For an awfully long time I have had the impression that the only thing a Thai person can use a computer for (effectively) is for social media sites or dating sites, although most of these are done on mobile phones. Those that do own a computer, also only use them for those two reasons. However, when it comes to the workplace and a shop where they offer printing services, you might expect the people working there would have some grasp of what they are doing, what they can do, and what they should do. Yeah right!
Every couple of months or so, I need to get some documents printed, and because I need so few in any given year, it is not worth buying a printer, although I am beginning to wonder if it is worth getting one just to save time and lessen the frustration I experience so many times.
Near Central Plaza in Udon Thani, there are two print shops who offer printing services if you take in a CD, memory stick or whatever - but only when they feel like doing it, so it seems. Let me explain...6 months ago, I took my USB memory stick to one of the shops with a few PDF files to be printed. The said they could not print PDF files (say what?) and pointed me in the direction of the Fuji shop across the road. Indeed the Fuji shop printed them off without any trouble. So two months later, I need some more PDF files printed, and of course returned to the Fuji shop, who then said they could not print PDF files! I tried to explain that they did exactly the same job two months ago and wanted to know why they could not do it this time. Not an unreasonable request as far as I could make out, but I was ultimately wasting my time as once their mind was made up, there was no changing it. I even suggested they download Adobe PDF reader (free from Adobe.com). Would they download it? Would they hell! So I went back to the other shop (just in case), and blow me - they could print PDF files this time, without any problems, and no need to download anything as they already had Adobe on their desktop computer - wonderful.
So imagine my frustration and astonishment when I returned to that shop just this week, only to be told that they cannot print PDF files! or at least the girl I spoke to had no idea what to do, or how to do, and just couldn't be bothered to ask anyone else working there if they could do it. Off the back of these recent experiences, I can only conclude that the computer skills, even for a printing shops workforce is seriously lacking, as is their ability to understand that some tasks can be performed by simply downloading a free windows application. I did try to tell her that this work has been done before in her shop but she just did not want to know and began to pretend she had no idea what I was talking about (always a good way to save face it seems). I just had to give up and go home empty handed.
So readers, let me offer you some advice.....if you need a PDF file printed in a shop in Udon Thani, create a MS Word document from the PDF file (you can do this for free if you use a 14 day free trial from certain websites). They can handle Word documents but that is perhaps the limit of their ability, but it still would not surprise me to go back in two months and be told they cannot print off Word docs next time!
Every couple of months or so, I need to get some documents printed, and because I need so few in any given year, it is not worth buying a printer, although I am beginning to wonder if it is worth getting one just to save time and lessen the frustration I experience so many times.
Near Central Plaza in Udon Thani, there are two print shops who offer printing services if you take in a CD, memory stick or whatever - but only when they feel like doing it, so it seems. Let me explain...6 months ago, I took my USB memory stick to one of the shops with a few PDF files to be printed. The said they could not print PDF files (say what?) and pointed me in the direction of the Fuji shop across the road. Indeed the Fuji shop printed them off without any trouble. So two months later, I need some more PDF files printed, and of course returned to the Fuji shop, who then said they could not print PDF files! I tried to explain that they did exactly the same job two months ago and wanted to know why they could not do it this time. Not an unreasonable request as far as I could make out, but I was ultimately wasting my time as once their mind was made up, there was no changing it. I even suggested they download Adobe PDF reader (free from Adobe.com). Would they download it? Would they hell! So I went back to the other shop (just in case), and blow me - they could print PDF files this time, without any problems, and no need to download anything as they already had Adobe on their desktop computer - wonderful.
So imagine my frustration and astonishment when I returned to that shop just this week, only to be told that they cannot print PDF files! or at least the girl I spoke to had no idea what to do, or how to do, and just couldn't be bothered to ask anyone else working there if they could do it. Off the back of these recent experiences, I can only conclude that the computer skills, even for a printing shops workforce is seriously lacking, as is their ability to understand that some tasks can be performed by simply downloading a free windows application. I did try to tell her that this work has been done before in her shop but she just did not want to know and began to pretend she had no idea what I was talking about (always a good way to save face it seems). I just had to give up and go home empty handed.
So readers, let me offer you some advice.....if you need a PDF file printed in a shop in Udon Thani, create a MS Word document from the PDF file (you can do this for free if you use a 14 day free trial from certain websites). They can handle Word documents but that is perhaps the limit of their ability, but it still would not surprise me to go back in two months and be told they cannot print off Word docs next time!