Misreading the signs as UK raises terror alert level in UAE

Earlier this week, the British government has raised its terror warning to the highest level for its citizens living in the UAE. A statement posted on the Web site of the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi said the country has "a high threat of terrorism,” adding the kicker “we believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE…attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time."

Possible targets include spots popular with expats.

What kind of impact does this have expats living in the country? And how might it affect those planning to visit, or do business?

Who knows, but it surely can’t boost numbers or encourage expats to get out and about. In the absence of official measurements, it is tempting to read much into the most innocent of things: last night’s pub quiz at the Arabian Ranches Golf Club, usually packed with expats, had spare tables. What caused the stayways?

On the upside, the place filled up at 10.30pm for the Italy-France game.

Taxi driver road rage as Dubai's hyper-growth hammers earnings

Hurried driver training and draconian penalties sees moral plummet among drivers of Dubai's 3,000-strong taxi fleet.

Thoughts on a misguided attempt to celebrate Filipinos

‘Imagine a world without Filipinos’ is the heading of an unintentionally hilarious opinion piece in today’s Arab News. The writer claims the owner of Jeddah flower shop became handicapped after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and returning home: “When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite,” says the distraught owner, forgetting that losing the use of his arms would have made eating difficult anyway.

The piece goes on to extol the virtues of Filipino workers – though the credit seems to begin and end with the fact they speak good English and learn quickly. It manages to both patronize Filipinos and avoid criticizing the locals. If the Filipino Diaspora is to be celebrated is because Filipinos are prepared to travel to find work, accept pay and conditions that the locals wouldn’t accept, and, above all, work hard.

If the Arab News writer really wanted to shake things up, he might start a campaign to introduce a National Job Swap Day. Hopefully by then the Jeddah flower seller will have regained the use of his arms.

Why does a Dh25 phone card cost Dh28?

A Dh25 Etisalat pay-as-you phone card will cost you Dh28 at the shop at Jumeirah’s Bab al Shams hotel. The bloke behind the counter smirked and shook his head when I asked him why there was a 12 per cent mark up. The place is out in the middle of nowhere, but as Jumeirah’s website explains, it’s only 45 minutes from the airport. Surely it’s not transport costs. Does anyone have an explanation? Feel free to mail any other examples of rip-off prices in Dubai.

Great customer service should be a thrill, not a chore

There is alarming lag between the rate of development of new business in Dubai and the standard of customer service, says a new report. File this one under ‘Stating the Bleedin’ Obvious’.

The Joshua Group says standards have fallen over the past seven years, and the retail sector is the worst offender. It says consistency of service, anticipation of customer needs, staff behavior, and the timely delivery of orders was way below international standards, some missing targets by as much as 60 per cent.

Kipp couldn’t agree more. There is a misconception that having someone fill your car, clean your windows, deliver your lunch to your desk and bring you a beer represents great customer service. It doesn’t. These are menial service duties.

Among other things, great customer service means remembering your drink order, anticipating future needs, learning what else the customer might need, and acting on feedback. And it starts by empowering the worker, not treating them (and paying them) like lackeys.

Ministry to tackle laborer summer break by having more inspectors work through the midday heat.

The UAE’s Ministry of Labour says it is to get tougher with companies which force laborers to work through the midday heat. Site inspections will be increased to catch employers violating work-time restrictions, which come into force next month. Presumably this means there will be more inspectors having to work between 12.30pm and 3pm. Lucky them.

The Ministry says it upped the site visits from 3,699 in 2006 to 7,070 in 2007. But this year it has a cunning plan to save its inspectors making wasted sweaty trips to building sites. It says the public can report violations via the ministry’s website at www.emol.ae. Is it me, or is it too tempting to have the inspectors running around on wild goose chases?

As oil price leaps, Saudi forced onto PR front foot

Australia's prime minister called for a blowtorch to be applied to OPEC to up oil production, Portugal's economic and innovation minister wants an EU investigation into oil market speculation. Whatever the reason for oil at $140, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is under scrutiny: is it doing enough to ease the pain?

In an attempt to take the heat out of situation, the Saudi government has called for a meeting between oil producing and consuming nations about how to handle the price surge. It's not quite clear what this summit meeting will achieve, but, with the money rolling in, it doesn't do any harm to appear to be concerned.

A world pissed off with high oil prices might be just the thing to tempt Saudi into a higher public profile. Abu Dhabi, also sloshing with oil cash, can trumpet its carbon-free Masdar project. Dubai has its Blue Communities coastal living initiative. It may be time for Saudi to lead the world in some technology of the future, not an irritant of the present.

After failing at the Olympics, Qatar might start to look desperate

After failing to make the shortlist for the 2016 Olympics, Qatar is reported to readying a bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, is said to be serious about bringing a major sporting event to the country – and beating the UAE to it, but doesn’t want to be humiliated by the judging process.

He’ll be lucky. Despite being impressed by Doha’s technical credentials, the International Olympic Committee flatly rejected the proposed October dates. The World Cup is even less flexible: it must be staged at the end of the European football season – June to July. Unless every game is to be played indoors, a Doha World Cup is a non-starter.

There is merit in bidding – networking, learning new skills, preparing the ground for a future, more realistic bid – but only if success is not judged on winning alone. After yesterday’s win over China in qualifying for 2010, Qatar’s national team has more success of World Cup glory than the country has of hosting the main event.

For low cost carriers to keep growing, regional authorities need to start investing in new airports.

There is not much Adel Ali hasn’t learned from the success of low cost carriers in Europe. The Air Arabia chief knows his product wouldn’t mean much without airports – the more places he can fly to, the better his product.

Europe’s low cost carriers, often working in tandem with regional councils, have done much to create new routes. The new, small regional airports have created booms in second homes, opened new tourism markets and aided business. Regional councils have bid to win the rights to host a low cost carrier, knowing the positive economic impact they can bring.

Ali wants to see more secondary airports in rural areas outside of major cities. It will make his airline more relevant to more people, and lower operating costs also appeal. Time for the Gulf’s less celebrated towns to stand up.

GM’s green push does not spell the end of the Hummer brand.

General Motors is hinting that Hummer’s face doesn’t fit. The super-sized brand is to be reviewed, with a possible sale on the agenda. GM wants to concentrate resources on green and electric alternatives.
No problem with that: environmentally-friendly, non-oil cars are the future. GM, with tight finances and plenty on its plate, needs to throw resources where it hopes to find the best returns – now and in the mid-term.
But that shouldn’t doom the Hummer brand. To many, the brand may be shorthand for ‘reckless Earth killer’, but, in its favor, it has great product recognition, a strong band of loyalists and real off-road pedigree. Granted, running a Hummer on UAE petrol prices is not so much of a bind, but there will always be segment that can afford to pay top whack for fuel.
There can only ever be one ‘biggest car on the road’. Hummer might take some shifting.

Rain-makers threaten to piss on solar panel’s chips

It has all the ingredients of a farce. One government-sponsored body is seeding clouds, trying to create artificial rain; another is pumping $2bn into developing solar panel technology. Let us hope the two sides are talking to each other – or that a documentary team is recording the scenes as a cloudburst from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology soaks guests touring Masdar’s new solar plant.

Bahrain’s ridiculous overreaction

Bangladeshis in Bahrain awake this morning feeling a lot more welcome in the country. Two weeks ago 100,000 Bangladeshi workers were threatened with expulsion after the murder of a Bahraini by a Bangladeshi mechanic. The Ministry of Interior now says those Bangladeshi already in the country can stay – and carry on building the country’s infrastructure – but no new arrivals will be allowed in. It’s not exactly lining the streets with Bangladeshi flags, but it’s a start.

Bahrain’s ridiculous reaction is echoed in Kuwait. Kuwaiti MPs had called for expulsion of Bangladeshis blaming them for the increasing crime rate in the state. General Moeen U Ahmed, Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army, on a recent trip to the country, had to remind his hosts of Bangladesh’s response to the 1990 invasion by Iraq: it sent two infantry divisions and left a mine-clearing team to help with the rebuilding.

If Bahrainis can’t remember that far back, or think Kuwait is too far away, they need only glance at the country’s towers, roads and houses for evidence of Bangladesh’s usefulness.

The danger of accepting a September-to-March sporting calendar

Abu Dhabi is in talks with the Women’s Tennis Association to host a top-class tennis tournament. Like golf, it wants to add an Abu Dhabi date to an early season ‘desert swing’ involving Dubai and Doha.

After winning the rights to host football’s 2009 and 2010 World Club Cup, the plan is to create a “circle of events between September and March”, according to Mohammad al Mahmood, the general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. It already has Formula 1, power boating, golf and the Red Bull air race. Add this to Dubai’s two golf events, tennis, Rugby 7s, marathon and international football friendlies and you have a steady stream of world class sport in the UAE.

Mahmood is sensible is playing to the country’s strengths (great winter weather), but that shouldn’t write off April to August, it risks ghettoizing the UAE as a seven-months-of-the-year kind of place. Qatar has announced plans for a new indoor sports arena, large enough to host football games. Boxing, swimming, snooker (no joke, the game is taking off in China), basketball and athletics can all be stage indoors.

All is not lost. Mahmood says Abu Dhabi is to bid for the 2011 Ice Hockey World Cup.