Search: “kuwait”

The World Cup is coming up and Chevrolet in Kuwait are presenting their Winning 11 Chevrolet team. They have exactly 11 Chevrolet models and its everything you need to make a winning football team. Everyone is cashing in on the World Cup fever and they cannot ignore the frenzy. Thats why they are equipping all 5 of their showrooms with plasma screens and ART subscriptions to display the games live. They also have an offer where if you buy any car at Alghanim Automotive you can win a trip to the winning country of the World Cup. They will send you there in business class and even give you KD1000 to spend as you wish.

In addition, all their showrooms are branded ‘football style’ with flags, TV screens, salesmen wearing jerseys etc.. Even if people aren’t buying a car they want them to visit the showrooms and enjoy the games with them. So if you have the time pass by and check them out.

Well maybe not famous but my picture is in like two newspapers today. The pictures are from the KREA event and show me accepting one of the awards. So far I am in Kuwait Times and Al-Anbaa newspapers don’t know if I am in any other ones. I will be signing autographs at Virgin Megastore tonight from 6-7PM and you can also have your picture taken with me for a small fee 😀

My agency is looking for freelance and full time designers. If you are a graphic designer and are looking for a job or thinking of moving from your current place then send me your CV. We are looking for freelance designers and full time designers. If you are in Kuwait it makes things a lot easier. If you are not in Kuwait but interested in moving here you can also apply.
Send your CV to EMAIL REMOVED

I just got my Body Groom today from U Shop We Ship. It arrived to my mailbox in the States on the 2nd and it got delivered to me today in Kuwait which is the 6th. Thats 4 days to get from the US to Kuwait but it also included a Sunday which is a day off, so its usually should take 3 days.

I am very satisfied so far. The most impressive part is the fact that I paid for my package using Knet while the package was in the US. This also got me a 2% discount which is not much but better then no discount. My MacBook still hasn’t shipped from Amazon since they still don’t have it in stock but I just changed the shipping address to U Shop We Ship. The reason for that is USWS can clear my laptop from customs AND I can pay them the customs fee online with my Knet card. Thats very convenient and I love it. I am now going to start using USWS as my primary US mailbox and keep Aramex as secondary for my magazines. [Link]

FYI: Package arrived today morning at 10AM to Kuwait according to the tracking info. Delivery guy dropped it at my office around 12:30PM.. 2 and a half hours later. Thats something not possible with Aramex.

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.

If you are looking for a pet dog or cat check out the Animal Friends League of Kuwait website. They have a huge list of dogs including a Great Dane which I am very tempted to adopt. [Link]

There is also a company in Ahmadi closing down and they have pedigree German and Belgian Shepherds, a Labrador and 2 Ridgebacks all under 1 years old and are looking for homes urgently. Call Karen at AFL 7001622 or Samir Eltom on 7704654.

Back in January I posted about this experiment you could try out (I did at work and posted a video of it) where you take a bottle of Diet Coke and empty Mentos into it to cause the Coke to rush out like a fountain. That experiment involved 1 Coke bottle and 1 packet of Mentos. Now imagine 200 liters of Diet Coke and 500 Mentos and you get an idea of how massive this experiment is. Check out the video. [Link]

Yesterday night I attended the KREA which stands for Kuwait Rewards Excellence in Advertising. I hate attending such events and yesterday was actually my first time attending one. I prefer being low profile and as Bruce Mau says, “Don’t enter awards competitions. Just don’t. It’s not good for you”. But, yesterday was an exception and I had to attend. A good friend of mine was one of the judges at the event and he was only in Kuwait for a few days and the only 2 days I would be able to see him were the night before the event and during the event. So, I ended up attending the event so I could see more of him.

Unlike what I was expecting, the event turned out to be pretty fun. I ended up seeing a lot of old friends and the whole thing felt like a high school reuninion. I was sitting with Nat and some friends at work on a table on the first row and we spent most of the time joking around and having some fun. The event honestly was a disaster although people were telling me this one was slightly better then the Kuwait Awards that was held a few months back. There were a lot of presentation mess ups and the whole thing didn’t feel very organized. There were also some fishy moments which didn’t help with the awards credibility. Agencies were only allowed to submit work that was from 2004 up till now yet there was one agency I know of that submitted work that was prior to 2004 and they ended up winning awards! I found that very shady.

Overall though it was a good night for my agency, we won a whole bunch of awards and I actually got on stage to receive a couple.. not a smart move for someone who would rather remain low profile. But it was fun and I was dressed up very formally which I only do like once every blue moon. The event finished before midnight but by the time I got home (it was held at the Hilton Resort) it was past 12 so I just quickly hit the sack. I don’t think I will ever attend another awards ceromony but atleast now I know incase I do it will probably be fun.

I ordered the Philips Body Groom the other day from Amazon and today it arrived into my U Shop We Ship mailbox. I found out by an email I received from USWS telling me my package had arrived. I logged into my account and noticed that the item had already been shipped from the states and is on its way to Kuwait. I checked the shipment details and got a full description including the vendor name, whats in the package, the size of the package, how much it weights, and how much the shipping costs. I then went to my payments page and saw that I have 1 outstanding payment which was for the shipped package, I clicked a few links and paid for the package with my Knet card and thats it. Now I just wait till they deliver it to me. So far this seems really practical and cool.

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]

The Legend of The 99 begins at the Virgin Megastore in Kuwait’s Marina Mall on the 1st of June. Aside from the press conference that will be held at 11am, The 99 premiere itself will take place from 2 pm to 6 pm.

Everyone who attends this event will receive a special, collectible preview of The 99, free commemorative giveaways as well as a chance to win subscriptions to Teshkeel’s comics and magazines! [Link]

Yesterday night I went to the bakala (local word for very tiny mini markets) under my building to get KDD Silver icecream. To my surprise the guy didn’t have any left, just the Gold one. So I went to the second bakala near by and he also didn’t have Silver. Luckily there are like 20 bakalas in a 5 meter radius behind my building (I love Salmiya) so I went bakala jumping trying to find one that still had Silver left. Luckily I found a box full at the 4th bakala and decided to buy it all and take home. Don’t know if this is a problem around Kuwait or just in my street but maybe the country is running out of Silver??

update: just went and got myself a Raspberry Lolly

I have been looking for an alternative to Aramex Shop and Ship for a long time now and haven’t been able to find one. Don’t misunderstand me, there are other options to Aramex which I have even mentioned before, but none provided me with everything I needed. They were either cheap but slow or fast but expensive, or even lacked some of Aramex’s basic features like package tracking. Now though I think I found another better option and its called U Shop We Ship.

I found out about it from a user who commented on one of my older posts and I decided to check it out. The first thing I did was check out how much the shipping would cost for an item that weighed 1KG and I compared it to Aramex and they both turned out to be priced identical. I then started to read more about their service and it turns out not only do they have all the features of Aramex but they also have additional stuff. Here are my favorites:

You have the option to destroy unwanted mail
You know how sometimes you get a stupid envelope which is just a bill for some magazine and you end up paying like KD2.5 for it. Well with U Shop We Ship (USWS) if you find junk mail in your mailbox you can have them destroy it for you.

They offer immediate shipping
You can have them check your mailbox and mail you stuff either once a week, twice a month or once a month AND you also have an option to have an item shipped immediately no matter what your shipping frequency is by paying a certain fee. This could be worth it when ordering a big item like an ipod or laptop and you really want it as quickly as possible. Just to clear what this means is say you have your shipping frequency set to once a week and it turns out they check your mailbox every Monday but your item arrived to your mailbox on Tuesday, instead of waiting till next Monday to have them ship your item you can have them ship it right away on Tuesday.

You can pay for your packages online
This is the coolest feature, something I have been wishing Aramex would do. I hate carrying cash with me, I am a plastic type of guy and so I hate it when Aramex delivers a package and I need to have an unknown amount ready to pay the guy. With USWS you pay for your packages online using either Knet or Visa. This feature sold me instantly.

I just got my account setup with them and I am going to try it by buying the Philips Bodygroom and mailing it to my new mailbox. Oh and you can change the shipping frequency yourself from the prefrences menu once you login and you can also change your login password, two things you also can’t do with Aramex. Their Kuwait office number is 4724673 but you can only sign up from their website. [Link]

Note: You not only get a US mailbox but also a UK and UAE mailbox. They also use Skynet Worldwide Express to ship the packages.

update: BusyNow pointed out to me that in their FAQ they have a discount section which mentions a variety of ways of getting discounts on shipping, something which you would never get with Aramex. [FAQ]

Back in February of last year I published a post titled “Mac & Small” and in it I talked about how small their branch at Galleria 2000 was and how over priced their items were. Well yesterday I passed by Mac & More’s new branch in Marina Mall and I have to say they are no longer small. The place looks really cool and huge.. and thats the only positive thing I can say. It seems when they moved from Mac & Small to Marina Mall they didn’t get any new merchandise. The place is empty and I mean empty. When you first walk in there is one MacBook Pro on display and one MacMini connected to a generic brand of LCD screen.. imagine not even an Apple Display! Once you walk into the rest of the shop you will realize that was it, no more Apple products.. the rest of the store is just a large shelf full of iPods and a wall full of generic iPod skins which you can find at any other Mac store in Kuwait including Mac City which is located in Virgin at the other end of Marina Mall. Even the tiny zMacShop have brands like Marware and Foof how come Mac & More don’t have anything cool?

Price wise… Mac & More is the most expensive Apple dealer in Kuwait.

The store is visually very impressive which misleads you to believe you will find many great things there, but once you go in and look around and can’t find anything, you wonder what the hell are these guys selling… iPod covers?

update: If I was to review the store again now I would have to say they have improved things a lot. Firstly they have a lot more products and a lot more brands, their prices have also decreased, maybe not as cheap as US prices but they are closer to UAE prices. I would probably give them a 3.5 out of 5 now.