It is very seldom that I write about my frustrations. Seldom do I write about negative stuff I encounter in this lovely city. Believe me, the people here can be as cold as a noh mask even if they are at the information desk, the cashier or government service.
If there is an award I can give for being the most friendly government agency, that would go to the MA 10 (Kindergarten Amt) led by Ms. Hetz and her very willing group. I always go there with confidence because I know that theyโd be welcoming everyone with a smile. I get subsidies for Kindergarten care and after school care from them before and theyโre always helpful to let me know what should be done.
ย ยTheyโd be followed by the ย office just below, I forgot what theyโre called exactly but they do the registration for those who should serve the military or civil service. Hubby did his civil service requirement 3 years back and the people in the registry were so nice. Thereโs ย just one who wonโt smile nor look at you when she speaks but she was helpful too.
The best award for most friendly cashiers would be those at the Penny Markt near our place. They are always greeting you with genuine smiles, a joke or two and sometimes really a good conversation (if you bought a lot). Plus the fact that they have the lowet prices among groceries here, buying is always a pleasure.
On the contrary, if there is a frown award to give to those who are not so friendly, I have a long listโฆFor now I may have forgotten some so let me rethink. Ahhhโฆthe woman at the Wohnbeihilfe (housing benefit) office! You know thereโs often a long line of applicants there, so you get a number then you get called accordingly. Imagine after waiting for like an hour you came into the office and the person inside doesnโt even greet you nor offer for you to sit down then talk to you without bothering to look at your eyesโฆyeah, thatโs how bad. Youโd easily think that person must be racist. Well, I at least do since many of those who apply for benefits are naturalized citizens.
Another bad experience I remember was at McDonaldโs Johanesgasse. This branch has a lot of pinoy crew, hubby at one point worked there too. One time, I came in queue to who I thought was Chineseโฆand friendly. Turns out sheโs a snob. Never had eye contact, no greeting, no thank yousโฆI learned later on that she was Vietnamese because I saw her photo on hubbyโs phone with the name Nguyenโฆ(thatโs a very common Vietnamese surname no?) My annoyance to that person didnโt stop there because we met her once after we watched a movie. She was so friendly with the hubby and talked with him for like 15 minutes without bothering to say hello to me and the kidsโฆ.more, she was with his boyfriend who she didnโt introduce to hubby at all. I actually left at about 3 minutes seeing them there too engaged in a conversation and brought the kids farther from them. Hubby came looking for us later on lol.
Well, I thought maybe for her it must not be their culture to go greet a personโs wife or family or it may not even ben their custom introducing their boyfriends but it still gets on my nerves. I wonder why such people work where there are lots of people.
For me people who does not know how to smile shouldnโt be doing jobs that require contact with people. I always regard, government service,ย customer service representative work and the likes are for those who know how to deal with people regardless of their color, language, height, eye color and even smell. ๐
