Attitude of Shop Owners in Pattaya

[Daveyh]

I just hate shopping here these days ....... all the fun of bartering etc seems to be gone & replaced by aggressive behavior, which is so upsetting. Most of the time the attitude I've experienced of late is "take it or leave it" in town when entering a local shop, followed by impolite & arrogant remarks for commenting something is too expensive etc ...... so I say & buy very little these days due to this. If it's not available in a supermarket I just don't buy it now. This aggressive behavior seems to be more so, when I'm looking for something specific, mainly with female local shop owners or staff that seem to look upon you as a nuisance & could'nt care less whether you buy anything or not as long as it does not distract them from their smart phones for too long. If you don't buy what they think you should, it becomes too difficult for them to comprehend what you really want  & "patience not being a virtue" for a local .......... the situation becomes confrontational immediately. I avoid any contact with female staff now in local shops as I find them too aggressive & rude ....... especially those that have a working knowledge of english. Thai ladies are very vocal in their own language at the best of times, in English it's even louder ....... I do find it very intimidating & embarassing knowing full well any attempt in explaining just makes the "loss of face" thing rear it's ugly head .......   Has anyone else experienced this?  

[Jingthing]

Nope.

AVOIDANCE is the key to "happiness" here:

 

http://www.lazada.co.th/

[KittenKong]

9 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

all the fun of bartering etc seems to be gone

 

Bartering has never been fun as far as I'm concerned and there are about 10 million things I would rather do than talk to Thai shopkeepers, including having my fingernails extracted.

 

So I just do all my shopping in supermarkets or online or in fact anywhere where I never need to talk to anyone about it.

[ChidlomDweller]

I hate bartering.  Give me fixed prices any day, and if it's too expensive I walk.  What kills the fun of shopping is being followed by salespeople staring at me like a lovelorn retarded teenager.  

[inThailand]

Yes, being tailed by the police like your a criminal is a good customer experience.

Just walk around, back track and soon they are tired and will return to a stationary smartphone position, and now you can shop in peace.

[Jessi]

Same as the OP. Im fed up with their B/S... buying more on LAZADA these days.

[Ulysses G.]

I had a business mostly directed at Westerners with fixed prices and numerous signs posted pointing it out. I never had any problem with Thais try to bargain, but the occasional farang would argue and argue about it and it was always items that I could easily sell for their marked price. It was one of the most annoying things about having a business in Thailand. 

[Daveyh]

Hmmmm ............... replies so far seem to confirm my thoughts on the attitude to foreigners shopping in Pattaya. Perhaps some of these elderly ladies in the local shops once worked in the "tourist trade", learnt some english, developed an attitude problem & ended up in retail? Whatever the problem is the cultural divide has never been this crass .......... & I've been coming here since my military days in 1964. I still really love coming here, but it's so sad to see such a fragmented society. Tried 2/3 day trips away from Pattaya, but same result in most places ..... disappointing. Perhaps the hordes of tourists from asia & ToT policy has upset the balance of "fun city" & locals are really upset about their loss of daily income. If Kho Lan is anything to go by ....... ToT really need a rethink. The island & those nearby are already on my "avoid" list. How can anyone possibly relax there now? ............ atittude is key, but the locals seem to miss that by a mile ..... unreal what is happening on these islands. Staying home is not the answer, but probably safer for most of us expats from europe & the US.  

[robblok]

24 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

Hmmmm ............... replies so far seem to confirm my thoughts on the attitude to foreigners shopping in Pattaya. Perhaps some of these elderly ladies in the local shops once worked in the "tourist trade", learnt some english, developed an attitude problem & ended up in retail? Whatever the problem is the cultural divide has never been this crass .......... & I've been coming here since my military days in 1964. I still really love coming here, but it's so sad to see such a fragmented society. Tried 2/3 day trips away from Pattaya, but same result in most places ..... disappointing. Perhaps the hordes of tourists from asia & ToT policy has upset the balance of "fun city" & locals are really upset about their loss of daily income. If Kho Lan is anything to go by ....... ToT really need a rethink. The island & those nearby are already on my "avoid" list. How can anyone possibly relax there now? ............ atittude is key, but the locals seem to miss that by a mile ..... unreal what is happening on these islands. Staying home is not the answer, but probably safer for most of us expats from europe & the US.  

Sorry but i feel your a bit dramatic here maybe it has something to do with your age. I can understand if elderly its easy to get scared.  Anyway use lazada, here in the outskirts of BKK I have never had the problem with people getting aggressive. But I do speak some of the language and tourists are a rare sight here. So they are not bored with tourist. If you ever read about Spain they got fed up with the drunk tourists too and became more agressive. Its what happens when there are too many tourists as that means there are many bad tourists too. 

[robblok]

32 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

I had a business mostly directed at Westerners with fixed prices and numerous signs posted pointing it out. I never had any problem with Thais try to bargain, but the occasional farang would argue and argue about it and it was always items that I could easily sell for their marked price. It was one of the most annoying things about having a business in Thailand. 

The most annoying thing of having a business nowadays is getting your money after you delivered a service (can't do upfront payment all the time). That is what I seen with all my clients.. people not paying. In your trade that was not a problem.

[Daveyh]

8 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

I had a business mostly directed at Westerners with fixed prices and numerous signs posted pointing it out. I never had any problem with Thais try to bargain, but the occasional farang would argue and argue about it and it was always items that I could easily sell for their marked price. It was one of the most annoying things about having a business in Thailand. 

Think if "fixed prices" are posted then everyone knows not to bargain ........ only idiots would try this, However, the fixed/marked prices method was adopted in some shops to show transparency to customers & came about because of some vendors were continually "ripping off" the unwise. Retail is really something you need the stomach for as contact with the general public on a daily basis can become a chore if you do not enjoy it. If it annoyed you that much then it's definitely right to quit or your business suffers & you've done the right thing. Personally anyone that has a business here is living on "borrowed time" , especially if you are a non-citizen.  

[Ulysses G.]

Just now, Daveyh said:

Think if "fixed prices" are posted then everyone knows not to bargain ........ only idiots would try this

That was my point. However, so few idiots do it that it is just something that you have to put up with. Luckily, it was only a few times a week. Most people are considerate. 

[catman20]

8 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

Bartering has never been fun as far as I'm concerned and there are about 10 million things I would rather do than talk to Thai shopkeepers, including having my fingernails extracted.

 

So I just do all my shopping in supermarkets or online or in fact anywhere where I never need to talk to anyone about it.

The least you have to do with these people the better. I'm sure they feel the same way about us.

[Daveyh]

3 minutes ago, robblok said:

Sorry but i feel your a bit dramatic here maybe it has something to do with your age. I can understand if elderly its easy to get scared.  Anyway use lazada, here in the outskirts of BKK I have never had the problem with people getting aggressive. But I do speak some of the language and tourists are a rare sight here. So they are not bored with tourist. If you ever read about Spain they got fed up with the drunk tourists too and became more agressive. Its what happens when there are too many tourists as that means there are many bad tourists too. 

Your thoughts are way off ....... being polite when entering stores as a farang costs nothing & it's nothing to do with age. . Abuse from locals without cause is something I cannot/will not accept & just do an "about turn" & leave. Any reaction is definitely not a safe policy here as you are well aware, especially being farang. Drunkeness is not the issue here ..... just a normal day's shopping whether your a tourist or Expat is being discussed whether it's fun or not.

[Daveyh]

58 minutes ago, Jessi said:

Same as the OP. Im fed up with their B/S... buying more on LAZADA these days.

Is there a LAZADA in Pattaya or one planned for the future?

[Techno Viking]

52 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

Hmmmm ............... replies so far seem to confirm my thoughts on the attitude to foreigners shopping in Pattaya. Perhaps some of these elderly ladies in the local shops once worked in the "tourist trade", learnt some english, developed an attitude problem & ended up in retail? Whatever the problem is the cultural divide has never been this crass .......... & I've been coming here since my military days in 1964. I still really love coming here, but it's so sad to see such a fragmented society. Tried 2/3 day trips away from Pattaya, but same result in most places ..... disappointing. Perhaps the hordes of tourists from asia & ToT policy has upset the balance of "fun city" & locals are really upset about their loss of daily income. If Kho Lan is anything to go by ....... ToT really need a rethink. The island & those nearby are already on my "avoid" list. How can anyone possibly relax there now? ............ atittude is key, but the locals seem to miss that by a mile ..... unreal what is happening on these islands. Staying home is not the answer, but probably safer for most of us expats from europe & the US.  

What ToT ( Telecom Of Thailand) policy are you talking about ?

[Chou Anou]

5 minutes ago, Techno Viking said:

What ToT ( Telecom Of Thailand) policy are you talking about ?

Oh, hey, here's an idea: maybe, just MAYBE he meant to write "TAT."  Ya think?  But no, if you had thought that logically, you might have had to actually respond to his content, and you would have missed a chance to play spelling cop. 

[Techno Viking]

1 minute ago, Chou Anou said:

Oh, hey, here's an idea: maybe, just MAYBE he meant to write "TAT."  Ya think?  But no, if you had thought that logically, you might have had to actually respond to his content, and you would have missed a chance to play spelling cop. 

Well that fact he said ToT twice I figured it was not a typo.

[inThailand]

Haven't many of these smaller shops employed posting prices? Thais know this is the falang price and he will get a lower one.

[poohy]

Don't think this is just a Pattaya problem as although i try to avoid any dealing with the locals as much as possible ,i do hear my Mrs who is not a local from the town (Thai from Bangkok ) complain about rude lazy staff at shops here in Prachuap.

[robblok]

42 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

Your thoughts are way off ....... being polite when entering stores as a farang costs nothing & it's nothing to do with age. . Abuse from locals without cause is something I cannot/will not accept & just do an "about turn" & leave. Any reaction is definitely not a safe policy here as you are well aware, especially being farang. Drunkeness is not the issue here ..... just a normal day's shopping whether your a tourist or Expat is being discussed whether it's fun or not.

You don't get the point at all.. people in tourist area's get bored with tourist after a while because of bad ones. Age has something to do with how easily someone scares and given that you are scared to go shopping (not normal) id say its a factor.

Anyway if you move away from tourist area's you will see Thais respond differently because they are not flooded by tourists.

[Emster23]

A slight tip or two... first I would never say to the shop person "It is too expensive". I would rather ask "Can we take the price down a bit?". "Too expensive" implies they are ripping you off (which, granted, they may be trying to do) and then it becomes question of face and all that baggage that goes with it.

 Maybe treat sales clerk like Trump: give a few compliments, smile, etc and dispose them towards seeing you as chai dee person.

[1FinickyOne]

Yesterday I needed a new wire for an ipod charger... the salesladies at the kiosk were very nice - I was appreciative of the time they took to make sure I needed the wire, even charged the ipod while I went shopping... and when I came back to pay, w/o my asking, they dropped the price from 359 to 300 baht.. 

 

Yes, the conversation was all in Thai and I live in the countryside... 

[Lamkyong]

1 hour ago, Daveyh said:

Is there a LAZADA in Pattaya or one planned for the future?

i am not sure but i think LAZADA is an online company only  no retail outlets as such

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

Yesterday I needed a new wire for an ipod charger... the salesladies at the kiosk were very nice - I was appreciative of the time they took to make sure I needed the wire, even charged the ipod while I went shopping... and when I came back to pay, w/o my asking, they dropped the price from 359 to 300 baht.. 

 

Yes, the conversation was all in Thai and I live in the countryside... 

Yes things quickly change when you move outside the tourist area's. Also speaking Thai really helps I also often get a discount without asking. To be honest I hate haggling bout stuff. I life bit outside BKK so not really in the country side but there are not many tourists here. So that really helps because getting tourist sick is normal for people working there. When I go to tourist area's im always surprised at how rude some tourists are. 

[giddyup]

36 minutes ago, robblok said:

You don't get the point at all.. people in tourist area's get bored with tourist after a while because of bad ones. Age has something to do with how easily someone scares and given that you are scared to go shopping (not normal) id say its a factor.

Anyway if you move away from tourist area's you will see Thais respond differently because they are not flooded by tourists.

What do you base your age related negative comments on? Are you an expert on how people behave after a certain age? I don't think the OP is scared, he would just rather not shop where people are aggressive, nothing wrong with that. If he lives in a tourist area, as I do, he's not going to move away just because of aggressive shopkeepers, he'll probably just restrict his shopping to fixed price stores. Shopkeepers who make their living from the tourist trade need to realise what side their bread is buttered and treat customers a bit more respectfully.

[Daveyh]

1 hour ago, Techno Viking said:

What ToT ( Telecom Of Thailand) policy are you talking about ?

Apologies ........ TAT I mean. You & everyone else surely guessed it was a typo ........ although repeated in my text. 

 

[Daveyh]

1 hour ago, Techno Viking said:

Well that fact he said ToT twice I figured it was not a typo.

Go figure dude ...... it was. Surely you realize that?

 

[Daveyh]

37 minutes ago, robblok said:

You don't get the point at all.. people in tourist area's get bored with tourist after a while because of bad ones. Age has something to do with how easily someone scares and given that you are scared to go shopping (not normal) id say its a factor.

Anyway if you move away from tourist area's you will see Thais respond differently because they are not flooded by tourists.

If your trying to make a point think it through first. People should be treated the same .... whether they are tourists or not. Age has nothing to do with this at all! Don't make excuses for Thai's behavior ..... again good manners cost nothing. As money is No. 1 in Thailand why is this such a problem for them?

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Chou Anou said:

Oh, hey, here's an idea: maybe, just MAYBE he meant to write "TAT."  Ya think?  But no, if you had thought that logically, you might have had to actually respond to his content, and you would have missed a chance to play spelling cop. 

Respond to what content exactly? This looks like yet another morning meeting of the  Pattaya branch of the Thailand 'glass half empty' club.

 

When Thai Immigration finally gets their act together, I really do hope they install a really substantial door with a strong door closing spring at their departure gates.