Gaybutton wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:51 pm
It is a mistake to assume that nearly everything in Thailand is always somehow screwed up, doesn't work correctly, has something wrong with it that renders it useless or unsafe to use.
As a newly retired person living here in Thailand, I have to say that I have been impressed with how things work. I provide some examples:
1.) I live in a big condo building. The feeling in this building is very caring - as if most of the people want to take care of each other. Especially on the ground floor where all of the building services are (
laundry and dry cleaning, rental agents, mini markets, restaurants, condo pool, Juristic office, guards, cleaning people, etc.),
2.) Deliveries are accepted and stored with the building guards - so if you are home or not you can get still receive anything that you have ordered will be safely waiting for you with the guards office,
3.) Large shipments into the condo building - when I bought furniture for my new place - these were big and bulky - there was NO fuss by the condo management - as everyone does his or her part to ensure that the deliveries get to your condo quickly without issue via the service elevator. When I lived in Europe - this was a BIG NO-NO - all large BIG bulky deliveries that would consume any of the elevators had to be pre-scheduled for an approved time slot, and notices had to be put up around the building regarding the potential discomfort to the other building residents,
4.) Sometimes when I am returning to my condo building and I am carrying things from the Grab taxi to the building elevators - if the security guards see that I am struggling they are on the spot to offer kind assistance,
5.) Speedy repairs - 2 times so far, something was broken or malfunctioning in my condo, and I told the rental agent and she coordinated with the condo building maintenance team that someone would come to my condo to fix and/or resolve the issue. I always said to her, "
when can I schedule for this service?", She would always reply, "
NOW". Within minutes (1 hour max wait) someone from the condo building would arrive at my condo. In Europe this would NEVER happen,
6.) PromptPay - up until GB was promoting PromptPay - I was using foreign debit cards or cash from the ATM to pay for purchases. Now I do not bother, as I just ask if I can pay with QR code from my Thai bank (
which I believe is the same as PromptPay - please correct me if I am wrong...), and I have to admit that it is soo much easier. I don't recall us in Europe having this QR code payment facility
(at least not in Hungary),
7.) Shopping in the bigger stores (HomePro, Big C, BnB Baan & Beyond, MR.DIY, etc.) the number of assistants is abundant - often more than the number of us customers. They will do almost anything to help you and if there is a communication problem (
due to a language barrier), I can use Google Translate and/or use a stock image from Google to show them what I am looking for. They either bring you to the product or quickly give you to an associate who finds the product for you,
8.) Grab Taxi people - Again with BIG purchases they were very kind to help me get my boxes and/or big purchases into their taxi - and were not put off by my needs.
So, so far, I am a happy camper in Thailand.