January 2000

In the last two 2 years, I have bought around 20 big items that required home delivery - a bed, sofa, furniture etc. Only one delivery was made within the promised time.

I keep asking myself why? What about my foreigner friends who live in Thailand? I guess they feel even more frustration than I do since they came from societies where a promise is very important.

For what it is worth, as a Thai, when my foreigner friends pose the question of why a straightforward delivery appointment is so difficult to keep - here are some answers...

• Sales people promise too much: When the customer purchases a large item, he or she specifies a time when delivery would be most convenient. In Thailand, we are brought up in a society that makes it very hard to say "no". The sales person, even if they are aware that the delivery schedule is full, will not want to seem impolite. Instead of saying "I am sorry, we cannot make delivery at that time - would later in the day be okay for you?", they will simply agree to the time proposed by the customer. This is Kreng Jai - actually a form of respect for others, especially those senior or in a position of power. Thus, out of respect and a willingness to help, the sales person will agree to whatever demands the customer makes about delivery - even if he or she knows it is not going to be possible to fulfill the delivery promise.

• Lack of training: Shops in Thailand do not put a lot of effort or expenditure into staff training. The stock, the showroom, prime location - all are seen as legitimate expenses. Staff training is very much at the bottom of the list of business priorities.

• Poor internal communication: The customer may see the salesperson write down the time on a delivery order but there is no guarantee of a timely delivery. The delivery man most likely can read but he may have a low education level. He quite possibly does not like to read. The school system here in Thailand does not in general instill a joy of learning into children. Slow learners are penalized severely and in my experience many Thais much prefer verbal communication.

  Therefore, the next time you see the sales person write down a delivery time, why not ask him or her to pick up the phone a confirm the appointment verbally with the delivery department?

• No feedback from customers Thais are trained from an early age to avoid conflict. We strive for harmony and compromise where necessary. Thais seldom complain to the shop owners and where they do, others might say the complaint is being far too aggressive and fussy - getting above themselves. If more customers complained, service would have to improve.

  Kriengsak Niratpattanasai
  DBS Thai Danu Bank, Bangkok, Thailand

  (This column also appeared in ethailand)