The Thai Smile

The Land of Smile...

Visitors are often impressed with the "Thai Smile". An American tourist once told me this is what he loved most about Thailand. The smile, the hospitality and the way guests are treated. My boss asked me once how I seemed to be happy all the time.

Haha they do not know the truth!

For most Asian cultures, manners come first. Self expression and facial expressions are bad manners. For Thais, unfortunately, not smiling is a bad manner... Not feeding your guests well is a bad manner... saying how we feel about other people is a bad manner...

That's it... I have said it!

In a mourning ceremonies guests smile their symphatethic smiles and relatives smile to thank the guests for coming. People smile to say hello, goodbye, sorry, thank you, OK and welcome. A pouting flight attendance may be reprimanded. Interviewers usually accept the biggest smilers before others. And I can still remember the time when I was spanked because I made faces and talked back when my parents disciplined me. (Oh it was in those old time when pareants spank their own kids and we were not allowed to have opinions... please don't put my parents in jail.)

Now you know... We are not smiling because we are nice people, or because we like you. We are smiling because we have to... It is the fucking manner!

Thai readers may be having a violent reaction to my statement already as this makes us sound silly. Don't worry. They will still be smiling while writing their nasty comments or beating me up the next time we meet on the street...

Thai Taboos

Taboo

OMG... Thailand is full of taboos. It is so bad that if I should list down all the taboos here, you will not want to come to Thailand anymore.

So... Let's just discuss only the three most important taboos that can get you killed...


The ROYAL FAMILY is placed highly above all...

The ROYAL FAMILY is not to be talked about. The only you can talk about them is to praise them. If you make fun of them, gossip about them, write something not so about them, even not pay proper respect to them or to the royal anthem... you'll be prosecuted... provided that no Thai people have beaten you to death yet.

Writer Harry Nicolaides jailed for insulting Thai king

Suwicha Takhor -- 10 years, no bail, for Internet comments

Da Torpedo -- 18 years, no bail, private hearing, for her aggressive speech

Swissman jailed for spray-painting on the King's portrait (while drunk)

When it comes to the King and his family, there is no excuse. The word "Thai" in Thailand means "free". Do not expect freedom of speech here... Be warned...


My Toes, My Knees, My Shoulders, My Head...

The guardian angels (or someone might say "Buddha") are on the Thai's heads. Touching someone's head, or doing things near/above the head will force the guardian angel away. Though most Thais do not believe in such things nowadays, such manners are still considered insulting.
When the head is put "high", the feet are considered the "lowest" organ. Should you point your foot to someone, or point to something with your foot, you are insulting the Thai person you are talking to. Therefore, watch your feet while sitting. Don't sit cross-legged either.

Using left hand is almost as bad because it is only used to clean yourself after the toilet. If a student raises her left hand when teacher says "raise your hand", she will be punished.


Paying It Backward...

If someone does you a favor, you are obliged to return it. Thus, parents are all Thais' god as they give us lives. It sounds nice that you take care of your parents. But some parents really take advantage of their children. They dictate the kids' lives -- where to live, who to marry, what to do, etc. If the parents need money to pay their loans (or whatever), their daughters have to go selling herself in the sex market and be praised by villagers for being "Katunyoo". I cannot even find the right term in English for the word. Does this "Katunyoo" thingie make sense to you? Not to me either....

Thais take Katunyoo seriously. Therefore, while in Thailand, think before accepting favor. If someone goes over his burden to assist you with something, he will definitely expect the same treat back.


Hope you still want to come to Thailand... The land of smile... Well... If not for the weird practices, it is really a nice place, you know...

The Way Thais Grow Up!

This is how I grew up...

I was told gratefulness is the best quality in a person. You have to do whatever your parents ask you to because they raised you up, fed you and even though you are abandoned, you still have to be obliged because your parents gave you your live. 

Aside from the parents, there are teachers (the third parent) -- because teachers give you knowledge.

Also the king and his family because their ancestors have fought for Thailand in the past and brought in civilizations. The current HM King Rama IX is also known and highly repected and appreciated  by Thai people for many development projects.

In school, we stood in front of the flagpole every morning singing and paying respect* to the Thai National Anthem. After the national anthem, we said a prayer and then a pledge to "die for the nation, the religion and His Majesty."

In history classes, our ancestors are all great men, who had fought for the country and against the enemies.  

And this is why many Thais have become nationalists and royalists. 

Do not say bad things about our country or our King. You will not be able to do business with them anymore. (Even when they were the one started it -- Keep your opinions to yourself.) Actually, doing this (saying bad things about the King) is illegal in Thailand. You may face jail sentence up to 10 years.

We also expect you to return favor. We will try to put you under an obligation and demand it back without condition, and sometimes in weird circumstances. So, be careful.

We also belive being a Thai is the greatest thing ever happened to us. We do not see the reason why we have to know how to speak other languages. We prefer buying Thailand-made products and services. Therefore, we do not like the idea of offshore outsourcing too much.

BPO have to make us believe that you can do the job as well (not better - we will be offended). List down the reason why you are doing this, what technologies you are using, your past success and assure us that there will be at least one Thai person to look over the operations and talk to us.  That one Thai person has to be an educated native Thai and not just a foreigner who can speak the language well.

Sounds difficult. But believe me. If the operation starts well, they will believe in your services and from then, everything else is smooth as silk!

* Note1:  This "Paying respect" thing is mendatory in Thailand. You can be prosecuted if you don't pay respect to the royal family, royal anthem, national anthem, national flag, royal portraits, etc. properly. I'll write about such cases in thailand in a while... so visitors, be careful. 

** Note2: Don't hate us for being like this. Blame it on the governments, society and education system...

Thais are Born Service-Minded

Thai people are born service-minded. And this is why we are expecting the same from service providers. A wrong move from not even you, but your lowest level staff, will trigger the tantrum.

This is including myself. See below what I did in the past. I am not proud of it but it is in my blood.

- Asked to talk to the manager when the storekeeper re-adjusted everything on the shelves (e.g. moved it 1 cm to the left) right after I touched it.

- Waved and left when the storekeeper did not seem to be friendly or get whatever I want in a flash.

- Hung up in desperation when the contact center of a pizza deliveries did not speak loud enough and did not raise her volume even after a couple of requests from me.

- Chose to buy from a store with better services and nicer management even it means higher prices.

- Cried and created a scene in one of a country's governmental office because the officers did not give me clear information and scolded at me when I asked for clarification.  

Oh my "You-have-to-know-what-I-want" symptom is not an extreme case for Thais. I am telling you now.

Wait... Don't give up yet. I am here to tell you how to make me -- and your Thai clients -- happy, aint' I?

Now... This is what you can do to make sure your BPO/Call Center meets expectation:

1. Hiring the right personnels -- You need at lease one native Thai coordinating staff for your Thai account -- no matter if your clients can speak English or not.

2. Understanding Clients -- Make sure you and the client are talking about the same thing when discussing expectation. Confirm in writing. The Key performances should be measurable.

3. Reporting -- Keep in touch using meaningful performance reports and updates.

4. Being Proactive -- Follow up, Foresee things, Think ahead, Be Prepared

I will explain each task above in the next topics...

Meanwhile, please share good or bad experiences with your Thai clients with us. Thank you.