Yes, the restaurants and cafes are quieter; tables are farther apart than they used to be. It seems many in the business are taking guidelines seriously; that’s a welcome sign in a society where going against the norm seems to be nothing to be ashamed of. That’s why even the supposedly polished and well-informed are seen flouting preventive guidelines. I wouldn’t lose a single breath if the enforcers start acting real tough. We have no one to blame, except ourselves.
Since we are talking about restaurants why can’t they maintain a higher standard when they present us with bills which appear to be investment certificates? Nice plates, nice table setup, nice napkins, and even nicer waitresses! And when the order comes, it is a big “Wow!” That is one hell of a presentation. You know, the likes of which you see on YouTube videos. But once you’ve your first bite your loud “Wow!” turns into an even louder “Ouch!” What’s the hell is this! What’s the meaning of having nice cutlery and tablecloth when the food tastes like it has been lying around in the open for the better part of a month! ‘One thing is sure,’ you say to yourself, ‘they changed the wrong things. They should have thrown out the chef!’ The customer service in some is like a big thorn in the side of the industry supposed to keep the smile on you 24/7.
You hurry into some restaurant, thirsty like you just came out of the Sahara after a week on the road and no one is attending to you! And the place is practically empty!
Speaking of customer service, it is sometimes real hard to keep loyal to products you have been use to for ages. A guy I know bought the same brand of shirt from the same boutique for four or five years. He liked the brand so much he acted sort of unofficial spokesperson. A month or so back he got his latest piece. But, Alas! The first week he put it on the spot under his armpit burst just like that! And this is a guy a hundred miles from being overweight.
Look, you have been buying the same brand of shoes for a decade and more. “Those guys really know how to make shoes! A single pair goes a full two years without developing creases or anything like that.” Then all of a sudden a few days into your newest pair, your feet start feeling too wet! Wet! Back home you take the shoes off and it doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds to discover a gaping crack at one side. This was only the third time you put it on! You coughed up a thousand three hundred birr to get that pair and they do this to you! Plans were that the next new pair would come in eighteen or so months at the earliest! A thousand three hundred is a king’s ransom.
And about these malls, it seems that these days you see one mall, and you’ll have seen them all. No creativity, no sense of ‘standing heads and shoulders above the crowd!’ You even think the salesgirl in the Bole mall was the same one you saw in a Lidetta mall that same morning! That’s how boring those places can be.
You know what the most troubling thing these days is, when it comes to shopping you have to be the smartest brain around to sort out the genuine form the fake. Forgers have become so accomplished in their unholy trade you’re very easily duped. We need some Freidman fellow to tell us why quality goes down almost I direct proportion as prices go up. Does it have something to do with the New World Economic Order!
You have remained loyal to the same football team for quite some time. The last time your team won any cup was so far back you can’t even remember! Still, you remain loyal. “They will spring up to the top soon,” The ‘soon’ could be close to three decades as any loyal Liverpool fan could tell you. Then what happens, they sell the best forward who was the top scorer because they were offered a hundred million plus for him! What about us loyal fans!
It is a pity that be it about shirts and shoes, or about football teams or other groups that your loyalty goes unrewarded.
The Ethiopian Herald May 29, 2020
