Pattaya Mail — Letters

It is noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers for Pattaya Mail, but are unsolicited letters from our readers, expressing their own opinions. No anonymous letters or those without genuine addresses are printed, and, whilst we do not object to the use of a nom de plume, preference will be given to those signed.

Give us your opinion on any subject.

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail will also be on our website

Good idea, Dolf

Dear Sir,
The Dolf Riks column is always interesting and last week’s column is especially helpful with practical suggestions on how to stop smoking.

Most medical authorities recommend Dolf’s suggestion of "cold turkey" or completely stopping at one time as the most successful method. There are, however, a number of aids which can help the smoker who is going "cold turkey", like nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and nasal spray.

The point about never taking another puff once one has stopped is very good advice as well.

Yours truly,
William Neville

Please remove election banners

Editor,

We have just had yet another election, and as the situation is, I think we have to prepare for quite frequent ones.

This letter is meant for the city mayor of Pattaya who I feel confident is one of the readers of this excellent paper.

As a farang, I unfortunately do not read Thai - otherwise I would have visited your office to get a copy of the city’s statutes. I feel rather confident that there I would find nothing about the legality of the pollution which takes place every so often before an election. Did you see the decorations all over Pattaya of the placards for the different parties? The Beach Road promenade was especially quite a sight with one or two placards on each tree. Do the parties have to get permission to do this? Do the city statutes have any rules for where placards can be put up? Whatever the situation is, I expect that the city demands that the placards shall be removed after the election. Attempts have been done to remove the placards in some places in Central Pattaya but often with poor results.

Dear mayor, if there are nothing in the city’s statutes, I suggest the following:

1. No placards allowed on trees. 2. Placards can only be put up in allocated places. 3. They must be fixed in a way that makes them easily removed, and removed not later than 14 days after the election. 4. The fine for not complying with the above rule (3) is the same as for other pollution, Bt2,000.

I do not have to go further than to the street corner where I live to find placards on a concrete pole for the last three elections.

Please, Mr. Mayor, the above is meant seriously. If throwing a cigarette butt on the street is pollution, than certainly the placards are.

Allan

Face the fax

The Editor:

In early June we bought a fax from Lotus Superstore. In September, two months later, we had problems with the fax and I took the warranty card and sales slip back to Lotus and talked to one of the sales persons in the TV and telephone department. He appeared to be one of the senior workers.

I explained the problem and gave him the warranty card and sales slip. He spent about 10 minutes looking at the two items and acted like he was in a daze. Then he said, "Take it to Bangkok". I said it had a one year warranty. He said the store didn’t provide the warranty, the manufacturer did. He had a very negative attitude so I asked to talk to the manager. I never did see the manager.

When we bought the fax the sales lady was very nice, filled out the warranty card for us and explained that it had a one year warranty and explained some of the details. The fax is a popular Japanese make and we paid nearly B 9000. The man who we talked to said we only had a 7 day warranty by the store and all he could say was, "Take it to Bangkok." At no time were we told that only a 7 day warranty was offered by Lotus.

When we moved into our new home 2 years ago we bought over 25 new appliances at the other superstore in Pattaya. During the first 6 months we had problems with 2 items. I talked to the store people and they said to bring them back to exchange. They were very helpful.

Lotus has lost sight that customers are their main asset. One Saturday before the VAT increase went into effect the Lotus store was packed with customers and the parking lot was saturated with cars and motorbikes. When it came time to pay for our purchases we were unable and gave up. Of the 46 cash register positions only 21 were open for business and about 15 customers with baskets full were in each line. When Lotus opened their ads said "You will never have to wait at Lotus" or words to that effect.

Urawan On-mai

Editor’s note: We contacted Lotus Superstore about this particular problem. Their reply was that the store’s policy is to accept items returned to them in original packing within 7 days. After that period of time, customers must contact the distributor in Bangkok.

Too much of a good thing

Dear Sir,

I would just like to start my letter by saying that I very much enjoy reading the Pattaya Mail when I come home from school every Friday afternoon. There are just one or two things I dislike about reading your paper. The biggest thing I dislike is on the Local Scene page. I do like this page, but every time I see it, I also see GM Pierre-Andre Pelletier. It is just incredible how much this guy wants to be in your newspaper. I really wonder why this man didn’t become a photo model instead of a manager. I will finish my letter by saying that the Pattaya Mail should keep up its good work, but have fewer pictures of GM Pierre-Andre Pelletier.

Sander Broere

Last word on heathful?

Dear Editor,

My, my, we have an Englishman calling a Colonialist an elitist. That certainly would not have happened 200 years ago. There is no need to belabor healthy/healthful further. I have explained both sides of the argument to A. Stewart and he still does not seem to get the point. The note from the American Heritage is quite relevant. As you must surely know, the present perfect tense in English indicates that an action started in the past and is still occurring.

Yes, we do speak different varieties of English and we agree that we should not criticize what is the accepted standard in another variety of English. That is why I always check the O.E.D., an Australian dictionary and some American dictionaries to see what is proper for other varieties of English. I am also constantly discussing points of usage with British, Canadian and Australian friends. The O.E.D. indicates that "healthful" is used in British English and that "scrutinize" is spelled with a "z." I am surprised that you did not comment on the technically redundant use of "the" before hoi polloi. I guess even the "experts" miss one now and then.

The British are noted for having a finely tuned sense of subtle humor. Are you sure you are an Englishman, Mr. Stewart? Please stop the amateurish character analysis and stick to English. You take yourself and me far too seriously. Languages are fun and a challenge for all. Let’s enjoy them, even if we disagree.

Peace,
St. James