No Soup for You! - Frankfurt style
No matter what I do I seem to get in trouble here! I have given up even trying to talk German here anymore. Give me Salzburg anyday!
As it was 11:00 and my train did not leave until 6:00, I went to the train station to change my ticket. Apparently with 99% of tickets this is easy. No problem! With my ticket, grosse problem. I had bought a ticket for 6pm because I had thought I might have an audition today. The agent was not courteous enough to email me back, so I have to spent the entire day sitting and guarding my luggage in the hotel lobby. Fine, I could be patient and pleasant. I was leaving today!
Yesterday I was in the dressing room at H&M and I tried a bunch of clothes on and then hung them back up to make things easier for the harried-looking dressing room attendant. Then I handed the hangers to the Frau and tried to leave the dressing room. Not so fast! I had not - it seems - hung the clothes up well enough. I was informed that although she would let me leave the dressing room this time the next time I was in a dressing room things would have to look nicer before I could leave.
Today I had to go back to H&M to get them to remove a dye-tag off a shirt I had bought. I had thrown the receipt out (I did not plan to return any of the shirts). Actually, to be honest, I had not thrown the receipt out. I had accidentally packaged it up in the bag I used to wrap some stuff in to send my sis in South Africa. Anyway, the receipt was not readily available. I arrived at the H&M and explained the situation. I was dressed - from skirt to flowery visor-hat - in new H&M clothes. They asked about the receipt. I said that I had put the receipt in the garbage in my hotel room and then left the hotel. They looked at the shirt and somehow could tell that it had been bought at the H&M store down the road. They told me to go there.
"But when I was there yesterday", I protested, "No-one spoke English!" (I did not mention that yesterday I had been there protesting their disappearing rabatt.) The Manager answered that of COURSE they would speak English at the store. What did I think, to suggest that no-one would?!
At the next store I needed a translator. I explained the situation once again, and the impatient girl behind me in line (who was helping me - sort of) had some suggestions. She said that if the shirt had onle been 1€ that I could just throw it away. Or pay for it again.
"The point was not (I growled) the money or even the shirt. The point was the point!" I had not neglected to remove the tag from the shirt. I had come all the way back here and I was leaving Frankfurt today for (I hoped) forever. !!
The security guard (through the translator) suggested that I go back to the hotel room and search through the garbage.
Nien!
The clerk suggested that I look through my purse for the receipt again. We were getting dangerously close to a fit when they took off the tag and gave me back MY shirt. I growled and we escaped to freedom.
Lunchtime. I went to the McDonald´s down the road from yesterday´s McDonalds (change is good). They have a bunch of things for only 1€, including a huge green salad. So it is not that unhealthy and it is also cheap. Until you add the cost of using the bathroom. And the ketchup (although why was it .15€ here and .20€ down the road? Better real estate + outdoor seating = higher ketchup fee?). At this point I was not in a good mood. I had gone to a bank machine and it wouldnt give me any money. I have money, but it would not come out. Of the second machine, either, or the third. So I could not send an application that was due very shortly. Mood encroaching! When the fine McD-Deutschland employer gave me my Coke Light I noted that it was just over half full. He pointed to a little red line on the cup.
"That is how full we make it. That is the rule," he said.
I growled that he could at least add some damn eis to the cup and stomped away.
The rules! Sales that ended within an instant! Red lines on cups! First and second-class sections in the subway (although that is really not a bad idea). Time to leave leave LEAVE! And soon I will have Belgium added to my list of countries. Ha!
As it was 11:00 and my train did not leave until 6:00, I went to the train station to change my ticket. Apparently with 99% of tickets this is easy. No problem! With my ticket, grosse problem. I had bought a ticket for 6pm because I had thought I might have an audition today. The agent was not courteous enough to email me back, so I have to spent the entire day sitting and guarding my luggage in the hotel lobby. Fine, I could be patient and pleasant. I was leaving today!
Yesterday I was in the dressing room at H&M and I tried a bunch of clothes on and then hung them back up to make things easier for the harried-looking dressing room attendant. Then I handed the hangers to the Frau and tried to leave the dressing room. Not so fast! I had not - it seems - hung the clothes up well enough. I was informed that although she would let me leave the dressing room this time the next time I was in a dressing room things would have to look nicer before I could leave.
Today I had to go back to H&M to get them to remove a dye-tag off a shirt I had bought. I had thrown the receipt out (I did not plan to return any of the shirts). Actually, to be honest, I had not thrown the receipt out. I had accidentally packaged it up in the bag I used to wrap some stuff in to send my sis in South Africa. Anyway, the receipt was not readily available. I arrived at the H&M and explained the situation. I was dressed - from skirt to flowery visor-hat - in new H&M clothes. They asked about the receipt. I said that I had put the receipt in the garbage in my hotel room and then left the hotel. They looked at the shirt and somehow could tell that it had been bought at the H&M store down the road. They told me to go there.
"But when I was there yesterday", I protested, "No-one spoke English!" (I did not mention that yesterday I had been there protesting their disappearing rabatt.) The Manager answered that of COURSE they would speak English at the store. What did I think, to suggest that no-one would?!
At the next store I needed a translator. I explained the situation once again, and the impatient girl behind me in line (who was helping me - sort of) had some suggestions. She said that if the shirt had onle been 1€ that I could just throw it away. Or pay for it again.
"The point was not (I growled) the money or even the shirt. The point was the point!" I had not neglected to remove the tag from the shirt. I had come all the way back here and I was leaving Frankfurt today for (I hoped) forever. !!
The security guard (through the translator) suggested that I go back to the hotel room and search through the garbage.
Nien!
The clerk suggested that I look through my purse for the receipt again. We were getting dangerously close to a fit when they took off the tag and gave me back MY shirt. I growled and we escaped to freedom.
Lunchtime. I went to the McDonald´s down the road from yesterday´s McDonalds (change is good). They have a bunch of things for only 1€, including a huge green salad. So it is not that unhealthy and it is also cheap. Until you add the cost of using the bathroom. And the ketchup (although why was it .15€ here and .20€ down the road? Better real estate + outdoor seating = higher ketchup fee?). At this point I was not in a good mood. I had gone to a bank machine and it wouldnt give me any money. I have money, but it would not come out. Of the second machine, either, or the third. So I could not send an application that was due very shortly. Mood encroaching! When the fine McD-Deutschland employer gave me my Coke Light I noted that it was just over half full. He pointed to a little red line on the cup.
"That is how full we make it. That is the rule," he said.
I growled that he could at least add some damn eis to the cup and stomped away.
The rules! Sales that ended within an instant! Red lines on cups! First and second-class sections in the subway (although that is really not a bad idea). Time to leave leave LEAVE! And soon I will have Belgium added to my list of countries. Ha!
posted by Melamondiale @ 4:34 AM
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