Let's go to the Mall (part 1)

Although I like to spend money (who doesn't?) I hate going shopping! But I do love it when I buy new things. It's the process of shopping that I detest. Especially when it involves the mall.
This I learned very recently about myself. First I attributed my dislike of the mall to my children. I thought its usually really tiring because they get bored and it takes too long. So I stopped taking the kids and still I end my trips to the mall with great dissatisfaction. So I attributed it to the difficulty in finding something that fit nicely. Then I found the stores that have clothes that fit me nicely. So I attributed my unhappiness to the never ending crowd that makes the mall hot and hard to move around in. Then I decided to go in the mornings. It was fine but I realized it never ends up being one trip because I always have to return something or change the size.

And then this morning, in Ramadan, at 10:30 am I went to City Stars. It usually opens its gates at 10 am. I figured it's a mall, it's not going to change its opening times for Ramadan, what about the tourists and people staying at the hotel. So I walked in and all the stores except for Spinney's, the hyper market, were closed. Apparently, the store open in Ramadan at 11. That made me angry for reasons I will discuss in another blog. But I decided to go into Spinney's and buy a few things I needed then I would go to the store I came to go to. I was there to return something I had bought a week earlier.
So I was done with Spinney's and by the time I reached the store, The Tie Shop, the door was half open and a the lights were on and a woman was mopping the floor. So I was going in and she told me they haven't opened yet. It was 10:50 am. She told me to come back half an hour later. I told her I was only there to return something and she said they haven't opened and to please come back in half an hour so I tried to find something to do and couldn't and I went back to the store. The woman was done mopping and was sitting in the store doing absolutely nothing and it was 11 am already. But still they haven't opened yet.
My baby daughter who I had to drag with me started crying because she was hungry so I decided to go feed her in the bathroom and return to the store. I did that and was back by 11:30 am. There were now two store clerks, one of which was the woman mopping earlier, and they were both in uniform. I gave them the receipt and the item I wanted to return and they told me they couldn't return it because they didn't have any cash with them. I had to wait until someone bought something so they can pay me back. I told them they have to deal with it it's not my problem and they said it's not there problem either!
I left fuming and went to pay the parking fee. I gave the man at the desk a 100 LE bill and he didn't have change and he said I should go around the whole mall searching for change. He returned my ticket and I was stuck in the mall unless I found some change. That is when I blew up and demanded my right to leave and pay with the money I have. He gave me 50 le worth of 1 le coins with a dirty look on top.

And now I realize why I don't like shopping. This country has no concept whatsoever of customer service. Every trip to the mall is a step onto a battle ground. The customer is always wrong. It all feeds into the poor work ethic we have here. No proper training, and an awful attitude towards life in general is what nurtures our under development.