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One banks is not the equal of another
Would banks in Asia and Russia be as powerful an institution as the German bank?
RE: Contention in Middle Eastern culture
It's all about saving face over there and not letting people tarnish your honor. Mr. Mojarrad probably takes the withdrawal as personal failures and is lashing out at Germany because he's sees his bank failing and Iran failing in the process. My observation has been this causes Middle EAsterns to use threats to try and get their way when negotiations would be a lot more effective. Iran seems to have a way of acting juvenille. Look at this whole situation like this and set it on a t-ball field:
International Community: Hey man, you can't play with an aluminum bat.
Iran: I can if I want.
International Community: No, you agreed not to. Come on, seriously.
Iran: I can. You can't make me. You're not the boss of me.
International Community: Ok. Then we're going home and taking our stuff with us.
Iran: Fine! See if I care! One day I'm gonna be a super-great t-ball player. Then when you wanna play, I won't let you. Screw you guys! There's kids down the street that'll play with me.
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Contention in Middle Eastern culture
It's odd, but the way Iran responded reminds me of an altercation I has with a gas station manager. I was overcharged and went back to get a refund. The manager demanded the return of the items, and after I explained the ice cream was no longer returnable, he would only concede to refund the difference in price. Given the obvious injustice of being overcharged, and having made multiple special trips to the station to get the refund, I demanded a full refund (similar to the policy they have at grocery stores). Rather than handle it professionally, the manager proceeded to yell things like, "I don't want your business! Go to Kroger across street!" - in front of a line of customers.
In any case, back to the point at hand: Is there something in Middle Eastern culture which conflicts with customer service? You know, sympathize with the customer, try to keep their business even if it means refunding the cost of an ice cream bar, etc. It may be an incorrect generalization, but it seems there is something either offensive in that culture about taking an issue to a manager (maybe it was because I was young?), or they just tend to deal with things in a more ... contentious manner (e.g., the political situation above).
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