Know when to hold em, Know when to fold em
Well I almost have a visa for France.
However. There are things in life that people do that amaze me.
Applying for a French visa is a lesson in bureaucracy! Firstly, you cannot send your logistics lady if you have not been previously granted a Schengen Visa. You must pitch up in person.
Next up, they open at 8.30 and close at 12.00. However, if 150 people pitch up, that’s all they will deal with in one day. So if 150 people Q at 9am, they close at 9am.
That said – I arrived at 9.40 and finally departed at 13.45. All the while moving from one seat to the next as one got closer and closer to the windows.
Now there was this lad and his wife. They pitched up with a visa application and a ticket. Nothing else. As they moved down the Q, they realized that they needed more than just that. The lad spent a while in and out of the building in the next 3 hours getting all his stuff together and photocopying what he needed.
He was ahead of me, so he gets up to the window and lo and behold STILL does not have confirmation of travel insurance. The lady points this out and he try’s to bluster his way. Said French lady is having none of this and basically sends him on his way with the bland statement of “you need to get your paperwork together and come back”
His response was “well you need not be so rude and can be a bit friendlier”
You could see all the people in the Q cringe. If there is an epitomy of bureaucracy on the other side of the desk, which has the power to (a) make your life difficult and (b) refuse your visa, best you be nice to them.
That said the lad vanished, but kept his wife in the Q. He returned at 12.10 with, I assume the required documents. As we all thought, the nice lady behind the counter took one look at him and said “sorry it is after 12, you need to come back tomorrow”.
He bitched, he moaned, she called a large French Gendarme type lad with a gun on his hip and said lad was removed. Sage nods from people in the Q. Never NEVER piss off the nice lady behind the counter if you do not want to be given the run around.
Another fun thing, A Visa costs R566.04. Why they did not drop the 4c is beyond me.
A lass waited for her 2c change after applying for 2 visa’s and the woman behind the counter – another one – was mortified that someone would ask for 2c change.
I assume the R3.00 extra at the end of the day in her till contributed to coffee.
I depart for Mauritius on Monday, in the face of a government strike. This should make customs at the airport an interesting trip. In theory I have to be there at 6.30 am.
It does not help to be there earlier, as prior experience told me that they do not open at 5am. Thus it is going to a bun fight if Customs put their management to work. Problem is, management in theory also goes on strike.
This management had lunch at Monte Casino today with a client. Came home and did some work.
I am now off for dinner
Oh the stressed life I lead.
However. There are things in life that people do that amaze me.
Applying for a French visa is a lesson in bureaucracy! Firstly, you cannot send your logistics lady if you have not been previously granted a Schengen Visa. You must pitch up in person.
Next up, they open at 8.30 and close at 12.00. However, if 150 people pitch up, that’s all they will deal with in one day. So if 150 people Q at 9am, they close at 9am.
That said – I arrived at 9.40 and finally departed at 13.45. All the while moving from one seat to the next as one got closer and closer to the windows.
Now there was this lad and his wife. They pitched up with a visa application and a ticket. Nothing else. As they moved down the Q, they realized that they needed more than just that. The lad spent a while in and out of the building in the next 3 hours getting all his stuff together and photocopying what he needed.
He was ahead of me, so he gets up to the window and lo and behold STILL does not have confirmation of travel insurance. The lady points this out and he try’s to bluster his way. Said French lady is having none of this and basically sends him on his way with the bland statement of “you need to get your paperwork together and come back”
His response was “well you need not be so rude and can be a bit friendlier”
You could see all the people in the Q cringe. If there is an epitomy of bureaucracy on the other side of the desk, which has the power to (a) make your life difficult and (b) refuse your visa, best you be nice to them.
That said the lad vanished, but kept his wife in the Q. He returned at 12.10 with, I assume the required documents. As we all thought, the nice lady behind the counter took one look at him and said “sorry it is after 12, you need to come back tomorrow”.
He bitched, he moaned, she called a large French Gendarme type lad with a gun on his hip and said lad was removed. Sage nods from people in the Q. Never NEVER piss off the nice lady behind the counter if you do not want to be given the run around.
Another fun thing, A Visa costs R566.04. Why they did not drop the 4c is beyond me.
A lass waited for her 2c change after applying for 2 visa’s and the woman behind the counter – another one – was mortified that someone would ask for 2c change.
I assume the R3.00 extra at the end of the day in her till contributed to coffee.
I depart for Mauritius on Monday, in the face of a government strike. This should make customs at the airport an interesting trip. In theory I have to be there at 6.30 am.
It does not help to be there earlier, as prior experience told me that they do not open at 5am. Thus it is going to a bun fight if Customs put their management to work. Problem is, management in theory also goes on strike.
This management had lunch at Monte Casino today with a client. Came home and did some work.
I am now off for dinner
Oh the stressed life I lead.
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