Comments on: Shopping

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:36:01 +0000

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.

By: R. Gauci

R. Gauci — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:48:12 +0000

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.]

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:01:53 +0000

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.]

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:59:56 +0000

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.

By: R. Gauci

R. Gauci — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:44:39 +0000

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.]

By: R. Gauci

R. Gauci — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:15:52 +0000

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.]

By: Periklu

Periklu — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:01:15 +0000

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!!!

By: kev

kev — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:06:21 +0000

@ 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.

By: Amanda Mallia

Amanda Mallia — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:29:47 +0000

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 …)

By: Ray Borg

Ray Borg — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:22:16 +0000

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