A town in Russia with the most brutal service industry

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Published: 15 June, 2009, 18:09

June 2009

I’m glad that the country has opened up and that we all showed that Russians are not a bunch of bears walking along the sidewalks of big cities. We have a cultural heritage to be proud of. Our grandfathers showed outmost bravery during the Great Patriotic war. I like all these things about my country – but there’s one question that drives me crazy. Why do Russians – one of the most hospitable nations in the world – insult their fellow citizens when they work in the service industry? Even though things are getting better – the shop-assistants get more polite as the new chain of stores spread all over the country – there are some “brutal” examples of people yelling at you in the stores, cafes, taxis and railway stations.

Last weekend – in a small town not far from Moscow – I became a victim of such “brutality” “When I came to a café the first thing I heard – instead of “Hello”- was “Why have you come to us? Wanna have lunch and drinks? Don’t you see that all our tables are reserved?” When I heard this, I started to smile – nobody has ever talked to me in such a way before.

But that was just the beginning. The next morning I went into another café to have breakfast. When I asked for a menu the old lady frowned: “Why the hell are you asking? Things have been all the same here for a decade. So don’t ask any more questions – I’ll bring your breakfast shortly!” And the day rolled on – the shop assistant in the souvenir store wouldn’t sell me a magnet because she would have to give me the last one and without it the shop window would not look so nice. And when I was asking the way some of the people constantly told me: “Why the hell are you asking?”

I have the only explanation for this phenomenon – at all began in the 19th century when local merchants wanted to protect their wealth and influence by giving bribes for…not building the roads and rail tracks through their cities! That’s why the notion that all the guests are aliens still prevails.

But suddenly – at the end my stay – on the way to the train station I took a taxi. And then I had an unforgettable chat with a local driver, who seemed enthusiastic about life. He spoke English, he was about to start a job at a car manufacturing plant which had been built nearby and his hobby is – believe it or not – linguistics! He even helped me to carry my luggage to the station. So this is how the young taxi driver saved the face of the whole city!

I strongly hope there will be a lot more people like this in every town of Russia. They will definitely say: “No more bad service!”

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6 COMMENTS

J.Wyllie, August 01, 2009, 00:16

Michael, Maybe it was you who was rude. Too be very honest you seem like some arrogant jerk on these boards. I was in the UK a very few short year as my ex is English. I found them to be very polite and there service industry very nice. Now Canadians, that is another story. I guess you are a reflection of Canadian insecurity of having no real place in this world. After all. what it Canada know for? Pretty much nothing because you do nothing, make nothing, other than noise. Come to thank of it, Canada is so insignificant no one even knows the President's name. Anyway, UK is a great place. Funny, I bet you are French Canadian, poor thing you.

Michael Hockney, July 23, 2009, 01:06

Oleg, an interesting story on some bad service in Russia. I was wondering if you have ever spent some time in the UK? I grew up there in the 70s and 80s and to be honest this is one place with a "brutal" record of customer service. I can remember cries of "yoo wot" (translates as "what is it you are saying to me") coming from a waitress when I pointed out my food was cold. I can remember "so what do ya want me tado abat it then?" being said on numerous occasions when something was not up to "standard" Rudeness was common and to be expected combined with third rate language skills.. I left the UK in 1991 and visit only occasionally. What I have seen is some improvement as the high street has since adopted many North American "ways" of doing things. Indeed it is hard to identify anything quintissentially English anymore with the 30 year homogenization of the UK by corporate America. Sad but true. Find me a good old fashioned pub.....you will have a hard time. Old was out decades ago and now the theme pub is king with everything arranged for bums-on-seats bean counting philosophies that have nothing to do with a real traditional pub and community values.. I digress a little but let me end with this. My wife's colleagues working in Prospect Mira, Moscow were going on a business trip to London. The 5 colleagues had been to France and Egypt and were really looking forward to seeing London. What they saw shocked them. People were rude, there was no sign of the "England" they expected from what they had seen on Russian TV. What is more the service was poor. The week after their trip this is all they talked about and none of them ever want to return to London anytime soon. The point here is bad service happens all over the World and a travelling Russian will probably be more shocked than most because they have been fed "the grass is greener" myth for years; "in my country...this would never happen....." I think that is how the conversations usually go.The fact is the World has become a giant box store where a customer is simply a number and an irritation and the only recourse we have is to call a calling centre in India for some attention and hopefully, satisfaction.

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