Gold Place and ordered an iced coffee - they actually took a jug of coffee from the fridge and made it from that. They seemed to have no idea of what their market actually was. They didn't sell food and only sold Thai style cakes.

I think it is reasons like that that made them close down.

Although I do think that area of Chiang Mai loses it's charm when more multi-nationals come in - and I would include Black-Canyon in that category.

Edited December 23, 2006 by The Dan Sai Kid

[Donnyboy]

I frequent Starbucks on Changklan quite often due to the fact that the staff are friendly, I can relax and read the paper and feel at home there. I dont mind paying extra for the coffee, because I see extra value in what they offer. Ive tried the new Doi Chaang Coffee down the road and I prefer the Starbucks' coffee even thou I pay about 20-30 baht more per serving.

I have tried most local coffee houses in the area but most dont have what it takes to keep me coming back.

I dont have an opinion on Boots but I do see the old man pharmacist on Changklan (in the night market) for my pharmacy needs as I have for a couple of years now.

Why a multi-national would continue to trade at a loss making site makes me wonder. They shouldnt be open more than a couple of years if the trend continues as it wouldnt make economic sense to stay open. They are accountable to shareholders at the end of the day. So I wouldnt count Boots to be at Thapae Gate for more than 18 months if theyre not making money.

[Donnyboy]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

[cmsally]

I would wager that if you had a bunch of plain bottles without labels and filled them with a variety of Scottish beverages they wouldn't know one from the other.

We have some bottles of very expensive whiskey - like Swing and Blue Label that we refill (with cheaper stuff) when we need to impress people. No one ever notices the difference. They only look at the bottle and the price tag.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Swings not that great - just a gimmick.

And I don't get the Thai fascination with blended whisky - give me a malt anyday!

[Donnyboy]

Swings not that great - just a gimmick.

And I don't get the Thai fascination with blended whisky - give me a malt anyday!

have you tried Gentlemen Jack? great stuff smoooooootthhhh as

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Afraid I am a Malt man. I have noticed a heap of bars around CM sell watered down malts though...

[john b good]

I would wager that if you had a bunch of plain bottles without labels and filled them with a variety of Scottish beverages they wouldn't know one from the other.

We have some bottles of very expensive whiskey - like Swing and Blue Label that we refill (with cheaper stuff) when we need to impress people. No one ever notices the difference. They only look at the bottle and the price tag.

Sally you must come from Australia (Tasmania perhaps)

I must try that with my empty "Royal Salute" bottles

[Ulysses G.]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I visited the new Boots - which UG has inadvertantly given a massive plug - and found a beard-trimmer for sale. I have been looking for one of those in CM for months! My goatee now has a much smoother feel!

[john b good]

I visited the new Boots - which UG has inadvertantly given a massive plug - and found a beard-trimmer for sale. I have been looking for one of those in CM for months! My goatee now has a much smoother feel!

What make and price? My Philips has gone belly up.

[Ulysses G.]

I visited the new Boots - which UG has inadvertantly given a massive plug

You are right. Everybody looking for micro-condoms for micro-penises will be rushing down there!

[Blinky Bill]

I would wager that if you had a bunch of plain bottles without labels and filled them with a variety of Scottish beverages they wouldn't know one from the other.

We have some bottles of very expensive whiskey - like Swing and Blue Label that we refill (with cheaper stuff) when we need to impress people. No one ever notices the difference. They only look at the bottle and the price tag.

Look out..........You're not allowed to talk about Alcoholic beverages on this thread...........Meadish will close it in a wink........

[meadish_sweetball]

Aussie humour at its best. No wonder your comedians are touring the world in triumph.

[Little Black Duck]

Aussie humour at its best. No wonder your comedians are touring the world in triumph.

Wonder what Kevin Bloody Wilson would make of this lot ????

[fruittbatt]

The colonisation of Thailand by foreign-owned corporations will have far-reaching effects: on property rents, cultural values, who gets the tourist and the local buck 'n' baht, distribution of wealth, and what constitutes "Thai-ness".

As posters have already pointed out, local pharmacists who provide a good service will be squeezed out by the big names like Boots with their exotic foreign beauty products (whitening cream galore), nose-hair extractors and other rubbish. I do agree with Taxexile that it is important to impose quality control on pharmaceuticals, but importing MNC's hardly seems like the way to go. Government regulation and inspection would sort out bad medicine.

Slightly off-topic, but something that gets me reacting every time is the Starbucks Tha-Pae electricity box, which protrudes right out from the corner of the footpath, and constitutes yet another pedestrian hazard IMHO. I wrote a message on it last year suggesting that all who considered it dangerous complain to management. I had mentioned the positioning of the box to Starbucks staff myself, but was told the placement was temporary...a year later it seems to be permanently temporary. If Starbucks thinks so little of pedestrians and safety measures, they can keep their dishwater that passes for "coffee". Wawee for me every time.

[Donnyboy]

Regarding multinations- have just downloaded a google video on them- and the world bank.

Google Video -The new rulers of the world-John Pilger.

Edited December 24, 2006 by Donnyboy

[Ajarn]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

How do you know? I suspect the figure as being primarily gossip, with nothing and nobody to back the story... True, or not?

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I visited the new Boots - which UG has inadvertantly given a massive plug - and found a beard-trimmer for sale. I have been looking for one of those in CM for months! My goatee now has a much smoother feel!

What make and price? My Philips has gone belly up.

It's Boots' own make: Battery powered and only 500 baht - I was destined to have a skanky beard til UG posted!

[Donnyboy]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

How do you know? I suspect the figure as being primarily gossip, with nothing and nobody to back the story... True, or not?

probably but Ive heard McDonalds on Changklan pays 200,000+ plus per month- rumour of course- now thats alot of hamburgers!!

so 75k per month for a Starbucks would sound right.

[john b good]

I visited the new Boots - which UG has inadvertantly given a massive plug - and found a beard-trimmer for sale. I have been looking for one of those in CM for months! My goatee now has a much smoother feel!

What make and price? My Philips has gone belly up.

It's Boots' own make: Battery powered and only 500 baht - I was destined to have a skanky beard til UG posted!

Many thanks. I will go take a look.

My Philips cost me around 2,000 baht in Dubai at the airport. I guess that nothing lasts for ever.

[Ajarn]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

How do you know? I suspect the figure as being primarily gossip, with nothing and nobody to back the story... True, or not?

probably but Ive heard McDonalds on Changklan pays 200,000+ plus per month- rumour of course- now thats alot of hamburgers!!

so 75k per month for a Starbucks would sound right.

Yes, but that kind of thinking puts everything in 'my fantasy' Mode, it would seem to me. Not bad, but not usefull to others.

(I'm not in a bad mood )

[Ulysses G.]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

How do you know? I suspect the figure as being primarily gossip, with nothing and nobody to back the story... True, or not?

I am neighbors and friends with the landlord who owns the propery that both Boots and Starbucks are renting, so my figures should be correct.

[Ulysses G.]

probably but Ive heard McDonalds on Changklan pays 200,000+ plus per month- rumour of course- now thats alot of hamburgers!!

That is the correct rent for the space right next to Mcdonalds in the same building, so that is probably right too.

[Ajarn]

I have to admit that I'm getting tired of International companies like Starbucks, 7-11 and Boots coming in and destroying Thai owned businesses that are already doing a good job. The International Pigs pay absurd amounts of rent to get into the best areas, and eventually, no small business people can afford good locations anymore; the rent goes up so high that they have to move elsewhere.

Boots Pharmacy just moved into Thapae Gate and they have nothing to offer that the stores that are there already are not providing. There is a wonderful woman with a pharmacy just inside the gate who provides much better service and at lower prices than Boots ever will and a bunch of other decent pharmacies as well.

Unfortunately, these International companies seem to be able to lose money for years until they can drive out all their competition, so in the long run consumers don't have a choice.

Starbucks at Thapae Gate is paying an amazingly high rent with almost no customers, yet there they sit, waiting for the rents in the area to get so high that no competitors can afford to be near them. Then they can raise their silly prices even higher.

out of interest, what would the rent be ?

75,000 baht per month, but Starbucks also pretty much tore the old building down and then rebuilt it from the ground up as part of the rental agreement. That cost a pretty sum for a business that seems to average about 10 customers a day in the middle of high season, but the landlords are sitting pretty!

How do you know? I suspect the figure as being primarily gossip, with nothing and nobody to back the story... True, or not?

I am neighbors and friends with the landlord who owns the propery that both Boots and Starbucks are renting, so my figures should be correct.

Okay, good to hear some facts

[chuchok]

So, do they sell shoes as well as boots?

[Cyberstar]

I'm a generally lucky guy who've never needed any doctor's or pharmasist's help for anything but vaccinations except for a single event in my youth where i bended a rib by raising a bicycle to the top of a flagpole (they get very heavy up there). However, this summer I got some problem with my eye that a Google search told me was an eye infection ... Oh no, I thought, how can I ever pay the hospital bills in this backward country? ... I went to Peera Pharmacy, told her my symptons and had her look into (or I suspect she just looked on) my eye ... She sold me two remedies for a total of 85 baht (one to rinse the eye and one to exterminate the bacteria) ... Two days later the rinsing thing was used up and I went to Peera to buy a new sample. Instead of grabbing the opportunity of a regular customer, she (surprised by the fact that the firste sample had gone so fast) told me: It isn't good for the eye, that you rinse it three times a day - one time is better... My eye infection (which made me think in terms of a life as blind) was totally cured for 120 baht about a week after I "consulted" Peera.

Would Boots - or whatever - have staff that would detect a misuse of the remedies they sold?