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Bad manners in Russia
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Posted by: Thenatural

I have been to Russian 3 times and it never ceases to irritate me to see all the bad manners displayed by people and especially officials and service workers in Russia.

Like the last visit now in July when after standing in line for ages, I came to the booth and realized that I hadn't filled out the correct entry form. I asked the girl there for a pen but she just looked into the air and declined. Then I asked another official and she shouted to me: "No pen, no pen". My blood boiled at this response and I turned around and said something like "what an idiot" and made a bad gesture. I was left there with little time before my next departure and did not know what to do. Then a russian man came to me and gave me a pen and said: "A gift".
So you might say that experience changed my previously held stereotype that all russian women are angels and all russian men are garbage!

Other experiences in Russia: we went into a shop and I was unlucky and broke one of the glasses there. Okay, we agreed that we would buy a new one but then the clerk called us at night when we had put the little one to bed and wanted money. We agree on paying the next day but then she had called my wife's mother and told her that we refused to pay. It ended up with a bloke coming in the early morning to our door to get the money and needless to say I gave him my messages about what I thought about that kind of behaviour.

My russian wife and I took the bus to Novosibirsk and on the bus she met an old classmate of hers. She asked him if he could tell her when we arrived at the bus-station as they give absolutely no info on bus trips. She had talked with him and introduced me to him and he said nothing about us coming to the place. It even made her disillusioned, that he didn't care to let us know that we arrived at our destination (as the bus were going elsewhere). That, along with the experience in Novosibirsk when we agreed with a couple of guys on the taxi fare to the airport that ended up with a demand of double payment, made my otherwise calm and collected Russian Wife to exclaim: "I'm tired of Russia".

There are countless other examples of other things that makes Russia a bad experience for a westerner. Like in the summer when bying milk and they have no cool storage for it so that you're lucky if it last until the next day. Or if you buy some cheap **** made in Chine that breaks the minute you leave the store.

Another thing that puzzled me was that if I let the door open for people leaving a shop, they didn't say as much as a thank you as I'm used to here in the west. As a matter of fact, they never even gave me a glance.

The russians themselves are nice people when you get to know them but they have hard lives indeed.
I must say that the so-called Russian friendliness only apply to people they know and when they do, they are friendly.
But they have a lot to learn when it comes to treating customers and tourists correctly. It's kind of funny, my wife told me they said on the news that they worried in Russia because less tourists are coming to Russia...I wonder why!

Posted by: Jerico

Ya i have had hotel workers at the front counter get me agravated in the Russian hotels but the maids were very helpful to me as well as the other staff.
Also when I came to Moscow for another plane to Volgograd , the woman checking my ticket saw I was American and gave me first class , no charge to me. Very nice gesture to a complete stranger.
Ya there are problems but there are also many nice people there and I found that in general the people were very nice to me.
Everybody we asked for directions stopped to help us and i mean everybody that we asked in Moscow and Saint petersburg.
Russians are a little pushy when it comes to checking into hotels and Airports but they are not being rude.
This is just the Russian way

When people try to just cut in line I push then back and hold my ground like a Russian would.

Posted by: andrei

Those rude bastards were born in USSR, that's why. 50 years from now Russians will be the nicest people in the world while still staying tru to our raw & explicit nature.))))

Posted by: Jim_FL

I dunno Natural,
Those seem like pretty tame examples. I've been treated far worse by my own countrymen right here in the US, and my wife would absolutely LOVE to be treated as well as you were at the airport each time she arrives home to the USA. I wouldn't talk to a dog the way I have heard BCIS personel actually yell at her.

Out of curiosity....why not pay for the broken glass at the time it broke??? Here, they would never let you leave the store without paying for something you damaged

Posted by: Missouri

Natural-guy- You wrote- 'they have hard lives"- Do you ever put yourself in their shoes, and ask- What would I be like if I lived here?

I'm really not trying to lecture. Please don't take me wrong.

How about just a smile to people- doesn't that brighten your day when someone is pleasant to you? I may very well be wrong- I haven't been there yet- but I'm going this Christmas.

I have read that when you're in a restaurant, that in certain ones, they'll bring out dirty plates, or silverware- the best thing is jsut to wipe them off and just make the best of it. Again, I haven't been there, so maybe my positiveness well turn to grouchiness. But right now I'm thinging about that little brunette that I just wrote in Odessa.

Natural- have a good day!

Posted by: andrei

Quote:

Originally posted by Missouri
I have read that when you're in a restaurant, that in certain ones, they'll bring out dirty plates, or silverware- the best thing is jsut to wipe them off and just make the best of it.

These things stopped in the beginning of the 90s. Nowadays even in a factory canteen you're treated better than in a USSR restaurant. Go to a middle class restaurant in a big city and that's where you'll eat finest food and meet nicest waitresses.

Im telling yall people it's Russian Federation it's not USSR anymore. Throw them old books out.

Posted by: searcher

Quote:

Originally posted by andrei
These things stopped in the beginning of the 90s. Nowadays even in a factory canteen you're treated better than in a USSR restaurant. Go to a middle class restaurant in a big city and that's where you'll eat finest food and meet nicest waitresses.

Im telling yall people it's Russian Federation it's not USSR anymore. Throw them old books out.

LOL, thats for sure!

Well, I can say that when I was in Moscow they weren't exaclty rude but they weren't as nice as the people in Omsk.

I was all over the city, ate at many restaurants, etc.

People were friendly and I got a few smiles too.

I wanted to stay longer and wish I could go back there again soon.

Posted by: Andy72

When I was in Ekaterinburg and around, I must say I only met very friendly people; at the hotel, at the restaurant, and in the street. Even when I was asking information in english and they could not understand so much, the did their best to help me.

Only one episode on the bus back to Ekaterinburg from my girlfriend's town, where we had to deal with a very not polite woman checking our tickets... but whe was unpolite with everybody not only because I was a foreigner... Guess things like this can happen everywhere.

Ciao!

Posted by: Jutman

Hi

Of couse bad situation can happen, but in general I thik the people over try to help.

- I been stop by the police and they just look in papers and say ok.

- A second time I must go to police station and pay a penalty. They were relative quickly and every friendly. Even start talk about soccer when they understood I was from Denmark.

- In Samara airport I have experienced they did not think may papers were ok, but since I was a tourist then no problem

In Sheremetyuvo I had one time lost my exit papers, but again, they think I was just a tourist, so nothing happen.

Recently I was at the Russian Embassy and even the Consul was not present and with no appointment, they made the papers, even in English so we don't need a translator after.

so sorry, Russia don't have that bad service. Maybe a lot of red tape but thats all.

Posted by: neil277

Hello,

I must be honest i have found many Russian women very rude and if there boss knew they were acting like this they would not be happy.

Its not down to money its down to being good at your job and helping someone who is lost or needs your help.

The West is hated by many Russian people and only if they new what our countries are like, America has many poor people just like England but they see and hear the Western voice and they put a barrier up.

It is wrong so you have to accept this and i can promise you a good Russian will give you the last piece of bread from there mouth.

Regards,

Neil

Posted by: rattlesnake6979

I have found that russian/ ukrainian restaraunts to be fine - had no problems at all in fact they were better than the service I get in my local take-away in England where I can get ripped off regularly if I choose to do so.
I think that slavic culture is more honest in some respects - why smile if you do not want to ? Why be insincere ? Alot of the so called manners in England or USA is thinly veiled insincerity and hogwash . At least in fsu you know where you are . I have though , not experienced " bad manners " but as I work in a big city where " manners " are sometimes thin on the ground I didnt expect a red carpet for me when I arrived.

Posted by: Thenatural

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim_FL
I dunno Natural,
Those seem like pretty tame examples. I've been treated far worse by my own countrymen right here in the US, and my wife would absolutely LOVE to be treated as well as you were at the airport each time she arrives home to the USA. I wouldn't talk to a dog the way I have heard BCIS personel actually yell at her.

Out of curiosity....why not pay for the broken glass at the time it broke??? Here, they would never let you leave the store without paying for something you damaged

Hi Jim,

Wow, I'm surprised to hear about the way your wife is being treated in the airport in USA. I've always had the impression that officials in the US are pretty professional and correct. On all of my travels around the world, only once did I have to open my suitcase and that was in JFK. The official was quiet but no problem.

I wrote about my travelling experiences in Russia as I recently came back. Usually I have no worries when travelling but in this (and last year's trip) I had to change terminals in Moscow and one have to really make an effort to find ones way to the bus and so on because there is no sign and little information. Actually, I have found that other travellers are vital to get information and most people are friendly when asked, Russians or otherwise.
I don't want to sound like a whiner here but I have to say that I sighed with relief once I was on Airbus 320 on my way from Moscow to Oslo because it's like entering a totally different world.
I'm used to be treated with respect as a paying customer and at Oslo airport they are friendly and professional. Because of delays from Moscow I wasn't able to get my suitcase in time for my next departure. So I went through customs and asked one of the officials what to do. He even followed me and pointed me in the right direction so I caught my flight.

I am perhaps being unfair here and there certainly are examples of friendly and professional officials in Russia too, but on the whole I'm sure it's much less than most western countries. Hopefully that will change once Russia get more practice in dealing with business and learn that the way customers are treated are very important for business.
I don't care if the smiles of the American officials or shop assistants are just for show. It's nice and it makes you as a customer feel better and that's also good for business. American business people found that out a long time ago.

So to the glass. The reason I didn't pay up front was that the clerk said we had to go and buy a new one and bring it in the morning. Then later, she had called her boss and they changed their mind, now they wanted cash. I don't blame the clerk as she would have to pay out of her own salary if I didn't. But on the other hand, she really didn't have cause to panic as she know my wife's mother.
Besides, the glass was ripped a bit from before but of course I was careless when putting my arms on it. Hey, I'm only human.
But they got a new glass and money to spare so I paid for my errors.