So… here’s just a couple of examples as to how frustrating or amusing (depending on how long after the event you think about it) living in Thailand can be.
A while ago a few of us got together for a curry on a Sunday night. We were supposed to be going out but decided to order in from the Indian place just down the road. Now this being Thailand we already know that it’s pretty pointless to do a large order over the phone as it’s likely that under 50% of it will arrive correctly, so it seemed the sensible thing to walk round, place the order then walk back and collect and the order. Quite a pain for take out, but from experience it is the quickest way to do it in the long run.
When we got the food home, after reading through the receipt carefully at the restaurant, we realized that 3 dishes were missing. After a further 3 person, 10 minute conversation on the phone they sent the food around. We then had to explain to a very confused delivery guy that we had already paid for the dishes. He went away without any money scratching his head and then came back ten minutes later, still scratching his head with 150 baht change (about £2). We were not quite sure what that was for but took pity on the guy and gave it him as a tip, which confused him even further.
The next incident occurred a couple of weeks ago when Nick and I invested in a Cross Trainer (Elliptical Machine). We were both needed to get in shape fast before our trip to Canada. We went to the local store and ordered one to be delivered the next day at 16.00. The next day we get a call from the store saying that the machine couldn’t be delivered that day as the truck was broken. Again from experience we had expected something like this. We were advised that it would be delivered on time the following day. Around lunchtime the next day we got another call saying it couldn’t be delivered that day. When quizzed as to why they eventually admitted that they didn’t have the model we ordered but it would be with us the next day. Now I still have Western expectations of customer service, so I kicked up a bit of a fuss over the fact that apparently they had the model the day before but the truck was broken, and now the truck was fixed but they didn’t have the model. At this point they offered to deliver a better model for the same price at 16.00 that day. Obviously they didn’t like being asked difficult questions.
By 18.30 that evening when we were supposed to be out, it still hadn’t been delivered. When I called to check what was happening they said it would be arriving around 21.30. When I asked why the guy said he’d check and call back. He called back to say it was ok, it would be delivered at 2.00. When I asked if this was 2.00 in the middle of the night, he said yes. While he was saying this the cross trainer arrived. Obviously a missing link in the communication somewhere, very very typical for here.
Unfortunately this long story doesn’t end here. When the men put the machine together they found that a small unimportant piece of plastic was missing. They advised they would come back the next day with the part. The next day the came back with not just the piece of plastic, but an entire new cross trainer that they had to put together.
Stuff like this happens daily. If you go by the logic that you have grown up with then it can drive you insane. I often lose it and have to keep reminding myself of that famous saying, T.I.T, This is Thailand, get used to it. If there is a difficult or illogical way of doing something then you can guarantee that this is how it will be done.
A while ago a few of us got together for a curry on a Sunday night. We were supposed to be going out but decided to order in from the Indian place just down the road. Now this being Thailand we already know that it’s pretty pointless to do a large order over the phone as it’s likely that under 50% of it will arrive correctly, so it seemed the sensible thing to walk round, place the order then walk back and collect and the order. Quite a pain for take out, but from experience it is the quickest way to do it in the long run.
When we got the food home, after reading through the receipt carefully at the restaurant, we realized that 3 dishes were missing. After a further 3 person, 10 minute conversation on the phone they sent the food around. We then had to explain to a very confused delivery guy that we had already paid for the dishes. He went away without any money scratching his head and then came back ten minutes later, still scratching his head with 150 baht change (about £2). We were not quite sure what that was for but took pity on the guy and gave it him as a tip, which confused him even further.
The next incident occurred a couple of weeks ago when Nick and I invested in a Cross Trainer (Elliptical Machine). We were both needed to get in shape fast before our trip to Canada. We went to the local store and ordered one to be delivered the next day at 16.00. The next day we get a call from the store saying that the machine couldn’t be delivered that day as the truck was broken. Again from experience we had expected something like this. We were advised that it would be delivered on time the following day. Around lunchtime the next day we got another call saying it couldn’t be delivered that day. When quizzed as to why they eventually admitted that they didn’t have the model we ordered but it would be with us the next day. Now I still have Western expectations of customer service, so I kicked up a bit of a fuss over the fact that apparently they had the model the day before but the truck was broken, and now the truck was fixed but they didn’t have the model. At this point they offered to deliver a better model for the same price at 16.00 that day. Obviously they didn’t like being asked difficult questions.
By 18.30 that evening when we were supposed to be out, it still hadn’t been delivered. When I called to check what was happening they said it would be arriving around 21.30. When I asked why the guy said he’d check and call back. He called back to say it was ok, it would be delivered at 2.00. When I asked if this was 2.00 in the middle of the night, he said yes. While he was saying this the cross trainer arrived. Obviously a missing link in the communication somewhere, very very typical for here.
Unfortunately this long story doesn’t end here. When the men put the machine together they found that a small unimportant piece of plastic was missing. They advised they would come back the next day with the part. The next day the came back with not just the piece of plastic, but an entire new cross trainer that they had to put together.
Stuff like this happens daily. If you go by the logic that you have grown up with then it can drive you insane. I often lose it and have to keep reminding myself of that famous saying, T.I.T, This is Thailand, get used to it. If there is a difficult or illogical way of doing something then you can guarantee that this is how it will be done.
