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Stitched up and ripped off on holiday
Planning to buy a cheap suit in Thailand? You may end up getting considerably less than you bargained for
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investi ... on-holiday
* Published: 4/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: Spectrum Bangkok Post
Behind the glossy magazine ads offering unbelievable bargains and plushly decorated shops there is a dark side to the tailoring trade, where tourists are often sold clothes that would only fit a shop window mannequin.
Following complaints from many tourists, Spectrum conducted an investigation into the business that included interviews with tailor shop owners, customs officials, sellers of illegally imported fabrics, workers and foreign customers.
With hundreds of tailor shops in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Pattaya and other tourist spots, it has became a huge industry generating large profits.
"That's why there are so many tailor's shops everywhere," said the owner of a reputable tailor shop on Sukhumvit Road, near Soi 4, whose customers are mainly diplomats and foreign officials.
"I estimate that the majority of tailor shops in Thailand are bad, and only 5% are honest. Among the dozens of tailors on this road [Sukhumvit], only two or three are good.
"The bad tailors will deceive customers in a variety of ways to make quick money. They use, for example, cheap materials but tell you that they are expensive wool fabrics imported from Italy, Spain or England. My profit is only 25%. I'm working on a low margin because I don't want to spoil my reputation."
Another tailor who runs a well known shop at a hotel on Sukhumvit Road Soi 3 said: "My shop is going to close soon because business is bad. Now there are five times more tailor's shops in Bangkok and Pattaya than 15 years ago, and this applies to other places, just to make money. I will only look after my hotel located on the same street instead."
His shop was popular among Europeans who stayed at the hotel in the 1980s, who were replaced by tourists from the Middle East in the 1990s. Many of the old customers have faded away.
The shop doesn't show photos of movie stars or politicians to impress customers, and business is often generated by word-of-mouth referrals.
"Many people are getting into the tailoring business because it's easy to make money. They can get credit for six months or a year on fabric. So they just sit in the shop and wait for customers. They have few overheads," he said.
He estimates that there are now between 700 and 800 tailoring businesses in Bangkok, about 400 in Pattaya and hundreds in other tourist destinations like Koh Samui and Phuket.
FAMILY BUSINESS "My family has been in the tailoring business for over 50 years and has had many customers, but it's hard to get new ones now. Many things have changed during the past few years because crooks have spoiled the good reputation of bespoke tailoring in Thailand," said the owner of a well known shop in a five-star hotel in central Bangkok.
"The bad tailors sit all day and night in the shop and talk, send the fabrics out to be cut, sewn and pressed in sweatshops and collect money from the customers. They can make a suit within nine hours. Can you imagine the quality?
"How long will a suit like this last? They are opening such shops everywhere and pushing good and honest tailors out of business. They can cut only long dresses for Middle-Eastern customers because there's not much that can go wrong in comparison to jackets," she said.
Spectrum visited several tailor shops in Bangkok to experience the sales techniques first hand. The sales strategies were uncannily similar in all the shops.
After entering the premises you are given a drink and engaged in what seems to be idle chit-chat. This is to evaluate the customer, to find out whether they live in Thailand or are here on holiday, how often they come here and how long they will stay. The most important question of all is: "When are you going back to your country?"
If the tailor finds out that you live here or are a frequent visitor, they will be more careful about the quality of the fabric, workmanship, cost and the exchange rate they use, as often prices are quoted in US dollars - another area where a little extra money can be made.
If a tourist is pressed for time, they will offer to deliver the finished clothes to the hotel just before they check out, or even take the customer to the airport in a limousine to ensure the merchandise cannot be closely examined.
COSTLY BARGAINS That "inexpensive" suit or dress bought in Thailand while on holiday may not turn out to be a bargain at all, according to some foreigners interviewed by Spectrum.
Marcus, a businessman from London, found out the hard way: "If you come here for the first time and see ads in a magazine saying: 'All from US$199 [6,400 baht] - one suit; one summer suit; two pairs of trousers; three shirts and two silk ties,' or 'All from $129 only - three suits; three extra pairs of trousers, three shirts and three silk ties,' of course, you'll think that this is a dream compared to London, where you might have to pay more than 1,000 for a hand-made suit.
"However, upon delivery, I got a bill for $2,500, because the Indian shop owner told me that I had chosen better and more expensive material, allegedly wool from Italy, instead of the cheaper fabric the price starts 'from'.
"Anyway, after a heated argument, he reduced the price by 50%."
''As I was in a hurry, I decided to pay because it was still much cheaper than in the United Kingdom. The clothes were delivered to me just before departure _ they said that they couldn't deliver them sooner because of a tight schedule, so I didn't have time for fittings. My mistake! After arriving in London, it didn't fit, the trousers were too big and the jacket broke up after few weeks because it was badly stitched.
''I complained after coming back, but they just talked and talked, blaming everything possible and almost trying to make me believe that it was actually my fault. Now I am going to a Thai tailor, and even though it is more expensive and takes a longer time, the quality of the material and workmanship is excellent.''
In one shop on Sukhumvit Road Soi 3, Ursula, a secretary from Gothenburg in Sweden, shouted at one tailor: ''This is not what I told you to do. This is totally wrong. What have you done?''
In another, Mr Wong, a banker from Singapore, was also unhappy with the second fitting for a pair of trousers that didn't fit after being altered the day before. The tailor promptly promised to make another alteration, but the customer demanded he start again.
One website dedicated to tailoring in Thailand (see left) lists 274 shops in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Phuket and Koh Samui, but only recommends six in Bangkok, three in Pattaya, one in Hua Hin and one in Phuket. Another tourist website recommends only 43 shops in Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi, but none in Pattaya.
SWEATSHOPS
After a tip-off from one tailor, Spectrum visited several sweatshops in Bangkok that revealed poor working conditions. Thai and migrant workers labour inside the stuffy, cramped workplaces, usually working from 8am to 7pm for little money.
''We are paid 200 baht per day,'' said one middle-age Thai woman who was sewing clothes on an old Juki brand sewing machine. A younger woman from Cambodia was sewing buttons onto garments for 150 baht per day. The men operating a large clothes press said they are paid five baht per item, whether shirts, trousers or other garments. Some came from Burma. It literally is a sweatshop in some places. In one, a huge fan on the ceiling has not worked for a long time, judging from the thick layer of dust on the blades.
The workers were very friendly, and some were able to communicate in English. However, discussion stopped when the foreman appeared. He told workers who were pressing trousers: ''Don't say anything to the farang, keep everything secret.''
We returned after our initial visits, but when we attempted to take more photos, the security guard arrived, quickly shouting: ''No photos, no photos.'' The workers left the premises or hid their faces.
SMUGGLING AND TAX DODGING
According to one customs officer, despite much lower import taxes compared with previous years, the smuggling of fabric into Thailand still continues because everyone in the chain _ importers, wholesalers, retailers and tailors _ want to save every satang to turn a profit.
''The smuggling of fabric is nothing new. It has been going on for decades. Everything is well organised and runs smoothly. I'm talking about large shiploads, containers of textiles being smuggled in different ways.
''A higher volume is arriving by ships to Klong Toey port where a variety of tricks are employed by the importers to pay as little import tax as possible, with or without the knowledge of officials. The most common way is to declare a lower quantity.
''Naturally, we can't check the type of material and length of every bolt in a container, something the smugglers know. I would like to stress that not all tailors are smugglers.
''Still, we are making seizures, like the one involving 109,000 metres of cloth, weighing 36 tonnes and worth about six million baht announced and displayed for the press by the Customs Department in Klong Toey on Jan 16, 2009.''
THE CENTRE OF THE TEXTILE BUSINESS
When it comes to cheap cloth, all roads lead to Phahurat and Sampheng, in Bangkok's Chinatown. This is the centre of the textile business in Thailand, with hundreds of shops.
''Some textiles are also made in Thailand, but those in tailor shops are usually imported,'' said one textile merchant at a shop in Sampheng when Spectrum visited. He was standing on a pile of fabrics surrounded by mostly female buyers.
''You can see hundreds of tailor shops around Thailand, each carrying from a few hundred to several thousand bolts of fabric, most on credit from the wholesalers based in this area. That's why there are now so many tailor shops around. They get credit, making it an easy business for them. Some of them also cause us problems. They will open a shop, get cloth worth millions of baht on credit, and after a while they will run away.''
A young owner of one large shop in Phah-urat revealed a few more details of the trade: ''Some tailors cheat and give our people a bad reputation. They employ touts, some of whom are foreigners. They will stand outside their shop all day, attempting to bring customers inside. Sometimes they are quite pushy. Then there are the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers who will bring customers to certain tailor shops and get at least 35% commission on what the customer buys. These shops will cheat in every way. They don't care if you come back or not. They are also giving us a bad name.''
continue with Marks & Spencer then. 
..........(or Primark 
)
