Entries Tagged 'Business' ↓
May 6th, 2010 — Business
Too Cheap for Thailand
Thailand compared to other western countries is a cheap country to employ people. However, that does not mean people work for nothing or free they rather do something else.
Thai people are also very selective where they work and some people pay to work as a Police officer or in TAT for example. Before it was very cool to work in Thai Air and later in AIS until Thaksin became unpopular in Bangkok. They also are careful about Japanese companies since Japanese companies bring the Japanese culture of work here to Thailand and that means work hard and party hard after work finished (if ever).
Thai employees love their holidays and the Thai government keep extending more and more holidays in Thailand. You can either adapt or say we are a foreign company so we do not have Thai holidays. That might save you some money in the beginning but your work force will soon shrink. That off course is not the case if you are an embassy because all Thais love to work in an Embassy it is very cool.
Some employers in Thailand trying to get the most out of every employee and expect them to work like a western person with a Thai salary. This will not work, Thais are used to the long lunch breaks, coffee breaks and having MSN, Facebook and doing private things at work. They might work for you for a while but then suddenly when you spend one week teaching them the routines they are gone.
I met a few people trying to hire Thai people helping them with freelance work in Thailand. They all do the same mistake and asking the Thai to work almost free and asking them this and that. Sure, in a western world, one phone call or one visit might give you the answer but in Thailand, the right people are never in the right places. The same person ends up with these Thais just leaving them and declining the work. A Thai person rather spend the day in front of the TV then running around for a few dollars it is not in their nature to work for nothing. The foreigner scratches their heads every time and wonders why the Thais are not happy with a few dollars for a few phone calls. Because they rather sit, home and look at TV or go out eating with friends.
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April 27th, 2010 — Pattaya, Service
Normally I wake up two nights a week because of the garbage collectors scream and bang the bins as hard as they can when they collect garbage. If I am lucky, they stop to sort out the garbage in my street as well but that does not happen that often. I am so lucky when they do because the nice stench stays in my street for hours and in the middle of the night as well, I am so blest.
Then every month the nice ladies from the billing department comes and ask for 40 THB and I get a cool bill with no contact information or company name on it. When I once complained to the women that they had not collect the garbage, they just said they had no idea they just collect the bills. Well off course how stupid I am why should they know anything they just want my money.
Now the garbage truck has not been on my street for two weeks and it is getting all smelly and nice in the heat. I really miss someone waking up in the middle of the night as well so I called 1337 to ask what is going on. They gave me a number to the garbage people and I said:
-“Why do you not collect my garbage I paid my bill every month this is the second time now”
-“Why do they not collect your garbage?” the man answered.
-“Why do you ask me why you not collect my garbage?” I replied back to the man.
“Because I do not know why they not collect your garbage,” the man replied.
That was the end of that conversation and I still do not know why they not come and collect my garbage in the middle of the night for two weeks now.
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March 4th, 2010 — Service, Visa
Crack down on Thai students
A closing of an English school in USA has forced 51 Thai students to go back to Thailand. It is not only Thailand that crack down on student visa, USA also have even stricter rules. It cannot be fun for these Thai students wasting loads of money to get visa and tickets and then be sent home. Next time you complain about Thailand’s hard visa regulations take a look at what USA is doing.
Crack down on Thai schools for expats
Thai Whalen the biggest Thai English language school in Thailand for expats that want a prolonged visa is sending out invites to join their new business educations visa promotion. Under no circumstances should you start ANY business with an EDU visa in Thailand. Doing any business in Thailand with an EDU will risk you getting kicked out of Thailand. I am very surprised that Thai Whalen School is even trying this kind of ploy.
Be very aware that many Thai visa Schools do not care if you attend the classes or not. But please thank me in a few months when the Thai immigration sooner or later will crack down on Thai educations schools. If some famous criminal get court having a EDU visa you can bet your next Som Tam that it will be a crack down on EDU visa. They will probably check that you been present and your language skills are in order.
Sabai Sabi me pen rai TIT will not fly with the immigration officers any longer.
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January 13th, 2010 — Business, Property
In an article in the Scandinavian magazine Pattaya Tidende you can read among others things about a journalist that nowadays stays in a hotel rather than in a apartment. He tried to rent an apartment two times and both times he got cheated on the deposit for a stupid reason. People who lived here a couple of years and rented a few house or apartment are kind of tagged and we know that you should have a party if you get back the deposit.
You almost never get the deposit back and the landlord always want to hold the total deposit way to long even if it is for a water bill of 200 THB. Even if you try to fix broken things before you leave they will still find other problems.
My first shop house in Bangkok was my first lesson, I renovated it for over 200 000 THB and when I moved out the landlord said I totally destroyed her house. Now she had toilets on each floor and all the floors had tiles plus a new electric system. I had no idea how she could come to that idea but she just said take me to court. Rather than wasting two years in court I simply took out everything I had put in, to my landlords anger off course.
So what can you do about the deposit in Thailand?
- Make sure everything works before you move in and I mean everything, every little lamp or door lock.
- Make sure you take photos when you move in of the entire house or a video tape.
- Do not sign for things that are not there.
- Put in the contract that the landlord should fix broken stuff not you, if you did not cause it off course.
- Put in the contract that the deposit should be paid back the same day you move out. Electric and water can be paid on the same day for a very small extra fee.
- Make sure the landlord really signs for the contract and not some agent, they always want to see your passport make sure you see and take copy of their land papers.
- Never take a property agents word for anything it is not worth a dime, make sure all your demands are in the contract.
- If you do not like the contract and the gut feeling about the rental agreement you are probably right, move on the next object it is always a buyer’s market in Thailand.
- Put a note of everything the landlord or agent says, you are a consumer and you can take them to the consumer court if you feel you have been tricked. They probably don’t because they promise you everything just to get the commission. Even better video record the time the agent shows you the house.
Yes I really thing Thai property agents and landlords are down there with Tuk Tuk drivers and Jet Ski beach boys.
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