Add Milch
I want to add to Scott’s entry on grocery shopping in Vienna after hours:
Aside from the opening hours being a constant political issue, there are quite a bunch of shops opening on sundays and afterhours. Gas stations, at train stations (Wien Mitte, Westbahnhof, Franz Josefs Bahnhof, Praterstern, …), at the airport, bakery chains, the small stores led by immigrants, and so on. Maybe we have just become too dependent on looking for supermarkets only? Because they are usually still cheaper? In London those famous Indian run shops that are open late are also more expensive than supermarkets and nobody complains.
In tourism areas in the country shops are open on Sundays, though they might close during lunch time. Which is not uncommon in Europe: just try finding an open supermarket around lunch time in Southern France - impossible!
check: www.sonntag-einkaufen.com for more information. Which boils down to: everybody is complaining, but if you look a little harder, you will find everything you want in Vienna. This is a city that just does not deliver itself so easily to everyone. If you want to become her lover, try a little tenderness…
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call me a purist or so, but ever since considering this place a home and getting used to the rhythm of being free on sundays and holidays, total consumerism has engulfed Vienna and i find a bit sad that i witness its fast transformation. no wonder most of the salespersons are “immer grantig.”
Two things:
A: I agree. Vienna is, as I always say, ‘a tough nut to crack’. It’s a great city that does not yield its secrets and joys readily. One must persist and be open-minded to really enjoy this place.
B: The salespeople were “immer grantig” way before the extended opening hours and the Saturday opening hours. I wouldn’t mind a bit more evening shopping capability (for non-food) because I work a lot and rarely have the ability to shop for basic things for myself like clothing. But on the flip side, I really do love the lazy Sunday and the fact that I do not have to balance “getting things done” and hanging out with my family.
I’m with Scott - evening shopping would make my life easier;
and the “immer grantig” salespeople .. that’s what I like about the US - they are paid for being friendly (I don’t care if it’s fake) and know it - here in austria I pay for getting rude comments and a cashier who throws my stuff around @billa … (besides being pissed all the time); It is a shame that I - as a customer - am surprised finding friendly salespeople .. and if long opening-hours helps to show them that service _does_ matter I’m totally for that.
Not very altruistic and quite selfish, I know :)
I don’t want to be her lover, I want her to STFU and give me the 24/7 shopping opportunities I need for a fun and balanced life.
As for those unfriendly clerks, well, if you were so socially and personally incompetent that all you could achieve in life is becoming a salesperson, you’d be grumpy too.
Having said that, I’d like to quote Klaus Kinski - “People only think of bad conduct as some kind of prerogative because no one gives them a good whacking.”
oh well, philipp, that’s harsh. but okay, it is your opinion. hopefully not all viennese have this same opinion.
most of them, because i know a few them, don’t have any option to find a much better profession.
i think the problem is that the salespeople are overworked and underpaid.
on one hand, i find it impolite (and disconcerting) that they don’t greet back and their faces aren’t happy to see me. on the other, they are forced to work longer hours, including weekends, with a small pay. and that i can fully understand.