Australian "service" up the clacker
- Thread starter lizzie
- Start date
I called up a plumber to come out and repair a leaking washer on one of my taps the other day...
He answered the phone straight away,
said he'd be there in one hour;
he arrived in 55 mins,
offered to take his shoes off at the door,
fixed the piddly little leak in a jiffy,
even cleaned up his mess and asked where the bins were to dispose of it,
said thanks for the business and have a good day...........
"Marc!! wake up you idiot, stop day-dreaming and get back to work!!"
He answered the phone straight away,
said he'd be there in one hour;
he arrived in 55 mins,
offered to take his shoes off at the door,
fixed the piddly little leak in a jiffy,
even cleaned up his mess and asked where the bins were to dispose of it,
said thanks for the business and have a good day...........
"Marc!! wake up you idiot, stop day-dreaming and get back to work!!"
Lizzie, this is standard procedure for the building industry, so don't get too upset about it.
I could do a post that would go for 3 pages on the (bad) experiences with trades people we have had on our two PPoR builds and the few renos we've done.
You have to realise the pattern with these blokes;
Typically a teenager with almost no formal education past about year 10, who is a disruption at school, failing subjects, probably wags class, a good kid but a bit of a smart-@rse, who is a dude at the footy club, has reasonable manners, but is under-educted in some of the finer aspects of social interaction - struggles to hold a meaningful conversation with adults, has little general knowledge, but is cool down at the skate park or footy club, is clever at working on cars or making stuff.
(I might add that a lot of very well educated people are also socially inept too; my pet peev is the boor who talks over the top of you mid-sentence...conversation ends with me very quickly with these jokers.)
Back to our budding tradie....; leaves school early because he hates it; hates the homework and the study, so goes to work as an apprentice at aged 16 or 17 - for a boss who was exactly the same, and has no customer relations training to pass on to his young charge.
The boss is also a bit of a battler, and loves to stick it up the rich owners who don't have a clue, are arrogant and demanding stuffed shirts and not normal or real people like him...passes on his craft at this - and a few building skills - to the young bloke.
The apprentice hangs out at the local Pub public bar (a place full of mental giants), or down at the footy club with the other tradies and apprentices, who also work for a boss like above.
Lots of swapping notes about XR-6 utes, snotty-nosed pesky owners who don't have a clue, and holidays in Bali, but never a minute spent on customer relations, and good business practices such as follow-up and communication with owners.
It even exists in my current industry; our auto electrician that we call up to come and look at cars is so unreliable and never rings to say he's running late etc. He's a nice bloke and all that, but bloody hopeless when it comes to timeframes and communication. We now call him "Johnny no-show", and have since bought our own diagnostic scanner and have pretty much cut him out of our operation, because we need to get things done in a timely manner - customers these days are impatient and want action - something that the trades as a group still haven't grasped or don't want to...
I knew that; many are doctors etc. The head honcho of Frankston Hospital is an Indian lady.
Sadly, she is a career bureaucrat in a suit who doesn't know what a hospital bed looks like (never saw her down in ICU in 3 years working there), but that's another whinge thread for Ev to hack at.
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I guess I'm spolit - the team of tradies I've built up are trustyworthy, value for money, hard workers, have integrity and honest.
Not dreaming...THAT is exactly how my Tradie husband does work each and everyday. It really is not hard. The only time he does not physically answer his phone is if he is on a quote. But he rings the missed call back as soon as he has finished (usually within 10 minutes). Always clean up on the job but we have bins on the ites so the. Lu's take away all rubbish.
Yes but have you lived there. Living in a country gives you a totally different perspective on things and the level (or lack therefore) of customer service. In any country there will always be levels of customer service (e.g. the cigar bar I go to in Makati has world class customer service standards). However in general the customer service is extremely poor in Makati (taxi drivers overcharging, crazy systems for invoicing, etc).
Unless you have lived in a country for more than 6 months I personally don't think it gives you an indication of the general and overall level of customer service. Thailand is well known for it's scams and overcharging. Did you know that when go to the toilet in thailand you will pay 2 baht the local 1 Baht. Sure not going to break the bank but this happens all over the place. I would be smiling too if I was charging you double. Being able to speak and write and read thai (Terry will confirm he can speak and write it as well) it is amazing to hear what is said about foreigners in front of them. With a smile you will be called all sorts of things and the foreigners smile back thinking ohh what a lovely person. In reality the market lady has just called you a stingy fool. Heard it many, many times.
I'm not whinging about it. It is how it is. But having lived in these countries not just been there for 3 week stints 3 times a year I can tell you the smiles are many times fakes and so are the people behind them. See what happens when you say you have no money and business isn't going well so it looks like you might have to cut back the orders. The service will dramatically change and so will people's reaction to you. Money talks in SE asia.
My favourite is when the girls call you "dahk ling" which sounds like "darling" but really means monkey's arss (Issan).
Occasionally i will say "poot thai mai dai" (พูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้) which means "I cannot speak Thai" and throws them off because they're not sure how much you really know. But sometimes it's better to play the 2 week millionaire tourist and not speak any lingo. It all depends on the situation and where you are.
I wonder if they feel clever, or if they realise that I would probably pay ten times the "local" rate to go to the toilet. Perhaps they see us as "rich" tourists, and feel they might as well rip us off. I suppose I see it as just another way to help the locals. I would prefer they didn't think they were being clever and realised that I am not a fool, and have not been fooled, but I would still pay considerably more than double just to be able to use the toilet.
I wonder why they need to be so rude to someone who is handing over money to them. This type of sneaky rudeness is worse than simply being ignored in an Australian shop.
Absolutely true in most of Asia, except Japan, Korea.
There are also two different levels of service whether you're a (white) foreigner or a local. Being Asian in appearance and able to speak quite a few languages, I've been many times mistaken for a local and treated in a shocking manner, from indifference to absolute contempt, even threats.
In Vietnam for instance foreigners are charged many times the local prices on almost EVERYTHING including air travel and government services. Then they go behind your back and boast about how much they have ripped you off.
Australia is not good but not too bad on balance.
I too am very fond of sarcastic humour.
Ha ha that was no attempt at humour. Have you dealt with bureaucracy in US, Latin Europe and some other places?
Yep Truong is right. Although you might think the government bureaucracy is bad in Australia try setting up a Phillippines company. Even better a Thai company. Oh boy.
There seems to be two types on this thread. Those who have actually lived, worked, breathed and run businesses and setup operations in SE asia. Those people know it is insane and Australia is actually a very easy place to do business with good customer service.
The others think that Australia is bad and Asia is easy but havent lived or worked there. But I haven't seen anything yet from those with that opinion who have actually lived, breathed and worked in those countries who have that same view.
How about I throw up a challenge. Let's setup two companies. One in Australia and one in the Phillippines (Makati City) as you need to have local mayors and city registrations. Let's see who gets setup the easiest and quickest and in the least amount of time. I already know which one will win but if anyone wants to take up the challenge that Australia will come second then put your money where your mouth is.
There seems to be two types on this thread. Those who have actually lived, worked, breathed and run businesses and setup operations in SE asia. Those people know it is insane and Australia is actually a very easy place to do business with good customer service.
The others think that Australia is bad and Asia is easy but havent lived or worked there. But I haven't seen anything yet from those with that opinion who have actually lived, breathed and worked in those countries who have that same view.
How about I throw up a challenge. Let's setup two companies. One in Australia and one in the Phillippines (Makati City) as you need to have local mayors and city registrations. Let's see who gets setup the easiest and quickest and in the least amount of time. I already know which one will win but if anyone wants to take up the challenge that Australia will come second then put your money where your mouth is.
Exactly.
I have done development work in Australia, the UK, China and Indonesia.
I would take the first two options any time. Getting an approval in terms of regulations us harder. But dealing with the system is so much easier.
Another example here
.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...l-wedding-minister-luxury-Maldive-resort.html
I got to see this vid before it was removed... gives you a better feel of the deception
.I saw that article (but not the video) a while ago, probably when it first was reported. Due to those who were insulting the couple, other visitors may well stay away. How clever is that .
Serves them right, although I'm assuming the owners of the resort are hapless victims of someone's idea of fun, just as much as the poor couple involved.
.Serves them right, although I'm assuming the owners of the resort are hapless victims of someone's idea of fun, just as much as the poor couple involved.
The most common dual pricing tourists come across are national parks which charge 20 baht entry for Thais and 200 for farangs. Some places try to conceal dual pricing by writing the prices for locals in Thai script.
Because many of them are uneducated xenophobes who are brainwashed with the "Thai rak Thai" mentality from a young age and brought up to believe they're superior to other races.
Terry's heard my rant before and it's common knowledge for people familiar with the culture but Thais are also expert liars. They lie just for fun. They lie when there's no need to and they lie when they think it's what you want to hear and this is often a cause of frustration for farangs.
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Shuggy, that's interesting.
I suspect cultural behaviour (wherever it is) could be very much local, as well as more widespread.
And agree it's often very hard to pick up on the background stuff unless you have intimate knowledge of a place and it's people.
In the Maldives case I suspect it's somewhat similar, but stems from a religious and racial dislike of non Muslims, and behaving in a way that's obviously become acceptable (possibly would not result in a job loss, boss makes similar comments, etc.) - again however, not how all Muslim behave.
Bayview, I think your description of a tradesman might be one of a few profiles.
I know a few young people that have done/doing trades, and almost all completed year 12. Infact I don't know any that went only to year 10, or were failing their subjects, so got into a trade because they had no other options.
I suspect cultural behaviour (wherever it is) could be very much local, as well as more widespread.
And agree it's often very hard to pick up on the background stuff unless you have intimate knowledge of a place and it's people.
In the Maldives case I suspect it's somewhat similar, but stems from a religious and racial dislike of non Muslims, and behaving in a way that's obviously become acceptable (possibly would not result in a job loss, boss makes similar comments, etc.) - again however, not how all Muslim behave.
Bayview, I think your description of a tradesman might be one of a few profiles.
I know a few young people that have done/doing trades, and almost all completed year 12. Infact I don't know any that went only to year 10, or were failing their subjects, so got into a trade because they had no other options.
this may seem like the norm in thailand or vietnam but in other SE Asian countries like singapore - service is definitely much better than australia. processing time is fast in the airports, the corporate banking service when opening a bank account is such a breeze as opposed to doing similar things here in Australia
i agree - money talks in SE asia as well as speaking the local language which is prevalent mostly everywhere in the world except maybe in australia on certains things. Things in australia for e.g doing a search for structural engineering drawing on a bulding takes a standard 4 weeks or say getting an owners corporation certifcate takes a standard 2 weeks or say getting a s27 from a bank takes 2 weeks and they wait for the full completion of the period before even helping you out.
In SE countries, like malaysia or indonesia - i could easily get all that done in a day.
i agree - money talks in SE asia as well as speaking the local language which is prevalent mostly everywhere in the world except maybe in australia on certains things. Things in australia for e.g doing a search for structural engineering drawing on a bulding takes a standard 4 weeks or say getting an owners corporation certifcate takes a standard 2 weeks or say getting a s27 from a bank takes 2 weeks and they wait for the full completion of the period before even helping you out.
In SE countries, like malaysia or indonesia - i could easily get all that done in a day.
I don’t think it’s a case of racism but a combination of historical factors and national character. Having lived centuries under despotic and/or colonial rule, many people in SEA look at the powerful and wealthy with a mix of awe, fear and hate, so rather than confront they will choose sneakiness and underhand behaviour. Somehow that's their non-violent way to defend themselves, otherwise they would erupt into irrational violence.
Generally SEA people are driven emotionally more than mentally, so they will readily sacrifice the truth in order to keep face and maintain "harmonious" relationships.
Agreed, Singapore is a quite pleasant place to interact.
