Shopping
I’ve just returned from a shopping expedition to Valletta, followed by supper, and this is what I noticed: that the shops and main streets were heaving with people at last. I noticed something else, too: that after days and weeks of complaining about this being the worst Christmas since – since what? the 1980s and import substitution? – most of the shops on the main drag stuck to the usual timetable and brought down the shutters at 7pm. Can you imagine? They tell us that they haven’t sold much and are poised on the brink of bankruptcy, there are hundreds of people outside ready to flex their plastic, and they shut the doors in their faces.
I was picking stocking-fillers off the shelves in one major department store when an announcement came over the tannoy in an irritated voice: “Will you please make your final purchases as the store is now closing.” The ‘store’ was full of people – I mean really full. And they were choosing things and buying them. Three minutes later the voice came on again, even more irritated this time: “Will you please choose your items and move towards the cash desk as we are closing.” Five minutes later and the ‘store’ was deserted. They had actually thrown their customers out.
Choosing cosmetics at another shop, I was forced to listen to the loud conversational grumbling of three sales-girls, who were steaming because they had been told by the proprietor that they were to keep the shop-doors open as long as there were people coming through them. It was ‘u zgur’ this and ‘u zgur’ that., and the usual absence of any sense of involvement with the business and the failure to connect those people coming through the door with their pay-cheque at the end of the week. But what really astonished me was that they were having this loud conversation in front of their customers: speaking, in their customers’ faces, about how fed-up they were serving them and how they were counting the minutes until they could close those doors and stop selling. Then one of them said something about the proprietor, and another replied that they should have patience with her ‘ghax mihiex ghal hawn’. Now I happen to know the proprietor, and that she suffered from cancer, so I was aghast. Not only were those sales-girls totally oblivious to the fact that their customers are people with ears and sensibilities, who might object to overhearing about how burdensome their presence in the shop is, but it didn’t for one moment occur to them that, hey, one of their customers might actually know their boss.
And as for the festive spirit in Valletta’s coffee-shops – dear God in heaven. We might as well have been in an Islamic state.
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I was in Valletta this morning, and was mulling on whether to drop a note about this, and since you’ve brought up the subject….
As all of you know, the weather today was fantastic, so it was quite an enjoyable day, apart from one small thing.
All of you who have been to Valletta lately, have you noticed that the left passageway in City Gate (corner with the stairs/outdoor toilet leading to Yellow Garage) was completely blocked by morons selling old rubbish? How the hell do they get away with it? I went in Valletta via Park and Ride, but all those coming via the Bus Terminus would think for a moment that we’re in another country, not Malta….
I agree with you completely. I hope those shop assistants
are sacked.
Instead of opening more language schools, maybe we should
have a few charm schools for our shop assistants.
I once ran a beautiful gift shop in Scotland and Christmas
was such fun. We really got involved with our customers,
knew our stock inside out so could really help and
the atmosphere was fantastic. Yes, we were exhausted
but still got enormous job satisfaction.
I did 90% of my shopping in two very upmarket shops this year
with a reputation for being extremely expensive, but
amidst the pricey gifts, there were some really good
buys. At one of these shops, I was offered a glass
of prosecco and my presents were beautifully wrapped.
One very happy customer! Of course the owners are
there a lot but even when they aren’t, the staff couldn’t
be more helpful and charming.
Well Daphne, let me agree with you wholeheartedly for once.You are right, shops in Valletta were closing at 7, but not because the proprietors want to. I was also shopping at the time. The main grumbles I heard was how difficult it is to keep staff in shops; they want to leave at 7 and no amount of money would tempt them otherwise. It seems that this country’s workers have become a lazy self-serving lot. They generally are. They don’t understand that if the shop goes under, they are out of a job, because they seem to think jobs are easily found elsewhere. It’s all about their perceived “rights” and the “us and them ” mentality that we have only Mintoff to thank for fostering. Thankfully, my employees stay the course, and yesterday they did, and so will they today, and they will be rewarded for it. Proprietors need to recognize the need to run their businesses and employees as a family, collectively and to value good workers and weed out the unworthy. Employers have a responsibility to keep their business going not because of their own family, but because they are responsible for the well being of their employee’s families as well. Employees need to recognize that the employer has a far greater burden on his mind and shoulders, and that yes, his work and his zeal are what keeps them in employment and puts bread on their tables. We all sink or swim together and it’s a balance that we should all do our utmost to foster. On that note, I would like to thank all of you for having the patience, the decency and the interest to read my ramblings, and to you, dear Daphne, for giving us a decent forum to air what we feel. The world we live in is not such a bad place after all; we could be much worse, so let’s spare more than just a thought to those, even amongst us, who don’t know it’s Christmas. To those who are lonely this Christmas, who hate the feast because they cannot feel joyful, to the refugees amongst us, the prisoners at Kordin, the elderly who have no one, the broken families and the children, to the people who dedicate their time so that others may find solace, they are the true spirit of the Christmas Child, and I am humbled by their example.
WITH THE ADVENT OF CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR, MAY ALL THE BELLS OF THE WORLD RING IN JOY TO WISH YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR LOVED ONES PEACE AND TRANQUILITY, HEALTH AND A BETTER ENVIRONMENT TO LIVE IN……..
Happy Christmas to you, Daphne and all the readers of this blog.
[Daphne – And to you, too.]
welcome back to Malta……
What a difference from the shops abroad. I have just returned from a week in London………..what with getting a good rate on the sterling against the Euro, I went for a week on a Christmas shopping spree. Department stores stay open late every day, sales assistants are proud to be working at these high street shops. What a difference. Whatever you ask a sales assistant, he/she will make sure that you get an answer. What pride, what a sense of belonging these people have. Our sales assistants need to be trained like these people.
I have a (very) long list of shops which I do not go to because of the ‘charms’ of the sales persons there. It is really up to the owner to check on how his employees deal with customers if he wants my business. I am always amazed at the cost they incur in setting up their business and then letting it all go to waste by not investing in proper training and monitoring of their employees. Is it too difficult for them (the owners) to understand that we have moved away from a product-based market (where you buy whatever is on display) to one which is based on experience? These employees are after all the ambassadors of the business and money ‘saved’ here is money not saved well.
Maria – Please don’t exaggerate. Shop assistants the world over are the same. If you have charm, are friendly, polite and intelligent, then you probably are capable of much more than a lowly shop assistant. By definition, shop assistants, are not the brightest sparks in the box. If you happened upon some friendly assistants in London, it’s only because the doom and gloom is so much more marked over there than it is in Malta, that the shop assistants are really worried for their jobs. Once shop assistants in Malta get into the same situation, they will change their ways.
[Daphne – Oh boy, how wrong you are. Never, anywhere, have I encountered shop assistants as dreadful as most of those in Maltese shops. They are simply a reflection of our ill-mannered, crass and discourteous culture. No well brought up person needs training as a shop assistant. Mere good manners gets you through – and that is precisely the problem.]
Well, why in the world would the staff bother about the business? I remember how it was like working during Christmas season last year at a bingo hall. It was total crap, the pay was the same, but the work was more demanding. It was the only Christmas where I had lost weight, not to mention the people were more rowdy. The owner was earning more, while we were working harder, dealing with more drunk people.
Let me tell you something, this resentment comes from owners and managers, who do not know how to manage people. If the wage is lm1.50, and the owners’ earnings are double, the staff should get Lm3. Why? because the staff need to feel like their work MEANS something.. if you double the work, but leave the wage as it is, the Worker, will work for Lm1.50 and no more.
I do pity the workers who have to work during the Christmas season, and yes, some of them yesterday were total crap. The workers at a cafeteria were arguing amongst themselves and being unprofessional, but I remembered the same thing happening to me and my ex-coworkers during the Christmas season and actually felt sorry for them, because I remember the confusion, the sudden overwhelming work, the nasty clients and managers and what not.
Maltese owners milk the cow, but do not feed it, and as a result the Maltese people who taste the sour milk don’t blame the owners, but blame the cow.
As if, in Malta the mentality is that people are doing YOU a favour by working for you! There is yet another Mintoffian legacy. People have a right to their jobs and the nasty employer has no right to make them earn their pay cheque. Iss hej, he earns more then the poor haddiem hux, so how dare he utter a word if employees do what they like? I can never drum in enough to employees that it is NOT the company that pays their salaries but the clients.
Happy Christmas to all!
A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL
I think that we NEED to make courses for young people who will be starting their lives in the working world as part of the curriculum – like parents and youngsters have in general accepted PSD studies, we need to try also basic courses in manners in general. I would even suggest that for a person to start working he or she should undergo a compulsory course in manners. Workers who are to be employed in the food industry must now undergo a compulsory course in food hygiene, so why shouldn’t those who aim to be employed in general not undergo an etiquette course?
We are always complaining that we compare foreigners to us Maltese, but we have to admit that we have some things to learn from them. Amongst them is how to get on with customers and people in general – be it the grocer, supermarket , cashiers etc.
I did my shopping frantically yesterday between 6:30 and 8:00 and I notice (amongst other things) that the shops that remained open had empty shelves.
In any case, I don’t want to moan and groan today. I just want to wish you, Daphne, all your family a very serene Christmas and a prosperous, healthy and happy new year.
I also wish all the readers of this blog all the best for Christmas and New Year.
Above all, thank you Daphne for your entrepreneurship and your dedication to this website, which has kept me company through thick and thin. Thank you and well done.
All the best and let’s hope 2009 will be a better year for the us all.
[Daphne – Thank you, and a very happy Christmas to you and yours.]
By the way thanks Daphne for keeping this blog going on. Its been fun and very interesting to see how we respond to the everyday things that go on during the year. I guess it takes up a lot of your time, but I would like to thank you for giving me at least a fresh approach to politics and other subjects and to read reactions good and bad from people on the street – how they say.
TO ALL THOSE ON THIS BLOG – HAVE A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR AND GOD BLESS!
Happy Christmas to you all.
You can’t just blame the staff. Many retailers are simply clueless about retailing, starting with staff training/compensation, to window displays. On a positive note, three shops have really shown what retailing should be :
Rebelli, Cleland and Souchet, and Diamonds International, just outside the Hilton.
Admittedly not mass market shops, but window displays, trained staff, and open shop hours according to consumer needs.
Merry Christmas to all.
@ Mario Debono. Please make an effort to paragraph your comments.
[Daphne – I would add to your list: Serendipity in San Gwann, Frank’s in Mosta and Ascot House in Valletta.]
I queued to pay for my items at Next of Sliema yesterday. When it was my turn to pay, the shop assistant greeted me with ‘Ghidli hi‘. I handed over my clothes and my card, she ticked and punched and swiped with her perfect nails, handed me over the chit to sign, gave me the bag and receipts, and without one further glance or word, she looked at the next customer and said ‘Ghidli hi’. That was it, no thank you, no happy Christmas, no nothing. This was just one instance, because there were others. I did occasionally get the odd ‘thank you’ although it was never accompanied by eye contact. I remarked to my friend that shopping in Malta is almost an ordeal rather than an exciting evening out. And is it just me who’s unfortunate or what? Because most times, the shops either don’t have the size I want (and I’m a size 12), or the colour, or the right length. This goes for the shoe shops too. I always tend to end up feeling frustrated after a shopping spree in Malta because I hardly ever find what I really want.
Daphne, I wish you and everyone else a lovely Christmas.
[Daphne – Thank you. To you, too.]
Hepi Krismiss to you all at Pollyanna’s. May Valletta’s charm continue to stupefy, with a top-floor parliament seated on an omni-purpose, shopping-arcade, multi-storey complex accessible across a bazaar plaza through a larger bieb ta’ garaxx of Piano proportions with regettiera on both sides and ful, cicri u karawett for all.
[Daphne – Mela irxoxxtajt, Ellul Bonici?]
Merry Christmas Daphne and to everyone else on this blog!
[Daphne – Thank you, and to you too.]
May I wish you and all your readers a very Merry Christmas…hopefully,also, a prosperous New Year reading your wonderful articles…and your Flair for Taste!
[Daphne – Thank you. Have fun tomorrow…actually, today.]
I don’t blame them for acting so. Probably they’re only paid Lm1.60 an hour. The problem is not training, it is the wages. We have one of the lowest wage rates in the EU. Now if you want your employees to work with a smile, you increase their pay and as such they’ll be more content. The result: a better service to your customer which will result in more sales.
Merry Christmas to all on this blog.
I see the point, but what do you expect when most sales assistants are paid the equivalent of minimum wage or marginally above?
@ Mario Debono
“It’s all about their perceived “rights” and the “us and them ” mentality that we have only Mintoff to thank for fostering”
Are you serious man? What’s Mintoff got to do with it when most of these sales girls were born after 1987? They only know one government and it has got nothing to do with their attitude….. I can assure you that this mentality is not just with sales girls. I have experienced it in other work-places, even in professional environments. It’s how the current generation behaves.
Happy Christmas everyone !
I wish you all NOTHING more than the best of health in 2009.
The credit-crunch is really, really secondary.
Well I have to disagree with your first paragraph. Although shops aren’t empty you have to admit that people are not shopping as much as, say, the last three years (my memory only serves me for the last three years). I remember in Sliema it was a nightmare to manage to enter Sliema let alone park at this time of year. Although this year it still was a bit difficult it was nothing compared to the last three years. Didn’t take that much time to manage to make it to Sliema and park. The same could be observed in Valletta. One can’t help and observe that the amount of shopping did diminish drastically.
I didn’t realise we could mention the names of the shops
so can I add to your list Camilleri Paris Mode and
La Boutique at Palazzo Parisio.
Employees should be banned from using the word”hi” but
go back to sinjur, sinjura etc. If they start their
job on minimum wage and prove themselves then employers
should reward them. A mean employer does deserve what
he gets. But I can’t believe all these rude sales
assistants all have miserable bosses. What happened
to “The customer is always right”?
A very Happy Christmas to you Daphne and to everyone who
writes in. And looking forward to many amusing and
heated discussions in 2009.
[Daphne – My best wishes, Cikki. I’d like everyone to mention by name the shops where they are served well. I can confirm what you say about Camilleri Paris Mode and Palazzo Parisio’s boutique, where the service is perfect – in the case of Palazzo Parisio, the same goes for the restaurant/cafe. The last time I heard any shop-keeper or shop assistant call a customer sinjur or sinjura I was a child. When I wrote about this lack of manners, the Labour/AD contingent had a field-day, calling me old-fashioned and claiming that I want to go back to the days of forelock-tugging. That’s the sentiment that underpins such rudeness. Maybe they’ve never travelled – never been addressed with polite formality elsewhere?]
Someone told me that those shops which have charming sales assistants are those that in addition to basic wage also offer commission or percentage on profits.
I don`t know if it`s true but it makes sense to me.
Very best wishes to you Daphne and to all the contributors to your blog = it`s become a way of life to so many.
[Daphne – Best wishes to you, too.]
@Tino
I think what Mario means is that Mintoff instilled the culture of a free lunch; of thinking the world owes you a living for hardly any or no effort; of not expecting to work to succeed, of just doing the bare minumum to avoid losing your job, sticking to a boring job without making an effort to make it more interesting or ‘upgrade’ to something else.
The culture may have already been present but Mintoff sure as hell made it much much worse, and the generation in question has had it instilled in them by their parents.
But unlike Mario, I still think most shopkeepers are robbing us blind, which is why, like many others, if I can wait for something and/or I don’t expect to make a warranty claim, I buy it elsewhere, as do an increasing number of us.
And every time Vince Farrugia opens his mouth, the list of things I’m willing to buy from overseas gets longer.
As probably one of the oldest bloggers (not “b*gger”) of all you lot, may I join in wishing you all that is good in 2009. And Daphne though I may not always agree with what you write I think you deserve all the accolades showered upon you for keeping at least half of Malta happy and on its toes. Keep it up.
[Daphne – Belated good wishes. I hope you had a good day.]
RE: [No well brought up person needs training as a shop assistant. Mere good manners gets you through – and that is precisely the problem.]
Daphne, I think you are lucky that you’ve never worked in these types of “people” jobs.
Manners cannot hide discontent. You are basically treated like a worm by everyone, therefore you stop being nice and end up being defensive and apathetic, just like your more experienced workmates.
Anyway, Merry Christmas.
[Daphne – Merry Christmas, Graham. And remember, manners involve hiding any feeling of antipathy you might have to a customer. Unfortunately, these sort of jobs tend to attract people who come from homes where no behavioural skills or good manners are taught. So when the occasional person with strong skills joins the staff, he or she is rapidly promoted, causing resentment among the others, who don’t make the connection.]
So the mentality is still if I am paid a low salary and if the bus transport tickets are considered cheap, then I give cheap service?
What an utter load of rubbish. I was in Birkirkara yesterday and the streets were absolutely deserted – quite a different proposition to previous Christmas Eves. And coming to the argument of the shop assistant – no wonder they want to leave early. In this country where you get Lm 1.25 per hour (not even Lm 1.50) for 12 hours without any overtime I wonder who the thieves are. And this government made an issue on overtime in the last election by scaring people to death. I give up!
[Daphne – Mosta was deserted, too. Everyone was in Sliema and Valletta. Face it, when you’re doing last-minute shopping, you want to be where there’s the maximum choice.]
@ Kev pretty sad comment, reflecting the person who wrote it ?
If a PN govt succeeded in building a hospital which everyone compares to a 5-star hotel, I am quite confident the new Parliament building/Piano project would be anything but as portrayed in your comment.
…and this is the same Kev who wholeheartedly supported the visionless Alfred Sant whose govt was toppled over a yacht marina project.
@Daphne
Great article and so true in every way. Here’s from me wishing everyone a great festive season all round.
@Gerald. A low wage does not justify shoddy service. Shop assistants and waiters are not paid well in any country and yet they have to be polite and courteous to customers – it’s part of the job and, let’s face it, being civil doesn’t require much of an effort. ‘How may I help you’ is simply two syllables more than ‘ghidli hi’. So many of us are simply arrogant and ignorant and seem to think that saying ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’ is being servile.
Maltese seem to find any excuse to justify a poor work ethic. People know what they are going in for when applying for a job be it a shop assistant or a teacher.
Doctors are paid crap and yet we all expect them to do their best (and generally they do) – so why not everyone else? This ‘miskin il-haddiem maghkus’ mentality will backfire on us one day.
[Daphne – It’s done so already.]
One more shop I forgot to mention “Memories of Childhood”
in Naxxar, by the side of the church. A wonderful treasure
trove, worth a visit even if you don’t need a present for
a child, but just to bring back memories of your
childhood.
Also a customer should NEVER know if the shop assistant
is unhappy, bored, underpaid, etc. Staff in other
countries start on mimimum wage too, then get increases
according to their performance. If they don’t and they
have a mean boss, then they move on. The customer should
never know any of this. Surely all this is common sense.
Doesn’t the “mentality” go back to the days of us being
a British colony prior to Mintoff?
“If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”
– Martin Luther King
What a load of crap.Isn’t there anything more interesting to talk about?
[Daphne – This isn’t a monopoly blog, sweetheart. If you don’t like it, you know where to go.]
Slightly off topic – we`ve all sort of accepted the `ghidli hi` or sales assistants talking on mobiles mentality.
But if one is blatantly rude, should you report him/her?
[Daphne – When I’m very cross, I do so, if I know who the employer is. But then I also make a point of ‘reporting’ excellent service.]
Merry Christmans Daphne, to you and your family. May the new year bring to you and your loved ones joy, peace and happiness.
[Daphne – Thank you, and the same to you and your family, too.]
I agree with you on Serendipity Daphne, great if eclectic collection, and the mulled wine was a very nice touch.
I got good service, surprisigly , from a girl called Janica at Sterling in Valletta. She was sweet and unobtrusive, and utterly helpful and not pushy. Another good guy is Daniel Azzopardi in Mriehel, and his uncles in Floriana. As for the rest……pshaw!
@ David *……point taken, difficult to do with a PDA, but am trying. Thank you
May I put in my tuppence worth in this discussion. I have lived in European cities for many years and I am used to being greeted by a ‘Buongiorno” ‘Good morning Sir’ or ‘Bonjour Monsieur’ as soon as a I step into an establishment. This is usually followed by a handshake when I leave, be it with the waiter in a Roman restaurant or a Parisian boutique.
Unfortunately, this form of common courtesy never reached our shores or, if it did it was short lived. There is no point of trying to find the reasons behind this common lack of courtesy. We should look ahead and do our best, if we can succeed, to introduce it.
The magic word is ‘RESPECT’ Respect to the customer and respect to the person who is serving you.
A very Happy 2009 full of the best things in life to all
Maybe the doom-and-gloom GRTU should analyse this:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081227/local/number-of-parcels-up-52
Oh, and by the way – I was at Next today. While the salesgirls at one cash till were extremely polite and helpful, another salesgirl at a cash till on their other floor – despite being otherwise courteous – could not help telling her colleague “Nofs siegha biss fadlilna, hi!”, in an extremely loud voice.
As for praising those that are polite … The staff at Rizzu restaurant in Marsaxlokk are all extremely helpful and polite. (Apart from the fact that the food there is always very good and the place sparkling clean. The kitchen is also in full view of the diners, which may be considered good by most …)
@ david s, who wrote “this is the same Kev who wholeheartedly supported the visionless Alfred Sant whose govt was toppled over a yacht marina project.”
You must be mistaking me with some other Kev.
http://www.il-pjazza.com/forum/index.php?topic=4429.0
[quote author=LasPalmas link=topic=4429.msg290065#msg290065 date=1230380687]
My… how right she is :(
[url=http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=1258#comments]http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=1258#comments[/url]
[/quote]
Indeed, The Crowning of Daphne!!!
When criticising shop assistants in Malta you must consider some things. Their pay, first: my wife is one of them; she is paid €600-700 per month depending on how much commission she makes. She only gets four to five days off PER YEAR because she works 38.5 hours per week and so that 1.5 hours are deducted from her total leave. Many times she gets caught up with a crowded shop at 6.50pm, 10 minutes before closing-time and she usually ends up working 20-30 minutes extra daily without getting paid for it (thanks to those greedy Mintoff-hater bosses who don’t pay overtime). Plus she gets the usual shouting and abuse from clients when at 7.20pm she tells them that she has to close the shop. She’s always late and with a huge headache; she eats, does some work at home, sleeps (on the sofa most of the time) and the following day up again at 7am to start all over again six days a week…… Thank God there is Sunday, yeah Sunday – most of the time it’s the day when these persons do their housework; washing floors, clothes etc.
For people like you its easy to speak: most of you are well off or with good jobs and get paid well for every extra minute. Then what’s this Mintoff legacy? You hate him because Mintoff lifted the lower-class closer to your class and now we eat at the same restaurants you go to?
[Daphne – Oh grow up. If your wife really has such a lousy job, she should be looking for another one. You don’t mention that she’s doing this – why not? That is the precise category in which people are looking for staff and can’t find them, which is why jobs are being filled by people from other EU member states. And rip that chip off your shoulder. It’s the thing that’s holding you back.]
Thanks for the solution dear Daphne! Tomorrow I will go to the minister’s office to find her a job in Brussels or in Luxembourg, if it’s that easy as you make it seem. Most probably what she’ll be offered would be a 2 month job (the new trend) in a local factory. “Minn got-tagen ghal gon-nar” Wake up at 5am instead of at 7am, that’s the difference.
[Daphne – Given your attitude, I’m not surprised at your situation. Nobody ever got anywhere with that kind of negative outlook and chippiness.]
R Gauci: You don’t say what sort of shop your wife works in, and the type of customers she meets. If you looked around I think you’d find that indifference and rudeness is more common among shop assistants than among customers, though I’d allow that some shops attract more than their fair share of rude, troublesome and demanding queue-jumpers who think polite service is an attempt to ridicule them.
R. Gauci: You don’t seem to believe your wife is capable of much. Have you considered that your negative attitude is the last thing she needs?
[Daphne – And he doesn’t seem to be much help around the house, either, because his wife does the work when she gets home. Perhaps I should have suggested she finds a better-paid man rather than a better-paid job.]
She found the man she loves and loves her back dear Daphne, that’s what marriage is all about for us “down” here, and paid well as well, “kieku id wahda wara u ohra quddiem qeghdin qalbi.”
As for being a shop assistant that’s what she chose to do from her teenage years and does not want to quit it, hopefully she’ll quit soon for good though.
* My point in this blog was that of understanding the conditions most sales assistants work in before starting to throw stones and not my personal one. Under paid, long hours standing, no rights at all, hamallis on a daily basis, rude bosses and most of all responsibility you’re not paid well for “tipo” closing/opening shops/establishments, cash money in hand, shoplifting, etc. Would most of you try all this for E700/Lm300 a month? I doubt it.
[Daphne – No. That’s why I made sure I was able to do something else. If it’s what she chose to do, then why in God’s name is she complaining? La krejta…..She could always have taken a secretarial course. You never needed any O-levels for that, though you did have to know how to spell. And just as an aside, your classist comment about marriage is way off the mark: it’s precisely ‘down there’ that marriage was all about survival and putting a roof over your head. ‘Up there’ women had a roof of their own and didn’t need a man to provide one. People marry for love, money or both right across the social spectrum, so don’t give me that ‘glorious peasant’ hogwash. There’s nobody more mercenary than somebody who grew up at the bottom of the heap.]
R. Gauci:
It’s funny. My first job in Malta was near minimum wage. I had Lm270 in hand each month. I worked my ass off, long hours, no overtime pay, no real vacation days etc. It was shit. I hated it. But you know what, I didn’t complain, whine and blame anyone else for it. I stuck it out, made the best of it and left once I found something better.
And through all this, I can assure you that you will not find a single customer served by me, who can at any point tell me I was anything but polite and courteous to them. Not being happy in your position is no reason to act badly towards your customers and as long as you think it is, you will never get anywhere in your career.