how rude

[niceone]

We went into Girne yesterday and parked in the main car park, upon returning I handed my ticket to the girl in the booth, she snatched it out of my hand, I handed her 3tl which she also snatched before handing me back my ticket, I said thank you, no response so I said it in Turkish a bit louder and she did not even look at me, good manners cost nothing and go a long way imo

End of rant

[cyprusgaz]

It's a recurring issue. I absolutely lay the thanks on so much my wife walks away with embarrassment. I bow and grovel it's quite some site any Brit or European watching usually pick up on what I am doing.

[johnny1]

its the same on the whole of the island..its called ignorance and arrogance!

[Johnny Lee]

Yes it seems to be very common now , unfortunately , especially amongst the younger female drivers. Chip on the shoulder springs to mind.

The rudest of the lot are probably our local Belediiyesi a couple of the girls are occasionally pleasant but on the whole ignorant.

[tomsteel]

Inform the Belediyi and ensure the Mayor knows how his employees address visitors to his facility.

[PoshinDevon]

Dissapointing to hear about the car park experience......I to would have laboured on the please and thank you side of things.

However; to balance things out I will say that the girls on the tills in the Supreme Supermarket are very pleasant and always say hello and offer to help. We go into Supreme 2 or 3 times a week and in the month we have been here, it is clear that they remember us as one of there regulars!

[PoshinDevon]

I to would be annoyed with the car park experience.

However to balance things out, the girls on the tills in the Catalkoy Supreme are always very pleasant and helpful, saying hello and offering to help.

Its annoying when some do not even observe common courtesy but its not all bad.

[Briannu]

What a good topic and so true, whenever I go to pay at the car parking booth I ALWAYS make sure I have lots of loose change, it makes the staff take their eyes off their mobiles.

[Smiler]

It must be a pretty depressing job though sitting in that booth all day, I think even the cheeriest of people might lose their smile if they were there day in day out - same with the dimly lit tax office in Girne

[Royalcorpsoftranspor]

I have never had a problem there, they are always polite to me.

[sophie]

Without doubt the rudest I have found are some of the girls in Starlings. Last Friday I did my usual "hello, how are you" in Turkish. The cashier in question treated me as if I was invisible and continued her conversation with the girl on the next till (who was ignoring her customer as well). So I stepped to one side so that I stood immediately between them and would you believe it, she indicated to me to move so she could carry on her conversation. What did I do? Absolutely nothing, so that she had a concentrate on me. What I would have liked to have done, was to have put my wallet away and left the pile of shopping for her to explain to someone, but I didn't have the time to go somewhere else and start again. Sadly the girls at Karaoglanoglu Tempos (who used to be lovely) are now becoming very unhelpful as well. I try to continue to keep smiling and be pleasant, but its becoming more difficult when you are faced with a blank stare. It seems to get worse as more holiday makers arrive.

[vickyfidd]

Haha just posted about this on fb. Went into the supermarket near 1001 omg they are miserable but cheap for shopping. Gave the girl my card she handed it back didn't say anything I said thanks for someone else to tell me card no money not a word from her mouth miserable cow.

[johnny1]

hehehe there are alot of miserable cows in cyprus

[kaiserphil]

I used to suppose that the rude, sulky young ladies you found in various places were like that because someone (Mum or Dad?) had insisted that they did a job rather than swan around at home for free.

That was certainly the case in my local store. An elderly chap ran it, with his Granddaughter, a lovely young lady.

Then he employed another girl, a relative, and she was obnoxious, clearly didn't want to be there, and took it out on the customers.

[Groucho]

I used to suppose that the rude, sulky young ladies you found in various places were like that because someone (Mum or Dad?) had insisted that they did a job rather than swan around at home for free.

That was certainly the case in my local store. An elderly chap ran it, with his Granddaughter, a lovely young lady.

Then he employed another girl, a relative, and she was obnoxious, clearly didn't want to be there, and took it out on the customers.

At least it wasn't the old man who 'took it out on the customers'... I'll get my coat.

[Bobbyc]

Must say we usually shop in Supremes and the staff are lovely, also the older generation are so polite and friendly, when we are out for walks we greet everyone we meet and always receive a friendly reply. When lunchIng in small eating venues the staff are always interested in chatting and asking where we are from and if we live in Cyprus or visiting, so on the whole more positive than negative responses.

[mickyron]

Ileli are the best you can get, always cheery and helpful and the young lad who takes your shopping to the car
is always pleasant and polite.

[davedee]

mickyron How right you are, even when I have arrived and called in at 1 o clock in the morning.

[sophie]

I have to agree re the young lad in Ilellis, he really is a sweety, even when I park on the opposite side of the road and we struggle to get across. However, he isn't impressed when local "ladies" ask him to take just one light weight carrier bag to their car. Lazy is the impression I read on his face!!

[Keithcaley]

They call him 'Norman' - I've no idea what his real name is though!

[carrierbag]

I have always found the ladies in Supreme to be very helpful and courteous. You will always find rude people but stay and make them say thank you....I made one lad say Please the other day when he "I want so and so".......told him would get nothing until he said Please....he did.

[Chrispyb]

I went into China Bazaar yesterday and whilst stood looking at an item on the shelf this snorting, hockling, clearing the throat, disgusting noise came from behind me, I turned around expecting to see a man, it was a female sales assistant, I couldn't stop myself from saying do you really have to do that, to which she apologized. I have to agree with the comments re Supreme, excellent service from the staff.

[sophie]

Keith, I asked Norman yesterday if that was his is real name and he said Yes. He comes from Pakistan BTW.

[Keithcaley]

Keith, I asked Norman yesterday if that was his is real name and he said Yes. He comes from Pakistan BTW.

Who'd a thunk it?

[Keithcaley]

I just asked my gardener, and he said that the lad's name is a real Pakistani name, but it's spelt Noman (no 'R')

[fatsam]

Gays,
my wife worked the best way in dealing with "grumpy staff" sales person and I assure it works every time... so far she had 100% success.

Its like this:
Having lived here for a while, she tried to understand the nature of the Cypriots and what makes them smile. She even tried several method before she finally fell on the perfect approach.

Rule number one:
Do Not expect "anything" from the person behind the till. My wife for example, put her stuff on the counter and then says in a positive voice & smiling "GOOD MORNING / GUNAYDIN" she made sure an eye contact achieved.
followed by "nesilsin / how are you"... she sometimes engages in conversation "jut to brake the ice", and make a fool of herself "her Turkish is Cr***p". bless her....

I watched my wife many times and Yes Sir, she made it pleasant day not only for herself but also for the till person... I love my wife for she showed respect to others no matter what position they hold. In return she enjoyed rays of smiles and reactions from shop staff.

Bless her, that is my wife, she always enjoyed teasing shop staff, and I am proud of her.....



We show respect to others, and others reward us with a smile worth its weight GOLD
fatsam

[woodspeckie]

Fatsam. Well done to your Wife, when we are in NC and we go into shops and markets my Husband who can speak quite good turkish (he made the effort and learned himself at 75) always makes conversation with the till people, I can understand turkish but can't speak it, he is always rewarded by pleasantness and smiles.

[sophie]

fatsam and woodspeckie, clearly misunderstand what most of us are saying. We go into supermarkets etc with the intention of trying to speak a smattering of the language plus being smiley and saying our please and thank you's, what gets us is their amazing magical ability to see right through us as if we didn't exist. I totally respect till girls, plus shelf stackers et al, what we would like is for our pleasantries to be reciprocated, and in some shops it quite clearly isn't. Of course there are exceptions and I try to spend my cash in those places.

[niceone]

The girls in the supermarkets for the most part are very pleasant particularly in supreme. The girl in the car park was surly beyond belief and smiling did not help as she did not even look at me! she should not be in that position in my opinion.
Holiday makers who rent villa's usually also rent cars and visit Girne, it gives a very bad impression

[tomsteel]

The attitude of Girne-employed staff should be addressed to the Belediye with fact and recommendations. Opinions voiced on, basically, an expat orientated forum will achieve nothing less than venting of spleens. Having said that, I do agree that some of the employees at the main car park certainly do lack people's skills.

[Groucho]

Gays,
my wife worked the best way in dealing with "grumpy staff" sales person and I assure it works every time... so far she had 100% success.

Guys?