An Egyptian experience.

[onlymark]

I was short of time and feeling hungry. It was quite early and many places to grab a bite to eat were closed. I saw McDonalds and slipped in to get their breakfast of scrambled egg, hash browns, pancake, burger pate and juice. I was the only customer and had my pick of seats. I paid and sat down nearby as it had to be made fresh.

True to form the food came within a minute or two, delivered by a smiling girl. I opened the box, looked round the tray, and saw there was no hash brown. I took the try to the counter and pointed out the omission. The lad didn’t speak English so called for the manager who was nearby. I explained what the problem was.

His reply was, “We don’t have any”
I asked, “So......?”
He said, “So...what?”
“I paid for a hash brown and don’t have one”
“That’s right, we don’t have any”
“So I paid for something you’ve not given me”
“I can’t give you it if we don’t have any”
“So either give me some money back or something in its place”
“Why?”
“Look, imagine you buy a car. You go to pick it up and it’s only got three wheels. The seller says, ‘Sorry but I don’t have that one’, will you be happy with that? Or will you want the missing wheel or some money back or something in its place?”
“I have no money for a car, they cost a lot of money”

I’m beginning to lose my rag a little now. I say, “Give me some money back or something in its place. Look there, an egg sandwich, I’ll have that instead of the hash brown”
I went and sat back down and after a bit of muttering an egg sandwich was delivered to replace the missing item.

Point of story – it illustrates an Egyptian mentality quite common – it is not thought to be wrong if when you buy something you get less than you should. It’s quite acceptable to the seller. That’s one of the reasons why you should always check things here.

To illustrate this point further another example from a couple of weeks ago –
I buy from the electrics section of a large supermarket a combined portable CD/tape/radio player for my lad.
I take it home and the CD player doesn’t work.
I take it back the next day and tell them. They change it but I ask that it be checked there and then. The new one doesn’t work.

They blame my CD’s that I’d brought with me for just this purpose. I get them to try the CD they’ve got playing.
That doesn’t work.
I get them to open another one picked at random from the stack they have for sale. Still no joy, that doesn’t work either. Neither does the display model on show.
I demand to see a Manager.

After a short wait one appears – as a crowd begin to form because I’m causing a fuss (which is not really done here).
I tell the Manager the problem and ask if anyone else has brought any of the same type of player back.
He says no.
I tell him that more than likely none of any of the same they have for sale works.
He says – “I know. But the tape player and radio work”.

It’s perfectly acceptable for him to sell defective goods for the full price and doesn’t see a problem in it. In never enters his mind that it’s wrong. It never enters his mind at all.

[Deleted]

There are so many places where the "common man" is considered completely powerless and must put up with whatever crap is given. I suspect that it is a major step in development when this begins to change. Yet in the developed countries, you will still find a lot of "powerless" people who will suffer endless indignities without complaint.

(At my Asian greasy spoon, the other day when I ordered a pho, the woman did warn me that they were out of fish balls, would that be all right anyway? Normally there are two fish balls with all of the other stuff. I said okay, because they are a minor ingredient. If she had said they were out of noodles, that would be another matter!)

[tod2]

Oh my giddy aunt Mark! And here I thought Africa was bad when it came to stubborn indifference
You certainly gave my husband a good laugh when I read your story to him - when things of that nature happen here we have got into a bad habit of just shrugging our shoulders and muttering "Well you're in Africa!"
I guess Egypt being up there on the top end of the continent , strictly speaking is in Africa ;D

[onlymark]

I know this type of experience can be obtained in many countries. But it doesn't stop it being frustrating.

[hal2000]

Perhaps Egyptian buyers know how to repair everything?

[Deleted]

I would guess that many people are just happy to listen to the radio and tape player. Even pirate CD's are above the budget of a lot of people.

[onlymark]

Hello hal2000, not heard from you since March this year. Is all Ok?
I understand your updated version, hal2001, will have issues regarding logic and bomb releasing. Is there anything you can do about that now? Before it's too late?

[Don Cuevas]

Similar stories can be told about Mexico.
Let the buyer beware. Often, no returns for defective merchandise. To be fair, large chain stores such as Costco have decent return policies. (I admit to never having returned anything.)

[Deleted]

I hate to think of the itinerary of some of these products -- the whole container rejected by a developed country due to being defective, then maybe even rejected by a second tier country, only to end up with a buyer saying "oh, I can fob that off in 'x', no problem. Probably after two years on cargo ships, even if some of the products worked when they were new, they probably corroded in the meantime.

[bixaorellana]

Some years ago an American friend told me that Scotchgard spray had been outlawed. I was upset by this news until he said, "No -- it's good news. Where do you think they're gonna dump all the product now? We won't have to bring it from the States anymore!"

But, to address the OP, which I have been avoiding doing because the experiences described are similar to what can go on here in Mexico.

*sigh* On the one hand, I have no right to criticize a country in which I live out of choice and which would get along just fine without me.

On the other, the sullen perception that I am rolling in wealth and that my country is big, wonderful, and mean, can be wearying, even though I can understand the basis for those beliefs. There is a part of me that nastily thinks, "You know, you guys, things really could be made better here!"

I sometimes think that way because of observing what I see as conflicting and self-destructive aspects of the national character. "Sí se puede" is often heard and is admirable in its "a way will be found!" spirit. But when you realize that it's often an attitude in response to things being screwed up because of disorganization, or corruption, or inertia, it can be maddening. However, in fairness I'm forced to admit that I've lived in hidebound areas of the US where the "we've always done it this way" attitude also retards development.

As a way to keep myself from becoming soured on the country, I sometimes have to force myself to remember all the reasons I like it so much here. This generally works, with one exception. That is, I can get behind and tolerate almost any characteristic thing except when they blandly perpetrate outmoded, inefficient, maddening, pointless crap on a first-world situation.

And that brings me squarely up against what Mark found so annoying in his two Egyptian examples. Dammit to hell -- it's McDonald's, it's an effing supermarket, for crying out loud! There is a universal template for such things. Just follow it, train your employees, organize things, turn down the music, take and use the credit card correctly................ aaarrrrgh, I think you all see what I mean.

[onlymark]

I also berated a French Manager of Carrefour in Cairo for allowing his employees to have very poor fruit and veg handling skills. What I mean is that they bring out several boxes of, say, apples and just heft them up at shoulder level to dump them on the display. Many then fall off, roll around on the floor, get picked up and put back. All of them, whether on the floor or not, are then bruised.

He told me that the staff have training courses in this. But reading between the lines of what he did actually say he was telling me that it doesn't matter if there is a course or not, they will just do the same thing again and again anyway.

But focussing on the good things, I have only this week had to put on long trousers around the house as the weather is getting cooler. We stopped having air con on at night last week as well, diesel for my car and gas for cooking is subsidised plus I can fill my stomach for half a Euro.

[Deleted]

Bastard.

[onlymark]

The French manager was quite nice actually.


You do mean him, don't you?

[Deleted]

I will be fascinated to know if all of these little aspects of Egyptian life will be changing in the coming months, but unfortunately we probably won't have an on-the-spot reporter to keep us informed as in the past.

[onlymark]

The on the spot reporter has plans to return next Saturday. But only if the German Embassy soften their viewpoint as to have safe it is. Signs are other people are a planning to return as well.
I need the nod from them so the company of my wife pay for the flight, plus if it all goes wrong again then they will pull me out again without complaint instead of not following their advice and being left to my own devices (plus the kids obviously).

[mich64]

How do you feel about going back Mark, especially since you are taking the children?
Mich

[onlymark]

After speaking to some friends on our estate all is quiet there so I wouldn't feel too bad at all depending also a little on next Friday. There are protests planned but we'll have to see how organised and/or violent they become. There is no where near the amount of tension there has been in the past few weeks but there still are 'issues' to be resolved.
My main worry is what happens if the people become dissatisfied with how the military are running things?

[mich64]

Mark, I can understand the concern regarding the Military, it is a complete unknown as to how this is going to work. This morning on the news the report was that the Military was instructing foreign media to leave now and for only state media to report on internal matters and they also were instructing people in the square to go home and go back to work.

Although it makes sense to try to stabalize and return to normal life, it makes me nervous that they want the media to leave.

Also the government employees were seeking higheer wages.
Mich

[Deleted]

Algeria found a good way to encourage loyalty by the police. Just before the current demonstrations, they raised their salary 50%.... retroactive 3 years.

[onlymark]

Well, I've just booked a flight back for this Saturday.
It seems the Germans think it's okay to do so. So I did.

[Deleted]

Good. Was the school closed during the events? Will everybody pick up where they left off?

[onlymark]

We've had a message from the school to say they will be open from the 20th Feb. The local ones, especially near the city centre, closed and the international ones closed because a lot of the teachers went home to sit it out.
I've just completed a full medical as whenever you swap countries you have to be deemed to be fit to do so. Somehow though since 2006 when I had the last one I've put on three kilos.

Apparently I'm fully healthy but far too handsome for my own good.

[Deleted]

Once you get that Egyptian dust all over you again, nobody will notice.

[onlymark]

Beauty always shines through, K2.