DEUTSCHLAND und KUNDEN SERVICE - Chapter 2

It was 29^th August, 2007, the day for the cargo pickup. Scheduled & confirmed time was between 08h00 and 09h00 (CET). Clock ticks 09h00....09h10.....uuuhhhh...Ms. Stupid Foreigner gets butterflies in her stomach. Did she say 09h00 or 21h00??? She got confused because normally Germans are known for their “Punctuality”.....(No...no...this time she was sure she didn't mean it in the Indian sense....where 09h00 means 12h030....)

She was convinced the Germans will land up at her door and say "Guten Tag...blah blah..." and just pick her bags away. Yet, due to her restlessness, she decided to call the Cargo Company and enquire.

Tring....Tring....rings the phone bell (3 times).

No answer.....fourth time, there is a voice on the telephone but not the person whom she wants to talk to. Never mind, my lady Ms. Stupid Foreigner politely said she will call back.

After some repeated calls to the Cargo company....finally she got a response, the truck will arrive at 11h00 (When this was told it was already 09h40!!!)

Oh yes!!! That sounds great!!! Stupid Foreigner makes the first move to inform her boss and writes a mail to him, saying, since the truck driver is 'Most likely' expected to pick up the packages, accordingly she will also 'most likely' arrive in office by noon.

But something kept irking her as to what went behind those repeated calls that went unanswered.....Guess what...!?

Behind the Scenes

The Germans have finally come to a conclusion (within a very very short span) that in order to transport her 4 boxes and a cycle, they need to buy a new truck!!!!!

And they proudly announced that they are proceeding with the purchase....just to service their valuable customer, Ms. Stupid Foreigner. (Oh no!!! Don't you worry Stupid Foreigner, they will not charge you for it; how come??? Stars above your head??!!!.....that is because it is not part of the contract!!!!!! Gotcha!]

After this painstaking decision, they entered into the 'not-so-skilled' area of price negotiation. The germans are still negotiating the price for the truck (After all, they are not good negotiators...you know...neither are they like Japanese..who shun negotiation...they still try...!)]

Back to Front scene

Ok...after all these wait period, our lady Ms. Stupid Foreigner goes ahead to ask, is that confirmed?...Booommmm...now you are expecting a german to confirm?!?! Man!!! Stupid Foreigner, you must be crazy....are you insane?!!

The lady on the other end of the phone "I am not so sure...I am sorry....I don't know..."

[If there was ever a competition of using so many uncertain & negative words in one statement...gosh...you know who will win!] I will call you in half hour!!! Bang...goes the line!

Yes....the half hour wait continued....till Stupid Foreigner, receives a call after 40 minutes....(I thought i learnt that half hr = 30 mts and NOT 40) May be, stupid Indian math is no good!! They teach everything wrong.

Ok...and what happens in the call, something positive...Guess what! She gets a "SUGGESTION" from the company (THAT'S BLOODY POSITIVE) that “why don't you go to office...and the truck guy will cal you 15 minutes before he arrives and then you can come back home, send your things...and be happy!!”

On hearing this, our sexy lady's heart starts to beat faster and now all religions became one at this moment in her mind....that she started to go "Halleluja.....Insha Allah....Sree Krishna...."

You know...Stupid Foreigner never learnt that she should stop "Questioning"....so she goes ahead to ask for the reason...and gets an answer....."Oh...the truck has got a breakdown...the driver waits for further support in the middle of nowhere.

(Poor German truck driver....looks like there was no manual which specified how to react or respond in such a situation! No there was a manual which said that and but NOT A LAWWWWWWW....so...he waits endlessly)

The lady from the Cargo company....didn't want to decide how to proceed (well...one should be happy that she came up with a suggestion...can't expect more...!) So final suggestion from Stupid Foreigner end was “Ok...I wait endlessly for my German sweetheart truck driver to come & pick up the goods...for I have to move it out today...and try to work from home!!!”

Stupid Foreigner, that sexy little lady, is too duty bound that she now makes her next move to inform her boss and colleagues about further delay to come to work. So she writes a mail to her boss, giving a briefing of the situation and states in her mail, “So that is why this mail to you ......saying am working from home....until this stuff finishes and to your question...'will i come to office today'..my answer is ..."I am not sure....I am so sorry....I don't know...". Any further questions, the answer repeats!!! ;-)