Siguro marami sa atin ang makakarelate nito lalo na yung mga flaf owner! Tama nga naman haris ang hari ng ating inuupahan. sa tagala ko na nangungupahan sa kuwait minsanan ko lang nakikita ang may ari ang building na aking inuupahan.
Basahin po ang artikulo ni Muna Al-Fuzai Mula sa Kuwaits times may mga tips din siya !
“The janitor of a building is called a haris in Kuwait, and he is indeed an uncrowned king. He knows everything about everyone. He is the one who deals with the residents, the building owner and even the police in case of trouble. He is a 24/7 eyewitness. Because of this, he has power. But I think it is too much and that is why some of these men cross the line. Does this make sense or is this normal in Kuwait? Some of the harises misuse this power and act in a greedy way and even arrogantly towards residents.
Some control themselves out of fear that the owner may get a complaint and they may get fired. Although I have never seen a haris getting fired due to complaints by tenants because most of the owners are rich and busy with increasing or collecting the rent, so any complaint against the haris never reaches their ears.
When a flat is vacant, the haris as part of his duty shows the flat to prospective tenants. While the people check the flat, he normally checks on them and their income – most importantly how generous they are so he can be sure to get his tip in case they get the flat.
He is not entitled to a commission, so he usually tries to test these people, and those who treat him better win the contract. It is all in the hand of the haris more than anyone else. When you go to a building looking for a flat, you don’t meet the owner. In fact, you may stay years in a place and never meet the owner because it is more than enough to face the haris.
Sally is one of my good readers and her friend came across a common practice by harises here when she was looking for a place to rent. She said her friend wanted to rent a flat in Salmiya, and found one. But the haris of the building who was an Egyptian asked her to pay KD 250 to sign the contract.
In addition, the haris demanded KD 200 as his pocket money, plus KD 10 extra per month to dispose the garbage. She added that the haris is not even cleaning the building despite taking money from the tenants, and the way he spoke was very rude. Is the building owner aware or not of this, I have no idea.
I agree with Sally about the haris being rude because he thinks he is the one who has the final word and the owner would believe everything he says. I think the owner knows about his rudeness but doesn’t care.
All owners care is to fill up their buildings with people and get their money on time.
My tip for those who seek to rent a flat is that they should not accept a contract for less than a year, if not five years. I have heard about people who accept a contract for three or six months and I think some owners take advantage of the need of people to quickly get a place to stay by such unfair agreements.
Another tip: The haris is not your friend and you should maintain an official tone while dealing with him.
Keep your distance. The haris thinks he is a king, but he is just an employee. He is not entitled to any pocket money too. Some harises are good and honest but this is rare.
I believe the problem is not with the haris, but with the owners who give the haris the power to interfere in everyone’s business, and the haris only acts upon the wishes of his master. I pray for all those who deal with a rude haris. He is trying to make a living over you.”
Via kuwaittimes