Take a moment to say thank you for a job well done!
by David Barkdull
Bangkok
Here in the capitol of the Land of Smiles there are individuals and groups of people who work tirelessly to make our time here a positive experience. Immigration Police officers routinely work 16 hour days manning the checkpoints and must remain at work for training and official celebrations. They receive little pay and even have to buy their own pens and stationary. They face off with thousands of travelers entering and leaving the country, many in foul moods. It’s hard to believe that so many people consider themselves VIP’s and make unreasonable demands regarding their entry and exit status. You know the type. Bargain ticket flyers, coming from a country where hygiene is not in vogue right now, who tend to fill out their immigration forms at the inspection counter. They are outraged that the rules apply to them. It’s no wonder that cooler heads have thought to limit the stay of these VIP’s to only 14 days. The point is that these Immigrations Officers have to take a lot of heat and continue to do their job no matter what obscenities and rude comments are thrown at them. I want to thank the Immigration Police for a job well done.
The second group may come as a bit of a surprise but after you reject the bad apples in the business there are plenty of excellent taxi drivers that deserve our praise. There are tens of thousands of great taxi drivers here in Bangkok. These drivers are honest to a fault and survive on an average net profit of about 300 Baht a day. They are polite, even try to speak our language and aim to please. They use a proper meter and take direct routes to your destination. I, for one, tip in the 30% range when I get one of these excellent drivers. I am very disappointed with my fellow man when a good driver’s tip is reduced to insulting levels. I’ve seen no tip or a 3 Baht tip on trips of hundreds of Baht. One can only hope karma will strike these people down in their prime. Please don’t forget to be polite to this very hard working group of professionals and tip appropriately.
Take a moment to say thank you for a job well done!
David Barkdull
Bangkok
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