“Ay wala.” (“Shucks, we don’t have it.”)

There sure is a big difference between retail conversations in Japan or the US versus here in the Philippines.

How many times have you been replied with the ultimate answer of “Ay wala” to every product you are looking for in a hardware store or a computer retail store?

Before you can even open your mouth, this person in front pretending to go out of his way to be helpful already has the words “ay wala” in his head. In fact so many times, these “retail specialists” actually back pedal and find out that they indeed have the product you need. What the ?*!*? If I were the store owner, what am I paying you for? Are you just dang lazy to check out what models or stocks you have?

What is worse is that is where the conversation ends. In Japan or the US, a typical conversation would go like this –

“Do you have a 1280 x 800 CRT monitor?”

“I’m sure we do. Let me check. Which brand did you have in mind?”

“I want to check both Samsung and AOC models.”

“Okay. We have both models in stock. The prices are …”

In the Philippines, the same conversation would more often than not go like this ---

“Do you have a 1280 x 800 …. ”

“Ay wala.” (said of course with a whimper-ish face.)

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