I am sorry but this is what I see every day. I live in a city in New Jersey and we have a lot of muslim/middle eastern people moving in. They really keep to themselves and I always feel as if they really don't like us. I smile at them when I have my babies out and they are out, but they just look away. Here is my dilema: I am on line at Walgreens, the grocery store, the dollar store, and they are arguing over the price. They never want to pay the price and insist that they are being cheated. We all stand there while the manager comes and tries to explain the price but they will not give up. Yestereday I was in a childrens clothing outlet that is going out of business. There was a middle eastern woman trying to return a shirt that cost one dollar. There is a big sign - going out of business - all sales final. She had no receipt and wanted the dollar back and held up the line for over a half hour carrying on about this stinking dollar. No returns means no returns.
2007-08-18 06:42:52 · 10 answers · asked by My pitbull will Get You 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
they think of themselves,s as Superior......this is mostly due to their religion....they can be very arrogant....they keep to themselves,s ....not because their shy or anything...but because they believe we are lower form,s of people....sort of like their royalty & we are the pesant,s.......they think nothing of making the pesant,s wait in line....after all...we should be greatfull to be in their present,s [ not!]....and..a dollar or a hundred...doesnt matter....haggeling the price is common where they come from.....not so here....at least at most retailer,s.....but of course their better & we should conform to their way of life...they make me angry sometime,s....I have no respect for them or their way,s....after all....their here..in our country [ like it or not]...have some respect for us....their only guest,s here....if they don,t like it here....then...GO HOME!
2007-08-18 07:18:13 · answer #1 · answered by slipstream 7 · 1⤊ 6⤋
It is there custom to do that. Sometimes I wish we had that custom in order to save money or get the deals when they can be gotten. The only thing, maybe, is that if that is not our tradition, then it seems like it is not fair to hold up a line, but if they do get a deal, then we ought to do it too. We do not see this in our part of the country.
The owners of the stores should not allow a line to be held up for 1/2 hr..this is not the way we do business...in fact, if I was in the line, give me 5-10 minutes tops and I would take my business elsewhere even if it meant an inconvenience to me and would never shop there again....or call the store later and explain and see how they justify it..sometimes young kids that are hired are minimum wage do not know how to take charge of a situation.
2007-08-18 14:53:29 · answer #2 · answered by basport_2000 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
*NOT* dickering over price is an invention of western civilization. That is, the concept that a price is fixed is actually bogus. As many people have observed in the long run: Something is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it.
If you're willing to overpay for something in store just because someone has written down a price, well, then you're willing to pay it ... so that's what its worth.
Yeah, dickering over everything is immensely time consuming and there is a lot to be said for (fair) pricing before hand, but it is *NOT* a world standard.
Traveling in the Middle East, I found myself dickering over the most mundane things, and it would drive me nuts but that's how they did business. I got the most respect when I drove a hard bargain. If you're just willing to pay what the sign says, you're clearly just a tourist...
Yeah, part of coming to America is learning the ways of its people, and certainly one thing to learn is how we do business.
However, you would be surprised how many storekeeps are willing to dicker. Its hard for me to say that these Middle Easterners are wrong when they'll probably pay less than me IN MY OWN COUNTRY.
2007-08-18 13:56:16 · answer #3 · answered by Elana 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
They probably haven't adapted to this culture yet. There's a chance they might not be here by choice, and I'm sure they do business very differently in the countries where they're from. They probably feel like they're getting ripped off and don't realize that that's how America is. It will probably take a few generations before some of them adapt to this culture.
2007-08-18 13:54:30 · answer #4 · answered by orazorca 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Barbara, I see the same among white people and all other races that argue about petty little things and hold up a line. Some who are indecisive. Maybe you are realizing you don't like them, and look at them as a problem. Maybe you need to understand that people of all races are jerks, becuase if you had you wouldn't bring up a topic like this online.
2007-08-18 13:52:07 · answer #5 · answered by anarchy0029 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is customary in the Middle East to negotiate a price for items. We are not accustomed to that process.
2007-08-18 13:47:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
It is their custom to negotiate the price. It is a matter of honor.
2007-08-18 14:32:06 · answer #7 · answered by Suzy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If they come from the Arab world, they are taught to haggle over the price. We know that the stated price will not change, they don't.
2007-08-18 13:53:54 · answer #8 · answered by Beau R 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It has to be explained to them that here in the States, we don't bargain as much, if ever, over prices.
2007-08-18 13:47:48 · answer #9 · answered by crowbird_52 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
A complete lack of manners...we get that here but with the illegals from Mexico...extremely rude....
2007-08-18 13:49:21 · answer #10 · answered by coffee_pot12 7 · 2⤊ 7⤋