But car-smashing pales in comparison to a recent incident in South Korea where bad mobile-phone service provoked a customer to make a public scene in protest.

No, the Korean customer didn't smash his mobile phone but drove his car into the head office of the mobile-phone operator.

AFP reported that the automotive attack damaged a revolving door in the lobby of the SK Telecom building in central Seoul. No one was hurt.

The 47-year-old man drove his Mercedes-Benz - a prime protest weapon - into the building with a note that read "Inferior SK" attached to the windscreen.

Police said he was angry at the company's refusal to fix his mobile phone despite his claim that the roaming service was defective. It is not clear what charges he might face.

Imagine how this customer would have reacted if he used the services in Thailand last year when the mobile-phone traffic network was hopelessly jammed.

AIS and DTAC, beware!

A crazy option

Wondering why the market kept speculating only on whether the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee would raise the policy rate by 25 satang, 50 satang or Bt1?

Why was the possibility of a 75-satang - three salung - rise missing from the scenario?

Economists claimed that a Bt0.25 rise might be too small to make a dent in the overall economic picture, while Bt1 might be too drastic. The Bank of Thailand's officials floated the possibility of Bt0.50 rise before yesterday's meeting.

So we asked this question to our central bank reporter, Anoma Srisukkasem:

"Why didn't the central bank consider the option of 75-satang [three salung] rate rise to find a compromise for the interests of all parties?"

Anoma said: "Three salung is a jinx word, implying that the central bank's people might not have all of their marbles."

The Thai slang "almost one baht" or "three salung" suggests someone not fully conscious, or downright insane.

And that's maybe the last thing that BOT Governor Tarisa Watanagase want to associate herself with.

Jeerawat@nationgroup.com