Define me Family

Yesterday my wife and I went to the Europe's first baby fair, the so called BabyExpo Vienna. As expecting parents we were expecting an opportunity to find various child care products that you don't see in regular shops. Alas, our expectations were not met at all.

The first problem we faced was the entrance fee they requested. I'm not accustomed to pay entrance fees when I go to a shopping mall. Why would I pay any fees when I want to go a sales fair? Because I live in a non-consumer-oriented market place (it's rather an employee-oriented place, more on this in upcoming blog posts), I didn't complain. Then, I saw the rates:

• Single person: 9 Euro
• Family (including 2 adults and up to 2 children): 15 Euro

We were a family of two adults and a baby still in his mother's belly. So I wanted to pay 15 Euro. But the sales person behind the cash register said something to my surprise: "You're not considered as a family, you must pay two adult rates separately."

This is strange in a country where you and your cohabiting partner are considered almost like a married couple. You may ask whether I complained. The answer is yes. I complained to no avail. That complaints result in no difference is something many Europeans know (but still give a try). As I said, it's an employee-oriented market place. Europe is the place where waiters or other kind of employees are always right, not the customers (even though they have a job thanks to customers in the first place).

We didn't buy anything at the BabyExpo because we couldn't find anything worth buying. We could just go the the main shopping street of Vienna (Mariahilfer Str.) and find more product choices. And, we wouldn't pay any entrance fees just because we wanted to shop.