First shop, advertising itself as a “diamond and watch specialist”:
Me: “Can you stick a new battery in this watch (an ordinary Seiko) and replace the seal?”
Assistant: “No, we’d have to send it away for 6-8 weeks. We don’t have the special tools here.”
The last time I changed the battery was in Dubai, where a bloke in a kiosk did it in 15 minutes.
Second shop, two minutes later, specialising in video games:
Me: “Where are the PC games?”
Assistant: “Oh, we don’t do those any more, but if you go to our other branch in…”
Me: “Nah, I’ll download it instead.”
A nation of shopkeepers, indeed.
UPDATE
Watch battery changed in Phuket in 5 minutes for $6, including leak test. Computer game purchased in Phuket for $15.
I routinely change batteries in my French watch (brand now obsolete) in … local shoemaker’s shop. A small 1-room hole-in-the-wall near subway exit, where people come to hammer in a broken heel or fix a zipper. Cost me $8.
Thanks, US melting pot, for Bukhara-Jew shoemakers and their public service.
I change mine at a stall in the market. I think the bloke is Vietnamese.
$6? They saw you coming.
It’s Phuket, everything costs 50% more here.