Written Modally by John Irvin                           No. 17                                                  July 15, 1998

Quality and Service in Thailand
Part 2

In my last newsletter, I talked about some consumer issues in Thailand, and how they affect the society as a whole. In this newsletter, I will continue to detail some of the behaviors and some of the beliefs behind them that make Thailand the way it is today.

I have had the experience, in Thailand, of being in a market and trying to buy some bananas, but the bunches are way too big for me. I live alone, and I can’t eat twenty bananas before they go bad. So I ask the seller if they can cut the bunch in half for me, and charge me half. They treat my request as if I had just come in from Pluto. Of course they won’t split the bananas, they never do that. I try to tell them that I can’t consume that many bananas, but they don’t care. I ask them very nicely, but still they say no. So I walk, and they lose a sale.

Why don’t they try harder to get my business? In the west, companies will compete with each other, do almost anything to get you to come into their shop instead of the other guy’s. I don’t want to sound spoiled or demanding, but I have been living here long enough to begin looking at Thai society critically, instead of just accepting everything. I see lost opportunities, not just for me, the consumer, but for them, the businesses, and by extension, for the entire nation, which I think could do better if people tried a little harder.

I get the feeling that there is no real competition in Thailand, because if there were, these places would all have to improve, or they would lose their shirts. But, instead of losing their shirts, they seem to be sharing them with each other. It is almost as if there is some kind of gentlemen’s agreement between businesses about not trying too hard. And consumers lose out, because nobody is willing to pay attention to them.

I see it in little ways, but these little ways add up to big ways. At my guesthouse, they wouldn’t let me use the international access number for my long distance carrier. Had to dial direct, and pay cash, while they sat there and timed me with a wristwatch. This is inconvenient for them and for me: I have to carry the cash on me, and they have to have everybody’s phone calls all around the world on their bill. Who would want this? If they just made some inquiries, they would find out how easy the new system is to use, and how convenient it would be for them.

I see things like people being absent from stores during business hours, or only one person in an office who can do a certain function, and if they are not there, I am supposed to come back. Or, they tell me to come in at a certain time and then when I come they are out to lunch. In the bank, they don’t want to accept my deposit because the dispatcher has already come that day to collect the checks, and could I come back the next morning to try and make my deposit again? A vendor who can't make change for 20 baht (hardly a big amount) asks me to come back the next day for my change. It’s funny, but in a society where people bend the rules to get ahead, they’ll choose the silliest rules and stick to them.

I feel that this lack of concern for the customer results from a difference in perception. Maybe they actually think they are doing a good job, and they don’t realize that the service could be improved. Maybe they think it’s no problem to carry around a lot of cash for a phone call, or that a customer really wants to keep coming back to the store again and again until the right person is there. Or, maybe they are offended when customers ask for better service, and it’s a matter of pride to refuse. Even still, maybe they just don’t picture that the customer should get the best service possible in return for his money; I mean, why should he, he’s only the customer, isn’t he? Are customers supposed to be important?

The relationship between merchant and customer is much different in Thailand than it is in the west. In the west, businesses act like they need customers, and they’ll do things to satisfy them, like exchanging merchandise, accepting returns, or accommodating the customer in other ways that are within their power. But in Thailand, and I suspect in Asian business in general, business owners act like they are doing a great service to the community just by being there, and they expect the customers to be grateful for it. It’s almost like the business is not there to serve the customers, the customers are there to serve the business.

In addition, if there are shady practices, or defective products, customers have less clout. Laws are less important, and there are fewer of them. There are, to my knowledge, no consumer protection agencies, no small claims courts, no watchdog groups, no way to force a seller or a manufacturer to make good on faulty merchandise or lack of service. Consumers are left with their own personal resources: their status, their friends, and people in high places they might know, to redress any wrongs they feel.

The plain truth is that Thai society is not democratic. Jeffersonian ideals don’t exist, people are not supposed to be "equal," and consumers are not supposed to have "rights." It is very easy for people to be above the law. A person who bought faulty merchandise will have a hard time confronting the merchant who sold it to him if the merchant is higher up on the social ladder. Someone once said that in the west, rules are important, whereas in Asia, people are important. This is one of the results of such a system.

In the U.S., complaints sometimes leads to real change, and better circumstances for customers. Businesses, even the government, do respond to criticism. The U.S. Post Office, long known for its slow and lackluster service, is now much improved. Greyhound Bus had a campaign a few years ago about keeping the bathrooms clean enough that the president of the company could eat his lunch there. These are the benefits of a society with lots of rules and where criticism is allowed. It’s better for consumers.

Thailand has a long way to go before consumers can expect the quality of service we are used to in the west. As long as merchants are allowed to get away with shoddy business practices, businesses don’t try to please the consumers, and real competition does not exist, Thailand will not be a truly modern society, no matter how many people have mobile phones and pagers, or drive expensive German cars. The lack of real options for consumers will greatly reduce the benefits of free enterprise. Having lived here now for over two years, I feel quite an affinity for Thai people, and I hope that someday they can enjoy real quality of life without the wastefulness that corruption and greediness brings.
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Next Issue:   Man's best friend in Thailand -- Does he bite?

© Copyright 1998, John Irvin

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