Responsive, sophisticated web site designs, but you still have to type “www” to get to them.
Uruguay, you never cease to amaze me.
Welcome to Uruguay. Please type “www.”
Category: Commerce
Products, services, marketing, names
Moving carton mystery
- All people leaving Uruguay move to English-speaking countries, or
- The moving companies has boxes in different languages, depending on the client, or
- They just love possessive apostrophes, or — ?
I will stop whinging about prices. For a moment, anyway.
Five years ago, edible coconut oil simply was not available in Uruguay. Couple years ago, you could find it in health -oriented stores. Now you can buy it in Tienda Inglesa.
I took this picture because it seemed appallingly expensive. Turns out that yes, you can get it cheaper on the USA, but you can also pay more.
Maximizing inefficiency in Uruguay
Well, not long ago I praised the “hipermercado” Géant which I had previously skewered for their thoughtless shopping cart arrangement. Turns out I was overly optimistic. Next time we went, I thought I‘d grab a cart from the front of the queue.
Wrong: they want the same carts used over and over, every customer having to back one out.
At least their other store, our local Disco supermarket, had a pull-through arrangement. At least until very recently.
Now they have actually installed a barrier to prevent convenient retrieval of shopping carts. Customers now have to back their cart out into the crowded area in front of the exterior door, then jockey through the one-at-a-time entry.
Unbelievable. Almost. Because Uruguay.
Géant catches on
I mentioned the clueless shopping-cart situation at Géant, the “hipermercado” near the airport, where they line up the carts in a dead-end stall, and you have to pull one out backwards before entering the store.
Well, lo and behold, they now ask you to take your cart in the parking lot from the place you return it. Why not?
Strange color name for a toilet seat
The gardener
¡Milagro!
OK, not exactly a miracle, but feels like one after buying plastic ice trays that start breaking within a few days: orange ones purchased at Disco supermarket.
Even after ten days in the land of low prices / high expectations (that would be ‘Murka; Uruguay being the land of high prices / low expectations), I still joy in something as simple as cheap orange ice trays that eject intact ice cubes — the entire tray! — and have shown no sign of cracking after several weeks.
Price shopping
We have two supermarkets in Atlántida, Tienda Inglesa and Disco, the latter a bit more down-scale. Because the wait for a cashier in Disco is often considerably longer, and it’s just a dingier experience overall, I seldom go there, but got inspired to compare prices.
I think that might change. A cashier offered that they also give you a further 10% on ten bottles or more, something I’ve certainly never heard at Tienda Inglesa.
Turning the heat to “low”
Amongst many other curiosities in Uruguay (such as virtually every refrigerator sold with a door that opens to the right, usually not reversible), you’ll probably end up with a gas stove that is not jetted properly for the “Supergas” sold here. Light the burner, turn it back towards “off” slightly, and if it’s the only thing you’re cooking, put some more distance between pan and heat!