Agreed it generally means the same as ' a lick and a promise' in UK parlance - opting for the quick and dirty fix.

She'll be right means we can accept the slap dash job and :fingerscrossed nobody will notice the shonky workmanship; because doing it properly will probably cost money or make a problem for me.

The main difference being the bar at which the level is set and the 'no worries, she'll be right' standard is considered good enough for most things here!

It's a two sided coin though - you're portraying it very negatively.

Whether a culture is relaxed or not generally stems from the level of trust there is in the society. In the US, for example, nothing happens until the lawyers have got involved and contracts are signed. In NZ, that is less likely which looks reckless to someone used to a more contract-focused model.

I had an interesting experience dealing with someone in China. The Australian husband was pretty relaxed about my terms and conditions which are payment up front. His Chinese wife wouldn't allow it. China is a low trust society so you never pay up front. In fact, I believe that was why Ebay failed there. Alibaba, which is an online sales outlet set up processes to deal with this anxiety and have, as a result been extremely successful in China.

It's not really a case of which is better or worse. More that the attitude should match the culture. I've just been dealing with a South African who won't talk to anyone unless she has a signed contract behind her. It's not going down to well here in laid back NZ, but I suspect it would irritate a few people in the UK too. Compared to some, the UK is actually quite a laid back culture too.

I use the phrase 'shel'll be right' quite often. I use it when I know I can fix somebody else's problem quickly. It's easier to say to them 'she'll be right' and run around fixing their shit behind the scenes. We're in the midst of an operating system upgrade though. So I guess I'll be saying "she'll be right' twice as much.

The experiences I had were of the positive interpretation of, 'it will all work out well in the end, just keep going'. That was as a visitor though.

I know people that have experienced the negative side of it when having work done on their house but, when we were swapping experiences recently, I don't think the situation in that regard is much different between UK and NZ. In both countries there are people who will always do the minimum they have to, cut corners and try to rip you off cost wise. I've found that for every 4 or 5 companies like that there's roughly one who has a great attitude and work ethic and takes pride in what they do.