June 19, 2004
Capitalism In Hungary
Hungary was always a more progressive socialist state. Even in the days behind the iron curtain free enterpise was to be found everywhere - you just weren't allowed to sell "Stalin Sucks" t-shirts.
Now 15 years after the iron curtain was drawn, Hungary has completely embrased capitalism. It has also embraced open markets and free trade zones. Its a place where anyone and everyone can and does do business. (As one can see with the number of French, Germain and other foreign BIG BOX stores everywhere).
Still - one can tell when talking to the people there that they still don't quite get how to do business well. They understand how to open a store. They understand how to compete on price. They even understand marketing and branding... But they haven't the foggiest idea about customer support and customer retension.
They also have this weird idea that no matter how shitty service is or how often they try and screw customers over - that they will somehow stay in business for ever. It seems as though many businesses in Hungary don't think that their customers talk to anyone... They don't seem to get the idea that if one person has a bad experience that they are likely to tell their friends about it...
On the other hand it seems to be a cultural thing with the citizens to not complain and not demand better service. After all for many years they had no choice and there was nobody to complain to. And maybe now the people of Hungary have choices and people to complain to - but have an apathetic view of it all and think "there's just no point".
Of course, what they haven't figured out is that if enough of them complain or enough of them stop shopping in certain places things are likely to change (and quickly).
So if anyone is thinking of opening a business in Hungary - here are some tips for you.
Price fairly and delivery everything you promise.
Have a liberal refund policy.
Have customer service take action in front of the customers eyes.
Offer free delivery.
Offer volume discounts.
Do a little extra for your customers without them asking.
Offer alternatives.
Embrace your competition and encourage your customer to compare you to them.
Do any or all of these things and you will KILL the comptetion and own the market you go after.
While they get the basics of capitalism - they just don't know how to compete.
andre
More about Hungary
Places I've been.
Kalocsa
Paprika capital of the world. Maybe that's an overstatement - but not by far. Over 3% of the entire world supply of Paprika comes from this little town in Hungary. There I went to the Paprika museum (no joke). Kalocsa is also famous for its particular style of folk art, embroidery/lace and decorative painting. When most people think of Hungarian folk art they think of the designs from this region.
Matra Mountains
I went to the Matra mountings for a weekend to a town called Matrafured. There you find the highes peak in Hungary at Kekes Teto (Blueish Top) - which we nimbly scaled with the aid of a 1997 Chevy Lumina. At the top is a transmission tower covered in microwave dishes. For about $2.50 CDN you can go up the tower for a better 360degree view over the treetops. The lookout is open air - so if you are iffy about heights this might not be for you... there was also a closed observation deck / cafe - but the windows are hardly clear so photos from there are virtually impossible.
The one day that I was there I was talked into taking a walk to one of the lower observation towers close to where I was staying. Turned out to be only a 7 minute walk up a hill. So the walk continued to the next highest lookout by a tiny lake (pond) up the side of one of the mountains. That took another 40 mintues along some well marked moutain trails. It was quite pretty - and even for a person like myself, that isn't entirely fond of excersise, it was a worth while cardo-vascular workout.
The moutains border the Eger wine region. The region is best known for its Egri Bikaver (Eger's Bull's Blood) wine. (Which incidently makes a lovely summertime cocktail if mixed with ice cold lemonaide - a recipe discovered in Cuba over 14 years ago).
Eger
Eger is the town at the center of the Eger wine region. As you arrive you will notice wine cellars in the hills lining the roads all the way into town. We didn't have time to do wine cellar tours, but if that's your thing there are plenty to choose from.
Eger has the second largest Catedral in Hungary - which has a 130 foot dome. Across the street is one of the buildings that make up a small university in town. The building is open to the public and has an astronomy museum. For about $2.50CDN you can climb the stairs to the top of the observatory. The museum itself isn't exciting (unless your an astronamy buff) but the view of the town from the top of the tower is outstanding. Once again, this was an open air lookout - so it had me a bit nervous.
Eger also features quaint narrow cobblestone streets lined with boutiques and cafe's. Everything appeared to be quite affordable. A quick walk through the streets brought us to an indoor/outoor farmers market near the town center. (There we actually purchased some wild mushrooms that we later made into a stew - this was a roll of the dice because there are serveral deaths anually from the consumption of poisonous mushrooms).
2-300 meters form the town centrum is the old city castle/fortress (or Var in Hungarian). For about $3.00CDN you can tour the site and its museums inside. There are guided tours of the catacombs - but you will need to know Hungarian to understand anything.