2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
I went to Alghanim today to pick up my cheque when on my way out I noticed the new Escalade. I had seen it before in pictures online but this was the first time I saw it in person and it looks wayyy better then in the pictures. Even the inside is really cool.
I was filling out an inquiry form on alsayer.org trying to find out when they will be getting the Toyota FJ and there is a mandatory question asking me which nationality I was. What kind of question is that in this day of age? Why do they want to know where I am from? Will I get better or worse service if I answer I am from Uganda? What would the best answer be, USA or Kuwait? I am betting USA and thats what I put. [Link]
update: Alsayer have replied back:
Dear Mark,
This question is purely for analysis reasons, and we apologise if was misunderstood. Alsayer group is a privately owned business and we have genuine respect for all nationalities. However, ethnic studies in marketing is anywhere in the world including the USA. And we believe this is normal in multi ethnic societies. Asking the question doesn’t mean a racist. It is a pure and simple marketing question taken out of context.
Thank You
Maak
I always complain about crappy service in Kuwait but this time I am going to talk about amazing service in Kuwait.
I was leaving Souk Sharq today after lunch when my Jeep Wrangler wouldn’t start… my battery was dead. So I called up the Jeep Road Assist which I got for free when I purchased the car last year. The woman on the line took my info and told me she would call me back right away. I hang-up and she calls back from a +974 number. She told me to hold and then put me on a conference call with a tow truck guy here in Kuwait. I told him where I was located and he told me he would be there in 20 minutes. 15 minutes later he arrives and starts my car for me. I then drive to the Jeep quick service garage on the Gulf Road with my AC off and the windows open because Road Assist guy told me to do this so I don’t risk shutting down the car. The drive to the garage felt like driving through hell as you can imagine.
With the burning wind cooking my ears I was thinking on my way how I was going to cause a large scene at the garage cuz the battery wasn’t just dead it was like all oxidized and shit like it was 100 years old. That shouldn’t happen to a 1 year old car and I wasn’t going to pay for it. Anyway I get to the garage and I explain to the service manager my Jeep battery was dead and that I also wanted to do the 20K service, he quickly calls another guy over and tells him to get someone from the Jeep parts so he could see the battery and then replace it under warranty. I stood there shocked, I didn’t even mention to the guy that I was pissed about the battery and that I wasn’t going to pay for it. I was all ready to argue, fight and send emails out to every Jeep board member complaining about how I got stiffed but the manager didn’t give me a chance to get pissed. He told me not to worry they would take care of everything and service my car and have it ready for me to pick up tomorrow. I thanked the manager a lot and told him their excellent service never stops to amaze met.
On my way back to work in the cab I get a phone call from a +973 number, some guy in a weird accent tells me he is with Jeep and was wondering if everything is ok and if someone came to help me out. I told him yeah everything is great and I dropped my car off at the garage. He asked me what time the tow truck came, I told him he came 15 minutes after I spoke to him. He thanked me and I thanked him and hung up the phone.
This is not the first time the Jeep dealers have been great to me. Since the day I purchased the car I had the salesman call me to make sure I had no problems, I had the showroom manager call to check up on my car and every 6 months I get a call from a +974 number asking me if I have had any kind of problem. Its hard to believe there is a company that provides service this good here in Kuwait or anywhere else for that matter. They are just superb.
While leaving home today to come in to work I saw a 2007 yellow Toyota FJ Cruiser parked at one of the second hand car dealers in Salmiya (next to Mr Baker, near Kababji and Shaab Park). I thought these cars were coming out in 2007…
Update: Here is a picture of the FJ I took on my way back home [Picture]
Update 2: I called the guy on 5629429, he is asking KD13,000 for it.
Two weeks ago I posted pictures of a “fucked up crash” that happened on the Gulf Road. Well my pictures were taken after the road had been cleared and the cars put aside. Today while browsing the Q8speed website I found a picture which was taken very soon after the crash happened. Might be too graphic for some people. [Link]
Is there someone in Kuwait that imports the Vespa brand of scooters? I think it would be cool to travel around Salmiya in a baby blue Vespa. No more looking for parking at Sultan Center..
I just passed by a huge car crash on the Gulf Road near Shalaweet and the Bush building. Two cars basically got flattened, I don’t know how but I am guessing hey were both racing with each other cuz it seems they both flipped. Check out the two pictures below.. they are of the two different cars.
Really cool commercial. [Link]
This video is of the luckiest guy in the world. [976kb WMV]
On Friday I picked up my friend and we went and had lunch at IKEA before heading off to the H3 Ride & Drive event. When we got to the location it was like arriving in the middle of no where, we couldn’t see anything it was all desert and hills. Then we noticed some dust coming up from behind one of the hills and we decided to go and investigate. Luckily I was in my Wrangler because there was no paved road, its like you needed an H3 to get to the H3 event. I didn’t mind that since it felt like a true off road event even before I got to the place. When we reached the top we found the H3 camp, it was located at the bottom of the hill surrounded by a ton of Hummers and random visitor cars. We drove down to the camp and parked the Jeep… first impression was very positive so far.
We walked into the tent where we were greeted by some cute girls who took our names and made us sign a disclaimer stating if we got hurt they wouldn’t be responsible. I found that odd since its supposed to be just a test drive.. how bad could things go you know? Once we signed the papers they gave us a goodie bag and pointed us to another person who would put us into a Hummer.
This is where the fun starts. We get into the Hummer and drive off a hundred meters down the road where the Hummer driver tells me to swap seats so I could drive. I get into the drivers seat, adjust everything to my liking and then drive off towards a Hummer flag further down the road. When I first was told about the event, they told me that there were two tracks, a soft one and a hard one. I would be allowed to drive on the soft one while a professional driver would drive on the hard one. So automatically I assumed the soft track would be a stupid flat circle where I would safely drive around looking like an idiot. Well that turned out to be a completely wrong assumption. When I got to the Hummer flag I saw a deep fucking ditch in the ground filled with water. I figured that was the end of the test drive and I probably need to swap seats with the Pro driver so he could take me around the hard track. To my surprise the driver was like ok go in. I was like where, in that ditch? He was like yeah so I was like fucking cool. At first I thought this was a privilege I got because I knew the organizers but it turns out it wasn’t a privilege but in fact this was actually the start of the soft course! I got down the ditch and drove through the water till the end where I reached to a wall. I am not exaggerating here it was a nearly vertical sand wall that was soo high up I couldn’t see out of the ditch. The driver told me to step on the gas and not to press the brakes. I thought for sure the front end of the car would hit the wall before the tires but it didn’t. Up the wall I went and out of the ditch I drove. It was very cool and kinda unreal. I drove down to the next check point and this time the road ahead turned into holes. Each hole was maybe around 40cm deep and they were placed on both the left and right sides of the track. We drove through the track without any problems and very smoothly. Sure the car was moving up and down like a fishing boat in a perfect storm but we were driving through a track filled with 40cm deep pot holes! The whole time I was thinking shit my Wrangler can’t do this…
When we were done from the soft track which involved numerous impossible to climb looking obstacles, it was time to give the control back to the pro. He drove us to the hard track and put the H3 on 4x4low and told us to fasten our seat-belts. The first obstacle involved the H3 driving across two small dunes where half way through the driver stops and explains to us how the H3 at this point has only 2 wheels touching the ground. We then continue off to what I can only describe as a roller-coaster ride. We went up and down so many obstacles that were so high up and so steep it was just unbelievable. I tried to take pictures out of the window but all I could capture was either the sky or the ground. It was seriously jaw dropping. Once the drive was over I called up Nat and told her to get ready because I was going to come and pick her up. I drove all the way to Salmiya and back just so she could experience the drive. That ofcourse was a big mistake because now she can’t stopped nagging me about how she wants an H3 and when I could take her to the showroom.
I took a lot of pictures that day but something happened to the memorystick and all my pictures got erased. But, Alghanim sent me pictures yesterday that were taken by a photographer who came in from Dubai and they are way better pictures then the ones I had taken. Check them out, they are all from the Ride & Drive event here in Kuwait. The H3’s have Dubai numbers because they were brought in from Dubai. [Pictures]
I had a lot of fun.
Pictures of Paris Hilton looking really cool next to her SLR. [Link]
Thanks for everyone who participated in the H3 Ride & Drive contest. Over 60 people participated but sadly we only had 10 tickets to give away. I just sent out an email to the 10 winners, 8 were chosen by random and 2 were handpicked. I gave a ticket to the first person who sent in a picture of an H3 and I gave a ticket to one user who looked like he walked around the Marina Mall Alghanim parking lot looking for H3s because he found and shot 9 different ones. Anyway I hope to be seeing you guys at the event.
This is just a reminder for the H3 Ride & Drive contest. Majority of people are still sending pictures taken from the Internet, those pictures don’t count. You need to take a picture of an H3 yourself here in Kuwait using your cameraphone or regular camera to win the tickets. Anyway for more details on the event and contest you can check my old post [Here]
