Land of Smiles or Land of Snarls

Post by **hhfarang** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:21 am

Cheaper beer

... and better beer! Beer Lao!

Post by **miked** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:35 am

why anyone buys in local markets is beyond me. we buy nearly everything in Mackro. much cheaper, better quality, more choice, meat etc refrigerated. the whole store has air con. the car park has security and no double pricing.
if i ever buy in a 7/11 i add up my purchases before i get to the checkout. i do the same in Tesco Lotus and have caught both of them out many times.
i try not to buy anything in Cha Am and nothing in Hua Hin. much prefer Ta Yang, so much cheaper and one price for all.
you are living in a country that is full of scams, rip offs and liars. if you get ripped off then I'm sorry but you only have yourself to blame. your not forced to buy, just walk away. if you get ripped off by an uneducated Thai then you probably got ripped off in your own country.
miked

Post by **Tony_S** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:08 pm

Double pricing works both ways

I have a FARANG friend who did a 6 week course and now Teaches English for 40,000 bahts per month.

I have a THAI friend who did a 2 year course in some Medical Science and now earns 20,000 baht per month.

This is Thailand with its fun and its faults ....Enjoy

Post by **niggle** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:23 pm

Every so often I have some strange desire to eat that dried squid from the little man who walks up and donw the streets of an evening.
Now I know that one piece is 20 baht but the other evening he tried to charge me 40 baht, I refused of course but he was insistent but so was I.
Just then a girl from the bar and a tailor joined in a gave him a earful for trying to rip people off, a much embarrased man finally agreed that the correct price was 20 baht and apologised !!! (with the rider that times are hard and he hadnt sold anything that evening
A happy ending and very nice squid

Post by **Tony_S** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:32 pm

niggle wrote:Every so often I have some strange desire to eat that dried squid from the little man who walks up and donw the streets of an evening.
Now I know that one piece is 20 baht but the other evening he tried to charge me 40 baht, I refused of course but he was insistent but so was I.
Just then a girl from the bar and a tailor joined in a gave him a earful for trying to rip people off, a much embarrased man finally agreed that the correct price was 20 baht and apologised !!! (with the rider that times are hard and he hadnt sold anything that evening
A happy ending and very nice squid

working in an evening for a measely 20 baht and some rich farang argues over 20 baht....then goes home to his little shack. If he was born in UK he could get the goverment sending him money for sitting on his arse while watching sky TV.

I have a lot of respect for these workers and so dont mind paying them more than the poor thai people do.

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:22 pm

Tony_S wrote:I have a lot of respect for these workers and so dont mind paying them more than the poor thai people do.

So you happily pay 40b for a 20b item?

Thats the problem, it makes them think all Farangs are suckers.

Post by **Big Boy** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:59 pm

I have a lot of respect for these workers and so dont mind paying them more than the poor thai people do.

I would never knowingly pay over the usual asking price for anything. To double the price of a piece of squid because somebody isn't Thai is nothing other than taking the p*ss.

Post by **dtaai-maai** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:00 pm

Couldn't agree more with the last two posts. Everything from tuk tuks to property is more than twice as expensive as it should be because of this attitude.

Post by **miked** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:21 pm

I would never knowingly pay over the usual asking price for anything. To double the price of a piece of squid because somebody isn't Thai is nothing other than taking the p*ss.

.......................................................................

as well as taking the piss it would be illegal in the U.K. and most European countries.
miked

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:47 pm

Two Motosai Taxis have started sitting at the bottom of soi116, they will happily take you to Poonsuk for 50b, if I asked on Poonsuk they would want 100b to soi116 because they are already used to mugs paying over the odds.

Last month after doing a bit of shopping and a couple of beers I wanted a Taxi home so I asked the guys who sit near City Beach, they wanted 200b.

I crossed over the road to Burger King and rang their Boss.
I then watched as one of them answered his phone, got in his car and came to pick me up and take me home for half the original price.

Post by **hhfarang** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:53 pm

BaaBaa, we must be neighbors!

Post by **Khundon1975** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:10 am

1 Thai wife = no overcharging. They wouldn't dare try it on her.

I just stand there and stare into the distance (the thousand yard stare)

and we pay the going (real) price.

If she wants to pay extra she gives a tip.

BaaBaa has the right idea, don't be taken for a sucker.

Post by **MrPlum** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:40 am

Tony_S wrote:I have a lot of respect for these workers and so dont mind paying them more than the poor thai people do.

Do the vendors have respect for you if they double the price? Aren't they really chancing their arm and thinking you are a mug for paying it? When enough visitors do as you do, prices get jacked up for everyone, even locals. Vendors are corrupted and resident foreigners actually have a reason to gripe. Tourism spoils their patch of Paradise.

On the other hand, local businesses start to grow more rapidly, hotels spring up, etc... more Thais find employment. Before you know it you have a thriving resort.

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:31 am

hhfarang wrote:BaaBaa, we must be neighbors!

Post by **Vital Spark** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:54 am

migrant wrote:About the only place I see outrageous double pricing is some of the areas with larger Falang populations.

You've hit the nail on the head Migrant.

When we lived 35kms west of Hua Hin we paid Thai prices and got Thai smiles. I can remember a friend who lived in Hua Hin commenting that the Thais always had their hands out. I agree totally - but in our case the hands were giving us a bunch of bananas or a pineapple.

Where there's a concentration of tourists or rich expats, as there obviously is in Hua Hin - then the Thais will take advantage of the fat wallets. You can't really blame them. They also have to put up with rude, unsmiling folk. No wonder the locals scowl, they're just mimicking what they see. I sometimes do a little test when I'm in Hua Hin. I smile at every farang I see - 90% of the time I get a scowl or just nothing. They probably think I'm a yo-yo

We now live in a non-touristy area (Nakhon Pathom) and rarely see farangs when we're in the local wet market. Most of the Thais are friendly and smiley, and the prices aren't inflated.

VS