Lesson Six, Culture

Forms of Shopping

Although large American-style grocery stores are mushrooming in recent years, shopping is still by-and-large performed in a series of smaller stores and open-air markets. This is particularly true for grocery shopping. There are four majors kinds of institutions in this regard:

• small general shops run by one or two shop attendants called prodavnica, radnja, dućan or granap, which are somewhat of an equivalent to an elaborate 7/11 or Circle K. The difference is that these stores are frequented more often than their American counterparts and that they are normally located in residential areas rather than at gas stations.
• self-service grocery stores, called samousluga, samoposluga, or samousluživanje (all mean: self-service), as a rule much smaller than their American counterparts (Safeway, IGA, etc.).
• specialized shops such as butcheries, called mesara or mesnica; bakeries, called pekara; fish stores called ribarnica; etc.
• market places, called pijaca or tržnica, are somewhat of an equivalent to an elaborate farmer's market in the United States, yet frequented regularly.

In a typical case, families in the region would shop for fruits, vegetables, and often meat, fish, and dairy products at the market place once a week while running other more frequent errands at small shops and self-service stores. These products tend to be considerably less expensive at the markets.

All other errands typically run in a series of smaller specialized shops scattered across the town rather than concentrated in malls. Although, there are some department stores, called robna kuća, that are typically smaller than their American equivalents (e.g., Sears, JCPenny, etc.).

Sometimes, various fairs and exhibitions are a good occasion to purchase products. The two best known fairgrounds in the region are Velesajam in Zagreb, Croatia, and Sajam in Belgrade, Serbia.

Recently, some products from the region can be purchased on-line anywhere in the world. Take a look at, for example, Robna kuća.

Culture of Shopping

In general, a shopper should expect far less courtesy and rights than in the United States. That means that shop keepers are generally less courteous and that it is often close to impossible to return products to the shop. Returns are theoretically possible only when there is obviously something wrong with the product and even then, it may be rather difficult to enforce it.

Overcharging happens more often than in the United States. It is often more of a strategy of stealing from clients than a product of mistake. One should be very careful and double check all sums especially when running a long list of errands.

Bargaining is allowed and oftentimes even expected only at marketplaces. The phrase to use here is Može li za [lower price]? 'Can it be [lower price]?', e.g., Može li za dvije marke? 'Can it be two marks?'

It is common to leave small change (called kusur at all shops as a kind of tip). The phrase when doing that is U redu je 'It is ok, lit. It is in order'. The amount is normally not more than 1-2% of the purchase.

In general there are far more direct cash transactions than in the US. Credit cards are not used that often.

Banks

Each country of the region features a myriad of both domestic and international banks. Most of these banks are available on the Internet. Here are several examples to give you an idea about their services: Banks in Sarajevo, Bosnia; Central Profit Bank, Bosnia; Raiffeisen Bank - Bosnian branch; Croatian National Bank; Centar banka, Croatia; Dresner Bank - Croatian branch; Zagrebačka banka; National Bank of Serbia and Montenegro; Delta Bank, Serbia.

In general, credits and mortgages are less commonly used than in the United States.

Banks are normally open from 8am to 7pm.

One important function of the banks is foreign currency exchange. Local currencies are as follows:

• Bosnia: convertible Mark (in the original: konvertibilna marka, KM)
• Croatia: Kuna (in the original: kuna)
• Montenegro: Euro (in the original: evro)
• Yugoslavia: Dinar (in the original: dinar)

The region features stock exchange markets, such as Belgrade Stock Exchange and Zagreb Stock Exchange.

Telecommunications

Until the 1990s, all telecommunication services were concentrated in the state-owned PTT (i.e., pošta, telefon, telegraf 'mail, telephone, telegraph') network. Post offices still render such services (all kinds of letters and packages, telephone calls, telegrams, etc.). However, in recent years we are witnessing increased decentralization of telecommunications, in particular as numerous mobile telephony and internet providers emerge. The following two examples show the current range of services Croatian Telecom and Telecommunications in Belgrade. Here are further examples of mobile telephony and Internet providers in Belgrade, Serbia.

Regardless of the technology phones use, the following are country dialing codes:

Bosnia	++387
Croatia	++385
Serbia and Montenegro	++381
United States (from the region)	001

TV and Radio Stations

Each of the countries and entities in the region hosts one major state-owned TV and radio station. Those stations cover the entire territory of their respective countries. There also exist an array of other, privately owned TV and radio stations, which, as a rule, cover a limited area (usually only major urban centers). Satellite dishes and cable TV providers are very common in urban centers - they offer numerous Western European stations, such as CNN, Sky, BBC, RTL, etc.

Central state-owned TV and radio stations are as follows:

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Radio-televizija Federacije BiH
Republic of Srpska	Radio-televizija Republike Srpske
Croatia	Hrvatska radio-televizija
Montenegro	Radio-televizija Crne Gore
Serbia	Radio-televizija Srbije

Click here to search other popular radio and TV stations.