Customer service vs cultural sensitivity

[itsmedave]

We are told again and again about how we are guests in this country and we must respect their conventions and (to our minds) oddities because this is, after all, their country. Now, as some guy walking down the street or in a Thai persons home, this makes a great deal of sense to me...BUT, does it end when we start paying them to do it our way???

 

Yesterday, I went to the bank to deposit my tax refund check. I did not bring my bank book because, frankly, I don't like to carry it around. My wife reminded me that they want the bank book, I then reminded her that as I was the customer what I wanted was more important than what THEY wanted. I did bring my passport and my ATM card so there would be plenty of ID for them to look up my account with.

 

So we get to the window. The bank is nearly empty. I give them the passport, ATM, and the check, and teller tells me to wait for the manager to get off the phone. I am about to tell (yell) her just to type my freakin name into the computer when wife tells me to go sit down. Now, manager comes over after 10 minutes (during which time the teller has helped no other customers as there were none there and studiously avoided my gaze as I bored a hole in her head with my stare) Manager says go outside, use the ATM and bring back the receipt, which they will use to look up my account. Then, after depositing the check they tell me to go BACK outside and use the ATM again to get a receipt.

 

Of course, I start yelling as they are not paying me to make them happy, but they are indeed being paid to make me happy. As I see it, there is no reason why I should have to do any work to make their job eaiser. Now, many will say it is wrong to confront them, but where is the line.

 

Does the fact that I am a customer mean that they are no longer entitled to do things "their way" or must I be their sheep even though I am paying to do so?

 

And, while I'm on the subject, is this whole freaking country suffering from Stokholm Syndrom??? You will recall that this began when somebody was kidnapped and tortured for years and when finally rescued, defended their torturer whom they had fallen in love with.

 

Well, a sizable percentage of the population has suffered do to the Thai culture. They are forced to leave school at 12, work to pay for their parents (sometimes selling their bodies and risking their lives to do so), never having a chance to get again or get educated, and yet they will fight to the death defending this culture which has and continues to screw them on a daily basis. What gives?

[elef]

Hi itsmedave,

 

not much correct about the "Stokholm Syndrom". One robber (+ one criminal sent in by police on his request) and six days, btw the robber is now living in Thailand.

 

And Stockholm, not Stokholm!

 

elef

 

 

"RADIO DOCUMENTARY - THE 10 BEST PROGRAMMES

 

The hostage / Norrmalmstorgsdramat

Sweden

 

One afternoon Janne Olsson from Helsingborg went into the bank at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm. It was the 23rd August, 1973. He was wearing sun glasses and a black wig. He had rubbed dark, sunless tanning cream onto his face. He held a bag in one hand and a tommy-gun under his jacket. Janne Olsson was about to carry out his plan. The drama at Norrmalmstorg came to an end six days later. Several hundred people got involved in the events, and for some of them life changed during those six days. In Helen Ardelius? documentary we will meet some of the people who were there. Kristin was one of the hostages. Morgan was the policeman who sat down on a sofa singing Lonesome Cowboy? in an attempt to calm down the nervous bank robber. Kaj Hansson was the young man who, at first, was identified as the robber, whilst in actual fact he was in Hawaii with his wife. Then there is Kaj?s younger brother who was flown up from Skania in the middle of the night in a military fighter. The drama of Norrmalmstorg still lives on through the term Stockholm syndrom?. "

[itsmedave]

I stand corrected on the literal Stockholm Syndrome, however I believe the "falling in love with your kidnapper" is a popularily defined definition of this term.

[pattaya127]

having a bad hair day? I seem to understand that by bringing your book (your immense pleasure not to do so, as it pleased you), things would have be done swifter.

 

Maybe not, but i think you had one of these days where we expressly do or not do things to purposefully confront the "culture". As if you could have written that post before, then go there and post back "see what i told you?".

 

Both you and them were up to doing your worse, or rather, merely impersonate your given timeless roles, punctilious idiotic thai clerks and irate "my rights, I paid!" farang. Just another day in thailand, you will agree....

 

Still, not sure why we farangs invoke the whole culture/thainess everytime a little mishap comes our way. be assured that there also much idiotic clerks to waste our time back home too. If that may help.

 

 

[elef]

Sure Dave, I think that's normal in that situation. A person who threatens to kill his hostages one by one probably shouldn't start with the most friendly one, so I guess it starts a competition between the hostages to make friends or even more!

[..]

Odd. At K-Bank Bang Kapi branch (Suk & Soi 33), I never am asked for my book when depositing into my account or my wife or daughters. There is even a line for the depositing person's name and for the account holder's name on the pay-in slip. I put in the correct names and am never even asked any questions.

 

Time to switch banks?

 

Cheers,

SD

[Guest]

Thai banks are strange organizations even looking at them from the inside. They have a rigid cultural that is very difficult to change. Most are anything but transparent, and there is substance to that undercurrent of xenophobia you sense when dealing with Thai banks.

 

The lending practices of Thai banks were largely responsible for 1997 collapse. At the height of the crisis in most Thai banks over two-thirds of the loans were ?officially? non-performing (NPLs). That is an amazing number, but what is more amazing is that the real numbers were higher. By contrast, foreign branches of international banks in Thailand had average NPLs of around 11% - about one-sixth that of Thai domestic banks - at the height of the crisis, and their figures were based on more stringent and reliable standards. And yet, despite these demonstrated dangers of insulating the Thai financial sector from international competition, the financial sector still remains largely protected.

 

Kbank is one of the better banks, but it also benefits from significant foreign ownership and management participation. The four majority foreign owned banks - only reluctantly permitted during the crisis and the subject of protectionist protests - are also OK. In short, I would stick to the banks where there is significant foreign participation and avoid the local local banks. This is what more sophisticated Thais do, unless they are part of a family which owns a local bank, in which case they enjoy special borrowing privileges.

 

This same principle applies to most other service type of businesses where technical expertise and integrity are required. For example, I would never employ local local law firms, financial advisors or accounting firms even though they might (but not always) charge substantially less. I want to be able to sleep comfortably at night.

 

What you experienced is just the tip of a much larger ice berg.

[whosyourdaddy]

One of the problems is that the banks dont use names in the system. Back home you could go into the bank. give name, address etc and they would get your account number for you. They dont have that information here. and hence you had to get the ATM recipt to get your bank account number off of it

. If you ever lose your bank book. god help you.

[shygye]

Listen to your wife!

 

... and let her carry the bank book.

[JJsushi]

You seem to be a bit unreasonable with your expectations,considering that you knew of the bank policy beforehand. Banks like most corporate institutions have POLICIES, that they use utilize to standardize their business practices. While you may think that it is a simple customer service issue, it may be a security issue for the bank. You really can't expect a bank which is in the business of money to start bending their business practices willy nilly to suit any account holders whims(I suggest you become a valuable high net worth customer if you want that treatment).

 

Now as a consumer you have a right to patronize the bank of your choice. I would suggest that you find a bank that fits the "customer service" criteria you desire.

 

BTW- I agree that the policy is silly considering you wanted to make a deposit but if the transation involved any sort of cash being given to you, I can understand why the branch would insist on the original bank book along with your other ID.