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Tailor scam at MBK
Written by David Nilsson   
Thursday, 18 September 2008

Wednesday August 20 I went to the Vip suit a tailorshop at the second floor at MBK room 2B45. I order a pair of pants a shirt and a vest, the sellers name is Lucky and he asure me that the material af the pants is a very good mix between silk and cotton, I said it feels and looks alittle like the sheep polyesterfabric you just shown me. He said its no polyester in this fabric. I took him for his word becaus he know I live and study in Bangkok so why should he lie when I could come back easy. When I came home I thought I would test the fabric (I got a piece with me home) I set it on fire and it changed in to a black hard piece of plastic, the next day I showed the tested fabric to Lucky and then he said its maybe 10% polyester and that it is like that in every fabric, he told me to ask any other tailor. I did that and I asked 5 different tailor and fabric shops from very cheep to the very expencive ones at Siam Paragon. And everyone told me the same, polyester fabric with 60-100% polyester.

I went back to get my 2000 Bath deposit back but they refused to give it back. I called the owner of the shop John or Johnny that also own 4 other tailor shops at MBK. He told me that they dont have any polyesterfabric in his store and I wont get a refound. I went to the information to complain, they went up to the tailor with me but they still say its not polyester and I wont get a refound. I then talked to the police and they came to the store to help me. The owner had come and he wouldent surrender for anything and they keep saying its no polyester. I wanted them to stick a piece of the fabric to a paper and write that this is the fabric the pants are made of and its silk and cotton no polyester but they didnt do that and the police couldent take the pants to check with other places.

So in the end we had to leave because the stor were closing and we went to the police station to write a report. But the police cant do anything else so now I have to go to courte if I want my money back wich I attend to do. Though its not that much money its the principe and I'm sure many with me would like to do the same but dont have the time and possibility because they are only tourist in Thailand for some weeks. So I will take this as far as possible. The police told me to call the office of the consumer protection board, so I will do that tomorrow. Do you have any other advise? Do you know anyone that got money back from a scam like this? Or have any one gone to court with something like this? I should also say that at first they offerd to make new pants, and in the end also to give everything to me without paying the rest 2000B but then I couldent take it to court. I didnt take any of theire offer because I didnt want to support theire bussines anymore.

Comments (53)Add Comment
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written by sceptic, Wed 24 Sep 2008 22:43:19 MDT
are you a tailor david? sounds like business is running dry for you.
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written by Scammed again, Thu 25 Sep 2008 06:39:24 MDT
You will never get a refund from a scammer in Thailand.

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written by Liam , Sat 27 Sep 2008 11:35:24 MDT
I have it from the horse's mouth that the Tourist Tailors who offer great deals , get their fabrics from factories in Thailand . These factories are also run by their ethnic brothers!!
The fabrics have Italy, England etc on the borders but not the word Made In!

They also have words like Wool, Fine Wool and Kashmir etc

They are all synthetics
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written by Luca, Sat 27 Sep 2008 13:45:52 MDT
Liam is so right ! they can write anything on ther label...even that is pure gold but is not ! my advice for David is to forgot them because if you will go to court...will be very very long story and it will cost much more than 2000 bath ...you will spend probabily 10.000 for ...maybe get bak 2000 bath ! you got what i mean ?
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written by MIKEY, Sun 28 Sep 2008 06:29:28 MDT
I would advise in this type of transaction to pay with a credit card, if you are cheated you can have your credit card deal with the crooks.

I've had several transactions reversed by my credit card company, they do keep records of complaints aginst mercnants and most likely will find in favor of the customer
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written by Emmanuel, Sat 04 Oct 2008 12:13:04 MDT
go to bethoven close to emporium
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written by Tony, Mon 06 Oct 2008 21:56:02 MDT
You'll be regret later if you take your case to police or court in Thailand unless you speak fluent Thai...Just read the daily newspaper's letters to editor section and you'll find many victims like you who lost 10 times or more...I am sorry David, but you got what you paid for!
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written by Theo, Tue 07 Oct 2008 22:02:25 MDT
Dont walk in the streets of Bangkok dressed in your expensive bought scamsuite. Its like advertising yourself: I am an easy victim! TukTuk drivers wont give you a break. Well you still can wear it at home for garden work or while fixing your car
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written by Todd, Wed 08 Oct 2008 14:35:31 MDT
I recommend everyone read this?

http://www.stickmanweekly.com/Reader2007/reader4672.htm

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written by Peter Emanuelsson, Sun 19 Oct 2008 04:05:18 MDT
I think you should take this to the next level. It's not for the money, it's the principle, as you said.
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written by jay, Mon 20 Oct 2008 11:34:54 MDT
There are ways to tackle such problems. But let me tell you something out of 100% tailors in Thailand may be only 2 to 5% will be honest enough to tell their clients, the truth about the fabric they are selling.
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written by Colin, Wed 22 Oct 2008 08:48:42 MDT
This story just make me sad. Not only because you’ve lost some money, but mostly because you (supposedly) live in Bangkok and have yet to learn one of the most important principles in Thailand. Face.
The Thai concept of face, or more specifically "losing face" and "saving face" is a primary motivator of their behavior.
As Westerners we can compare face to the word honor. In the west we know that we are not really honorable, and we accept it. There are few of us that would insist that we are honorable. The Thai concept of face is similar to honor... and yet there is so much more to it. If a Thai "loses face" it means that he or she has suffered some loss of honor... some embarrassment. To Thais this can be absolutely devastating depending on the manner in which it was dealt by another or experienced as a result of his/her own actions prior.
In Thai society there is this emphasis on maintaining the facade of perfection. This facade of perfection means that as a person, as an individual you do nothing to disturb that facade. It is unspoken, but everyone knows. You don't disturb the facade of perfection. You don't break the facade or people lose face. You don't criticize others. You don't yell or lose your temper. And you don’t accuse people of lying, which is what you are doing.
The poor tailor will do anything to save his face. It is obvious that he has given you several options to solve this situation. It is obvious that their offer to make new pants was an attempt to save face, but unfortunately, you failed to understand this. Don’t get me wrong know, I’m not asking you to walk away, but one thing you must comprehend is that everybody knows that the tailor tried to scam you, but from their perspective YOU are causing the embarrassment – not him. Admitting to have lied is inconceivable.

My advice would have been to go back and apologise for being clumsy as to ordering pants made from the wrong fabric, asking the owner if there was something that could be done to rectify this. He will know, you will know, the staff will know; EVERYBODY will know that he tried to scam you but failed miserably. But it is not spoken of openly.

Thailand is different culture, something you desperately need to learn, and you need to start learning very quickly.
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written by Theo, Thu 23 Oct 2008 11:29:26 MDT
You dont yell or lose your temper. Why than has Thailand such a high murderrate? Anyway nobody offers Tharksin the solution you suggest mr Nilsson. But may be corruption is florishing just because of this tabus Not being allowed to critizice openly may be the cause of the whole political system to be desfunctional. One might just as well call it hypocrisy
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written by Peter Emanuelsson, Thu 23 Oct 2008 14:18:07 MDT
We are now waiting for David's answer re: his next step.
Until then, we don't know whether he's still reading this thread or not.

I still stick to my suggestion, regardless of people losing face or whatever: take this to the next level, before it's too late.
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written by Theo, Thu 23 Oct 2008 21:28:08 MDT
In Holland one loses face too when one yells and one loses ones temper.Nothing specific "Thai"about that. Its considered a sign of bad education here too. When the falang comes home with a suite that turnes out to be plastic he will be considerd a fool back home. People will laugh behind his back.So the falang looses face here. Was the Thai tailor considering that? I dont think so. He only sees the falang as a walking purse, not a human being.But you see to be very worried about the hurd delicate feelings of an ordinairy scammer. Or call him a criminal. People like that dont deserve respect. Not in Thailand and not in Amsterdam.
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written by Theo, Thu 23 Oct 2008 23:22:48 MDT
The "losing face" issue is always put forward by people claming to understand Thai culture. Many books have been written about it. Probably you have been reading a little. But just like I have never been able to understand North African islam culture, even though I spent years there a falang will never be able to get into the essence of Thai culture.
One can understand Latin American culture .
There is a lot Latin culture has in common with European culture.
Thai culture, the country has never been colonised, has little in common with our culture. One will always be the outsider. Anyway the simple fact you are not born in Thailand and dont have a Thai face will make that you will never be completely accepted.You cannot even apply for a Thai passport. Thais are racists. They consider Thai culture superior to other cultures in the world.Thats what they have in common with white caucasions. Was the tailor a Thai? Usely they are descendants of immigrants from India, Pakistan. Thais dont like them Call them khon cec. Never trust them Thais always tell me. Thais also tell me never to trust the Lao. They always cheat. and so on. I think David is right. Mr Colin just wants to give the tailor an opportunity to get away with it, even though everybody in his environment will know he tried to cheat. He will try it again with the next tourist. I even asked some Thai in Amsterdam here about there opinion and they agreed. But of course again they started talking about cheating "khon ceck" tailors
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written by Colin, Fri 24 Oct 2008 13:41:25 MDT
Theo,
I was NOT trying to give the tailor an opportunity; I was trying to help Mr. David Nilsson understand the concept of cutting your losses. If he'd done what I told him he would have had a pair of nice trousers (well, most tailors in Thailand aren’t THAT good…). Doing it HIS way, he'll end up with nothing, and he will develop a lot of enemies on the way.

I'm sorry you feel the way you do about Thai people. You're right about the racism which in my opinion is due to the large amount of tourist who come here and act like assholes, twats and complete ignorant bastards. In that perspective, individuals like that sometimes makes me develop racist thoughts as well, and believe me, there are a lot of them tourists.

The racism and grudge is aimed not only towards foreigners, but towards people from other regions in Thailand. For instance, a Thai doesn't think of someone from Sisaket as a "Thai". In this case, Mr.Sisaket is from "Isaan", which - as far as the Thai person is concerned - is NOT Thailand. To be honest, even their appearance and looks are different. In view of this cultural fact, it would be a mistake to expect complete acceptance.

The passport issue you mentioned is only partially true. A foreign man will never be able to get a Thai passport. Contrary, women who marry Thai men can get one very quickly.

I understand I have an advantage when it comes to understanding Thai culture and how to stay away from scams like this. I am married to a Thai woman, I have three half-Thai children and I run two businesses in Bangkok where I live since 25 years. I spend almost no time with western friends, all my neighbors are Thai, and every weekend I play golf with my Thai friends. More importantly, I am fluent in Thai, which appears to be the difference for a scammer when it comes to homing in on a potential target - if you can speak fluent Thai you’re off the hook, nobody will ever as much as think about ripping you of. I’ve made the conclusion that it’s because in their minds you’re one of them, or at least close enough to avoid being scammed.

Learning to speak Thai is the ultimate proof that you’re willing to adapt to and learn about Thai culture. I guess this is the difference between being treated badly by racist Thais. And this where my Thai experience differs from yours, simply because I’ve been willing to learn and adapt to a different way of thinking.

It is obvious that with your perception of Thai culture I will be very hard to achieve some sort of acceptance.

Unfortunately, it can also be very expensive.
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written by Theo, Fri 24 Oct 2008 16:52:31 MDT
My perception of Thai culture is not that negative. Besides I never had seriuos problems being ripped off. But I dont hang out in falang aereas to much. Have been to Pat Pong only once. Never visited Pattaya. Prefer mountain regions. Met a lot of generous and nice Thai people. Learned to speak the language although not fluently like you.You can read Thai? Considering what you said about you living and working there so long I probably misjuged you. Apologise for that.
I thoughtyou to be one of those having an opinion after reading a couple of books. One meets many like that. Still its a fact something has to be done about the scamming. You can read here lots of people will never be back because of what happened to them.Not good for Thailand! And police seems to be either involved or just indifferent
Greeting,
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written by andrew collingwood, Sun 26 Oct 2008 16:00:26 MDT
why are the thai people so hell bent on ripping people off? if every tourist spread the word, it must weed them out?
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written by Theo, Mon 27 Oct 2008 15:35:34 MDT
Concerning Esan People: Citate: Even their appearance and looks are different In the view of this cultural fact, it would be a mistake to expect complete acceptance. It seems your definition of culture includes appearance and looks.
This seems a rather racial interpretation of "culture" It means that somebody with different looks will behave different as well. But it also means that you as well will never be completely accepted in Thailand because your face is not like theirs even though you speak their language. It also means that you have some understanding for the fact Esan people are discriminated.Consider the fact that it were the Thais who brought the lao there by force! From a historical point of view thais are in debt with them. Concerning falangs and their behaviour. Yes . But why are all these low class people coming? Not only because of cheap tickets. They come for cheap sex.They will come as long as Thailand doesnt do anything to controle its disgusting sexindustry, and they dont want to because without it tourists might spent their dollars somewhere else. In Malaysia they dont tolerate it, and one sees a different class of western tourists there. If the Thais dont like these uneducated falangs, they should press their government to put an end to sexindustry. But the bath might have be devaluated as a consequence. Another point: One cannot expect every tourist to learn Thai. So its up to Thai government to protect ignorant new comers. In Amsterdam the golden argossy gemshop would be closed by long. Whats going wrong there?
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written by Theo, Mon 27 Oct 2008 22:07:32 MDT
The Thais are like somebody starting a brothel to make quick money and then starts to complain about the kind of customers he gets in.
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written by Theo, Tue 28 Oct 2008 01:40:18 MDT
The passport issue is indeed interesting Mr Colin.Its not that I was partly wrong, because I wrote YOU cannot apply for one. And you are a man. So why are rules for men and women not the same? Thai machismo? Is Thailand in need of female immigrants? Rules like that would never be excepted in the European community.Another prove of unreasonable and twisted Thai thinking? Would like to know.I admit I didnt know that. Maybe we should should do the same overhere. More women, more fun.
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written by Theo, Tue 28 Oct 2008 01:50:38 MDT
May be because the falang are stealing there women?
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written by Tourist, Tue 28 Oct 2008 06:51:10 MDT
An elaborate plan to defraud every tourist.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=676476&page=6
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written by Theo, Wed 29 Oct 2008 01:21:41 MDT
Thais dicriminate falang and Lao. Well who do they like beside Thais. Do the like the Paama (myanmar) No of course. Like the hilltribes NO!! Kmen? (Canbodia) NO Not at all!! The muslems down South Uff No of course! The Chinese no! Chinese run the whole Thai economy. 10% of Thailands population is Chinese but they are responsable for 50% of Thailands BNP!! Reason enough to dislike them of course. The Japanese business men in Bangkok? Thai dont like them and the Japanese dont like the Thai. Say Thais are lazy irresponsable moneyspenders. Strange that the chinese I talked with often have the same opinion. Well a lot of falangs can confirm that after marrying a Thai woman. Vietnamese? No way Half chinese Read Confucius Not to be trusted.Malaysians? They support the muslems!! We dont like them! Khon Keck! Who do they like? And, of course who of all mentioned above likes the Thai?
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written by Theo, Wed 29 Oct 2008 01:39:07 MDT
Well we are we are happy to hear that at least they like you Mr. Colin.
Well, you think they do
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written by Michael, Fri 31 Oct 2008 22:10:58 MDT
I have a suggestion for David. You may not be aware of this, but most of the 'tailors' in Bangkok are not really tailors; they are in fact cloth sellers and measurers, middle men. Having sold you the cloth & measured you for a garment, they then send the cloth & measurements off to a work-room. If you walk around the back lanes & fresh markets of certain areas, you'll see lots of workrooms. If you can speak a little, even very little, Thai, you'll get at least as good a garment as in the glamorous Indian tailors' shops. And for much cheaper. It appears from your posting that you were about to pay 4,000Baht for a pair of pants, a shirt & a vest. The making at a workroom would be around 500 for pants, 250 for a shirt & I don't know about a vest because I've never had one made, but I think around 250 - 300. Get your cloth from a fabric shop in a Thai area. You can test it on the spot - they'll be amused, as long as you do it with good humour. The maker will do several fittings, if you need that - they take pride in their work (& don't hold back the positive feedback). Phaorat market area (opposite The Old Siam) is a good area - lots of cloth shops - go into the market & wander around because the off-street ones are cheaper. Pratunam is another good area.

When they measure you for your collar use the 2-finger or 1-finger trick - Thais often like very loose collars. Stick 2 fingers against your neck so that the tape goes around them, and then you'll get a snug-fitting collar that stands up nicely. If you're using local hand-woven cotton, take it home & wash it first (it's often very good quality, with great texture, but it shrinks). The tailor should give you a little piece of your cloth, so you can check that he hasn't substituted a cheaper one. Take a photo of a garment you like, & he'll copy it.

The other alternative is to go to a Chinese tailor. Many of them do the making on-site. I've found them to be cheaper & more honest than the Indians with pavement touters. They're usually in dowdy-looking small shops - don't be put off. That's where the Thai civil servants & businessmen go, and they are always well-dressed. I'm still wearing a light wool suit I had made by a Chinese tailor in 2001. It cost 2,500Baht. I wash the pants by hand.
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written by Theo, Sat 15 Nov 2008 23:35:16 MST
Micheal, I have seen Thais dressed in those waterproof plastic scam suits ! May be they speak not a little, but to much Thai!
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written by Theo, Sun 16 Nov 2008 05:49:39 MST
They sell them to Thais as well. Those factories, there are many, cannot excist without Thai customers. The falang market isnt big enough. But probably Thais buy them cheap. Besides Thais dont sweat. So they can waer those plastic bags in the heat without problems.
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written by Theo, Sun 16 Nov 2008 07:21:42 MST
There are some positive reports about those suites too. Farangs told me wearing these suits during the Songkran festifal they turned out to be a good protection. So your money spent might be of some use after all.
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written by Lukcy, Thu 20 Nov 2008 18:20:00 MST
you every guy come to my shop, what you want i will give you, my email is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , please mail me.
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written by Zarnehein, Fri 21 Nov 2008 11:18:42 MST
The fact of the matter is how educated the people who buy and sell are.A person who understand how to buy things will never be ripped.The ones who sell is very important to maintain the reputation of shop. I hope they are educated(not only from school)
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written by doctor bob, Thu 27 Nov 2008 18:27:09 MST
i was victimiized last november 22 by TAILOR VHEJEY.M , their shop is VJ ARMANI SUITS 438 SUKHOMVIT SOI 22-24 BANGKOK THAILAND.
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written by sammie, Mon 08 Dec 2008 15:30:35 MST
Good advice there Michael. I have done the "tailor thing" oer the years, and it was probably my fault, greedily rubbing my hands when I looked at their 2, suits, 4 blouses advertisements all for $90. I think if your after a Saville Row suit made by the Nelapese(who I adore actually) your going to be disappointed, so I generally stick to good tailors attached to a mega hotel (hotels dont take kindly to irate customers!).
Nong khai have some a couple of excellent tailors and they are generally Thai!
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written by David Nilsson, Sat 27 Dec 2008 01:14:10 MST
Hi everyone, Sorry I didn't answered your comment earlier. I just found out that they posted my story here. This is the first time I ordered tailormade clothes in Thailand, I usualy make them in Vietnam at a very god tailor in Hoi An. I would like to say to Colin that I know all about loosing face in asia and I gave the salseman that were indian and the owner that was Thai/chinese many chanses to give me my money back quietly with no face loosing. But they choosed not to do it so thats why I felt I hade to do something about it. As I said Its not about the money. I know for sure I am right and I am ready to pay for any leagel cost to prove I'm right. It doesent matter if I dont get the money back from them, I want it to be proved that I'm right.

I contacted the consumer protection bord or สำนักงานคณะกรรมการ คุ้มครองผู้บริโภค สคบ. Due to the political situation in Thailand couldent I get hold of them for a while but after I came to them it took 3 weeks and they set up a meating between me and the owner of the shop. They stil refused to give me back the money so after 2 moor weeks we met again and this time with 2 kind of lawyers that would help us clear this case. This time the owner also brought the pants and if we not were to end this they would help me to take the pants and check them to make sure what kind of matherial it was. After 4 hours of talking they would give me my money back and an extra 500Bhat for my expences. And I was to delete the webste I hade made (not this site) to spread the word about them. I deleted the website I made but now they sa this site. So now the wont pay until this site is cleared aswell. But before I ask to clere my story from this site I whanted you to know how it went. Maybe now I wont get anything after writing this =)

Marry Christmas and a happy new year...
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written by Theo, Sat 27 Dec 2008 07:35:17 MST
I admire your persistance. On the uther hand, you said its not for the money. So why clear the site? Let them keep the money and dont clear the site.
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written by Theo, Sat 27 Dec 2008 08:08:21 MST
Another interesting thing is that the scammers seem to monitor this site! This proves the site workes! May be even better than your "kind of lawyers" Advice: If you have been scammed and want back your money tell them you will publish the story with the name of the scammer here!! Probably they will pay you back right away!!
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written by Theo, Sat 27 Dec 2008 08:50:05 MST
And about the "loosing face" issue so important in Thailand. Occupiers of airports Loosing face? Shooting people in Bangkoks streets. Insulting each other trowing stones, distroying cars!! loosing face? I wonder how much of this "loosing face" is just the product of farangs immagination? May be you should have trown your shoes at the shopkeeper. But it the loosing face concept its not only he who looses face then but you as well because of loosing temper. Besides you will have to leave walk home without shoes.
Does he pay you back because he admits he was wrong as you claim? I have to presume you are telling the truth. Was he so ennoyed that he decided to pay back? Or did he just want the sites cleaned? But what ever you decide to do you did a good job by being so persistant.
Happy Christmas
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written by Ken Gibson, Sat 27 Dec 2008 09:14:43 MST
Never buy a suit in Thailand and tell your friends.

There may be a few reputable tailors in Bangkok but the untrustworthy ones ruin it for everybody.



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written by Theo, Sat 27 Dec 2008 10:55:05 MST
4 hours of talking! Those tailors have a lot of time! Time doesnt seem to be money yet in Thailand! I wonder if Mr Tarksin is more worried about his lost face, or about the fact he lost control in Thailand. I didnt here him complain about loosing face. He surely complains about lost control. Like I said: Sia Na: More in the farangs head then in Thai heads
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written by sammie, Sat 27 Dec 2008 17:42:54 MST
message for David, well done and dont worry about them looking at this site.... my husband also went to your tailors and they were charming absolutely charming until they got hold of his deposit and then the problems started....Vip...MBK.. same tailors!!. he like myself is slim, standard size, and he has had man items made in the past, usually in Singapore. It was a total nightmare, I too admire your persistance and courage to tackle these people, unfortunately, you had to spend the money to prove a point.... Fortunately these sites are working because we have a wide variety of friends, family etc who ask for recommendations for tailors, and this particular tailor is on our HITLIST! they are rude arrogant, dishonest thieves...many people would say we are greedy ones, wanting expensive clothes for a cheap price, I would say that we want an honest tailor working for a reasonable price with a good finished article. I have had many items made with buttons for example... so you wear an item, and all the buttons fall off... (not because I am fat lol because i am a size 8) but because they have been sewed on with one thread... lesson learnt always over sew he buttons... No David I wont delete my post because for every David there are hundreds of victims that are getting caught by unscruplious Tailors and in general giving the few good ones an extremely bad name. Chinese or Thais are better than the rogues mascarading as nepalis/burmese who are actually such lovely kind people, probably have no dress sense in our western world but at least they endeavour to please and not thieve! Merry Christmas and a happy new year
...
written by mikey, Sat 27 Dec 2008 22:37:28 MST
I find that face is gained in s.e. asia by putting one over on farangs.

If this were not the case I think they would be better off dealing honestly and providing a decent product.

I've overheard several conversations of bragging about ripping off the farang.

most of the things we hear are one person trying to top the others story of how they got to the forigner.


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written by Theo, Sun 28 Dec 2008 07:39:46 MST
Not only bragging. Stories about farangs getting ripped off are great fun in Thailand. Even "hands clean" people can laugh about it. Farangs have enough money anyway. Sometimes I overheard conversations about if or not to consider farangs human beings. Think about KHON Thai They rarely will say KHON Farang.
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written by Theo, Sun 28 Dec 2008 07:54:09 MST
With all the corruption and other scandals violence, murders airport occupation, plundering of governmenthouses, faces of leading elite appear to me completely destroyed. They dont seem to care.
So why worry about a tailors face? Those 4 hours talking where they ment to safe everybodies face? If saving faces takes that much time, no wonder Thailand is still a poor country!
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written by Theo, Sun 28 Dec 2008 08:45:46 MST
Another example: Who didnt hear Thai women complain about always unfaitful husbands with their Mia nois. Very often I asked them if they considered trying a farang husband. (Not me of course!!!!!!)
When talking about daugters friends or sisters very often I get the answere: She doesnt like farangs. Try the same. If they ask you why you dont have a Thai girlfriend, tell them: I dont like Thais. See how they react then. Its so normal not to like farangs that they dont even notice these remarks might be an insult.
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written by Ken Gibson, Sun 28 Dec 2008 08:47:01 MST
Thais take great pride in ripping off a foreigner.
Cheat a foreigner = gain face. Social norms.

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written by Theo, Sun 28 Dec 2008 10:06:04 MST
The guest in your house getting the victim of a fight between you and yor wife. Take him a hostage. Thats loosing face!!
A quickly rising star in Thailand experienced the airportoccupation, in witch he participated, as a music decorated picnic. I dont have to give any futher comment
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written by Colin Latasia, Wed 31 Dec 2008 03:49:16 MST
Why are people talking so much about Thais ripping off this guy? Tailors in MBK and most other parts of Bangkok are owned by Indians. Yes, Thais will scam you, but the tailor scams are almost always co-ordinated by Indians.

It is not about 'losing face', but is about pure greed. The Indians will be paying a Thai tailor about THB200 to produce a suit that they will be selling for anything up to THB10,000. The sad fact of the matter is that the tailors can rip people off because there are so many gullibale people in the world.

In MBK they have signs up saying that suits will be ready within 24hours, or better still couriered to you at your home in Europe or the USA etc. WTF is that all about? Any DECENT tailor will want 2 0r 3 fittings minimum to make sure that your suit fits properly. As soon as you see the 24 hour sign - walk on by!

You get what you pay for here in Amazing Thailand. THB2000 will get you a badly made piece of crap!

At the end of the day, Thailand is a great country to live in and you just need to be aware that, as soon as you let your guard down, someome, somewhere will scam you.

Also, at the end of the day MBK is a shopping mall aimed at people who want a Counterfeit Billabong outfit for THB400. You have got to question your own judgement in going there to buy a suit. Most would probably say that there was never a chance of getting anything other than crap at a tailors in MBK. Some terrible judgment from you.

Tailors in Bangkok are a false economy. Anecdotal evidence along with just about every shop window display indicated that 90% are absolute crap, with cheap clothes, bad imitations and absolutely awful stitching and finishing.

latasia.net/bangkok-blog
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written by sammie, Wed 31 Dec 2008 09:07:06 MST
Colin. this is a forum for people to express and voice their opinions,and also to warn people of some of the scams operating in the country we live in!
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written by Theo, Wed 31 Dec 2008 09:46:04 MST
So the tailers are Indians. The gemshop scammers Chinese. Tuk tuk drivers are Lao. All these people arent Thai even if born in Thailand. Probably the Pat Pong scammers are Malays from down south. Conclusion: Thais dont scam. But your absolutely right about the poor quality offered. Good post
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written by Theo, Wed 31 Dec 2008 09:56:40 MST
Thats its impossible to know that a good fit suite cannot be made in 24 hours is a good tip.
So we can scratch of the list most tailors in tourist places. Makes it a lot easier to see the difference. Anyway I am not going to buy a suite in Bangkok after reading all these stories. I will stick to Hugo Boss. Not the immitation
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written by sammie, Wed 31 Dec 2008 14:26:22 MST
It is possible to get an excellent suit made particularly if you have a suit to copy from, its just finding the tailor and there are a few decent tailors out there with a brain, and a flair.Its all about doing your reasearch
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written by Theo, Wed 31 Dec 2008 21:06:07 MST
They have a brain. Its used for scamming.

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