Dear Editor;
I recently had my 66,000 THB watch stolen out of my locked locker at Khao Kheow Country Club (KKCC) while playing golf there. After two months of negotiations with the local manager at KKCC, the company’s general manager out of Bangkok and the company’s board, KKCC denied any and all responsibility for the theft and refused to compensate me in any form for the theft.
I am a member of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, the site of the 2012 U.S. Open and former board member of the club. If this had happened at my golf club we would have made sure the person who sustained a financial loss on our property receive reasonable compensation, even if there was some question as to the club’s liability. We do this in America because it is the moral and right thing to do, makes good business sense, and keeps the person satisfied because we do not want to lose that person’s future business.
KKCC appears to have little, if any notion, of fairness or good business practices. The worship of the almighty Thai baht appears to supersede any notion of assuming financial responsibility for a theft occurring on the premises of a business. Rather than make reasonable accommodations, KKCC would rather upset the customer and lose his business than to turn over a single baht in the name of fairness or morality. Welcome to the Land of Smiles where Thai businesses smile at another’s misfortune. I will no longer play golf at KKCC after having played there weekly since February. I will also ask my American friends not to play there anymore. KKCC will not get another Thai baht from me or my friends. That’s what we call payback. The sooner they understand this principle the sooner they will realize that saving one baht today will result in losing 100 baht tomorrow.
Jerry Langer
