From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,1116ece181be1aea X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-09-23 19:17:38 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail From: aek@vib.usr.pu.ru (Alexander Kopilovitch) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Is the Writing on the Wall for Ada? Date: 23 Sep 2003 19:17:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Message-ID: References: <8mgdmv08eaabv53vv5sofud2k40lbo0fdh@4ax.com> <6roimvg39s8h5ba64u9pn0trsa4d3u4kai@4ax.com> <4XCbb.13251$Uv2.12148@nwrdny02.gnilink.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 213.33.245.23 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: posting.google.com 1064369857 23475 127.0.0.1 (24 Sep 2003 02:17:37 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 24 Sep 2003 02:17:37 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:42837 Date: 2003-09-24T02:17:37+00:00 List-Id: Russ wrote: > Speaking of McDonald's, I remember reading several years ago that when > the first McDonald's "restaurants" were built in Russia, many Russians > assumed that the food being served was considered fine American > cuisine. Perhaps one of you Russians out there can tell me if that is > true. No, it certainly isn't true, it is just wrong angle of view. In those first McDonalds Russians didn't care about national character of cuisine, but paid attention to clean rooms and tables, quick service, good-looking and smiling boys and girls at all service points (they were common Russians, of course, but well-trained and well-dressed), modest (although not exacly cheap) prices. And exactly this environment (and not a cuisine) gained popularity for McDonalds here. Just one recent counter-example: about a month ago I was walking near the city's centre, and saw new "BlinDonalds" - local Russian clone of McDonalds (name from Russian "blin" = crape, pancake) . I entered there, thinking that, perhaps, I'm willing to eat such a "blin" now. Well, there were indeed good-looking and cheap meals, and the similar boys and girls at service points, but they weren't smiling - they were trained not to abuse a customer, but no more; and the service was very slow, the kitchen was open and entirely visible, and all the boys and girls shouted orders to the kitchen from time to time. After observing that situation for 5 minutes I left, because it became obvious that it will take minimum 15-20 minutes to get that "blin". I hope that this counter-example is sufficient for some understanding - why McDonalds became (and still are) quite popular here. Alexander Kopilovitch aek@vib.usr.pu.ru Saint-Petersburg Russia