Living here

You learn by doing. 

Lesson 1

One of the things I have learned is not to hang washed clothes outside.

1)   It is supposed to be illegal?! Still you can see people hanging clothes outside. It makes me wonder why…

2)   There is too much sand. The wind picks up the sand and your clothes are covered. So you have to start all over.

3)   Racks are not always strong enough to stay standing when there are winds. Yes, I have seen my wash fall down on my sandy balcony, as the rack could not withstand the wind.

Lesson 2

Always have smaller cash available. A lot of taxi’s, restaurants and even shops do not seem to have change for 100dhr (20€) – 200 dhr (40€). Which can be very annoying. Check with your taxi driver if you do not have smaller change, as he might have to make a stop at a petrol station to change the note.

Lesson 3

The first few times you might go somewhere with colleagues to eat, you might be shocked how the relation is between the waiter / client. Although we often say in Europe “the client is king”. There is no way of you believing that after spending some time in Dubai. People here in the service industry, excluding taxi’s, are very friendly, smiling and trying to please your every need. I wonder if they developed this way because the customers are so demanding. In Europe some restaurants have very crappy service, especially in Paris. Still we as a customer take this. We might not go again, but on some level we are used to it.  What I have noticed here is that people can really push the waiters. Examples: Where is my food? Be quick I am hungry. I want ice, lots of ice This is not enough ice …. And so on. It is really hard to explain by written word. You will just have to experience it yourself when you come to Dubai.  The only thing I do hate here is paying the bill. They come bring you the bill soon enough, but they take ages to bring your change back. I think it is a strategy. They hope you will get fed up with waiting and you will leave the change as a tip. Trust me I have walked out of places sometimes, as I just cannot be bothered to wait for my tips. Of course you can have the upper hand by ordering the bill the moment your food arrives.

Lesson 4

Another service I am not used to is the help at the supermarkets when you are putting your groceries in bags. Most cashiers have an extra person standing there to put your things in bags. At least they tend to put more than 3 items in a bag unlike the US where they waste plastic bags.  In the beginning I had the tendency to still put my own shopping in the bags. Now I just stand there, as it is this person job, which is a plus point. It might not be the most challenging job, but at least this person is getting paid. The customers on the other hand are being conditioned to be lazy bums.