What is the Average IQ for Workers?

[TotallyOz]

This is my rant for the day. I order from WOW Delivery on a regular basis. 1/2 the time they mess up the order. I order precisely what is on their menu. I confirm with the lady the order and still they can't seem to get it right.

 

Yesterday, I wanted to buy a 27inch Samsung Monitor for the BF. We went to Central and to Banana IT and they didn't have one but they said they could order one. They went online, filled in all the information, ordered it, took a 3k baht deposit. I waited till they confirmed everything. I then left the store. They called me back later to tell me they didn't have that model any longer and could not order it but could order another model that was 2k baht more. You mean after they ordered it, and I paid, they found out they could not take the order? And, then, they didn't want to give a refund of the deposit. It just made me want to drive to Bangkok to buy it.

 

A few days back, I wanted to buy seats for next week's The Hobbit. I saw online they were for sale. I wanted the loveseats which online did not sale. I called the theater and asked if I could come in the next day to get them and they said yes. I went the next day and they said not for sale yet and even spoke to the manager who said not for sale. I told them I could buy online and they said I could not that it was impossible to buy the Hobbit in Pattaya. So, I went online and ordered the regular seats even though the manager told me it was not possible to do.

 

I pretty much hate buying anything in Pattaya because the sales people usually don't know anything about the product. I do not blame them but I do wonder how they sell as much as they do when they can never answer any questions about anything.

 

OK. Rant for the day is done!

[Guest timmberty]

and you have lived there for how long michael ?

[Guest thaiworthy]

Haha! I really like timmberty's answer. Sorry, Michael . . . he's right. That's the way it is. You know that. If you see it, can touch it, can take it home with you, then buy it. Otherwise, forget it.

[TotallyOz]

Funny you two!

 

No, I just get frustrated at times. Was in IT City yesterday and wanted to buy something and they didn't know the price. After 6 people came over to help still no one knew the price. 5 minutes later, no price. I just left. What else could I do? Sit and be patient like I should?

[Guest fountainhall]

It's been discussed quite a few times on this Board - Thai logic, and the difficulty we farang have in comprehending it.

 

I was talking to a friend yesterday after I went to TOPS supermarket in the newly refurbished Silom Complex. How long was the Complex closed? Six months? Then they open TOPS first in early October and we see that very little at all has changed in the supermarket. Yet, yesterday there were notices on all the large refrigerators effectively to inform customers that they were out of action as the store was upgrading them. Now would you not think it not only more logical, but also more reasonable and more cost-effective to upgrade the refrigerators during the 6-month down time?

 

Apparently, that's not the way TOPS management think!

[Guest thaiworthy]

What else could I do?

 

Do what I did today at Villa Market. Both Tesco and Emporium did not have molasses for me to make pumpernickel bread. I knew some store somewhere had to have it. Next on the list was Villa. Couldn't find it. Went to the manager with my handy-dandy iphone Thai to English translator and asked "Where is the molasses?" He didn't even look at my iphone for the Thai script, just said "No have." I was furious. I already had searched the sugar aisle where none could be found, then I went to the honey section and there it was. I grabbed a bottle and marched right back to the manager and proclaimed, "See?! You have molasses!"

 

He said. "So sorry."

 

Michael, my boy, this is something like that. Happens every day. If they don't have a price, go to another store. I went to three.

[Mysteryman]

A couple of years ago, we went to Big-C to buy a micro-owen for my bf:s aunt, with whom he stayed. I found a cheap, normal micro with no extras, and suddenly there was a young salesman, so I asked if he would suggest any other model. He could not point out any other in the same price range, so I decided we'll take that one.

 

He lifted the box down from the shelf, and begun open the package! I said no no, don't open it. He just smiled, and continued. Then he plugged it in the wall, and put it on heating! And, wow, it worked!! This is something that would never occur in my country. If I buy something here I am pretty confident with it will work. Of course you can have bad luck and get a defect product, but in Thailand they seem to expect it to be unfunctional, until proved othervise.

[Guest timmberty]

maybe they should take that approach in the gogo/ beer bars mysteryman .

you say what boy you want to off. then get to f***k them before you take them off ... just to make sure it does what it says on the label.

[Gaybutton]

None of these stories come as any surprise to me. The surprise would be when things go smoothly. We've illustrated the point many times over the years in various posts about how if you go to one bank and don't get the answer you want, just go to another branch of the same bank and you're almost certain to get an entirely different answer.

 

The most glaring example that comes to mind was the story a few years back about the farang who was going to take a trip to Laos. He held a retirement visa and went to immigration to buy a reentry permit. He was told that a trip to Laos does not require a reentry permit.

 

Off he went - without the permit. About two months after he returned he went to immigration to submit the 90-day address report. They told him he has overstayed his visa by more than a month and will have to pay the fine. That's when it was made clear to him that the information given to him was wrong and not only has he lost his retirement visa, but also has to pay the fine for the number of days he's overstayed.

 

Those were the days before you could get a retirement visa with only the 30-day privilege. He ended up having to pay the fine, leave Thailand and go to Singapore, get a new tourist visa, return to Thailand, and start the process all over again to get the retirement visa. By the time he was done, it had all cost him hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

 

Meanwhile, when he was told that he had lost his retirement visa because he didn't have a reentry permit he went to speak with the chief of the immigration office. He was told that the immigration officer was mistaken and there were several other farang in the same position, but the law is the law and they can't do anything to help him even though they knew he had been given erroneous information by their own officer.

 

Welcome to Thailand - That's just the way things are here. It can be very frustrating, for sure, but if you're going to live here you have two choices: One is to get frustrated and angry. The other is to accept that this is the way it works here and sooner or later (probably sooner) you're going to run into these kinds of problems.

 

As for Michael's monitor screen - I learned a long time ago not to give a deposit for anything around here. If one store doesn't have it, I'll look for it in another store. If I still can't find it, I'll do without whatever it is. But as soon as you hand over any money, if something goes wrong - even if it's their fault and they admit it's their fault - good luck ever getting any of it back.

[mahjongguy]

Hint: avoid asking "yes or no" questions. The odds are high that you will get "yes" when the correct response should be "maybe" or "no".

 

Trivia: if you test a large enough group, the average IQ will be close to 100, because that is the basis for the scale.

 

Opinion: the clerks you deal with are less at fault than their bosses. Mid- and upper-management have poor skills, so the customer-facing staff don't get good training.

[firecat69]

I agree with all the complaints above and yet it all falls on management. The reason I feel this way is I have never had any of these things happen at Kasikorn Bank or on their phone banking. I have always found the employees to be well trained and able to handle normal and unusual requests.

 

I find this to be the same at any of the large DTAC centers in Bangkok. Well trained and helpful and able to handle unusual questions or requests.

 

If they can do it then why can't all of the others . Poor management is always the problem !!!

[Gaybutton]

As an afterthought, when it comes to buying computer hardware, such as a monitor screen, another hard drive, DVD drive, or whatever, I no longer go to buy those things myself. I call Killin at 081 295 3860. He'll get what I need, will make sure it's best for my computer, he'll bring it to me, and he'll install it and make sure it works. He'll get it cheaper than I am ever able to find it myself. And he doesn't ask for a deposit.

[Guest]

Clearly Thailand doesn't have much in the way of consumer protection, if they can take a deposit, jack the price up by 2000k and refuse to return the deposit.

On the subject of shop refurbishments, I read that the Silom complex had closed for a refurb. Well, having just been there, I have to ask WHY? The restyle has been let down by shoddy workmanship and all they really needed to do was replace the flooring and paint the tired parts to give the consumer a similar impression. The latter could have probably been done overnight.

 

Finally, all these failings mean their economy is less successful than it should be. Which does have the side effect of creating a supply of affordable money boys, who might either be charging more or doing something else for living if the economy was more successful.

I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it can be beneficial to some.

[ChristianPFC]

This is Thailand!

 

I recently (September) had some scanning and printing to do in internet cafes, all of them have "internet, print, copy, scan, fax" advertised, but on average only one out of three were able to scan or print. So before sitting down for internet (which I needed in connection with print and/or scan) I first asked if they can sprint and/or scan.

[Guest timmberty]

This is Thailand!

 

I recently (September) had some scanning and printing to do in internet cafes, all of them have "internet, print, copy, scan, fax" advertised, but on average only one out of three were able to scan or print. So before sitting down for internet (which I needed in connection with print and/or scan) I first asked if they can SPRINT and/or scan.

 

haha christian .. do they need to be able to SPRINT, so if they cant print, they can run to the nearest net cafe to get the stuff done for you ... and bring it back !!!??

[Bob]

The most glaring example that comes to mind was the story a few years back about the farang who was going to take a trip to Laos. He held a retirement visa and went to immigration to buy a reentry permit. He was told that a trip to Laos does not require a reentry permit.

 

Off he went - without the permit. About two months after he returned he went to immigration to submit the 90-day address report. They told him he has overstayed his visa by more than a month and will have to pay the fine. That's when it was made clear to him that the information given to him was wrong and not only has he lost his retirement visa, but also has to pay the fine for the number of days he's overstayed.

 

While I agree things are hit or miss here, I'm a bit puzzled by that guy's experience. First, he must have been a newbe to the one-year visa (or anything other than the freebie 30-day) or he should have known better. Second, he must have run into the dumbest immigration officer in the country (any other officer would have known you need a re-entry permit and, besides, when did they not avail themselves of the opportunity to sell you something even though they knew you didn't need it?). Third, anybody that comes back into the country gets an entry stamp in his passport - and that stamp (in the case of a longer term visa) says right on it the date that it expires (e.g., I re-entered the country this past September and the stamp states right on it that my stay is authorized until May 27th - which is the expiration date of my annual visa). If he got the standard 30-day freebie, I think (sorry, I actually have none of those in my current passport), I think it also states the date of expiration. So it's sounds like maybe some compounded ignorance there.

 

Mysterman mentions the clerk plugged in the appliance to make sure it works. That's pretty standard practice anywhere I've been here.....whether a tv, sound system, vacuum cleaner, dvd player, microwave, or whatever. I'm not so sure that this practice stems from worry that the thing won't work - as they'll do the same thing with a "name brand" appliance - but perhaps a policy to make sure it works so you're happy and/or they get less returns or service calls.

[Guest snapshot]

Hey Michael... It's times like this you realise how much we take for granted the high standard of schooling and education we get in most Western nations. There's a certain level of intelligence, foresight, initiative and awareness which is completely missing from lots of service staff coming out of countries like Thailand, China, India etc.

 

If you think dealing with monkeys like this is frustrating, try employing and managing them!

 

I remember this conversation I had with my ex-boyfriend when he was convinced Thais customer service was the best and I disagreed.

 

The thing is, Thais are great at making you feel warm and welcome and having a genuine desire please the customer... All these attributes are a great asset but that tends to be all they're innately good at.

 

For everything else, they need solid training and on the job development to get up to the standard of service we expect. You have to make them understand the value and importance of being upfront and accurate with customers, thinking things through before saying "yes" or "no" to questions and being aware of how their actions affect others.

 

Mai Pen Rai really means "I don't give a toss" and that is unacceptable in customer service.

 

A couple of years ago, we went to Big-C to buy a micro-owen for my bf:s aunt, with whom he stayed. I found a cheap, normal micro with no extras, and suddenly there was a young salesman, so I asked if he would suggest any other model. He could not point out any other in the same price range, so I decided we'll take that one.

 

He lifted the box down from the shelf, and begun open the package! I said no no, don't open it. He just smiled, and continued. Then he plugged it in the wall, and put it on heating! And, wow, it worked!! This is something that would never occur in my country. If I buy something here I am pretty confident with it will work. Of course you can have bad luck and get a defect product, but in Thailand they seem to expect it to be unfunctional, until proved othervise.

 

They do that because their local customers - always wary of being cheated or screwed over - will often ask them to do that... so by volunteering to do it without being asked, the shop assistant is kind of pre-empting that request.

[Guest joseph44]

I don't really understand what this has to do with IQ?

It's all about: interest, loyalty and dedication.

Furthermore........the logistic managers of big stores aren't really bothered of putting an item on "minimum stock" in their ERP system.

[Guest abang]

Communication is the main key to success.

I know, the lack of proficiency in the Thai language is making things worst for us, the foreigners.

 

It is so frustrating to ask for directions in the past.

Now, thanks to technology, I just have to rely on my tablet for directions.

 

Most Thais shop assistants try their level best to please the customers.

However due to our lingua barrier, it is often a letdown.

 

Perhaps, the stores should have language ambassadors to help us.

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm not sure what an ERP system is! One thing I do know is that large supermarkets like TOPS are often very bad at managing stock inventories. With all the tools at their disposal, I cannot understand how an item from Australia goes out of stock at the beginning of October, a sticker is placed on the shelves advising it is temporarily out of stock, and yet there is still no stock three months later.

 

With all the sophisticated stock management systems in place, you'd have thought an order would have been placed long before the item was in fact out of stock. I realise there are other issues like availability of the item in Australia, shipping, bundling different items in one shipment etc. but 4 - 6 weeks should take care of all that. And this happens regularly!

[Guest snapshot]

I don't really understand what this has to do with IQ?

It's all about: interest, loyalty and dedication.

The attitude stuff (interest, loyalty, dedication etc.) is important but initiative, foresight, planning ahead and pre-empting customer needs is also important and that all lies in their intelligence. 

 

The thing is, if you combine the warmth and charm of the Thais with a good level of intelligence, professional training and solid procedures, you can really deliver something great. Easier said than done though... 

[Guest timmberty]

I'm not sure what an ERP system is! One thing I do know is that large supermarkets like TOPS are often very bad at managing stock inventories. With all the tools at their disposal, I cannot understand how an item from Australia goes out of stock at the beginning of October, a sticker is placed on the shelves advising it is temporarily out of stock, and yet there is still no stock three months later.

 

With all the sophisticated stock management systems in place, you'd have thought an order would have been placed long before the item was in fact out of stock. I realise there are other issues like availability of the item in Australia, shipping, bundling different items in one shipment etc. but 4 - 6 weeks should take care of all that. And this happens regularly!

you dont have one of those out of stock stickers for austrailain products we could stick on a certain posters head do you FH ?

[Guest fountainhall]

I can't think who on earth you might mean! 

[Guest thaiworthy]

you dont have one of those out of stock stickers for austrailain products we could stick on a certain posters head do you FH ?

 

You can only find those products at the Beach!

[KhorTose]

I would love to have one.