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Number of expats coming to Oman decline
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pooroldedgar



Joined: 07 Oct 2010
Posts: 181

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You guys are lucky you even see Omanis pretending to work at Carrefore. Last I went to LuLu and they were all on strike!

Luckily, the lower-paid harder-working Indian/Filipinos were busting their butts to pick up the slack.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nicole2010 wrote:
I have never been to a check out line at the hypermarket where the register attendant wasn't texting on their mobile or using WhatsUp. Maybe, this is a management problem indirectly. But, this texting 'addiction' is even a worse problem on the roads.


the middle management are often Indian and can't assert any authority over Omani staff, no matter how junior or incompetent.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman wrote:
Are you expecting VIP service by highly motivated and skilled clerks? Do we get that in our own countries? Shall we make the same sweeping generalizations about the UK, US, Canada, Australia based on the interactions with the bored clerk at the grocery store?


You are delusional if you think you can compare Omani customer service with any of the above. The checkout staff I've met in the UK may be bored but they do their job efficiently and don't stop the transactions to chat on their mobiles.

You said you'd worked at several places in Oman. Is the current one the Ministry for Propaganda by any chance?
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, just got back from a jaunt to Carrefoure and you will never guess what happened.....

That's right, I went through a tortuous episode of retail cashier inefficiency and burst a blood vessel in a fit of righteous indignity at the sheer injustice of it all, all the while railing against the bleak future of the country where I live comfortably tax free.

Ho hum, just another day.....

Actually, I was served efficiently, albeit silently , by a young Omani girl who was most likely tired from fasting all day during her shift. She even carefully held the watermelon from rolling down the bagging area while I fumbled with my wallet. Exact change, receipt at the bottom, 50 baiza on the top, moved on to the next customer.

What on earth is this country coming to?
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MG, I'm not cheerleading or delusional, just responding to the overly negative or generalized defamation of Omanis.

I've had my share of problems, don't worry. Ministry bureaucracy . Drivers. Incompetence. Corruption . Inflated promises. Tribal nepotism . All of this is true. Perhaps what I do differently is seek out the positive in the interactions I have , understand the short modern history of Oman and the incredible accelerated development they have gone through and continue to push forward, with all of its flaws and oversights.

But, in the balance, there is so much more good and interesting things going on here than the bad, that I take exception to some of your, and others, characterizations. If you really have the attitude that comes across in some of your posts, then you need to take a break from here, as I said before, life is too short to spend it complaining and denigrating those around you.

I don't have a very sunny disposition myself, but I have an objective perspective that works against the daily pettiness that can wear us all down.

Peace
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman wrote:
If you really have the attitude that comes across in some of your posts, then you need to take a break from here, as I said before, life is too short to spend it complaining and denigrating those around you.


I've already stated many times that I'm leaving, partly due to the reasons I've stated on here, mainly because I like teaching and that's not allowed here, not in the real sense.. Just trying to help potential newbies know what they're getting themselves into.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman wrote:
Hey, just got back from a jaunt to Carrefoure and you will never guess what happened.....

That's right, I went through a tortuous episode of retail cashier inefficiency and burst a blood vessel in a fit of righteous indignity at the sheer injustice of it all, all the while railing against the bleak future of the country where I live comfortably tax free.

Actually, I was served efficiently, albeit silently , by a young Omani girl who was most likely tired from fasting all day during her shift. She even carefully held the watermelon from rolling down the bagging area while I fumbled with my wallet. Exact change, receipt at the bottom, 50 baiza on the top, moved on to the next customer.


Funnily enough I had a Ramadan drinks party at my house last night and we discussed this issue. My guests were 3 Brits and 3 Omanis and yes the Omanis were drinking alcohol as they do most nights during the holy month, either with friends or at their bachelor pad out of sight of the family, they're all high class tribes, one is a sheikh. ALL had experienced the Omani checkout girl problem. The Omanis said, as I had posted, that if at all possible, they avoided the Omani checkout girl in favour of the Filipina. The Omanis also said that they felt it was because these girls know they cannot be fired, no matter what. Then we moved on....to the whisky.
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omanoman



Joined: 11 Jun 2014
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

well, cheers to that.

clearly my luck with retail interactions is just better than yours. I've never had a problem with them, perhaps my expectations are lower? Anyway, it is hardly worth getting worked up over although these and other moans about life here are common fodder for conversations, usually between expats. The weather, drivers (especially now, between 6-7 pm), Ministry red tape etc.

best of luck on your next stop and hopefully the teaching environment is positive.

omanoman
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

omanoman wrote:
best of luck on your next stop and hopefully the teaching environment is positive. omanoman


Thanks, I'm not too sure how much, if any teaching I'm going to do, maybe just a bit of part-time. My first book 'Travelling, Teaching and Tippling in Paris' is due out in about 6 weeks. The second 'Travelling, Teaching and Tippling: Hookers and Hypocrites' which is about my time in the ME will be published later in the year and DEFINITELY only once I'm out of the region!
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SirAristede



Joined: 26 May 2014
Posts: 83
Location: Salmiya, Al 'Āşimah, Kuwait

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 12:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MuscatGary wrote:
omanoman wrote:
best of luck on your next stop and hopefully the teaching environment is positive. omanoman


Thanks, I'm not too sure how much, if any teaching I'm going to do, maybe just a bit of part-time. My first book 'Travelling, Teaching and Tippling in Paris' is due out in about 6 weeks. The second 'Travelling, Teaching and Tippling: Hookers and Hypocrites' which is about my time in the ME will be published later in the year and DEFINITELY only once I'm out of the region!


Definitely let us know when your works are published. I'm sure they'd make for very interesting reading. Smile
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MuscatGary wrote:
The second 'Travelling, Teaching and Tippling: Hookers and Hypocrites' which is about my time in the ME will be published later in the year and DEFINITELY only once I'm out of the region!

And presumably never coming back... as a few writers have learned to their disappointment when they later needed to pay off some loans with a better income than they had in the US. LOL

Be sure to come back here and let us know when it is published.

VS
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="veiledsentiments"]
MuscatGary wrote:
And presumably never coming back... as a few writers have learned to their disappointment when they later needed to pay off some loans with a better income than they had in the US. LOL

I haven't had any debt since the mid-70's and won't borrow money under any circumstances. I've bought property over the years and now have NEARLY enough rental income to live the life I intend to live. I feel sorry for those with student loans, I got a grant way back when in the UK. I REALLY believe that if I had been force into that situation I would have left the country on graduation and never paid it and never gone back as a protest.

Be sure to come back here and let us know when it is published.

Of that you can be sure!
VS
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