She who must be obeyed is sitting at work this morning when the big boss walks in, stand in front of her desk with arms folded and enquires “do you want a fight.”
The obvious response would be “no, I’d rather chew off my own legs”, but upon enquiry it transpires that the boss is not challenging my wife to fisticuffs but has been stiffed by the Power Buy shop in the new Central Mall, and needs the help of she who must be obeyed to sort things out.
The boss had agreed to buy a camera and lens from Power Buy, handed over his credit card, and was then told that the label was a mistake and the price was just for the camera body. With she who must be obeyed as translator of threatening messages, they finally agreed to refund his money; initially within 60 days, then 30 days, and then 7 days after he got his lawyer involved with an extra-threatening message.
So, happy ending, and well done to she who must be obeyed for being threatening in Thai (I already knew she could be threatening in the English language).
But big boss is not happy because he really feels the need for his new camera, and he also feels the need for some extra lenses but is not sure what he needs.
And so we meet for lunch to discuss lenses and I then take him to Big Pro Camera in Big C Festival. I am a regular visitor there and they never seem to have what I want, but always try to source it for me.
The boss wants a Canon 5D Mark 2 with a 24-105 lens. They don’t have it. Phone calls are made, during which he keeps telling them he wants it and he wants it now, and he doesn’t mind paying for a taxi from Bangkok to get it now. He tells the shop assistant that he will love her for ever if she can get it now. The message is clear, this man wants his new camera quite urgently.
The flustered assistant reports she can get the camera and lens but it might take a day or so. No good, replies the boss, I must have it today. More hurried conversations and the assistant finally decides she can somehow get the equipment from Bangkok to Pattaya by 2000.
Fine, says the boss, I’ll take it and I’ll pay for it now; and extracts his double platinum diamond-edged credit card and presents it to the surprised assistant.
Ten minutes after entering the shop, we are out of the door. He has just parted with 128,000 baht on the promise of a camera by eight o’clock this evening. I like his style. If I had been “shopping” with she who must be obeyed, the first ten minutes would have been spent looking in the window and it would be several hours before any purchase was made. It takes a man to spend large amounts of cash with a minimum of fuss.
I just hope his camera arrives as promised, otherwise she who must be obeyed may be down to Big Pro Camera in the morning to negotiate yet another refund.
Comments 🔗
2009-03-04| Santi saysI have a husband like that. ten minutes is all he needs.
2009-03-04| Spike saysFor shopping? Or….?
2009-03-04| Santi saysShopping.
2009-03-06| Santi saysEverything else five minutes.
2009-03-06| Spike saysI guessed two minutes. I suppose it take three minutes to wake him up.
2009-03-10| mart saysI personally need 20 minutes at any food court to figure out which dish I am going to buy. It takes me up to several weeks to buy anything worth more than 20k bahts. It’s all strategy, the more I see the goods, the more I play with the idea that I might own them, the less I actually want them and in the end I do not buy them at all. PS: this does not apply to Apple products.