Thai Business Logic

[Big Boy]

We've been using the same recycling lady ever since we moved to our current address (well over 3 years). She has always given the going rate. Don't get me wrong, we don't recycle to make money, in fact all proceeds go straight into our granddaughters' money boxes.

Thai neighbours also now use her services as well because she is fair.

This week she came, and gave my wife a paltry amount for quite a bit of rubbish. These guys always give a detailed breakdown of what they've bought from you. My wife queried the money, and she was told the price of rubbish had decreased in value by 50%, so she had to cut her cloth accordingly.

While she was here, 2 other neighbours called her over, and sold their rubbish. They were paid at the original 'correct' rate.

- Obviously the junk lady saw the Farang living in the house, so paid the Farang rate.

- My wife will not use her any more as a result, and neighbours will use her new recycling lady when she's collecting our rubbish (it took my wife 2 minutes to find somebody prepared to pay the going rate).

- This woman is not buying recycled items for the good of the planet. Her stupidness/greed has just lost her a regular source of income.

Why don't Thais realise that we're not stupid, and try to rip us off? I couldn't care less about the few hundred Baht income each month, its the principle. Yes, she's probably made a one-off 200 Baht this month, but has lost the trade from my house, and that of our neighbours for ever.

Hua Hin seems to be a town with too many people trading in the same commodities - not restricted to junk. They should look after their income, not rip people off because of the colour of their skin. My wife would never return to this lady on principal, and it was always my wife who phoned her to collect the rubbish.

[PeteC]

You've become a victim of double pricing in reverse.

[Big Boy]

My granddaughters have

Seriously, this woman is not buying rubbish for the benefit of her health. She can't be busy - always at the house within an hour of a phone call. She is the loser - we just move to the next vendor.

[buksida]

Honeymoon period with Hua Hell finally coming to an end eh?

[Big Boy]

No, just moved on to the next provider. Hua Hin has such an advantage having a glut of people providing almost every service.

Just an incredible Thai business logic - rip off the Farang. Happens everywhere, not just Hua Hin.

[buksida]

Think you'll find it happens more in tourist towns.

Its the same logic that applies to leaving a rental house empty for 3 years because it is so over-priced instead of dropping the rate by a couple of grand and getting it occupied.

[JamesWest]

you know, I am from California. I grew up there. As a kid, I would see a lot of Mexicans and I hate to say this, but they did not speak English, and I just thought they were not to smart because they could not understand me. I just had a view as a kid that everybody south of the border was not too sharp. After I got a few years older and learned a few things and traveled, my opinion changed.

Not speaking Thai, I sometimes feel like the "stupid Mexican" in Thailand. And combined with the Thais lack of education about the outside world, I think they watch tourists who are lost, can't read anything, freaked out, and tip too much and think we are not too sharp.

I try to point out everything in Thailand that was invented in the west to my girlfriend. And since that is virtually EVERYTHING, after a while she understood why I get crazy sometimes. I show her the Apollo moon missions on youtube, the space shuttle, all the cars and houses I have owned over the years and all this stuff happened 40, 50 years ago.

and make her understand things like "Ford" is man from America. and how long ago he did his thing.

I also show her the history of Japan and Taiwan, Asian people on small islands who were FREE since the end of WWII and kicked as* on the world, that way she does not think it is just "white people". I want to give her a positive role model she can relate to. And I showed her the history of cosmetics, something almost all Thai women are interested in. Paris, London, New York, Tokyo. About a hundred years of history.

We are all different on this forum, but I was very high up in a company that employed 85 people and we were doing extremely complex computer processes for the motion picture industry. I have had a few Thai women selling food out of a cart treat me like I am a fool. I just smile and walk away.

[Big Boy]

Think you'll find it happens more in tourist towns.

I agree 110%. The fact there is a glut of most services in Hua Hin is hard to understand in the first place. Thais seem to see somebody make a profit, and open an identical business next door, thinking they'll make the same profit. As an example, when I first moved to my current address, my son had to go quite a way for a hair cut. 3 years on, the last time I counted, there were 10 hairdressers withing a quarter of a mile, and I'm sure I've seen a couple more open since. That pie only has so many profitable slices. Brilliant for the consumer though.

[StevePIraq]

BB didn't you see Buks post on dual pricing, this is something most of us are against but Thais just cannot see the logic in our argument, they all think Farang have more money is ok to cheat them.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=30796#p396582

[Big Boy]

Yes, I saw it, but if you check, I think you'll it was originated after buksi posted on this thread.

[Edit] Yes, this thread was started 1 hour and 11 minutes before your quoted thread.

[PeteC]

..... As an example, when I first moved to my current address, my son had to go quite a way for a hair cut......

[/quote]

That really means I'm still in the sticks as I need to go halfway to Pattaya or Rayong City to find one who has seen a farang head before, and isn't afraid to work on it! A lot of places with a spinning red/white barber sign, but only for shampoo, dry and set. No barber equipment, training or experience at all. Pete

[Khundon1975]

Selling rubbish?

When we had cardboard, tins, glass etc we rang a lad and his dad (who was blind) and the lad arrived on a motor bike and sidecar and we gave it to them. No money changed hands.
The kid was 10 and the sole supporter of his mum, dad and baby brother.
We knew that to be true as we visited his family at home a couple of times.

Why not give to a good cause, it is after all, just rubbish.

[dtaai-maai]

Selling rubbish?

I confess I find this equally confusing. As long as we've lived here a tottery old geezer turns up 2 or 3 times a week on his bicycle + trailer and sorts through our rubbish (although we leave all plastic bottles, bags, etc. in a separate bag) for anything recyclable.

No phone calls, no money, no hassle.

[huahin4ever]

I dump everything in the garbage, and if anyone wants something, just go ahead. I would never consider getting any money for my garbage. I'm happy just to get rid of it. After all it's peanuts for us farangs anyway.

[hhfarang]

I agree with Khundon and dtaai-maai, in the ten years we lived there we recycled religiously, in fact our recycle bins always got way more use that the garbage bin. In all that time we only had two people that we gave our recycle stuff to. A lady with a lame husband used to come to the house we lived in for 7 years on a motorcycle with one of those home made carry-all side cars. She was on call and we would just phone her up when we had a lot, at least once a week. Then when we rented in a completely different location, one of the ladies who worked for our landlord picked up everything on a regular basis.

We are so much better off than most of these Thais, I always thought of them as doing me a free service by removing all the stuff and would never have thought of getting money in return.