I recently purchased, through an advertisement, a Soviet sideboard, now an antique. I’ve been looking for the right one for over a year. Comes with a kitchen pencil case and a seat. Everything is under restoration. Since it wouldn’t fit in our car, I contacted the cargo delivery service. The buffet definitely had to be brought from the north to the south of the city. For some reason they asked for some money, 2700 rubles. The seller and her husband came to the previously empty apartment to sell me this furniture. So we sat at home and waited. The first order was accepted immediately, the car was sent to the seller. I went to set the table for dinner. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the order had been cancelled. The cause was not found.
I linger and order again. I choose a car based on its size. The required amount has been blocked on my card. I am waiting! I see the car has arrived at the dealer. Pause. Suddenly the seller wrote to me: “Nothing fits in his car.” The movers stand next to him and speculate. Then my order was canceled again!
Why? We have been trying to figure out what to do with the seller for a long time. People came across the city, furniture was dismantled. The carriers have arrived! The driver claims that the order was canceled and that he did not see the address. He was paid 700 rubles for gasoline because he went to the seller of my kiosk. My 2700 is frozen Support is not responding. Suddenly, the same driver, who first said that the furniture did not suit him, and then said that the order was canceled, offers me to bring this furniture without a delivery service, since it has already arrived and we are waiting. But – for 3000 rubles. And another $700 had already been paid for gas. I reject such an offer. And soon they told me in support that the driver Aibek canceled the order because they said I chose the wrong car. For 2,000 rubles it wouldn’t have enough space for a buffet, but for 3,700 rubles it would do.
Even though they didn’t even apologize, they refunded my money and unblocked me. The seller turned out to be decent and understanding, not only wrote a complaint in his name against the cunning Aibek, but also came again the next day to wait for the movers. And finally our buffet was delivered to us. Then it hit me: I had completely forgotten the last time they deceived me in Russia, tried to deceive me, deceived me. I don’t remember this.
For example, I often buy from ads and auctions because I collect vintage items, including furniture and interior items, as well as rare sets. I also travel around Russia frequently, several times a year, so I rent a house. And I can say that the atmosphere of trust that we were surprised by before has also been established in our country. When can you leave your keys under the doormat? We leave the keys under the carpet. Or in the mailbox. Entry into a rented apartment is contactless. Also evacuation. Nobody checks to see if you stole the hairdryer or tore the sheets. You can leave money for an apartment in cash in case the banking application is frozen. Or pay later. If you pay a deposit, you can safely go to another city – it will be returned to you at the right time.
On trains, people leave their bags on the seats and go to the toilet or smoke. They leave phones on the tables in cafes. I left my bag on the terrace of a crowded bar – passersby handed it to the barista! I have repeatedly seen how passers-by pick up phones and bank cards that have fallen out of their pockets and give them to those who lost them.
No one has been deceived by advertisements for a long time. At first I was surprised that you could make a deposit for a purchase and ask for it to be postponed – no one stole the deposit. Later it became normal to book things and even furniture with parolees. People keep their word! I even came across a story about a case when a man sold a Soviet set he inherited from his parents for 1000 rubles. He was offered 100,000, but he gave it to the first buyer he agreed with.
It is clear that the transparent digital world factor has a significant share in the totality of the reasons that led to such a groundbreaking honesty for our country. There are cameras everywhere, all movements are recorded, all money has a trace. Why steal a wallet if you can be found guilty of embezzling someone else’s property after using someone else’s card? Why take someone else’s phone if you’re not going to unlock it? How can you steal scrap metal if it has a GPS tracker in it?
We are used to a transparent world where everyone sees each other. We were honest. For example, I would even transfer $ 50,000 for a purchase on an advertising site – St. In St. Petersburg, no one from the city will risk getting caught by the police for 50,000. Yes, and they ate too much. What is 50,000? It’s not worth the risks.
Townspeople, yes. We are used to this. For 50,000 we will not even raise the shadow of suspicion of theft. We!
They have. Immigrants. According to my personal experience, in Russia in recent years all cases of deception and attempts to deceive occurred among immigrants. Inflate when completing an order? Please. A standard scheme on how to deceive a delivery aggregator company into paying for gas and extract a large sum of money from the customer – here he is, sitting with furniture, maybe he removed the old furniture from the apartment, he has nothing to do sleep? Prepare it and take three skins. Everywhere.
No shipping damage yet. I had a sad experience with the same delivery company when movers from Central Asia scratched the finish of a cabinet that was already on the floor. And in general, they left everything in the elevator, saying that we had to carry the flight to the apartment ourselves. For example, the table is a Soviet table! From the TV series! Or “give me some money!”
They scratched the cabinet and made a big show of not answering: They were cunning, they were threatening. They left us hungry… While distributing small items and food, they forget the cameras and open boxes at the entrance.
The situation is the same in taxi. The “arrived at the location” sign is still placed before you arrive. I also know of cases where a taxi driver extorted a tip by threatening to lower the rating. The taxi driver tried to drop me off a block from my destination and said “repairs were in progress.” He gave me a bad rating because I refused to pay the full amount. To a real friend of mine, a courier brought a microwave oven from a store, asked for a tip of 200 rubles, did not give it, threatened: “Look, I’ll catch you, mouse!”
Card payment terminals are increasingly broken in small shops run by immigrants. They want cash or money order. They don’t know what tax transparency is.
There is another side to migration from Central Asia and Azerbaijan; There is a lot of scam here. Who knows where there is mentality in this, where there is technical underdevelopment; Even though I’ve traveled to Asia, I still don’t get it. The situation is better in Kazakhstan; I did not encounter any attempts to deceive – they only hung me in self-service cafes. This is not possible in Uzbekistan. In taxis, restaurants, markets – cheating, cheating, cheating. Delete the price of tea from the menu at a restaurant and charge three times more, add an incomprehensible dish to the bill, bring in someone who knows what it is. Prices for “white” on the market, St. higher than the prices for the same nuts and dried fruits in St. Petersburg.
They are trying to deceive us in everything. I spent five nights in a hotel in Tashkent. I made a reservation through a popular service. Payment is made in cash only. Everyone hides terminals to avoid paying commissions. When I had already left and wrote a review, the hotel suddenly corrected the report to say that I was only there for one day: to avoid paying commission! I also get punished for breaking the armor.
You must always be on guard. There are few cameras. Money – cash. Here are two factors that immediately reduce public honesty. Third is the police. They say that it is better not to catch his eye, even if he is a pedestrian. Dealing with the police in many regions of Uzbekistan is a huge tragedy for the whole family.
We are not used to this anymore. We don’t live like that anymore. Do you remember how an immigrant killed art critic Raisa Kirsanova in Moscow? The woman did not lock the door! After that murder, I started checking the locks! Sometimes we forget to turn it off!
We have cameras, electronic money, digitalization of purchases and decent incomes. People come to us from countries where the police take bribes like this, where people are poor, hungry, where they don’t remember that they can be filmed stealing a jacket in a cafe, they are not used to such things. If someone sees the deception, they may carelessly spend time uncovering it.
We increasingly hear about ethnic crimes, high aggression of immigrants and inter-ethnic conflicts. But no one is talking about such a small, but such an important problem: to Russia, which has barely learned to trust, people from countries where it is still customary to deceive come en masse, if they can deceive.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.