What would you do?

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Undaunted
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Re: What would you do?

Post by Undaunted »

First of all seeking advice on this situation from virtual people on a chat room vs real people such as close friends is questionable as they have no vested interest in the outcome. Living in the L.O.S. has taught me a few things such as to avoid dealings with the police except in rare circumstances. The occurance you discribe involves you and another falang hence the police could care less, they might get involved if the said attack was on a Thai which it was not, the staff at SB. will avoid involvement as they shy away from confrontation which is generally a Thai norm, so expect to achieve nothing but aggrivation and continued frustration.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
fountainhall

Re: What would you do?

Post by fountainhall »

Once again many thanks for all the comments. I raised the issue purely as a conversation piece - not specifically to ask for advice in my case. The deed had been done and action taken as I considered best at the time.

I do agree with Undaunted and others. Getting the police involved in what was essentially a farang v. farang issue would have achieved little, the more so since the guy fled as soon as the word "police" was mentioned. I only doubt one thing - the suggestion that the SB supervisor and even his staff would not get involved. Had I been a stranger, I think this would definitely have occurred! It so happens I have known the guy who is now the supervisor for about 8 years when he used to be a more junior member of the staff at another Starbucks nearby. His English is not bad and he always chats very pleasantly to me. On this occasion he was the one who suggested bringing in the police and it was I who said not to. As mentioned before, the idiot had fled. I know some disagree and I appreciate their viewpoint.

As to my nose, yes, I took rather ungainly photos before the building supervisor tended it, and more yesterday when the bruising made it look worse!
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Gaybutton
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Re: What would you do?

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:I know some disagree and I appreciate their viewpoint.
Concerning the assumption that the police won't do anything, count me among those who disagree.

I wonder how many who insist Thai police won't do anything have ever actually found themselves in a situation that called for police assistance. I have a feeling that people read posts, most coming from people who have never had to ask the police for help, telling us all about how the police won't do anything and eventually come to just assume that really is the way it works.

I'll tell you something else - this stuff about how if a farang is involved in a traffic accident with a Thai, the farang will virtually automatically be blamed - from personal experience, my response to that assumption - bullshit. In my case the police blamed the driver who actually was at fault - and it wasn't me.
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Gaybutton
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Re: What would you do?

Post by Gaybutton »

GWMinUS wrote:I assume you know that Starbucks in the USA has now adopted a Policy that anyone can sit in their shop and does not have to buy anything to do so.
Yes, but according to the OP, that is not what this man was doing. He had taken two newspapers from Starbuck's, newspapers Starbuck's provides for their customers, and walked out with them. Apparently that is something he had been doing on a regular basis for months.

If he was sitting in Starbuck's reading those newspapers, even without buying anything he would have been within Starbuck's policy. But walking out with them, now he is a thief.
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Re: What would you do?

Post by fountainhall »

GB's summary is correct. His only other anti-social nasty habit, which may or may not be against Starbucks new policy, is that for months beforehand he had been sitting regularly in the cafe, purchasing nothing, reading its newspapers and writing obscene comments against articles. There is one part of that particular Starbucks which is not in view of the baristas. He always sat there. Normally I sit elsewhere but once when I couldn't get a seat, I found a seat in the other part. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him and saw him marking the papers. He was less than 2 meters away. I went up politely to him and merely asked why he marked the papers. He told me he didn't. It was someone else. Yet I had seen him do it and the pen was in his hand! I merely returned to my seat. I suppose, looking back, that should have been a clue that there was something more than odd about him.

After the newspapers started disappearing and the rack was moved away from the door, according to the staff he would just wander in past them, find their single copies of The Post and The Nation and disappear with them. Apart from what happened a week ago and he was found reading them outside in the lobby of the shopping mall, usually they just disappeared. Certainly he never returned them. So in my book not only had he been defacing Starbucks property for many months, he had also been stealing it regularly.

As for Starbucks new policy in the USA (or perhaps worldwide), given the background I can understand why it was adopted. Yet I cannot help feeling that an open invitation to anyone to sit in a pleasant cafe - certainly an air-conditioned place with summer heat and humidity outside - without the need to purchase anything will backfire in the end. I have been in several Starbucks in recent years when they have special 2-for-1 promotions for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Thais love these, usually buy for several people in their offices and there are always long queues. Naturally the baristas cannot keep up with the volume and customers have to wait at least 10 minutes or more. Equally naturally, they then sit in the vacant seats to wait. An individual purchaser comes in ready to pay full price and discovers there is nowhere for them to sit. So moves off to an Amazon coffee or Au Bon Pain. I wonder how long it will last.
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