On Saturday I was at the Toyota dealer service center picking up my car. I get there early and head towards the glass office of the customer service person whom I’m supposed to pick up the car from. I knock on his door and see he’s on the phone, he tells me he’s finishing up with another customer on the phone and to give him just a few minutes. I’m like sure and I go back out and wait outside his office.
As I’m waiting, a fireman comes and stands outside the guy’s office. In my head, I’m thinking that maybe I should be nice and let him go in ahead of me since he’s a fireman and is busy saving lives, putting out fires, and helping cats down from trees. As I’m finishing that train of thought, the fireman starts banging on the glass window of the office and yelling at the service guy to hurry up and get off the phone. I realized that I probably don’t have to be nice and give the fireman my spot since it looks like he’s going to push ahead of me in line anyway. So to make it clear to him that I’m ahead of him, I tell the firefighter that I’m also waiting for the guy to finish.
A few seconds later, the fireman angrily barges into the office and yells at the customer service guy to get off the phone because there are customers waiting outside and tells him he’s going to give him five minutes to do so. The fireman leaves the office yelling loudly at how the service guy is on the phone while there are customers waiting. Another Toyota employee came out from another office to see what all the commotion was about and saw the fireman yelling so took his papers and told him he’d help him.
At that point, I had a realization, any job in Kuwait that involves having to deal with customers, is probably the most dangerous job in Kuwait. From Shop&Ship customer service people to delivery drivers, I can’t imagine how much abuse they have to deal with on a daily basis from entitled people who think the quickest way to get things done is with threats and yelling. That’s one job I don’t think I’d last a day in.
36 replies on “The Most Dangerous Job in Kuwait”
I’m willing to bet the customer service employee was an expat…otherwise I’m sure it would have been an entirely different way of communicating between them
Facts & 100% chance the fireman was local, by his behavior
Absolutely agree. Dealing with rude, entitled pricks who think they always deserve attention because they’ve been raised with a platinum spoons in their mouths is absolutely awful. I really hope that one day they get ti experience the suffering they caused other people.
Why do you have such a negative image of Kuwait? Of course there’s risk in dealing with customers, but that’s true anywhere, not just in Kuwait in particular, have you heard of the Karen memes for example?
This post is not polished, Customer Service is too broad of a job group, and it’s no where the most dangerous in Kuwait, and there’s no extra risk in it in Kuwait especially.
Or maybe you can elaborate? Be more specific on what jobs that “involves having to deal with customers” you mean, and why is it the case in Kuwait specifically?
Because he lives in Kuwait! He’s not living anywhere else otherwise he would say something but I’m with you when it comes to everywhere else. Relax and don’t be a Karen!
Pro tip: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that includes having a negative opinion of this country. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And of course, most customer facing jobs here are taken by expats who constantly have to deal with racists. If they retaliate, they’ll not only risk losing their job but will have to leave the country unlike in other countries where you are a permanent resident and can simply quit and look for another job.
Hi Hannan,
Nobody has a negative image about Kuwait, its literally the reality we are living in, as an expat i get cutoff in lines on a daily basis, “not even a please may i go ahead i am in a rush” which most of us are in a rush all the time. This is not only the case at cashiers but sadly even at restaurants, if i got 100 fils for everytime my order came after a local who ordered after me, Id be Rich as hell.
there are also courteous locals who have the humanity to follow order and do things as they must be done, however the number is overshadowed by the former.
To be clear i meant the takeaway restaurants…
Yesterday, Kuwaiti was about to make a crash with my car. He was going from crossroads without looking on what’s happening in the main road where I was. And forget about Kuwaitis showing light signals, they don’t know where they are. I caught him up on the main road and asked If he knows the traffic rules. He was shouting smth in Arabic and was showing a middle finger. I have such cases almost every week.
So why am I telling you this? To complement to Mark’s post with missing words: no respect, no child education, no rules, and racism.
It’s even more difficult as a female expat, when I came here in 2004 men would allow females to go ahead of them, now they will knock a female out in order to go first. My Arabic is not so great so when I try to say something like ‘hey I’m first’ they look at me like they want to fight. If I do get loud with them they want to physically fight.
There was a Kuwaiti military guy in the hardware store and he was told the counter was closed due to computer issues.
Suddenly the military guy went psycho and threatened to spray the cashiers face with the WD40 cans if he didn’t process his products immediately.
The cashier probably pissed himself at that point.The yelling continued for a while and it was scary for me as a bystander.
The guy had Tuco energy…
I see this situation all the time. Why are so many Kuwaitis like this?
P.S. I’m Kuwaiti
Hmmmmm mmmm let me see. Entitlement, laziness, entitlement, not accomplished in life, bored lifestyle, social media bubble, local celebrity mentality
Reminds me of my retails days, when a Ninjas would cut of expats standing in line, but a Ninja would never cut off a Ninja waiting in a line
haha! Ninja !!! Took me a while to process that 😀
The fun starts when they play the “Ana Kuwaiti” card at the embassy, they get their ass whopped and are thrown back of the line…
Its called “Customer service”. and decent companies proud of giving better service. People Value and loyal to companies because of the Quality of Service. I wonder who’s to Plame, the employee on the phone or the fireman who wanted better service for all the customers who are wafting. ?
In an ideal world and a realistic country with non discriminating laws, the Customer Service Rep would call the authorities on the overly aggressive customer, and the customer would probably have a restraining order on him.
I am gonna disagree with you on the who is to blame bit, You wait your turn , simple as that!
Maybe he was on the phone with a customer, giving them service first, since they called him before the others arrived?
For a country of people that practically thrive on the phrase, “Insha’Allah”, it seems they don’t like to believe it if it slightly inconveniences them at all.
As a teacher in Kuwait, I am often treated as if I am a servant rather than the educated professional that I am. I get emails with time stamps at 11pm, and followups time stamped at 4am (both of which were opened after I arrived at work at 7am), wondering why I didn’t answer the first one and that I was a horrible teacher for not communicating with them. Da-f#$% I am answering work emails after work hours, let alone in the middle of the night!
As a banker, this is my life on a daily basis.
When you ask them to wait, do they hell at you like “SHFEEEK ANA KUWAITI” 🤬🤬
I find it funny here everyday
Working in Resturent’s.
Some customers show me how much power they have and they can throw us out of kuwait any time.
But the most dangerous is Guys with valid police id and being top level crackhead always asking for civil id to depot us.
Any how the key is to keep repeating the same thing untill they get frustrated and left or come to your terms.lol
Always work
It gets fun when they ask for civil ID and see the nationality from the West. They piss their pants lol.
I deal with customers looking for custom food packaging, and I frequently come across people who do not understand the production timeline after placing orders. A lot of them feel entitled to be placed on priority.
On the other hand, I had a good conversation with a very nice Kuwaiti coffee shop owner last year when the shortage of baristas was at its peak. He came into our office in the morning wearing his cafe’s staff t-shirt and the first thing he exclaimed to us was “How do you guys deal with the locals? I have been putting in staff shifts myself and it was eye opening to see how they treated me when I was wearing the staff t-shirt.”
” IF you dont like it LEAVE! “
If you dont like it then 8====D💦
You know the drill 😉
Imagine how doctors feel lol Unfortunately the dangers/abuse we’re subjected to can be physical too. It comes with the job though and we do it with a smile. However, Kuwait does need to adjust its approach to anyone who feels like they’re entitled to some unfounded vip treatment everywhere they go. Firmer laws need to be implemented.
Parents have a role in this as well. Families need to instill a sound value system in their children, a proper upbringing should incorporate a properly functioning moral compass. If this is ensured, or at least encouraged, I personally believe it would drastically change how horrible socially demanding jobs can be.
Even in US they have (Karen).
What do call a Kuwaiti Karen ?🤔🤔
Saying Kuwaiti Karen is like saying Chai Tea or Naan Bread.
Hahahaha on point !
I am a doctor who got the degree abroad, and I can’t explain the culture shock I faced upon my return to my country (Kuwait), it was immense. I get patients who simply think they are entitled to everything and that we ‘doctors’ are solely a service to them. I always try to help no matter how much overworked I am, however there seems to be a defect in comprehending basic life manners in the majority of the population I face.
We face the same sense of entitlement in the educational sector! No longer do students earn good grades, parents demand them. Continuous threats about “report you to ministry” and if they have wasta, start packing your bags and buy that plane ticket. 🙄
To get back to the article, Customer Service is without a doubt dangerous no matter what sector you’re in.
I would always tell my staff …have self respect, be professional, draw a line where it needs to be drawn and never lose your calm. When a customer finds you steadfast he will know he is dealing with a respectful person.
I feel each customer service staff is a reflection of the company image and its management.
Service desk staff should be well trained, groomed and felt safe and secured.
This is true every where. But here service staff are not felt well protected and are left to fight their battle alone. I pity such management.
So true. The entitlement here is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I work at one of the cinemas and the customers can be downright petty if they don’t get what they want. What’s hilarious is how they can see that the place is still closed yet they stop any person and expect to be assisted, even if just the cleaner…lack of patience, empathy and basic human ethics. Sure, there are nice people too but 80% are $*%#^*…
I used to go to a Pizza Hut in Mahboula as a kid. Sometimes gangs of children (demons) would come in with bicycle chains and start hitting the staff demanding something. Never understood what kind of home life they had that made them think this was remotely acceptable behavior. The poor expat cashier/managers would be so scared and I would be too because you can’t do anything against them. Just degenerate upbringing. I’ve met a lot of great Kuwaitis but unfortunately these majnoons are giving everyone else a bad name. It’s sad. I left and I’m now a doctor in the USA. They offer high paying contracts for US trained doctors to work in the Middle East and I tell them that it’s not worth the degradation you face as a non Khaleeji.
Hoping they learn “Empathy” in their lifetime 🙁