Guide books and a newspaper’s postcards from abroad love the “man on the street story. A favorite is the Arab Street, a snapshot of life somewhere in the Middle East complete with a stereotypical check list; dusty, hardship, politics and throw in a veil.
The list of negatives is endless, but here is a positive story from that dusty Arab Street where business men have listed their services on an internet directory, directly targeting expatriates.
“Follow the money, said Woodward and Bernstein’s source – Deep Throat – when they were hot on the trail of one hell of a shady politician in the 1970s.
“Follow the money sure, but provide quality service into the bargain, said Phil Neild, who is the coordinator of a burgeoning Maadi based company, who guarantees that the services on thecairolist.com are regularly checked for quality and inferior products are rejected.
“I’ve removed a couple of business for dodgy service, the affable Neild said, who occupies the high ground standing at 6′ 5 , from where he can keep a close eye on the service provided by his associates.
“From time to time I have friends telephone and make an appointment with plumbers, mechanics or even to book a taxi. I then get a report on the service. Was he on time, could he speak English, did he provide a quality service? If you meet the check list, the business can then register thecairolist.com.
“Expatriates have money, they need reliable business people for all sorts of jobs and Egyptians, I found, like working for foreigners. And why not? We are happy to pay for good service and for a job well done.
On late Thursday afternoon I met the 37 year old Neild and associates at his apartment. The heat of the day still hung over the Arab street and policeman rushed around us when Neild’s gang poured onto the road for a photograph. It is near where the Israeli Ambassador resides, so possibly they feared a demonstration had broken out on that fabled trouble spot, the Arab street.
“Eureka. I’ll have to let the New York Times know I found it.
A positive corporate culture has a lot to do with a business’ success; the manuals will all say so. And this esprit de corps was very much on display, along with the famous Egyptian sense of humor as I tried to get everyone into my camera’s frame.
I finally rounded up the furniture dealer and the gardener, both of whom go by the world’s most popular name, Mohamed. They were being led astray by Tiger the tour guide and the mechanic Ragab, who kept putting a spanner in the works by not walking along the Arab Street in a cool kind of Western fashion. The way all Americans walk along Main Street, USA, according to cinema story tellers anyway.
Neild is not promoting himself as a post-colonial euro-saviour; he came to Cairo on a 2-year contract from his home in the UK to work as a Business Studies teacher. Having lived in Malaysia, North Carolina and on the Channel Island of Guernsey, he has often dabbled as an entrepreneur, but this time he feels that his current marriage to 25 Cairo businesses has legs and Cairo is a good fit for his family.
“It takes awhile to adapt to any new environment and wise up to what is going on, Neild observed. “I had a terrible experience with a hospital when I first arrived, but then I found a great taxi driver, who became my friend and then my part-time cleaner became the full-time carer for my baby girl, Kalani .
“Another one of my skills is as a motivational speaker. And it just amazes me how expatriates continue to complain about service in Cairo after a year, or even two years.
“It takes awhile for some people to wise-up and this is why I believe thecairolist.com will be successful and it will put lots of great Egyptians, who offer excellent services, in touch with expatriates who will see the quality of their own life improve immediately when they use thecairolist.com .
“A good example of this is my own driver, Ayman. I wanted to buy a flat or villa in Maadi. After visiting one or two properties, Ayman quickly understood what I was after and he took the initiative and started acting as the estate agent himself. We ended up looking at over 50 properties. And in the end Ayman found just what I was looking for, and that is quality service .
So there is a job for you next time you are writing out a list, bookmark thecairolist.com and say goodbye to sticky notes, shopping lists and join the ‘A’ list, where you’ll find an Egyptian business with western service.
