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dubai sales people really are as dumb as they come!

i think i know more about every item i have ever asked about, bluetooth deviced, HDDVD's, HDTV's etc.

virgin megastore are not even going to get in HD DVD because they are 'not as good as blueray'

1 month ago they didnt even understand what HDDVD or blueray was.

and why the hell do we have to pick our veg and wait for some indian to weigh it and price it for us?

in the 1990's you had self service weighing for veg, and now the checkouts are automatic weigh systems (in the uk anyhoo).

i try to be nice, i know its not there fault, but then i see a checkout man, no eye contact, no 'please' 'thankyou' just '10 dirham' and then u r gone.

it is kind of refreshing tho, old skool, see how the rest of the world live. is it the rest of the world? or just themiddle east?

dave101 wrote:dubai sales people really are as dumb as they come!

i think i know more about every item i have ever asked about, bluetooth deviced, HDDVD's, HDTV's etc.

virgin megastore are not even going to get in HD DVD because they are 'not as good as blueray'

1 month ago they didnt even understand what HDDVD or blueray was.

and why the hell do we have to pick our veg and wait for some indian to weigh it and price it for us?

in the 1990's you had self service weighing for veg, and now the checkouts are automatic weigh systems (in the uk anyhoo).

i try to be nice, i know its not there fault, but then i see a checkout man, no eye contact, no 'please' 'thankyou' just '10 dirham' and then u r gone.

it is kind of refreshing tho, old skool, see how the rest of the world live. is it the rest of the world? or just themiddle east?

I'm impressed. You know what HDDVD is and lived or live in the UK. I'll send you a medal when the new shipment arrives.

Maybe someone did not have the same opportunities as you and because they have the same neeeds as all of us (shelter, food, etc.) they are working as salespeople and weighing your vegetables. You should say please and thank you to them each time. And be thankful you do not have to do that job (or maybe you are not qualified to do it).

^^^^^ Quality post.

St.Lucifer wrote:^^^^^ Quality post.

Thanks. All 2604 to date are

Concie,

I kinda disagree. I do agree that people have to feed their families, need food, shelter, etc etc

When they take up a job, they either do it with heart or don't do it at all.

Here, its usually the other way around. The customer aren't rude, the person selling is.

Example: I go to buy a cell phone or a tv. I ask the person to explain what a specific feature means. Even if he doesn't know, he can say "May I ask you wait? I'll get someone else who is more knowledgable than me as I just started" or something like that instead of saying "I don't know" and the customer then has to figure out what next..

What does that tell ya? Customer Service training is inadequate or the person just doesn't understand what Customer Service means.


Illiteracy is no longer an excuse. In this day and age, training is provided by all companies. Its upto the person whether they have the capacity to learn and improve.

nosoup4u wrote:Concie,

I kinda disagree. I do agree that people have to feed their families, need food, shelter, etc etc

When they take up a job, they either do it with heart or don't do it at all.

Here, its usually the other way around. The customer aren't rude, the person selling is.

Example: I go to buy a cell phone or a tv. I ask the person to explain what a specific feature means. Even if he doesn't know, he can say "May I ask you wait? I'll get someone else who is more knowledgable than me as I just started" or something like that instead of saying "I don't know" and the customer then has to figure out what next..

What does that tell ya? Customer Service training is inadequate or the person just doesn't understand what Customer Service means.


Illiteracy is no longer an excuse. In this day and age, training is provided by all companies. Its upto the person whether they have the capacity to learn and improve.

I can't say I've ever encountered a rude salesperson. It is true that many "do not know". As your example points out many time people will say "I do not know" and I would rather have that than them making something up. Customer service and "incentives" do not exist. In most cases a sales person will make the same 700 dhs per month whether they sell one tv or 100 in a day! Perhaps the top management figure the product will move anyway (transient clientele, high demand, etc.) so why bother - or they don't understand the concept of customer service themselves.

Frankly if I were making 700 to 1000 dhs a month I would not be a happy camper. But by in large all the sales staff everywhere in Dubai are pleasant.

Well Concie,

then you need to introduce us to the sales people you meet because i'm yet to meet one with a smile on his face.

When a person is not happy, they find something to blame. They will never look at themselves first which is what we all should do.

We all have one life to live, I say live it up. True we can't walk around with a smile on our faces 24/7 but that doesn't mean just because we're not happy, lets treat someone else like crap and not care.


All I gotta say about Dubai is, I see it growing in technology, real estate but the quality of work and people is worse than what it was 6-7 yrs ago and showing no signs of improvement.

I do like the Cops here tho

nosoup4u wrote:I have 10 mobile phones.. same modem Nokia 6021. I bought these duringh a deal with warranty

so far two have gone bad (can't hear in one, the other keeps switching on and off)

Its been almost 4 weeks in the service center.. no word back..

Just yesterday #3 went bad, the screen kept flickering, instead of driving and wasting time and effort and gas, I threw it out

lucky me, I have 7 more to waste

A few things worth noting. Therer's a huge number of incompetent counter sales persons in dubai standing to serve the scores of wandering mall hoppers. Many a times, people just go to shops as they go to an exhibition hall. Just to look around and increase general knowledge , I guess. This tires down even a normal knowledgeable counter sales person.

Another thing I've found here is stereotyping, its increasingly evident, snobby, all dressed people get more care and respect from mthe sales persons regarless of whether they buy or not.
oh and yea, the well dressed, smarty sales men with their hair gelled back, would ofcourse be happier serving to a petite young women with over dose of all available cosmetics than serving just another bloke from the street.

But, having said this, Dave101's post is harsh on the weighing n packing guys that u find in supermarkets n stores, they r some of the most helpful people around..

only stupid one is the one at airport who let them in.

hi concord,

i say thank you each time to the vegetable weigher, occasionally the guy will smile, the last one, a girl, as i said 'thank you' was already on to the next in the queue and totally ignored me, so i went on my way.

dave101 wrote:hi concord,

i say thank you each time to the vegetable weigher, occasionally the guy will smile, the last one, a girl, as i said 'thank you' was already on to the next in the queue and totally ignored me, so i went on my way.

ok concord will send you a medal and ask you money for dogs (maybe girls who are "dogs" i dont know)

I am regular customer of this XYZ shop. I am standing next to their customer service counter while waiting for those lovely ladies to be served. A customer called up looking for the manager but he’s not around. (I believe the caller is a HE, as I heard her say SIR). The customer service staff offered to take his message & contact details so she can ask her manager to call him back. This customer obediently followed her suggestion. Unfortunately, she couldn’t understand the contact details of the customer, because his number is something like this: oh 4 – 269 not not X not and his mobile number is oh 5 oh - 2 not three - double not XX. Then she asked if he has other contact numbers because there’s no such NOT NOT numbers! I wonder also what's NOT NOT?! After minutes of not understanding what a NOT NOT & before she will hang up the phone, which I think she would most likely do, I offered to take the message. I introduce myself, informed him that I can take his message on behalf of the staff etc etc and he agreed. I jot down his name & numbers – OH 4- 269 nought nought XY and his mobile number is OH 5 OH – 2 nought 3 double nought XX. Whadda man?!!! I gave the piece of paper to the staff & explain things to her that NOT/NOUGHT/NAUGHT/OH is ZERO in some parts of the world. She smiled while fixing her shella.

See?! That customer can save time & energy, if he pronounces ZERO as ZERO, which is understandable by all and considering he’s in Dubai!

Customers can sometimes be a pain in the AZZ!

asc_26 wrote:See?! That customer can save time & energy, if he pronounces ZERO as ZERO, which is understandable by all and considering he’s in Dubai!

Customers can sometimes be a pain in the AZZ!

Customers can be pains in the arse, just remember who pays the bills at the end of the day.

^ian^ wrote:

asc_26 wrote:See?! That customer can save time & energy, if he pronounces ZERO as ZERO, which is understandable by all and considering he’s in Dubai!

Customers can sometimes be a pain in the AZZ!

Customers can be pains in the arse, just remember who pays the bills at the end of the day.

out of hiatus or ...

^ian^ wrote:

asc_26 wrote:See?! That customer can save time & energy, if he pronounces ZERO as ZERO, which is understandable by all and considering he’s in Dubai!

Customers can sometimes be a pain in the AZZ!

Customers can be pains in the arse, just remember who pays the bills at the end of the day.

Yey! Welcome Back.

We have to consider also that this is Dubai with millions of people, who don't have English as their mother tongue. They were taught one to nine and zero as numbers during their kindergarten days and NOUGHT, NAUGHT, OH double, triple are already a bonus.

Sometimes we forget, it happens to me most of the time, no one understand me so i end up figuring it out myself.

asc_26 wrote:Sometimes we forget, it happens to me most of the time, no one understand me so i end up figuring it out myself.

You can say that again.

Errr.. doesn't that all fall under "Proper training provided"? before you throw the employee into the lions den and just expect them to be perfect?

Dubai wants to be an international base. Having said that, the common world language "English" has to be taught and taught well.

Simple cycle really..

Step 1. Business provides training (be it language or customer service skills or product training or whatever more they may need to give training for)

Step 2. employee gets trained in all these and leanrs that every business depends on customer service and support.

Step 3. employee can hereby serve a customer well with the right knowledge instead of "I don't know"

Step 4. Keep the employee up to date on product releases, product changes or provide additional training as and when needed

nosoup4u wrote:Errr.. doesn't that all fall under "Proper training provided"? before you throw the employee into the lions den and just expect them to be perfect?

I don't think you were able to get the point. That arabic customer service staff is actually very good. It was her first time to encounter a customer saying nought, nought for the number ZERO. I don't think the company will invest on trainings to cater the needs of specific customer (small percentage or not actually their target market), unless if you're in a country of that kind of people.

^^^^ Yea it requires a lot of common sense..

asc_26 wrote:

nosoup4u wrote:Errr.. doesn't that all fall under "Proper training provided"? before you throw the employee into the lions den and just expect them to be perfect?

I don't think you were able to get the point. That arabic customer service staff is actually very good. It was her first time to encounter a customer saying nought, nought for the number ZERO. I don't think the company will invest on trainings to cater the needs of specific customer (small percentage or not actually their target market), unless if you're in a country of that kind of people.

Sorry I couldn't log in to reply back. I did get your point, I was just making mine. I will say that if the customer does act like a needle, sock it to them. Form a fist and punch their lights out hehehe