Chet, taxi driver

Who are the worst passengers?
The impolite ones. For example, recently I stopped for a group of young girls who asked me, “Ja pai mai?” Why couldn’t they just say, “Pai mai ka?”? They sounded like they didn’t care whether I gave them a lift or not, so I drove off.

What else bugs you?
Besides the traffic, I hate cars that honk every time I pull over to pick up a passenger. They really don’t have any sympathy. This is a taxi,and a taxi picks up passengers.

Do people tip you?
Farangs, mostly—and they usually take short trips. When the meter is B35, they will pay me B50 and tell me to keep the change. Some Thais tip, too, but only five or 10 baht.

Ever been robbed?
Never. But others taxis warn me not to pick up passengers from Pathumthani or Lum Lukka because they’ve been robbed there before.

Chayanit Kritsirithanarat, flight attendant

What’s the hardest thing about being a flight attendant?
Not to lose your patience, to compromise, to be punctual, to be alert and to take care of your health.

Any “bad passenger” stories you’d like to share?
Yes, we had a troublemaker yesterday. He asked one of my co-workers for a Pepsi, but she was busy. So she asked him to wait a minute and suddenly he started shouting at her, “F*** you!” and “F*** the captain!”

How did you deal with the Pepsi guy?
She told the supervisor who reported him to the captain. He was arrested when
we landed.

Vinai Priamsati, masseur at Sabai Thai Massage

What did you do before this job?
I was a “cheer” guy in an ab op nuat. I would talk to customers and say things like, “Number 30 is cute—she’s our star.” Compared to that job, being a masseur is much better.

How much do you earn per day?
I get 35 percent. So for a one-hour Thai massage, the customer pays B200 and I get B70.

Is this enough to live on?
Well, most of my income is from tips.

Do you get bad customers?
Yes, from time to time. Gays—mostly farangs—often misunderstand our service and try to harass me sexually. When this happens, I simply say, “What exactly do you expect? We offer massage. If you’re looking for something other than that, we don’t have it.”

X, Spa supervisor at luxury resort, Phuket

What is the secret to delivering good service?
If you’re in the service business, you need to have a service mind. Then you know naturally what the guest wants and needs. For example, I was the butler of a famous designer for years. He didn’t like to talk much, but with a single glance I could guess what he wanted. That’s how you make people really happy.

Any problems?
Rich Thais cause a lot of problems and have a bad attitude. They treat you like dirt.
In general, farangs respect employees more.

What about tipping?
Some guests put money on the table at the beginning of their stay and just say, “Take care of my family.” Maybe US$100. I like that. If you tip first, you know what kind of service you’re buying. If you tip at the end, some staff might not deliver 100% because they don’t know what they’re working for.

How do you deal with rude or angry guests?
The Thai way. We stay calm, quiet, gentle and we smile. You have to be more clever than your guest.

What would you like to tell guests?
When foreigners come for a Thai massage, they sometimes expect that “something” will happen at the end. We don’t blame them, because this is OK in some places, but not in our spa. We’ve had some guests slap money onto the massage bed and shout, “Do it!” At this point, the girls will leave the room.

Horror stories of service gone oh-so-wrong

Pak Torungsri, 35, proofreader

Recently, I went to Big C Ekkamai to pay my Quick Cash loan. As usual, I handed the bill to the staff. An eternity passed as they tried to scan the barcode, after which I was told, “It just doesn’t work.” So what now? It doesn’t work and that’s it? I ended up walking out to pay at another branch instead. A few weeks later, Quick Cash called to inform me that my bill was overdue. It turns out that the staff at Big C scanned the wrong barcode; the one she scanned was Citibank’s. So I’ve paid Citibank twice and I haven’t paid anything to Quick Cash. The incident has ruined my record at Quick Cash. Now my credit’s not as good as before and it’s all her fault.

Suthikiat Singka, 21, photographer

The worst service I ever experienced was from a nurse at Sappasitthiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani. This lady didn’t care about the patients’ feelings at all. I once saw an old lady queuing for a long time. When she asked how long it would take to see a doctor, the nurse pointed her finger to the back of the waiting room and told the lady to sit there and wait. I don’t know if it’s because she’s tired or what, but a nurse shouldn’t behave with such bad manners.

Supaporn Padungsawat, 27, systems analyst

Just a few weeks ago, I went to a minimart on Koh Pa Ngan. There’s only one convenience store on the island, so everyone has to buy snacks, drinks, toilet paper and everything else there. The staff at the shop are very unfriendly to Thais, but take pains to please farangs. I tried to buy a snack and put it on the counter, but the cashier completely ignored me. Another place is MK Suki, next to Central Bangna. Other branches may be better—MK Trendi is good—but this one is unbearable. You have to wait ages to place your order, and the staff don’t take care of your table at all. I was very upset, so I criticized their service in the comment form. I hope they improve.

Kitisak Singsungneoun, 27, lecturer

I went to a bar—can’t remember the name—and everything was fine until I tipped the waiter. My friends and I were about to leave, when the waiter walked back to our table to give back the money that I’d tipped him. I was stunned. I’m not sure if I tipped him too little or if he misunderstood and thought that I’d forgotten my change, but it’s rude either way. A waiter shouldn’t refuse a tip. So I just dropped the money on the floor and walked out. Other tables were looking, but I didn’t care.

The Tipping Points

BK guides you through the delicate protocol of international tipping

Australia: Tipping is not widespread in Australia. Some may leave coins on the bar or tell cab drivers to keep the change. A tip of 10 percent in restaurants for impressive service is normal. But tipping in hotels and hair salons is still an uncommon practice.

UK: Tipping is preferred and expected here in places. At hotels, 10-15 percent of the room cost is already added to the bill, so no need to tip more. But for restaurants and taxis, it’s 10 percent. In hair salons, the customary rate is 2 pounds for the hairdresser and 1 pound for the assistant. No tipping in pubs.

USA: Tipping is universal in the States. In sit-down restaurants, you are expected to tip 15-20 percent of the bill; for taxis, 10-15 percent. If you go to a restaurant with a large group, however, they’ll often include a charge for service on the bill. And remember: never tip government officers.

Japan: Tipping is not practiced in Japan except in exceptional cases—a personal limousine driver, for instance.

Singapore: No tipping here, either; it’s just not the Singaporean way. A 10 percent service charge is already included in your restaurant and hotel bills. Also, tipping at the airport is strictly forbidden.

Hong Kong: In restaurants, there’s a service charge included but additional tipping is expected. Bellboys and porters also look forward to tips. But for taxis you don’t need to pay extra.

Thailand: Normally, tipping is not a must, but in some cases it can provide incentive for staff to take good care of you on your next visit. Tips of B10-20 for bellboys and waiters are standard practice. Technically there’s no need to tip taxi drivers, but if you insist on waiting for that 3 baht change, we’re not getting in a cab with you.

This May Day, Duangtawan Nilayon raises a toast to all of the workers who have to deal with our crap.