ozsubasi

That is so true here in Turkey. It is only the supermarket chains who actually price anything, and we tend to use them not as a "best price guide" but as a "give us a clue" guide.
There is no consumer protection, no trades description act, it is a case of the price being determined by the seller's perception of the size of your wallet or purse. My wife Carol is brilliant at this game, if there was an Olympic medal for it she could haggle for Britain. I hate it myself, I just want to know what the price is for what's being offered and then I will make my choice.

But this isn't my country and Turkish people expect to bargain, it is part of the culture. If you accept the first price they will be ecstatic, if you walk away they will follow you down the road offering discounts. The concept of give me your best price at the start just doesn't apply.

But this is all part and parcel of living abroad, we get round it by me not doing the shopping because if I come back with anything I will be subjected to something close to the Spanish Inquisition as to how I settled on the price

cricketman

They probably dont to be honest

Spain isnt really big on presentability or basically, the PR industry, where everything is spun to be more positive than it atually is.

As for no prices on cars, well depends where you go. Spain is a big country. Sometimes prices are on cars, sometimes not. But whatever, you are expected to haggle on the price of cars in every country in the world.

ozsubasi

I don't really know the Spanish mentality but I think that politicians anywhere know about spin and how to use it. Bearing in mind the bail outs Spain now needs I can't imagine they don't have their cleverest people presenting the country in the best possible terms. People working at the top levels in today's world are not insulated, they have global connections and whether or not they agree with what is required they know how to provide it.

cricketman

Hmm. I worked in the PR industry in London, believe me Spain has nothing like that

There may be one or two consultants working for the PP, but there are not entire companies working and lobbying on their behalf

I actually think the lack of Spanish PR presence at an international stage has in a way lead to the current crisis. There was nobody putting Spain's point of view to the IMF, Germany, US, World and European banks etc. except when the odd politician talked to them - and not enough in the non-Spanish press knocking back the PIIGs and Spanish debt claims. You have to convince the traders remember!

The reason for that is Spain doesnt play the same games as the US and UK etc which is fair enough, but is pretty naive when they wonder why the ratings agencies keep knocking them down. Nobody is providing the counter argument, except Steviedeluxe and myself on this forum

jackytoo

Spain is very good at talking itself up mainly by not discussing bad news so much and placing it down the page. In the UK headlines are such as " retail sales up but expected to be down next month" instead of basking in a short bit of feel good.

The day Spain revealed it was asking for a bank bailout it was featured at the bottom of the financial page...the headline being "Greek borrowing costs go up". Sort of burying bad news They are also very good at pushing the sun, sea and sangria image to the European masses!

amideislas

Yep. #1 in everything. Shame it's a deeply hidden secret that only the two of you are aware of...

If it weren't for those damned jealous Germans wanting to be just like Spain, they'd be the ones who are headed for decades of decline.

cricketman

Not on El Pais, now that IS depressing reading at the moment...

The sun, sea and sangria mythology was created by Franco's propaganda department in the 60s and 70s. Yes they were very good at marketing. They even invented all this "Costa de XXX" crap which didnt exist before that

And they pushed the Castellano imagary onto foreigners so they'd all think that the whole of Spain was like that. As my wife says, there are only 2 Spanish cultures; Castellano and Andalucian. The other cultures in Spain are regional (Galician, Asturian, Basque, Catalan et etc) and not in themselves Spanish.

Its very important in this life to try and think for yourself and not think what other people want you to think! Now we are gettting back to the McDs discussion from yesterday...

cricketman

Oh, but they are

And so are the UK and US. And so is Spain. That is the problem and the reason why nobody wants to give an inch, they want someone else to fall first to give them some more breathing space

I believe they call it kicking the can further down the road

amideislas

Yep, and spain will come out of it the world leader in everything, since it hasn't ever "kicked the can down the road" like the rest of the world.

BEDEMIR: Who are you who are so wise in the ways of global economics?

jackytoo

Strange isn't it that tourists going to barcelona want to watch Flamenco

cricketman

Yes

Although to be fair, there is a massive Andalucian immigrant community in Barcelona. Again, more of less shipped there to help dampen Catalan nationalism by Franco. So some famous recent flamenco artists have come from there as a result, including the modern flamenco group Ojos de Brujo

Not that the average tourist would know that...

Pocaloca

Interesting. I met someone here once who was sent to Barcelona aged 14, along with all his brothers and sisters. They were separated and had to live with Catalan families where they worked as servants. I always wondered what the motive behind it was, I thought it was because they didn't want the kids brought up as rojos. Sometimes you don't like to ask, you have to wait till they tell you.