...I used my protectia to get effective customer service...

A bit of background:  "In Israel, 'knowing someone' is EVERYTHING. It’s called protectia (you can imagine that this is translated as 'protection') and it gets you far. It’s someone knowing you or knowing someone who knows you, bringing you under their wing and connecting you to the right people. This is the system by which many things get done in this country. From meeting with the bank manager who is seemingly unavailable for the next 3 weeks, to getting a job interview, to getting a good deal on a T.V. set, it’s all about your aunt Ida knowing the boss—or being the boss, even better! (from Center for Intercultural Learning, Canada)


This past week flew.  I worked most of the week, celebrated a friend's birthday with a night out, swam a few times, and had a couple of quiet nights in with my roommates.  Shabbat was nice and restful; I had a weird 18 hour flu or bug or something, but on the whole it did not affect my eating habits.  I thoroughly enjoyed copious amounts of food both Friday night at a friend's apartment and Saturday at my apartment.  This week, our meal didn't have a theme (last week's was Mexican), but we threw together something quite yummy!!

Today, I had the morning off, and I decided to buy a hanukia (a menorah, the candelabra that is lit on Hanuka).  During my gap year, Nativ, between high school and college, I spent about four hours a week volunteering with an organization called Yad LaKashish, Lifeline for the Old (http://www.lifeline.org.il/).  The organization employs members of the elderly community, many of whom were immigrants, as artists to create unique works of art.  The organization does more for the elderly community than just providing a place to work, and the art they produce is really magnificent.  As soon as I decided to buy a hanukia, Yad LaKashish came to mind .

Today, when I went by the shop, there was a tour group visiting.  To my surprise, it was a group from Chicago!!  I knew one of the coordinators and we chatted a bit.  Then I continued my browsing.  There was a 1+1 sale (buy one get one free) going on throughout the store, and Chicagoans were milling about everywhere.  I found two hanukiot I liked, and  I took my choices to wait in line with the large group of Americans.  I recognized the woman working in the gift shop as the woman I worked with several years back, and I could see that she was under a lot of pressure from the immediate overcrowding of the gift shop.  I waited calmly and patiently (not very Israeli).  When it was my turn, I was told that the two hanukiot I had chosen were both new models and thus not part of the 1+1 sale.  She asked me if I wanted to make a different choice, and I said that I liked these the most.  I casually mentioned the fact that I volunteered here a few years back (slightly Israeli, using a protectia, at its lowest form) and that Yad LaKashish was the clear choice for me to buy a hanukia.  It was no surprise that the newest designs were my favorite.  I liked my first choice and decided to stick with it; I did not however, buy the hanukia that I had chosen to be my +1.  A few days earlier, I had received the quarterly Yad Lakashish e-mail update and recalled that there was a 10% sale going on for all purchases under $100.  I asked if she could apply the discount because my choice was not part of the 1+1 sale, and she said she would check. She then asked me if I was part of the group that was visiting.  I told her no, and she asked me if I could wait a few minutes.

I was in no rush, so I decided to wait (also not very Israeli), but a few minutes became five and five became ten.  It was so Israeli when I used my protectia, my volunteering relationship, to get effective customer service.  I finally turned to her very calmly but firmly and said "Rivka, I really need to get going."  As soon as she heard that I used her name (our whole conversation, from start to finish, had been in Hebrew, which was probably to my benefit when up against a group of Americans; she wasn't wearing a name tag), she quickly finished the order she was ringing up and helped me: she gave the 10% discount, asked me what my name was, we chatted a few minutes as the rest of the group waited.  At the end of the exchange, I walked out a happy camper, and she smiled because of the calm I was able to offer her from within the bustle of the tour group.  I was pleased with my purchase, and also proud of myself for not getting pushed to the back of the line.

My new hanukia.  The windmill spins!

In Israel, it's all about protectia, using who you know to get where you need to be.  In this case, it was simple protectio, but often it takes a bit more.  It has never been my way to get something without putting in the necessary effort; I am not a social climber.  But just as Israelis use protectia in all aspects of their lives, I am beginning to be more confident in incorporating the concept little by little into mine as well.