first world problems. where my wife is from, they don't even have hot showers unless you're staying in a hotel...

Not when you live in flooded area and your bed sits like an island in water. Believe me, you start to appreciate the silly old blankets.

Yeah but when the pump intended to get out the water from your little in-home island doesn't even start as it's over 40 years old, then you'd appreciate the more pro-active approach.

Absolutely. But we don't live there.

We are fortunate enough to live in a place where one could and should expect prompt and continuous service, even at a price premium.
I'm sure the OP wouldn't have minded paying extra to get the issue fixed on the same day - at least, I wouldn't. Problem is, he didn't even have that option to begin with.

Especially at a premium price!!

http://first-world-problems.com/

The progress of priorities:

1940's:
- not getting bombed or shot
- Food
- Hot food
- Water to drink
- Warmth
- Shoes
- Clothes
- Electricity

1970's
- Hot Food
- Central heating
- Washing machine
- TV
- Car

1990's
- Car
- TV
- A fully detached with 2 garages and gardens and mod cons
- Rioja
- Malboro lights

2010's
- Facebook
- Internet
- Iphones/iPads
- Xbox/PS3
- Drive through macdonalds
....
25. Food
26. Water (hot or drinkable)
27. Clothing
....

The progress of priorities in Switzerland:

1940's - present:
- not getting bombed or shot
- Food
- Hot food
- Water to drink
- Warmth
- Shoes
- Clothes
- Electricity
- Internet

You forgot to mention one's own house, a rare luxury in Switzerland.

So Switzerland seems to be a Third World country, except in most other Third World countries homes are affordable and there is no lack of warmth.

How come there are so many foreigners that want to live in such a backwards country? Are they all stupid?

By the way, I love your "Water to drink" thing, especially from an American .

It's not the ancestors. It's today's Swiss who often refuse to improve roads and even decide to create all kinds of silly obstacles to make driving as slow and miserable as possible instead of building efficient, high throughput roads.

Well, first of all, the foreigners who want to live here are either from a real third world country or like the majority enjoy the tax "efficiencies" they get there. Trust me on this one, it ain't the Fleischkäse, Älplermagrone nor the friendly locals.
Also, most places where I've lived in the US, I drank the water straight from the tap....and look how well I turned out.


...the joke's on you I guess, as I'm actually Swiss.

Because many have families- and want to have their day off together. Because it is the day they go out with their friends, who are also off, the day they go on a ski club outing, the day there is a Fete, or a family gathering, etc. Because Sunday here, whether religious or not- is a SPECIAL day and that people want to keep it so- unless they work for one of the emergency service to deal with real EMERGENCIES. Because Switzerland is different to the US, and Swiss people actually want to keep it this way. Fair enough.

(she says having lived in the UK with a man who worked for a true emergency service and rarely had a normal week-end, Christmas or holiday, and it was a real pain - but worth it as it was essential).

Or the great outdoor life (which I appreciate you don't personally find attractive).

We spend the whole weekend outdoors flying kites, scrambling through forests and having picnics by beautiful mountain lakes (and we did a bit of shopping as well!)

Have you ever tried to call en emergency plumber at the week-end in London and at least the guy/s in Switzerland will have done a proper apprenticeship and would know what they are doing - unlike some of the guys in the UK who just buy a white van with a Plumber sign on it- and don't know their a**se from their elbow

sorry I'm with Odile, having no hot water for a couple of days is hardly the end of the world (and can you imagine the bill for getting a swiss plumber to work on a sunday on a call out lol)

..now see, I don't think flying kites is really something I would enjoy.

Proper apprenticeship...you are making me laugh.
I don't think I could finish writing a list of incompetents with a completed apprenticeship in Switzerland...from hairdresser to car mechanics to "insert profession here" I have never seen a country with more "qualified" nim-kom-poos than Switzerland. Seriously Odile? You must have gotten a beating with a very large Swiss stick. The fact that the complaints corner is filled with various eloquently written stories of Swiss incompetency and the fact, that if you are trying to get anything fixed, they take it apart, charge you 10 hours for it and then tell you, that they'd have to order a new one simply stresses the fact, that the apprenticeship here ain't really worth squat.

Where exactly did you live in the UK, Odile?

I once flew home from abroad late at night, in the middle of winter, with snow on the ground, to find that my boiler wasn't working - the flat was freezing and no hot water. I rang the gas board and a man arrived in under an hour and a half and fixed it.
And don't even get me started on Swiss hairdressers

I lived in several places in London, Surrey, Staffs and Leics- and other near on 40 years. Loved it by the way - but haven't got a good word to say about emergency plumbers!

You were lucky - you should watch Rogue Traders from time to time to see how much emergency plumbers charge and what they get up to. (Like disconnecting a wire, then tell you the whole boiler needs replacing, before taking a 'leak' in your sink! There are a few good ones true - but anybody in the UK can buy himself a white van and call himself a plumber. Not here.
We've had the situation described by LIB here - they tried for several hours to repair the problem instead of doing a full replacement, and we were very grateful. In the end, they couldn't repair, so apologised and said there was no choice but to replace, and only billed us for 2 of the 4 hours they took to try and repair. An good 4 year apprenticeship is certainly better than none, or a vague NVQ.

Got an excellent hairdresser here - but yes she is Polish

Speak for yourself, I'm from the US and I don't make nearly enough money to enjoy any noticeable tax advantages. I like the food and the locals.

My pipes froze over the winter on a Sunday and I had no trouble finding help. I imagine in this case it isn't the workmen who were at fault, but more likely than not the rental company didn't want to pay the extra fees for jobs outside of normal working hours.

It sucks, yes, but this has to be said: if you're going to be a plumber, shouldn't you be prepared to do the hours required?

In Canada at least, this is why plumbers, electricians, etc, get paid a lot more per hour than other workers - because of the hours expected from them.