I dont believe this is the case. I believe its more of a: youre one of them thinking, so they dont have to make themselves behave nicely. They work because they work, not because they have to be better than in other shops or whereever you were. At least this is how I view it here. Im not from Russia, but not too far, as well :)

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see Russians shouting or yelling at each other as if about to start a fight. To my mind, the explanation is that through the course of the Russian history life has treated them most unkindly which has led to the harshness of their character. Being angry with life means being angry with everyone else.

I enjoyed the piece Oleg! I thought I was always getting yelled at in Russia because I was foreign. I'm sort of 'glad' that it didn't only happen to me. : ) It's when things happen like at the end of your story that you realize it's all worth it. I hope you're doing well! (Will sent me the link to your blog.) Marianna

The people in Russia are slightely harsher than in western Europe, but its considered normal for the locals. Its considered normal within the country and nobody thinks of it otherwise. Whats wrong with the fact that the shop assistant didnt want to sell you the last item? They would have probably done the same in the UK too. Because people dont say thank you and sorry every step of the way doesnt mean they are rude, its just how its historically been. I would have called it culture shock - remember "Lost in translation" about Japan? Well, its sort of similar in Russia

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.