The Thai Smile

It seems that the Thai smile is a unique characteristic here. Thailand has long been known as the "Land of Smiles". We smile easily even when we do not know people.

We can smile even if we do not have a reason to smile. One of our clients who works in a Finnish firm told me that her Finnish colleagues did not understand why Thais smile without a reason.

Thai Tolerance

Most of my foreign colleagues do not understand why we are so patient. When we are stuck in traffic for hours, we still smile. It is unlikely that you will hear honking car horns. People just stay calm. We are able to adapt to a frustrating environment.

Trying to do things even when we do not understand

When a foreign boss assigns work to Thai workers, even if they do not understand what they are being asked to do, they still try do the work based on their own assumptions.

We are scared to ask questions, particularly of a foreign boss

On many occasions, Thais do things wrongly because of misunderstanding. Be sure to check for understanding when you issue instructions or briefings. Otherwise, it can damage a situation even more.

Hospitality

You will surprised at the Thais' natural hospitality. We will do our best to make our foreign guests happy. For example, we will offer to take our guest to dinner - every night! Further, during the weekend, we will take our guests sightseeing or shopping. We always go the "extra miles" in order to satisfy our guest. It is unlikely that our foreign guest would do the same for guests back home.

Friendliness

If you are lost in the street, you can ask anyone for directions. Even if those you ask are not able to communicate with you in your language, they will do everything they can to help you in a friendly and warm manner.

Thais do not like queuing

We do not like queuing when we wait for the bus or in a shop. There is an explanation for this. We call it the sabai effect. Sabai-sabai means 'take it easy' in the sense of feeling comfortable with things. We do not like discipline. We feel uncomfortable in very formal situations. Citibank was the first bank to introduce queuing for its customers. But we got used to this very fast. As long as there is a definite queue line we can comply.

The mai pen rai attitude

Mai pen rai means "It doesn't matter" or "That's okay". We use this expression all the time. For example, if you bump into a fellow Thai in the street they will say Mai pen rai. If Thais miss a flight, also they will say Mai pen rai. If they lose money in the stock market, they will say Mai pen rai. We see the things that happen to us in a very positive manner. Many people might say that it is because of our faith. It happens because Lord Buddha so ordains things.

Thais like to gossip

In an internet survey of foreign executives in Thailand by KSC Internet, the executives said that Thais like to gossip. The reason is because we do not like to give feedback or criticism directly. We think it's impolite. But we will tell a third person how we feel about the second person.

Thais do not like documentation

The sabai-sabai attitude sometimes causes bad habits. In the work place, we do not like to document information. It is very hard to persuade Thais to do documentation. Some organizations try to regulate it by introducing ISO reporting standards. ISO may well make us better at documentation. If you are new in the kingdom, do not expect Thais to be good at documentation and recording.

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai is the author of column "Thailand Tales" Thailand Tales is the column written in English about Thai culture and it's implication on life and business. He can be reached at knirat@ksc.th.com