In the village of Greystones there was a petrol station near the harbour which was put on the market because property was fetching astronomical prices. At the time it was endemic in Dublin, petrol stations being sold off for the ground they sat on and people running out of petrol, no longer knowing where one could get fuel. When the petrol pumps had been removed, a huge sign had been put up where they had previously stood proclaiming something to the somewhat comic effect of, "Petrol is no longer available. The underground petrol tanks have been filled with foam. This process is irreversable." Greystones' petrol station never sold and now it's a huge forecourt with defunct petrol islands, sans pumps, a Centra (convenience store) in operation, and an automated car wash.
This morning, I ventured down to the souless pit that used to be our Victorian harbour to get my dog some food at the vet's office, and dropped into the Centra to get the papers on the way home. I looked round the corner at the car wash to see if there was a queue and as there was none I decided to splash out on a wash. Ireland being the muck haven that it is my car has been in dire need of a bath, if for no other reason but to make the number plate legible again.
I have bought a wash there twice before, I think. The first was early on, when they were newly reopened after having stopped functioning as a petrol station. The result was satisfactory, I seem to remember.
The second was some time later when, again in need of a wash, I splurged on the "super deluxe". €8, I think, and it was supposed to include shampoo, rinse, foam, jet dry, the works. I recall thinking when it was finished that it didn't look particularly shampooey or foamy at the time. I remember looking forlornly at the water being sprayed on my car and wondering, if I stuck my head out the window and opened my mouth, what would it taste like?
This time, today, I stepped up and paid for the papers and decided on the €8 wash, which is now simply the "deluxe". The "super deluxe" will set you back €9.50, and the cheapest wash will relieve you of €6.
People had apparently been inside paying for washes because I joined the back of a queue to go through with three other cars ahead of me, and later one behind me. I watched the thing working, again spraying lots of fine mist but it appeared to be doing nothing in the way of suds. Sure enough, there was no foam or shampoo or anything the placard in the shop claimed there would be.
After surveying the only slightly less dirty appearance of my car after going through, I went inside and mentioned that there seemed to be an absence of detergent. "Oh, there was no white stuff, was there?" the girl behind the counter asked when she promptly, and without question, gave me my refund. "Don't give out any more of those until the lads fill it," she announced to the air.
I wouldn't mind, but I could have run a wet rag over my car myself for free. I felt like telling the guy in the BMW who was in the washer when I left that he should go get his money back, too. I felt like telling the three other cars that went through before me and had long since gone about their morning. I know for a fact the people directly ahead of me bought the €9.50 "super deluxe" because I heard the woman ask for it, and I know they didn't get it. And I know they bought it because of the way it was advertised, with the additives that are supposed to get your car clean and protect it after you leave. If the sign had said "water and a brush"... well then.
I am reminded, though, that this indicative of how the Irish consumer isn't and never really has been as wary as they should be and of how some businesses seem to have no problem with parting unmindful customers with their cash. For months now, businesses in Ireland that operate in the UK as well have been publicly castigated in the media for charging inflated Euro prices when they charge far less in the Sterling zone. This has only been noticed recently, however, despite the fact that it would have been apparent to anyone if they had tripped north of the border in the past few years. I've been making shopping trips in Belfast for some time now, taking advantage of the better prices. But for some reason the media and the public in the Republic have only just now caught on and realised there's a Sterling zone on the island of which they can take advantage. In the South, shops have been either making fair adjustments to reflect the current exchange rate or have been marking up their prices only to place a discount on them, giving the appearance of lowered prices while they make the same amount as before.
And yet, for all the kerfuffle there has been about Euro versus Sterling and value for money in the Republic, there still seems to be a lack of vigilance when it comes to ensuring you're getting what you pay for when it comes to a service. I know, you're probably thinking "Jaysus, it's just a car wash you're talking about." However, in just 10 minutes that Centra made at least €37.00 (well, €29.00 after I got mine back) for a little water and some electricity, which seems like an awful lot.
Understanding what goods and services are worth and whether or not we have a right to question any of it is a lesson we need to learn here quickly, and especially right now. Complacency in the Irish public on any level, whether it's down to how you spend the change in your pocket or deciding on how to allocating funds in your governmental budget, has to be unlearned soon. I really wish Irish people would bother themselves to speak up instead of taking the "ah sure, 'tis grand, I don't want to be a bother" route. We shouldn't forget that small haemorrhages do as much damage as the large ones.
4 comments:
I think that the American public is more vigilant of that sort of obvious rip-off, but quite prone to being convinced that the fault lies somewhere other than with those who are actually ripping us off. As I know you're aware, Portland is famous for its beer. There has recently been a state beer tax increase proposed, of roughly 1800%. It would make the tax per barrel go from $2.60 to 49.61, which sounds like a lot and has everyone worried about six buck pints. Now, I loves me some beer and don't relish the thought of paying through the nose for it, nor do I wish to see any of our microbreweries go out of business, but when you do the math, the price of a pint really only has to go up $.20 to cover the tax, and the only way to explain a greater increase than that would be greater greed on the part of brewers/distributors/retailers, etc...c'est la vie, I guess. Americans (and Portlanders in particular) love to speak up, and I love 'em for it, but it feels like we rarely have a complex understanding of what we are talking about.
That's very interesting. When I heard about the tax when I was over there the other week, I thought "WHAT?!" But when you do break it down and understand how the cost is spread and perhaps WHY the tax is being put in place, well... there's not much point in getting too righteous. On the other hand, people here are just strange with money.
irish people associate bargain hunting with being scabby. the result is that no one has any savings!
half way down this link there is a good article on shopping:
http://www.streetsofdublin.com/
"We here at the "Streets Of Dublin" encourage everyone who can to drive across the border to Northern Ireland to shop."
Mollyblog concurs. Not only is Belfast an excellent place to visit (I actually prefer it to Dublin), but you can get your shopping done there and the milk won't be spoiled before you get home.
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