Having lived here in Zürich for 8 months now, some things that we originally thought were "quaint" have now become annoyances. As a form of outlet, I will list my top 10 Zürich Pet Peeves to hopefully get them off my chest and move on. However, because there are also many great things about living in Europe, in the spirit of keeping things balanced, I will also list my top 10 Favorite Things about Zürich (see next post).
10. Weather Reports/GPS Satellites
It seems there is some kind of bubble over Switzerland that does not allow the satellites over Europe to bounce their beams into the country. If there are actual weather radars in use for Switzerland, they are horrible. On any given day, I can check three online weather webpages and get 3 completely different reports. For a few weeks, during the summer, 50% chance of precipitation was listed every single day. (At least the meteorologists can claim they are equally correct.) It's a running joke in the ex-pat community that you have no idea what the weather will be like.
Similarly, every time we drive somewhere and bring out the GPS for our car, it takes about 20 minutes to "warm up", as I call it. Basically, the Garmin unit takes about 20 minutes to locate the satellites that we will use. In most cases, we aren't really driving for more than 20 minutes to our destination, so it's basically made our GPS obsolete for short drives. Arghhhhhhhhh.
The Swiss are very efficient people and like to get an early start to the day. I used to be a morning person, but ever since Brady has joined us, I just can't seem to regain my "morning person" qualities. As a result, both Brady and I have been awakened at 6:30 AM as a construction crew gathered outside our apartment to prepare for some road work they were going to do. Unfortunately for us, this include jack-hammering a significant chunk of road just outside our apartment. They got their equipment in place, tools out and ready to go...and literally at 1 minute past 8:00 AM...they started jack-hammering. YIKES!
I've also had some embarrassing moments where I've answered the door in my pajamas to the Post man (delivering many packaging while I'm in my PJs), our building superintendant, and the Siemens clothes dryer repair guy. The building super and Siemens Repair Man both arrived before 8:30 AM (and well early of their stated appointment times) and the Post man consistently comes before 9:3o AM. It's not that I'm not awake by then. As all of you who have/had young children know, you get up relatively early. But even though Brady is usually fed and dressed by 8:30 AM, I have not usually had the luxury of getting dressed by that time! Oh well..the early bird gets the worm!
8. Lines are apparently optional
For such an efficient country, it amazes me how time and time again I will be cut in a line. This happens at the grocery store, public transportation, zoo, you name it. It's not like I don't look like I'm in line...it's just that people just don't abide by lines.
While at the Children's Zoo a few weeks ago, I watched in dismay while children remained on the ponies time after time (they paid each time) while there was a HUGE line. I guess they figured since they had waited once, and since they were paying for each ride, that they could just stay on. It was MADDENING - especially when you have a 15 month old who was facing melt-down mode.
Apparently this is why there are ticket machines at the Post Office and Cell Phone service stores to cut down on customer rage. I originally thought these machines were just another mark of Swiss efficiency...but in fact I think it's because customers were fighting over who was next in line.
7. Delivery Services that Aren't Very Customer Friendly
In September, I hosted a card-making party for some of my friends. Since there were 8 of us, we decided to order some pizza for lunch. We ordered via phone and were told that it would be about 50 minutes because it was during the lunch-rush. This seemed reasonable, especially since they explained about the lunch-rush. Our pizza took almost 2 hours!!!! We called 2 additional times to ask where they were. The first time they said they would be there in 5 minutes....30 minutes later, they said they would be there in 5 minutes. UGH! They did feel bad for our delay and knocked a whole 3 CHF off our order. (Whoopie!) This seems to be a norm here in Zürich.
The other thing about this delivery service is that any restaurant that delivers is also VERY expensive. But I guess that's probably because ALL restaurants in Zürich are expensive to begin with! We have become experts at making homemade pizzas...all in order to avoid the expense and hassel of ordering delivery pizza.
Things here in Switzerland are VERY expensive. (See prior posts for some our experiences with sticker-shock.) As Bill and I have tried to make sense of why, we've come up with a few plausible reasons.
- Self-reliance: Out of interest, I've read a bit about Switzerland's part in World War II. Being a land-locked country, surrounded by Germany, German-occupied France and Austria, and German-ally, Italy, Switzerland was faced with a big problem during WWII. Switzerland is a very small country (smaller in area than the state of West Virginia), and does not have a lot of natural resources. As a result, Switzerland relied heavily upon Germany for many goods/raw materials. Germany was by-far the country's largest trading partner. It is my hypothesis that due to this reliance on a nation at war for products, Switzerland determined, from that point forward, that it should no longer be reliant on other nations. It amazes me that for such a small nation with only 7.6 million people, how many Swiss-produced products you can buy. The problem with Swiss-market-only companies is that they don't have scale to produce at a reasonable cost and don't have incentive to make products that meet the standards of a world-wide consumer base. The result is high-cost/medium-quality goods.
-Duopolies: I don't know why, but there are many duopolies here in Switzerland. As defined byWikipedia: "A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duopoly)
Some examples:
--Cablecom & Swisscom Cable/Phone Providers : These companies remind me of the phone companies in the US before deregulation. They both provide horrible service. I can't even count how many people I know who have had to get at least 2 cable boxes replaced because their cable was not working. I've had several friends who have had their phone service cut off (due to a technical glitch) for long periods of time. And we have experienced horrible cable internet service where it cuts off for several hours at a time, frequently. UGH! Customer service lines are only open 16 hours a day. If you have a problem after 10 pm, forget it.
--Migros & Coop Grocery Stores: These two really do control the groceries here in Switzerland. There are a few other scattered stores, but these are really the ones who set the prices. This seems to limit product selection and cost-comparison is nil.
--Credit Suisse and UBS Banks: There are plenty of ofther Swiss banks, but these are it if you want a mainline checking account. And they don't go out of their way to grant ex-pats credit cards/ or credit cards with usable limits.
Most stores in Switzerland do not offer web-options where you can price compare online. This lack of an internet shopping outlet has created yet another way for prices to remain high in Switzerland.
5. Not Kid-Friendly
I do know that most large cities across the world are NOT kid-friendly. I can't even imagine trying to push a baby stroller around in New York City, but we have tried this in Paris and London. Most public transportation does not easily facilitate baby strollers. However, I've only ever been a visitor to these cities and for the short time that we were there, we made other accomodoations. However, when you live in a city and rely mainly on public transportation, it is frustrating that the trams/trains don't allow for easy navigation with a stroller. Most trams here in Zürich require 2 steps up and are bordered by a grab-bar. Fellow tram riders are usually VERY helpful when Brady and I ride the trams. However, it is a drag to have to ask for help all the time. We've taken to walking a lot and only using trams when absolutely necessary (which is at least once a day, generally.)
Compared to spacious US restaurant layouts, most restaurants here in Europe are very small and compact, again not lending themselves to a stroller or a cranky/loud baby. And many stores/restaurants have steps to go into them. Most of the time when I'm with Brady in his stroller, I feel like a bull in a china shop and feel like we're about to knock everything off the shelves.
Most of the department stores in Zürich offer elevators and escalators for moving between floors. However, the escalators generally have signs posted on them discouraging the use of strollers on them. This means, we are usually stuck using the elevators. However, I can't tell you how many times we've had to wait for perfectly able-bodied people to use the elevator who were too lazy to use the escaltors. This drives me insane. I have no choice but to use the elevators, why can't these folks (especially when there is a long elevator line) use the escalator? Similarly on the trams, there is only one spot that can accomodate strollers - usually in the back of the tram. Even when there are plenty of seats, people will stand in this open space and will frequently NOT move when I come on board with a stroller. So, Brady and I are forced to squoosh up into a space clearly not meant for a stroller. Throw mean a bone, people. It's hard enough to get around with a stroller as it is, you don't need to make it even harder!
I know that Americans generally are said to require a large amount of "personal space" compared to people from other countries. I definitely agree and feel that my personal space has been violated many times while living in Zürich. To begin with, I'm not a city person, because of the personal space issue - I always feel like everyone is closing in when in a city. Public transportation requires one to squoosh together to accomodate more travellers. The stores and restaurants are small, again everyone squooshes together to shop/eat. Parking spaces are super small and basically don't give you any wiggle room. (Another reason I don't drive too often.) This is something I just need to get over and realize that my "personal space expectation" is way too large for living in a European city.
Most people here in Zürich go grocery shopping very frequently. I generally go shopping every other day, if not every day. And it's not because I really enjoy grocery shopping. Most items are sold without preservatives. People buy bread daily because it doesn't last very long without preservatives. Also, products are packaged in very small containers here. We go through cereal like crazy...not because we are eating more than we did in the US, but because the boxes are tiny. They definitely don't abide by the Costco culture here. And even if I could buy larger packages of stuff, I wouldn't have a place for it. Our kitchen is tiny. The fridge is about half the size of a normal-sized US fridge. And the freezer space is non-existent. I have room to house 2 ice cube trays, a container of ice cream and a few leftovers. That's it. So as a result of all of the above, I end up grocery shopping a lot. Generally, this is not an issue, and I actually like it (see next posting about the positives of living in Zürich), but if you are busy, in a rush, or couldn't get out of the house for some reason, grocery shopping every day is an annoyance! I also walk to the grocery store. (We rarely use the car.) And as a result, I am limited to what I can carry home. This also creates the need for multiple shopping trips during a week.
The other issue about grocery shopping here is that the stores are incredibly small. When you have a stroller, you are constantly knocking into things and having to squoosh through small aisles. To make matters worse, grocery stores here are constantly restocking. I haven't found a time yet where the stores are not restocking. This means there are big metal cages full of new packages of stuff filling many aisles. This makes an already small aisle, impossible to navigate. And it seems the grocery store employees don't understand that they are in the way of the customeres. It makes grocery shopping a bit like a crazy obstical course.
Not only is product packaging much smaller than in the US (see above Pet Peeve), but it is built to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. This is a good thing. (See Zürich positives post) However, sometimes I do wish the packaging was more robust. I've had yogurt spills on the floor due to burst containers, I've had carrots fly across the room because the bag split, I've had containers pop in my backpack on the walk home from the grocery store. I've had detergent powder and milk spill all over, because the packaging didn't have a proper spout. I guess I should just accept these "minor" inconveniences since this packaging provides less landfill than other packaging, but I miss the fun US packaging that would survive anything! Just think about how many US products are "new and improved" just simply based on a new type of packaging!1. SMOKING
This is a huge pet peeve. New Jersey eliminated smoking in restaurants some time ago, so it was a huge surprise when we moved here to find smoking is allowed in restaurants. You don't notice how nice it is NOT to smell smoke during a dining experience until you are once again subjected to it. Supposedly the country of Switzerland has 34% smokers, but I think they all work and reside in Zürich. Smokers are everywhere. And alarmingly, there are a lot of young smokers. I've also seen many moms smoking right in front of their small children! Restaurants do offer non-smoking sections, but often people smoke there anyway and nothing is said to them. In other restaurants, the smoke from the smoking section wafts easily over to the non-smoking section, making the partition worthless. The good thing is that some parts of Switzerland have already voted for and implemented smoking bans in restaurants and bars. (i.e. Geneva and the Ticino Kanton) Zürich just voted for a similar ban this past fall, but it won't be fully implemented until 2010...probably right before we head back to the US.
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