Your Say

 |  October 29, 2012

 • Sick of Seven

Are 7-Elevens taking over? I wouldn’t mind but there seems to be one, or often more, on every street…if 7-Elevens continue to pop up all over the city then how do small Thai businesses plan to contend? It is another example of Westernisation in Thailand, and people will use the shops and pay out to the large American companies purely for convenience when they could be helping the community. Perhaps we should boycott 7-Eleven for a while, just to help the smaller Thai corner shops, before they disappear completely.

Yours Passing Through

•  Never Knew  

I always enjoy your interviews. Somehow you manage to get so much more out of a person than most interviewers. This month was no exception. The Ben Svasti Thompson interview was most insightful. I never knew that he was a man of so many interests and who worked on so many fronts. I have a newfound respect for my honorary British consul, congrats!

I may even risk registering myself.

P. Dole

 • Pai Overkill

I read on Facebook that you are doing a Citylife issue on Pai.

I have been there once and I don’t get it. What is the big deal about Pai? It is far, it hasn’t got much to do, it is full of pretentious hippies, it is far, did I say that? Is it some cool factor that I don’t know about that makes everyone go a bit crazy at the thought of Pai?

Is there something in the waters that we don’t have here?

I hope there are other things to read in your magazine apart from interviews with a bunch of weirdos living in a commune.

Anti-hippies

• Get the Massage

I went for a massage this weekend. I was very disappointed with the fact that I never actually ended up getting a massage. They sat me down for ½ an hour, and in the end the person they had called to do the massage never turned up. Even more annoying was that two other customers who came in 20 minutes after me, got a massage. I was left waiting for a masseuse who never came. During that time I observed another masseuse texting whilst doing a massage with the other hand, as well as the manager of the shop doing a foot massage on someone and being totally distracted looking out of the window and phoning the person who was meant to do my massage. I have previous experience of similar unprofessional work by masseuses; once a masseuse kept talking to me using his hands and there for not massaging. I beg for there to be higher standards and training in Thai massage parlours.

Aching with disappointment

• Good Grub 

Thank you for the Great Britain Pub Grub section in the October edition of Citylife. I have been looking everywhere for a decent English breakfast and Sunday roast. I was impressed with the full English I ordered at The Red Lion! I love Thai food but sometimes I just miss some of the British classics. I also went to The Pub which was also featured in the magazine and I have to say I immensely enjoyed the on tap Guinness! A taste of home is just what I needed!

Sincerely Satisfied

• Easy Reading

I think it’s really sad that a lot of Thai people barely read. A lot of Thai people I have spoken to don’t seem interested in books; sometimes it’s because they think there are no decent Thai novelists (which there are), but you can easily buy translated books. It’s a shame that children aren’t encouraged to read like they are in England. I know someone who works at CMU and his English students would rather analyse a film or a song than a good book. I don’t want to generalise; I understand that some Thais do enjoy reading, it just seems to me that the majority don’t. How often do you see older Thais reading books? I just feel like they’re missing out and it’s not fair, maybe the Government should encourage schools and students to read more?

Book Worm

• Faceoff with Facebook 

There is something I’d like to cover and see if it stirs some mutual feelings.

I recently spent two month in Chiang Mai, I totally adore and love the city, the people and the culture.

Just one thing really really annoyed me and I feel it should be brought to the attention of employers and readers.

FACEBOOK WHILE YOU WORK.

I spent a great deal of time shopping in Airport Central Plaza and other malls. And everywhere is the same story. Sales assistants are just constantly playing on their mobile phones and updating their Facebook Pages, often totally unaware that customers need serving.

So, whilst Thailand really is the land of smiles, it seems to me that employers in malls really should ban the use of Facebook during working hours. It looks and is unprofessional and if not stopped then soon there will be NO SERVICE at all.

As a management consultant, that is my only critique on what otherwise really is A WONDERFUL CITY.

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Patrick Mauser