In Saudi Arabia it's weird to speak to someone who you don't know asking for help or discussing any topic, and even if you do that, the other guy would show no interest. In shops and grocery stores, you would not see any smile in the casher's face. All what they want is take your money and leave the place without hearing anything from you , such as questions and opinions. Also when you want to return something to the store, they are going to investigate you by asking a lot of questions, such as why do you want to return it?, did you use it a lot? and is it still in a good condition?. Also when you call an internet service or mobile service, they really don't want to help you, so I really hate to talk to them. Nevertheless, we became familiar with these morals and they don't annoy us anymore.
In my first days in United States of America, there was a big exclamation mark above my head since people were greeting me every day. I was greeted by "good morning, hi, how are you? what's up." Also when I walk in the street, everyone smiles at me, and that makes me starts my days with happiness. Also in the grocery stores, the cashers help you with a big smile and they ask you if you need any help, and it's so easy to return anything. For example, I have bought an umbrella, yet I realized that it can't help in Austin since it rains strongly. After two days, I went to the store to return it, and I returned it without any questions or investigation. Another example for the good morals in United States of America is that I called an internet service to fix a problem, but my English wasn't sufficient. However, the server was so nice and patient with me. As a result, we fixed the problem after a long time, and he didn't show any anger. I have been in Austin TX for seven months, and I started acquiring these good morals.
I have asked myself several times why the people in Saudi Arabia are not as friendly as American people. There was several possible answers for this question. One of them is the weather in Saudi Arabia is too hot. As a result, people become angry too fast. Another possible reason is that Saudi Arabia doesn't have a lot of green views, and I think that this is playing a major rule in their morals and behaviors. I hope I could change that when I go back.
You know what? I've felt really same way since I came here. In Korea, it's been changed a lot in terms of clerks' hospitality toward customers yet we need to be changed more. Maybe people in Saudi or Korea are not used to greeting others who they don't know.For me, I'm still not that much feel free to greet someone who I don't know :p
ReplyDeleteHi Whosam,
ReplyDeleteNice topic! I really enjoyed reading it. I agree with what you said in the second paragraph about the returning stuff. And don't let me start talking about how bad is the customer service, it's really bothering me. However, I don't agree with this statement, " it's weird to speak...would show no interest. " Actually, I used to have discussions with strangers a lot. I don't mind talking to someone I don't know. I also asked my roommate about his opinion because I thought I was wired :S But he told me he used to do the same too, so I guess both of us are wired :)
It's interesting to me that you mention the clerks in stores talking with you. I found that different too when I came to Austin. It rarely happens in New England. I remember the first Christmas I was here, and the clerk was having a long conversation with every customer even though there was a line of people waiting to pay. No one was upset that it was taking so long. What a surprise to me!
ReplyDelete/Anne
Whosam...
ReplyDeleteYour blog was interesting to read. I really enjoyed reading it you got the customer service problem right, it is really annoying , but I think it's because of the policy there not because of people. Anyway, I concur with Ramen in his point about talking to strangers, Maybe because Safwa your hometown doesn't have a friendly people like many small towns here in the the US, about my self, I talk with any one in the street in Saudi Arabia, maybe because I live in Jeddah and people there are friendly !! who nows...
By the way, I noticed that we have a lot of differences between our opinions in my blog and yours, I think because we came from different backgrounds..
Mohammed.
Hello Hussam,
ReplyDeleteI concur with you about your opinions of Americans, but not really about Saudis. In my case, I find everything cool, especially in the public. I mean when I walk in the streets, I really feel comfortable, for I receive lots of greetings from strangers. About helping, I think that it depends on the person that you are dealing with. I have faced many problems and offered big helps that made me proud of Saudis. One of the situations that I have been thorough is when I got a flat tire while driving and a man and his son did almost the whole process of changing the tire for me. I really was thankful; however, I was not surprised because helping is an ordinary habit for most Saudis. In my humble opinion, it depends on the region and how people deal with each other.
Thanks for your entry
Yours,
Rayan