Who is Ratt ??
 

I have been reading heaps about a guide in Bangkok named Ratt. Who is she and how do we book her ?

You can e-mail her for rates & tours etc... at : [email protected]

Oh, forget about her. She is passe! Old Hat! Late news, Yesterday's newspaper, etc. etc. etc.

We've booked with www.tbib.co.th. These girls are absolutely amazing & besides, they have the correct hair colour!

Our friends from Oahu were blown away by these chicks. Do yourself a favour and by-pass Ratt, she's unreliable. An did I say, out of date?

Hi Lyndie - there are lots of positives about Ratt on this board, did you have a bad time with her?

I've taken a look at the website you listed and the service looks great, we'll add it to our list of resources for our wedding guests but we would prefer to use a thai service if possible.

Lyndie- First I think there are many many people who would dispute your statement that Ratt is unreliable. You may have had a bad experience but you seem to be the only one.

Personally I would never use a service that markets itself the way the one you suggest does. Basically says that what makes them great is that they look just like me -- not like a thai. If that's what I want I can stay home. I find their website completely offensive. But to each their own. I'll stick with the ratts of the world.

We were more than happy with Ratt. I can not imagine why could be your experience with her so bad!
She is a very, very nice person and try to do every thing for you.

I recommend her to all my friends.

IF you read the disclaimer on the two blonds web site it states the they introduce you to third party services and goods.


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according too Thai labor laws "two blond"
foreigners could not be tour guides. There is a huge list of jobs that farang can not do.

Gloria - hadn't thought of it that way, you make a good point, nor had I realised that they were just acting as agents either.

I have listed Ratt and Julie as drivers/guides on our wedding website - any other recommendations for drivers, guides or tour operators in Bangkok?

Even with the disclaimer they are marketing their services by appealing to the racist side of tourists. Not for me.

As Orgy has said, they could not be guides. Strange website!

we just returned yesterday from thailand and ratt and her guides/drivers made our trip so much easier. we had many many transfers from the airport to our hotels..as we were in and out of bangkok 3 times.

it usually is less expensive to use her services for airport transfers and someone is there waiting for you to arrive with your name on a sign. its a welcoming site after travelling for hours into a foreign country.

we also used one of her guides who spoke good english for a one day tour to ayutthuya. again...money well spent. i like having the thai perspective when travelling.

we had ratts sister poon take us on a day tour in chiang mai (second time we used both ratt and poon).

they may be old hat but they sure are reliable and helpful.

Lyndie, is that you or a troll post? I can not believe you are could be so culturally insensitive after all of the travelling you have done. Maybe it is just that you are CHEAP, which has been well-established on this forum via your comments about tipping. I would guess that the "blondes" don't make their money on drivers anyway, so they don't have to worry about the low prices that they charge for drivers.

Am I the only one who didn't take Lyndie's comments about hair color seriously and thought they were meant tongue in cheek?

I think Lyndie has been hanging out with the Kauai forum folks; if you spread the compliments too far, you'll never be able to book her!

Laurie, I kind of wondered whether Lyndie's comments were tongue-in-cheek but there is nothing in her post that hints at that. Wish I could say otherwise...maybe Lyndie will post back with an explanation.

I cannot believe some here would find www.tbib.co.th offensive. These girls offer a very good service and yes, my comment about blondes was intentionally tongue in cheek! Come on!

Some here are a little too quick to judge. Take a look at yourselves in the mirror & lighten up! Culturally insensitive??? I nearly spilt my coffee at that one.

And lcuy-I'm sorry you're not flavour of the month, this month. It'll wear off and everyone will be back to normal when the full moon is past.

And yes, Ratt let us down. Ive posted here several times regarding this. She put us behind a half day on a 3 day stay in Bangkok. She was unreliable and it does not bother me if others were happy with her. They were just lucky.

Have a nice day and I'll continue to post here and have fun! Don't read my posts if I offend you. You have that choice.

Lyndie- I think it was you that ran into a bit of bad luck with Ratt. If you look at all of the postrs who had a great time with Ratt you will see that if luck is involved anywhere it is you that ran into a bit of bad luck. Everyone else got great service which appears to be the norm. As others have said anyone can have a bad day now and then- not making excuses for ratt that day- but come on look at the data. You will see this was an aberation and not the norm. I realize that does not make your bad experience any better but you should see it for what it was, not a trend.

Bill. To correctly analyse data you need information and input.

I wonder How many others who read posts here, have used her and have not bothered to post back? Do you have that data?

The outcome we experienced was a direct result of her disorganised attitude, her complacency & her irresponsibility.

It's OK to be happy with her & it's OK to be unhappy with her, in my book.

I'm not going to be silenced into submission by a bunch of people who think she's the ant's pants. For heaven's sake she was unreliable.

I can only base my opinion on my experience, not on anyone else's. Have a nice day.

GRAIG
If lyndie is cheap I'm a right misor... I think we all discussed this on that tips forum but lynde is correct some countries don't practice tipping and consider it a frivolous show off act, thailand so happens to be one of these countries. trust me in the USA I always tip and tend too be a big tipper especially for drinks but over here in thailand I've been scolded so many times for over tipping or tipping at all that I think I've finally learned the etiquette of tipping in thailand.

lol. tipping do not always make you seem generous I've overheard or been told by waitresses that "look that man is so stupid he leave big money"

wow thats way off topic..

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Isn;'t two blonds a bit more expensive 5000 baht a day versus 4000 for ratt or am I getting the number wrong

Orgy - Although it is not altogether clear from their web site it looks like it is 2000 baht per day but there may be an initial "organisational fee".

tbib pricing is very expensive to me. 5000 baht for them to organize for you, includes the first day for up to 4 people. Then

Following days:
Baht 1000 per person per half day
Baht 2000 per person per full day

Tour Guides:
Baht 1000 per day (either ½ or full day)

These above costs are exclusive of car or van hire, entrance fees, restaurant or café indulgences or tour guide tips. Tips for Tour Guides are completely at the discretion of the client.


So...for our family, 3 people, even if we don't count the child, so 2 people...
For two days, we would pay 9000 baht, plus 2000 baht for a guide (if we wanted one), PLUS the vehicle and driver for the two days. So that means, PLUS Ratt! YIKES!

Maybe a nice service, but not cheap, that's for sure.

Craig maybe ya should re check the site I think these gals/guys are way more expensive

5000 Baht organizational fee
1000 baht organizational fee (?) per extra days
1000 baht for tour guide half or full day
? baht exlusive of cost of car van hire.

lol craig it seems your the cheap charlie. just kidding.

ooops I got beat to the poste

I wonder if Ratt "lifted her game" i.e. improved her service, after receiving my "rather direct & forthright" message, emailed to her after she let us down, July 7, sent from a vacant computer in the Shangri-la business centre.

Let's just say I did not hold back my angst & disappointment. She did not reply, I might add. I expected a written apology from a Thai "entrepreneur".

Maybe those who have used her services, after July 7 200,3 have benefited from our negative experience and our direct feedback to her.

All the very best.

Or maybe she just screwed up -- something we all do now and then. Ratt is not a saint nor is she perfect. She's a human being. You, Lyndie should absolutely let people know your bad experience. Just as I let people know about the somewat surly service I had at the Pen. But I also add when stating my experience that I seem to be in the minority. Which is also a fact.

Quite honestly, I just glanced at the web site before posting originally - I saw the 2000 Baht per day price and assumed that was it. But the devil is in the details, of course. Price is per person and there is that organizational fee on top. Turns out they probably are more expensive than Ratt. I think I was just blown away by Lyndie's "attitude" and that colored my objectivity in this instance.

just for your information

for exactly the same service (Bangkok to Chiang Mai over four days in december) I was quoted 18,500 Bath plus gasoline from Ratt and 40,000 Bath including gasoline from "Two Blondes".

Both were extremely corteous and speedy in their email replies.

I could hire a driver from the Oriental for the price of 2 blondes. What a rip off. But then you can tell by their website and marketing who their target market is. And it sure isn't me. To each his own.

It seems that, after reading the Two Blondes website, you are most likely to get a Thai driver/consultant so I guess I'm at a loss as to who some think their target audience is. So, two western women started a business in Bangkok. Nothing wrong with that. And, they came up with a catchy name. Nothing wrong with that either. What's the big deal?

I have personally never felt the need for a dtiver in BKK and the couple of times we did have a guide, we couldn't wait to politely ditch them so we could go off on our own.

I think the bigger question is, on my day off, why am I up so darn early and getting into this arguement??? ;-)

Lyndie:
Yes you have a right to complain if you received terrible service from Ratt. Yes she should have apoligized and given you a proper explanation. Its good to get all input good and bad. If I were in your shoes I'm sure I would feel just as strongly as you do- she let you down and there is no excuse for not apoligizing and giving you a full explanation. All the data we do have on this forum suggests that this is not the norm. Add to that the fact that Ratt is often fully booked months in advance. One will not flourish in this business by being late or not showing up on a regular basis. And yes I think it will help others by your input here as it will serve notice that this type of action is not appropriate. I think going forward she will take greater care in those instances where things don't go as planned.

I also think one thing all can learn is to make sure you have a way to contact her or any guide/driver. I call if they are three minutes late to make sure they are enroute. I do that everywhere because I don't want to sit waiting. If they're not coming or going to be hours late I'll do something else but I want to know immediately. It doesn't make the person not showing up any less upseting but it does enable it not to wreck your day.

Lyndie:

What were the dates when you had the problem with Ratt. Also what name did you use with her (is it your fodors name or some other name). What hotel were you staying?

Bill, please see my post above. Booking was in my fodors name.

Dear all
As one of the partners from Two Blondes in Bangkok Co. Ltd I would like to clarify our pricing policy which has been refined to offer the best value to our clients.

Baht 1,500 per person for entire itinerary planning. This fee includes all bookings, co-ordination, on-going itinerary management etc..

Group of four people Baht 3,500 for services as listed above, providing all four clients are following the same itinerary.

Larger groups will be quoted on upon request.

Tour Consultants: Baht 1,500 per booking (either half or full day).

Car Hire:Quoted upon request. Quotes will depend on model of car chosen, time required and destination. Our car quotes are inclusive of licensed drivers, petrol, comprehensive insurance, no deviation from agreed itinaerary unless requested by the client.

We do not provide tour guides, but we do have TBIB Consultants who are Thai nationals, fully trained by Two Blondes in Bangkok. We utlise TAT tour guides for certain cultural sites as required under Thai law.

I hope this clears up any misunderstandings and we welcome any enquiries either prior to your arrival or when you are on the ground in Bangkok.
Tina Kelly
Managing Director.

Ratt was a wonderful driver! She was everything we could have hoped for AND had the correct haircolor. Lyndie, how rude! She quickly became our friend, went out of her way to help us many times and was so informative! We still sent friendly e-mails to each other and keep in touch. I will definitely see her again.

hip---how are you???

bob

Hey hip. I'm blonde (gold over grey, actaully) and I was referring to people with the same hair colour as me!!!

Get a sense of humour. Sheesh, some of you here are so stitched up. Hang loose and have some fun.

I'm on holidays so won't be bothering about you lot for 7 weeks. Heave a sigh of relief & have fun!

Glad Ratt was a positive experience for you. She just was not for us. People don't always have to agree, darl!

Have a nice day!

Lyndie, have a great holiday! I for one will miss you, so try and post now and then. Laurie

Lyndie:
Wow...seven weeks, pretty nice for a "cheap" person.lol! Have a great time...let us know how it all turns out
Aloha!