So I’m on the phone with Syria’s operator service, 147. The polite ones, aka Yellow Number, aren’t picking up today, so I called the not so polite ones, aka Public Service:
Guy: Eeellooo (drawled out, the two syllables convey a clear message: I have better things to do. Like maybe drink some chia and hit on my colleague. My sheesha and card game are beckoning. Get it over with.)
Me: Uh, Hi. Operator?
Guy: What do you want?
Me: DHL please.
Guy: (five second silence)
Me: Hello? DHL… the postal service?
Guy: Ahhh. DHL (only said in a fob accent. So that would be dee essh elle)
Me: Yub (my own fob accent)
Guy: Yallah. NIZAR! (I yank the phone away from my ear since he hadn’t taken the time to remove mouth from speaker before letting it loose) SHO RAKAM DHL? (what’s DHL’s number?)
Nizar (I’m guessing): undistinguishable yell.
Guy: SHOOO? (what?)
Nizar: repeats yell
Guy: Write this down. 2238- NIZAR! (again, I hold the phone away. Far, far away.) SHO AKHERTA? (what’s the last bit)
Nizar: (more yelling)
Guy: 586. Bye
Me: Wait! 2238586?
Guy: NIZAR!! (owwww) Is it 2238586??
Nizar: (affirmative yell since next I heard was…)
Guy: Isn’t that what I said? (his tone of voice suggests he’s seriously doubting my mental capacities. He then hangs up.)
Me: (brightly) Thank you!! (said to the dial tone)
Huh. Wonder if this’ll ever make it onto my Why I (will) Miss Syria list? Probably. I mean Canadian operators are just so.. courteous and nice. Bland almost. I’d rather have my ear yelled off and my hearing/mental abilities questioned any day. Seriously though, why? Why the hell do I love this country so damn much?
Oh, such fun
Well at least you got the number you wanted. Now good luck with the DHL
LOL! Paaaaainful!
Happy late Valentine’s day, btw (:
May Allah reward you for such jihad and abuse you’re experiencing! Oy Vey! :p
ATW
LOL…
Salaam Alaikum,
I do love your Syrian posts. You mentioned that you will miss Syria, are you planning on leaving?
I hope you’re still there in November, as I’ll be in Damascus then, Insha Allah.
Nadia – oh definitely. I’m seriously considering calling this guy anytime I need a cheap laugh, lol.
Ayesha – =P Belated happy v-day to you too babe!
ATW – true that! It’s a tough burden to carry, but someone’s gotta do it
HiddenSouls –
Safiya – Salams! Glad you like ‘em. Yeah, inshAllah we’re leaving in a few months so I won’t get to see you!! Hope you enjoy it though =)
That is hilarious!
I could see/hear the whole thing…it seemed painfully familiar somehow…It seemed Jordanian..
A funny exception, I always found the operators in Saudi really polite and nice…better than here..They always greeted you with salam and said things in Arabic along the lines of “you name it”, “whatever you request”…and then forwarded you to an automatic thing that tells you the number…
LOL! It does sort of get to the point where you feel like all “back home” stories sound like deja vu. And much as I hate to say it, I’m glad Syrians aren’t the only ones! That’s in regards to Jordanians. As for the Kingdom, I’ve heard pretty good things about their customer service. Better than Syria’s at any rate =P