Observations (TIT)

[Ratsima]

I think maybe you could look back at colonialism for your answer here, Laos and Cambodia with the French and Burma the Brits. Just a hangover from the past but reflects the orderly way in which they dealt with things back then.

Interesting thought. Odd that the folks who were not colonized ended up being less Buddhist than the ones who were.

[Big Boy]

Getting behind a Thai at an ATM

OMG, what do Thais do at an ATM? It seems that every time I get behind a Thai, they are constantly pressing buttons - I would guess they take an average of 5 minutes per transaction. Some of them have a wad of cards, and make one transaction after the other.

I go to an ATM, wham bang - money out and away in less than a minute.

Today, in market village there was one Thai at the ATM, and 2 Thais behind him. I stood in that queue for about 20 minutes. Not one of them took any money out, so what do they do (apart from wind me up)?

[PeteC]

Small time loan sharks often hold a borrowers ATM card as collateral, as well as use it to transfer funds into their account on the payment due date. You may have been behind one of those people.

I know this stuff first hand from a previous relationship where a family member did things this way to the tune of about 50 ATM cards a month. Pete

[Big Boy]

OK, I accept it might happen occassionally, but everytime I get behind a Thai at an ATM has got to be extremely unlucky. Of course, I could make my own luck by walking to a different ATM, but I always think it might be just as busy, and this guy can't be much longer.

[STEVE G]

I've seen these people and I think is what they're doing is paying bills for people who haven't got bank accounts or money for a fee or something of that nature. I've been at the Bangkok Bank ATM on Petchakasem road before and have given up waiting for some guy doing countless transactions from a notebook of numbers he was holding.

[Big Boy]

some guy doing countless transactions from a notebook of numbers he was holding.

Yes, sounds familiar. I reckon he was waiting for me to stand behind him

[Nereus]

Getting behind a Thai at an ATM

It`s just another example of "me first"! On the odd occasion that I have to make an ATM transfer I feel embarrassed when it takes more than a minute!

I was at an ATM recently and this prat kept drawing 10k out, removing and reinserting his card, getting another 10k, and again and again. There was a Thai standing in front of me that turned and looked at me and just shook her head.
After he had about 70k or 80k out I could stand it it no longer and asked him to leave some for me! The prat pointed at the next ATM, which was a different bank! So he then got my opinion concerning his ancestors!
What really got up my nose was the fact that there was a branch of the bank he was using about 50 metres up the road, which I also pointed out to him!

I always make a joke at the toll gates at the expressways in Bangkok. Just about without fail, you will see them handing over the wrong amount: "just doing their ATM banking again". They use the toll gate to get some change without any thought of holding up the traffic behind them.

[richard]

I've seen these people and I think is what they're doing is paying bills for people who haven't got bank accounts or money for a fee or something of that nature. I've been at the Bangkok Bank ATM on Petchakasem road before and have given up waiting for some guy doing countless transactions from a notebook of numbers he was holding.

Very common. TIT and you won't change it so accept it. Still a lot of people want to change HH to like it is back at home

[Big Boy]

I don't want to change Hua Hin at all. I just can't understand why Thais (even if they're just drawing 500 Baht) have to press so many keys on that damned machine. I don't think I could manage 5 minutes at an ATM keyboard if I tried.

[STEVE G]

Still a lot of people want to change HH to like it is back at home....

I notice that the newer branch of Bangkok Bank near to Market Village has far more ATM's than my bank back in the UK, so I would be happier with something more along those lines!

[Vital Spark]

I'm with you on that one BB, it's a damned nuisance when I pop over to the ATM at lunch time, I've got 15 minutes before the next class, and have to abandon operations because some students 'len' the ATM, then get a printout, then spend ages looking at it before plugging the card back in. Yes, Richard, this is Thailand (I'm not fond of the 'TIT get used to it' expression), but my Thai colleagues get equally annoyed by the ATM hoggers.

What I find even more surprising is Thais giving their friends their ATM card (obviously along with the PIN number) to get money from the machine . I would never give my card to an acquaintance, who then tells everyone who wants to hear how much money I have in my account. It happened the other day to one of my Thai colleagues.

VS

[Takiap]

I always used to think it's because many Thais don't have PCs an d etc so an ATM is the next best thing, but now they do have PCs and etc, and still spend hours in front of ATMs.

It's actually funny that you brought this up BB because it is one of the very few things that used to get to me in Thailand. I eliminated this problem from my life by deciding to never use an ATM if there's a Thai already busy doing a transaction. I'll rather use another ATM even if it means I pay a fee for doing so. - Problem solved.

[Big Boy]

I eliminated this problem from my life by deciding to never use an ATM if there's a Thai already busy doing a transaction. I'll rather use another ATM even if it means I pay a fee for doing so. - Problem solved.

Yes, that is probably the solution. I suppose it's never far to the next ATM.

I must admit, when I posted this observation, I was expecting to hear that Thais are required to jump through a lot more hoops at an ATM before they were given any money. OK, you do get the person drawing a huge amount in 10,000 Baht chunks (I've been that person a couple of times ), and you may get the person transacting on a dozen cards. However, the bit I don't understand is standing behind somebody drawing 500 Baht, and it still takes a minimum of 5 minutes. Their fingers are always busy on the keyboard, so what are they doing?

[poosmate]

so what are they doing?

Successfully winding you up

[Big Boy]

Maybe