some !#$!%@!! differences
In the US, if a workman came to your house to cut a hole in a glass window for exhaust ventilation, that workman would then clean up the glass fragments left on the floor afterwards.
In the US, a workman would assume that you wanted your possessions covered with drape cloths while they were doing the work and bring them along at the start rather than wait for you to insist, go out and buy them, and then two hours after starting the work, cover your furniture.
In the US, if a workman came to your house to install some pipes through your cupboards, and had to move your cupboard contents to do the work (obviously forgetting to mention to you first that the pipe had to go in that particular place, or you would have cleared the cupboard yourself), that workman would make sure that a glass jar of honey was not balanced precariously on the top of several other things on the highest shelf to fall down on you when you opened the cupboard. IF, by chance, this DID happen, that workman would not then, faced with a pile of glass-bits-and-honey, say “oh, no problem” with a dismissive wave of the hand and then leave it for YOU to clean up. (No, not a single apology passed any lips.)
In the US, if a workman cut a hole in your shower surround in order to install some pipes, that workman would make sure the hole was the right size and position so that it could be filled or covered in a solid way (in other words, the workman would PLAN AHEAD), rather than cut a hole larger then necessary and then realize after the fact (because you tell him) that when you take a shower water flows through the hole to cover your bathroom floor, and then only upon your insistence that “YES, THE HOLE MUST BE COMPLETELY COVERED”, slap up some flimsy plastic (in multiple pieces! not just one!) with silicone.
—
No, I don’t feel better. I still have hours of cleaning ahead of me and a jerry-rigged silicone-plastic-blob to look at every time I take a shower. And I have no honey for my tea.
slipkin said,
September 11, 2008 @ 11:04 am
>> a jerry-rigged silicone-plastic-blob to look at every time I take a shower
Tell Pamela Anderson to get the hell out of your shower.
r · j · s said,
September 12, 2008 @ 8:21 am
And despite the silicone-plastic-blob, I just today realized there is still a gap between the pipes and water still flows out, albeit in a thin rivulet rather than a cascading stream. My solution is to wad up a plastic bag and stuff it in the hole - so much for aesthetics.
Rebecca said,
September 13, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
Commiserations. Sounds like a nightmare. On a recent holiday we stayed in a brand new hotel (well, a not brand new building newly converted into a hotel). It all looked very swish but the power kept cutting out and the bathroom door would not shut.
It is ever a mystery to me why a detail-oriented, quality conscious (aka downright nitpicky) nation like Germany decided to import Turkish labour! Bet those guys had to learn a quick lesson or two -’we have vays of making you take measurements’.
MaryAnne said,
September 20, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
I’m back in Canada now- just under a week- and am marvelling at how well everything is put together; how the guys at the techno shops actually know something about what they are selling; how you can actually return things to shops if they aren’t exactly what you want or if there is a glitch… Just before we left Istanbul, the second curtain rod (installed only a year ago) burst from it’s theoretically secure installation on the wall and fell on Doug’s head, leaving a big hole on both sides of one window; the bathroom ceiling was peeling after only one year; when I pulled my blu-tak’d posters off the wall, the lone layer of paint came with it; and finally, the handle fell off one of our cupboard doors and broke in two. This is in addition to the other cupboard door that had the handle screwed in at a very odd angle and so never really was secure. It drove me batty! Six years in Turkey was enough… maybe I’ll want more later. For now, I definitely can’t take any more!
PS Did you go for the Dos job??
Levent TOPRAK said,
November 24, 2008 @ 2:38 am
Dear Rebecca,
I read your comment with smile on my face. This is Turkish (not only Turkish maybe oriental) culture. As you know we called workman as USTA (it means he has ability and knowledge to mend it), anyone didn’t test it’s ability or knowledge. He came from his hometown to Istanbul to make money. If he can hold a screwdriver from back with right hand, now he is USTA. He can open a TV repair shop, and named it in english “TV Hospital”. After that everyone calls him USTA and he feels like USTA.
In Turkey, you have to have knowledge of how to repair the water pipes even you are housewife.
I offer you if you want to fix something in house, please call one of Turkish male friends to be with you.
PS I hope my grammar is correct.