HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Ongoing extortion in Thailand

Tram ride along the beach

RE: Traffic lights at new railway road

How not to sell

Ongoing extortion in Thailand

Editor;
Re: the recent front page large article in the Bangkok Post regarding how tourists are being scared away as police are extorting money from them the minute they enter the air terminal: Hmm, does that surprise anyone living here?
The Thai police stopped me 5 times for no reason on a recent trip to Jomtien. They never asked for my license or gave a reason for stopping me as I was not speeding or doing anything wrong, except being a foreigner. They demanded money from me, and lots of money. I refused to pay them and stated I would call the U.S. Embassy if arrested and would tell them of their scam.
Note: the police wore sunglasses and masks, had no badge number; and their name tags were in Thai writing that no foreigner can understand. Thus, there is no way to report the corrupt police. In each case, I was finally told to: “Go! Go!” But I was never given a reason for being stopped, even after I asked the police over 5 times. Thais were not being pulled over; only foreigners were being pulled over. I got nailed on the way down and on the return trip at the same police check point 77 kilo’s southeast of Korat on route 304. This check point has upped its demands for money over the past 2 years and I have always been stopped there each and every time, and money demanded of me.
The 6 foreign professional men I had lunch with last Friday at a mall stated the same thing has happened to them many times, innocently driving down the roads in Thailand.
With fewer and fewer foreigners here in Thailand, as tourists are leaving in droves, as are retires, the police have fewer to extort money from, thus are demanding more money, at any and every place they can. I have met some very respectful Thai police that I sure felt had integrity, but those at some check points are certainly scamming foreigners and threatening them.
The PM’s office seems to look the other way, as does the foreign embassies. Complaints are written up in local newspapers and in the Thai Visa web site, but the “extortion” by police against foreigners only gets worse.
It’s scary for an ill, retired senior living in Thailand, as any trip, anyplace in Thailand, even to the hospital, is running a risk of being targeted by corrupt police.
Daniel Kelly

Tram ride along the beach

Editor;
Alan Stevens had an idea in last week’s “letters to the editor” how to solve the traffic problems in the inner city of Pattaya (and more). I think his idea is the best yet that somebody had. It’s probably also the cheapest (provided nobody gets a chance to put half of the money for this project in his pockets). City hall should seriously think about it.
A tram ride along the beach would not only serve the purpose of transportation but it could be made into a ‘pleasure ride’ with a little imagination. (A water cooler on each tram?)
Jerry Thieme

RE: Traffic lights at new railway road

Dear Editor,
I am responding to a letter from “J.G.” in the July 31, 2009 edition of the Pattaya Mail, where J.G. states that a move by Pattaya City Hall to place the traffic lights on flashing red was a retrograde step. However, this alteration was definitely a step in the right direction, as before, when the lights were on a stop - go cycle, the traffic was in chaos, with vehicle queues extending a long way from the intersections. Now with the lights on flashing red, which means one should stop and then proceed with caution, the traffic clears very well indeed. So, well done city hall.
Yours sincerely,
Aiden Manners

How not to sell

Editor;
An article in the last edition concerning the lack of sales and marketing professionalism of vehicles was resonant with my own recent experience. Yes, visitor numbers are down, agreed, tourists in general do not buy vehicles but local people do and these are dependent on the tourist dollar/yen/pound/euro influx. The second local market is the expats. The majority pay cash and provide a steady stream of income into the local economy.
In the midst of the global financial catastrophe I must be one of the few in the market for a new vehicle. So, off to visit the dealers and compare the deals on offer. “Price List” requests were met with slowness bordering on indifference. Two could not provide a brochure. One dealer kept me waiting fifteen minutes while the lady finished lunch while I watched! The salesmen and saleswomen ready only to start writing an order without discussing the vehicles either in Thai or English.
Ahhhhhhhh, I thought, ‘cash is king’, this will surely get a response. Informing every dealer I would pay cash barely distracted them from their important phone calls - another irritation, it is the height of rudeness to interrupt a conversation to take a call on a mobile phone.
Ground rules established it was time to try and elicit details and differences between models. This definitely strained the minimal interest level of the staff. Each manufacturer has a host of model numbers for similar vehicles with minor equipment changes. It was made very clear to every dealer that there was no favoured make. The best deal was the deciding factor. Colour was a fun discussion. I want white, it’s hot here, right? Chemically white paint is the cheapest to make; apparently not in Thailand. All dealers quoted an extra option at prices ranging up to 27,000 baht. One dealer informed me ‘no have’, ‘only top model’, sorry sir, this is the same body shell as every other in the range so just order it from the factory please…mai dai’…one more lost sale.
The concept of closing the sale is totally alien to the car dealers. Surely, I will take the options, they are low or zero cost to the dealer but what I wanted to hear was the best percentage discount. Shock, horror and amazement! Finally three of the dealers have offered small discounts. I believe they will accept a lower offer but this will not be made until the all important test drive. Has anyone managed to book a test drive recently? I was offered a drive in a 2.5l two wheel drive ‘low’ pickup when my interest was in a much more expensive 4x4 or the SUV variant. Another suggested, ‘next week…maybe we can do’. The best I heard was ‘mai dai’, ‘no have’, sorry lady but this is 1.3 million of my hard earned money so that make was off the list!
In any western dealer the sales staff would be offering their firstborn to close a sale. Thailand still operates on fixed pricing and nearly blind indifference to the economic realities. Prices have actually been increased at a time when incentives are being thrown at potential customers in the west. I know I know, I choose to live in Thailand and do so because, in the main, the advantages do outweigh the disadvantages. But, I bet the first Thai entrepreneur that establishes a vehicle discount supermarket, common in both Europe and America, will make a fortune! Cash flow is king! Next stop, I will take heed of the experience of others and check out the secondhand market unless a main dealer accepts an offer.
Yours truly,
Derek Wollen

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