Carrefour and Common People

I remember when Carrefour (Dubai's first hypermarket) came out - I was really excited at the prospect of having a zillion rows of chocolate brands to choose from. My excitement stops today.

Over the years, the expanding chain has witnessed a growing string of customer complaints, mostly directed at security, management and cashiers - there have been many such letters to 7days. I've also had my fair share of being stuck in a Carrefour situation or two: in my shocking experiences involving verbal/physical assaults from customers, unprofessional staff conduct etc...(list goes on), the Management, when compared with the rest of Dubai's customer service, demonstrated great problem resolution skills, but this is really no use when the same type of problems keep recurring. At the time, I asked myself why these problems even happened in the first place. Now I've stopped asking myself: I'm jumping on the anti-Carrefour bandwagon because someone dear to me has just suffered from a Carrefour episode.

There is only one answer to why these problems occur at Carrefour: it is *common*. I hate to say it, but it's true. I've always thought it a cheap place, full of common people, and I liked it for being common. Glitz and glamour run around the clock in Dubai - Carrefour was my time-out where I enjoyed letting my hair down as there were no fashionistas to be seen; it's a place you can proudly push your own trolley down the fruitcake aisles, and not worry about your manicure being way overdue. It's the place you wouldn't bump into your top client. It's the place not to be seen at. I loved it for what it stood for.

Despite my experiences, I took a tough stance and decided to continue shopping there: after all, why should I stop going where I want to go, just because of some under-educated plebs?

Now it's time I learned my lesson and reconsidered my choices. History enables us to learn from the past, and prepare for the future. And so, I have decided to stop going to Carrefour, and learn to appreciate the creme de la creme choice of supermarkets for the nouveaux riches: Choithrams and Spinneys.