At a time when Thailand's economy is going down the plughole, no one in Government has a brain. They should grab every foreigner with both hands to ensure they get his money. What do they do - they insert another obstacle - TDAC to dissuade them from coming here.
It usually takes me 2 minutes; I say the 2 magic words 'guerre Lao (it rhymes with where now and I am shown to the front of the shortest queue. It means 'old already.'
There's an address you can write to about rude, inefficient staff. I used it as I was ignored for 30 minutes after making an appointment with the manager. I got an impeccable reply - they even wanted a description of the offending staff.
I live in Pattaya. There are lots of businesses shutting down for lack of any charlies cheap or otherwise. You are giving the Thai Government credit for some kind of plan; for this a brain is necessary. The Hi sos care nothing for the ordinary Thai so long as their job is safe.