Many of the bags and purses I carry in the Green Gecko come from this family-owned business in Bangkok. They have a row of stalls at the market that are always packed with everything from beautiful silk bags to cute owl backpacks.
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It's a bit comedic to work with them. Our encounters always follow the same format. I start by checking out all the options, colours, styles etc. The gentleman in the picture (the husband) follows me around, smiling all the time and nodding in this cute attentive way.
There's always lots of choice. I start with the styles and designs I like then I examine the pieces more carefully. Thinking of my customers needs in a bag I look at stitching, fabric, zipper quality, and things like how many pockets? Then when I'm starting to narrow it down to the styles I'm interested in, the important question: price, is raised. This is where my friend comes in, I ask him the price at which point he yells (literally) to wherever his wife is and asks the price, she yells back in Thai. I have the basic numbers down in Thai so I usually understand the price and he knows this. Still, each time, he pauses and does the translation in his head and tells me the price in English (with a huge smile). We repeat this process over and over. It seems his responsibility is to translate his wife's yelled prices into English for me. There's nothing to do but go with it plus he's just adorable. Eventually I decide the styles I'm going to buy. At that point another girl appears and tells me how many colours each style comes in and I select how many and which colours I want.
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Peter is a great help with quality control. Sometimes, like he's doing here, he'll search through bins of little change purses because I only like certain colours. He's a good partner (and a good sport).
All of this is done in a non-air-conditioned row of stalls at the market where the temperature is often getting close to +40C. It's a bit sweaty and can take a while so I always make sure I have a bottle of water with me.
I like working with this family. They always have a good selection of quality bags; but, that's only one of the personal requirements I have. I also choose to buy from them because they are kind. Kind to each other, kind to their workers and kind to me. I have walked away from beautiful goods, at great prices, because of the people. I choose not to buy from people who treat their workers like slaves or who treat me like just another $ sign. For me, that's part of the reason I make the journey all the way to SE Asia every year to purchase items for the Green Gecko. It gives me a chance to meet the people behind the products.
I like working with this family. They always have a good selection of quality bags; but, that's only one of the personal requirements I have. I also choose to buy from them because they are kind. Kind to each other, kind to their workers and kind to me. I have walked away from beautiful goods, at great prices, because of the people. I choose not to buy from people who treat their workers like slaves or who treat me like just another $ sign. For me, that's part of the reason I make the journey all the way to SE Asia every year to purchase items for the Green Gecko. It gives me a chance to meet the people behind the products.
 | At the end of this day my friendly numbers-man helped us cart out this package of samples to the taxi stand. I've never seen him scowl before but when a taxi driver attempted to over charge the 'tourists' (us) for the taxi ride his face completely changed. It was like he was personally offended that someone would try to scam one of his customers. He chastised the taxi driver in Thai and slammed the door. It was very sweet of him to stand up for us. |
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