Unfortunately, it is not at all exagerated.

At the risk of being groaned at, I have to say I find this as being a bit unfair. As a Swiss, I do appreciate the Swiss lifestyle, but I also understand that the profession you choose WILL drive the hours you work - which was the point, I believe, of jerallie's post.

Even in Switzerland, many jobs have hours (and shifts) appropriate to the profession - without adopting the 24/7 lifestyle promoted in the US (which I find a bit absurd). But I also concede that trying to fit everything possible into a small "window of opportunity" is unsatisfactory - no matter which side of the cash register you are.

I would also argue that by "thinking outside the box" when it comes to providing customers a service (such as by opening late and closing late) would also benefit all parties involved.

The challenge, as I perceive it, is not so much getting (say) Swiss shops to open at different times than the norm, but it getting people to contemplate alternatives.

TD

If you think opening hours are bad, wait til you send your kids to public school. They are home for lunch AND Wednesday afternoons.

PS: Children are allowed to be born at a hospital anytime of the day or night, however this has only been possible in the last ten years or so. >joke<

Ever get that feeling with some threads?

Sauhund / Schweinehund

The primary cashcows of Switzerland are the export industry and the inbound tourism.

Ask a bank-chap about the banking secrecy and the banks. You will be told that the business done thanks to the banking secrecy in banks like the UBS and CS is less than 20% of their total.

And the banking-secrecy is of no advantage for the real economy anyway.

In his well written book "Die Schweiz wäscht weisser" wherein he describes the Swiss finance place as "the financial hub of international crime", Professor Jean Ziegler makes it clear that while the bank-secrecy indeed IS super-business for a fairly small number of top-bankers and finance-lawyers, it is something the country could do very well without. YES, statistically, the country would lose some percents, but the exchange-rate of the CHF would fall to a decent level which would be good for those sectors on which a majority of people depend.

You may have heard that changes in the taxation in the Canton of Zürich lead some millionaires to leave. Strangely enough, we here around ZRH Airport have not seen traffic queues caused by their departure, neither have the finances of the Canton gone down the drain

Banks of course are needed by the economy, but if they become parasytes it no longer is pleasant

And if you have a credit-card which is shitty, simply change to a better one.

The point that commerce is more modern in urban areas than in rural places is a general truth not limited to Switzerland. BUT do not underestimate those people in the "outback" ! They often are far friendlier, offer a nice variety of goods and at time may even have lower prices

Back to Jean Ziegler, I heavily share his views of those "Helvetic Emirs"

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You want to say "as business is practiced in some places here" ?

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So sorry, but this international brand of consumer driven capitalism has arrived here long ago. But of course NOT in Goldiwil and Wyssachen and Gettnau.

A -
But society here (I speak about the urban areas) DOES HAVE to work hard, and IS able to meet the competition

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NO, they are NOT
A) Greece lacks substance, and so is doomed to shrink
B) Itally has substance but lacks dynamic qualities and has to improve
C) Athens already in the 1980ies was THE 24hours metropolis if there ever was one in Europe (just followed by Paris), but even if it makes up some 30% of Greece is not THE country

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NO, quite to the contrary, India within 30 years A) has become a major market for the export industry here B) has become the origin of an important part of inbound-tourists here, and C) the Indian industry is a good element in the world economy, and in case you wear a T-shirt it most likely is made in India. CHINA even if still relatively poor per capita already has begun to invest, not only in the rest of Asia etc but even in Europe. Also in that case, you ought to see the positive sides of the matter

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NO. The topic here is SOME business practices in SOME areas of Switzerland. Travel around in Switzerland. You may see a modern economy including foreign companies in Biel, Olten (even this town ), Baden, Zürich, Winterthur, Schaffhausen etc, but far less so in Oberbipp, Wyssachen, Sumiswald, Gettnau, Oberlunkhofen, Hallau, Merishausen, Alt St. Johann etc. Please advise when the first US-American or British retailer opens shop in one of the places mentioned after Oberbipp

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So sorry but what do you think hospitals did in such cases, between 2am and 4am, back in 1950, in 1948 or in 1918 ?

Notabene, I skipped my lunch today to send the letter at noon and guess what... walked all the way to find out that the post office was closed... no lunch and no stamp on an envelope either. So today Swiss economy lost about CHF1.00 income and local cantina about CHF10.00 from exclusive customer. What a blow to the system! Sometimes makes me wonder if it shouldn't reach headlines in 20min or Blick.

May I show this to my boss? Maybe he'll stop whining when I show up at 9 and actually let me go by 5 pm.

Ive seen these single guys, they must cough up 150 francs a week for kebabs..

And my friend, we can't all be bankers, even if we wanted to. I mean where would you buy that sandwich of yours?

There are over 50 great nations across the world?

Name them please, personally I can only think of two or three!

Tom

The big question is now: why aren't you working between 12 and 2, if it is so important for you that business continues over lunch time?

Switzerland has a standout economy, and I think a lot can be learned about how it got to this place.. It interesting that no one seems to think banking secrecy contributes to this.. Wasnt it the banks, being filled with plunder, that kept CH, and its industry, out of any real harm during wars that decimated all of its neighbors...? Who needs to work a full day when your banks are full..

**pins target to chest**

Absolutely correct. My local UBS bank hands out money every Friday from 12.00 - 14.00 so none of the locals have to work.

My point was, the money is there for businesses that need it. Not that its given away freely to locals.

Money kept in private (as opposed to retail) bank accounts is not available for commercial loans.

What was your point?

Maybe I dont really have one.. Im not a banker .. just a simple blue collar joe. I certainly dont know as much about CH as anyone here.. Ive lived here 8 months, so my points are opinion. Whats it to you?

How Switzerland filled its cauffers during the war is a post for another thread, which Im sure has been covered before. Is this great deal of 'unknown' money not used for supporting the country's economy, or is it just hidden away in a bank where no one spends it? With so much secrecy how do you even know what money is what?

Some people know, some people make wild assumptions before making very discreet retractions.

I forgot a lot of people on this forum know everything.

As as Swiss, I can certainely agree that customer service could be much improved in Switzerland. I wouln'd mind having more flexible opening hours either. Tough I must admit: I consider this a minor matter which hardly impacts my life.

For you, Brits and Americans, this is a whole different matter: How to have a happy and fulfilled life and grow spiritually, if one can't buy a toaster on a Sunday afternoon? I just hope you find somehow the strength to overcome the ordeal you have to suffer during your expat-years in Switzerland.