The other day I was shopping for some meat products to cook dinner for guests. When possible, I try to avoid red meat, but in our Persian cuisine, the best stews are based on meat products. I bought three different cuts in different containers.
Unfortunately, all three had some black stains that I only discovered when I reached home, this was not my usual butcher but one of the renowned in the country. It is also not a usual case to find such problems with fresh produce in a country with high standards.
To make a long story short, after returning to the shop and complaining about my spoilt dinner plans, I asked to be called by the management, as this was during the weekend, the call came first thing Monday morning.
The manager explained to me that he has not seen the ‘problematic’ meat cuts yet, and he finds this very rare because they are strictly controlled by the Ministry of Health. It was my turn to tell him that not only my dinner plans were spoilt, but the way their staff handled the matter was also the problem.
When I showed the problematic piece to the woman working during that shift, far from being apologetic, she was dismissive and said there was no problem with it. She added that I could clean the black spot by wiping it with a cloth. This reaction raised my eyebrows and the ones of the store managers who were witnessing the whole saga.
All the above said I told the butchery brand manager who called me, that when a disgruntled customer complains, the first approach is the most important part, and that his staff need more training in how to deal with such situations.
At this point, he told me something very interesting, and this is the whole point of this article. He told me that he is very limited when it comes to staffing and that the woman who told me to clean the meat with a cloth drives 180 kilometres every day from a neighbouring country to work here, as there are no jobs for them there and the payment is much better in Luxembourg. I was taken aback, as I had just heard that last year witnessed a huge increase in the number of job seekers.
So, why would they employ someone coming from such a long distance when thousands of jobless people are lingering around? The answer is very clear, people who are already in the Luxembourgish employment system and who usually are among the refugees and semi-skilled manpower who are not looking for hard jobs. They have found loopholes in the system and allow themselves to benefit from the generous way the government is treating them. This of course comes out of the tax coffers filled with the money of those who work and pay their taxes.
I know people who have been here for more than 20 years, and who have always managed to hang on doing a few odd jobs and then return to the unemployment scheme and survive. I cannot say it is the best life, as they receive a minimum wage in a very expensive country. It is most unfortunate, but I am sure at some point their unethical practices will be stopped, austerity knocks on every door, it is then that they will find out how much they have missed by becoming fruitful citizens.
