Sharaf strikes again
My run-ins with Sharaf DG are nothing new (here and here), but unfortunately for me I had to venture back there today as my dust-buster has stopped charging, and the 24 month supplier guarantee expires tomorrow (wouldn’t you know it)!
Of course no real surprise to be told by them that THEY only offer a 12 month warranty and don’t match what is in the warranty info supplied by the manufacturer. I will let the UK based company know for what it’s worth, but I can’t say I am really that surprised at Sharaf’s attitude, especially judging by their great service record with me so far.
Now if I could just find a way to safely dispose of this defunct appliance. Any ideas?
more complaints, and a milestone
Looking at some blogs written by people living in the region it seems that customer service, or at least the lack thereof, is a very real and ongoing problem. Ann, from “A Canadian in Abu Dhabi” is having fun and games with Etisalat; Seabee over at “Life in Dubai” has written numerous times about poor customer service whilst I struggle on with the banks here, not to mention a new wrinkle this weekend which I will go into in a sec.
cancelled
In these uncertain economic times it’s probably a good idea to be cautious and careful. So with that in mind we decided that it might be prudent for me to change from a husband-sponsored to a company-sponsored visa, that way if anything (G*d forbid) should happen to Stu’s job, then we aren’t both visa-less, and can hopefully avoid the drama being visa-less would unleash, especially with the bank (but we won’t go into that again).
stop whining or something
Being a South African I am very aware of the fact that we complain a lot, about everything. This is true whether we are still in SA, or living somewhere else. I know this because I personally spent many hours complaining about the SA banks, amongst other things, when living in Johannesburg. Essentially there are 4 main banks that operate in the country, and sometimes it feels a bit like Hobson’s choice when deciding between them. However, since moving to Dubai, I have realised the banks back home are FANTASTIC, not to mention rather technologically advanced, when compared with the choices here.
to tax or not to tax?
If people are honest, and by people I mean myself as I cannot speak for anyone else, they would admit that the main draw card for living in this region is the fact that it’s tax-free. Now of course there are those that will tell you that whilst it may be tax-free there are so many hidden costs, and fees for EVERYTHING, that when living here it can sometimes feel like you ARE paying a kind of tax. I am not sure that I agree with that, well not entirely anyway. Perhaps if you are coming from Europe or the US it may seem this way, but for me, coming from Africa, that part (the paying a fee for everything part) is normal. In South Africa, not only is there a fee for everything, and double it if you want something quickly, but you also pay hefty amounts in tax; both personal and VAT, as well as capital gains tax, estate duty, transfer duty, etc, etc, ad nauseum. For us, then, the fact that the UAE is still a tax-free place was a big plus when making our decision to come here.