Norman Conquest

There would be a lot of things New Zealanders haven't heard of, but that would apply to every country when it comes to products, etc. For instance, there are people living in one part of England who have never heard of something that is available in another part. The same applies in America. Also, there are many Kiwis who believe that a product is a New Zealand brand when in fact its not. That also is typical worldwide. I remember the Aussies lamenting the loss of the "Aussie baked bean" when Heinz decided to have them canned in New Zealand. Of course, Heinz is an American company. Marmite is British, but some think its originally Kiwi because the stuff we eat is made in New Zealand. Also, some people think that Sunlight soap was invented in New Zealand, whereas it's form of tallow soap patented by Lever Bros and named after Port Sunlight, their factory cum worker's town in England. I think, if its made in New Zealand, however, its fair enough to call it a New Zealand brand and it doesn't really matter if the parent company is an overseas one. Also, New Zealand is a very small market and some offshore manufacturers and suppliers do not prioritize it into their marketing plans. It's left to locals to sleuth out what's available and decide whether its worth importing.

Norman Conquest

I would mention that lack of product knowledge is common worldwide. I remember, when touring Britain, I ran out of ibuprofen. I went into a pharmacy in Wales and was told I needed a doctor's prescription for it. I was told the same at another pharmacy in England but, on my way out of the store I chanced to look at the shelf of pain killers, to find ibuprofen available on retail sale. When it comes to pain killers, there definitely are brands that are not available in New Zealand and which are unknown to pharmacists here. But, it might only be a matter of brand name or what you call it - language difference. For instance, it's well known that, in Australia, Durex is a brand of sticky tape.

jmh

LOL, I didn't know that.

Pom_Chch

Crikey, you definitely wouldn't want to get those two confused

Buzzy--Bee

I have lived in Australia 9 years and I have never come across it.

So I had to look it up and it seems it hasn't been sold here for a while.

From Wikipedia -

Use of "Durex" as a generic term for adhesive tape has declined markedly in Australia in recent years as the brand is no longer sold there, and in fact the condom brand is widely available and marketed in that country.

BB

Bob

Choice selection of words there...

Norman Conquest

That's interesting. My mind was going back to the days when I served in the Aussie Army (Vietnam era). We were told that the Vietnamese women were more dangerous than bullets! I have visited Australia several times since but wasn't aware of the change. Thanks for clearing that up.

Bo-Jangles

My pet thing that NZ has never heard of is the world of online shopping and bookings.

Honestly it is an absolute joke that in 2016 much of NZ is still struggling with the concept. I made an 'online booking' yesterday to get my car serviced - pretty standard stuff I would have thought: fill in all the details, select the date, time and place of my choice and get an email to confirm. Isn't that how it works?

So this morning I get a phone call to say Err, yeah you wanted your car serviced Ma'aam? Umm err, what day do you you want it done, yeah? Saturday, Yeah? Err yeah, sweet, what time??

FFS any day or time you could manage would be nice, but why else would I have bothered to carefully fill out all the details on the online booking form.

BEVS

One word.


Overflows.

Bo-Jangles

Oh yis, I had completely forgotten that those things even existed; the other one of course is fuses in electrical plugs.

Stormer999

Obviously not required outside of the UK as we do not wire mains sockets by ring circuits. The circuits carry 32A power so to protect the appliance smaller lead the plug tops had to be fused for protection, the rest of Europe and NZ wire via 10A radials so are well protected at the consumer unit. It is the UK that are different not us.
My doctor is completely on line for appointments repeat prescriptions etc works extremely well as does Countdown shopping booking and delivery.

jmh

I do lots of things online. Just bought a printer from Noel Leeming. Booked and paid online, delivered the following day. Bought a print from Grab One - delivered two days later. Booked doggie online for a haircut. Could shop online at Countdown but as it's just down the road I go in for a visit. Even went to a specialist doctor last year and booked the appointment online. Never did that in London, although maybe some practices offer it. I book My Food Bag for my dinners and have it delivered each week. I'm on local forums like neighbourly discussing the state of road sweeping and crime rates in my neighbourhood.

Of course you have Seek and Trademe too.

Norman Conquest

I booked a two month Europe trip online - hotels, hire cars, the lot. The only thing I didn't book online was the main NZ-London return flights. I was a bit nervous about trying it, but it worked out really well. I got some real bargain deals. I also shop for gadgets online, especially ones hard to get in NZ or very costly. The only problem is guarantees, but I have taken a gamble on that. I have been very pleased with quality for price. I recently bought a 1500L LED torch and I just can't believe the quality for the price. Some of the fashion is stunning but I need to lose some weight to take advantage of that

bourbon-biscuit

YES, this! I've never understood it. Same here in OZ. I wonder if it's just that our Antipodean friends are less feckless than us Brits and can be trusted to run the bath/ sink without forgetting?

Norman Conquest

Overflows are coming into use in NZ - in hotels, because Asian tourists are used to them. They have been prone to run a bath, then walk away expecting the overflow to hold the water level. Whoops