On the road with a "Rod kubkhao" (food car)

Lumphun Amchaiphum does a good business selling vegetables from a truck in a residential area between The Mall Ngamwongwan and Tesco Lotus.

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There is a very interesting story in today's Life section about three Rod kubkhao (food car) operations in Bangkok. Below is one section of the story. You can read it in full here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/918209/mobile-markets

Lumphun Amchaiphum, vegetable seller

Pattramon Sukprasert

Ironically it is in a residential area between The Mall Ngamwongwan and Tesco Lotus that Lumphun Amchaiphum parks her vegetable-laden truck. Some may wonder whether the location, filled with so many shops, still needs this mobile veggie stall. But in the short time I was there, the sheer numbers of people that paid a visit to the truck to buy something proves everything.

"I think it's because we stop right in front of people's doors and sell things at very reasonable prices, that's why they don't bother buying them from elsewhere," explains the 29-year-old vendor.

Business is good despite the large number of shops and supermarkets in the area.

As well as operating as a veggie shop, Lumphun also offers a special service to regular customers, some of whom run their own food businesses. She takes orders in advance on her mobile phone or on Line; all the customers need do is wait for the veggies at home.

While Lumphun sells from her trunk, her husband takes the role of driving and delivering produce to customers' hands.

It's been 10 years since the couple started the business on the advice of Lumphun's husband's grandparents who did the same thing in their younger years. Driving a pickup and selling veggies is a popular job among people from Lumphun's hometown of Sakon Nakhon, although all the residents agree to take different routes.

Lumphun and her husband usually roam around the Prachacheun-Ngamwongwan area, where they make more than five stops a day. Being at each stop at the same time is the key to retaining customers.

Slightly before 7am, Monday to Saturday, Lumphun and her husband head to Si Mum Muang Market to buy huge amounts of supplies. Lumphun then has to divide them into smaller bags and store them in handy positions before hitting the road.

Each morning Lumpun divides her vegetable purchases into smaller bags and store them convenient positions.

As most vegetables perish quickly, and it is difficult to predict each day's sales, a gift of the gab in selling is needed.

"I need to be talkative and friendly to persuade customers to buy more," she explains. "Sometimes I have to put products on sale or match one kind with others and sell them as packages or they will be left rotten."

On average, they make between 2,000-3,000 baht per day, but on some days, when the price of vegetables is high, they scarcely make any profit even if everything is sold. But overall, this job fits her work philosophy.

"What I like about my job is all income goes directly to us and we can be pretty flexible as we're our own boss," she says. "Though I can't say it's the best job I've had, as this is the first and only job in my life, the thought of doing something else has never come to mind."

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