Friday, July 11, 2014

Today's adventure-the park bench


The park bench.  As part of a larger project at my work site, we raised funds to buy two park benches for the outdoor activity area at the center.  For a few days, my partner, Sergiu, and I have been looking at the internet to see what was available in Moldova.  Most of the sites we found were in Chisinau and the cost of a park bench was 2,700 lei  ( $200).   Sergiu was concerned about the transportation cost to deliver park benches from Chisinau to Piatra.  It probably would cost 500 lei ($35) extra to bring them the 40 miles here.  So far you probably think we are talking about pretty small change, but to Sergiu the price of one park bench is more money than he makes in one month. 

So we decided to shop local and see if we could save the transportation cost.  Early in the morning I went to Orhei with Sergiu (10 miles).  We began by walking around town observing different styles of park benches.  The plaza of Vasile Lupo has just installed some very attractive benches.  We walked down the street to the Casa Cultura and saw a more modest style without a back support, just a flat seat surface on metal supports.  How do you like those? Sergiu asked.  Well for me I like a back rest, but this is mostly for children who will probably not notice, and its probably a cheaper product.  ‘They’re OK’, I said somewhat hesitantly.

Back we walk to the center part of town and keep on walking behind some buildings to what looks like a deserted alley.  There are some buildings here but they look abandoned.  In we walk to a courtyard.  Here is a metal worker painting a metal structure with gold paint over black to make it look like a distressed gold burnishing.  We’ve come to ask about benches, Sergiu says.  The man says the expensive part of it is getting the wood.  It’s hard to get.  I have to go to Chisinau myself and bring it here.  He takes us up a back stairway that is entirely metal made.  I say to myself, this man has made sure his everyday workshop is a safe place to be.  He shows us the drawings of his bench product and we ask ‘how much?’   Of course he says 2,700 lei.  (Does he check the internet?)  I am somewhat hesitant to encourage this option.  I see the person is a one man shop, he has other business on hand.  It may take a long time to finalize this deal.  We leave the shop with a promise to call.

I'm thinking to myself, why don't we just go to Chisinau, buy them and spend the $35 to deliver them?  

We go back to main street and notice some very nice park benches outside the Codru Restaurant.  We ask at the restaurant, Where did you buy these benches?  'Go around back to the office and ask' was our answer.  We enter the back door and find some office type people.  They hear our question about benches and say that they came from a shop in Orhei.  Sergiu tries to get information about where the supplier is located.  On the road to Balti, just as you leave Orhei, on the left.  That’s about all we have to work on.  Sergiu says we need to go to the autogara ( bus station) to catch a bus going in the direction explained.  We walk to the autogara.

When we arrived at the autogara, Sergiu kind of knew where to stand to catch the bus going north.  After we stood around looking like we knew what we were doing, Sergiu approached a group of drivers that were killing time before their departures.  He asks them questions about a metal works place just outside of town.  'Mmmm I don’t know, yeah maybe there is,  yes, yes…on the left.'  OK, maybe we were going to find it. 

he bus didn’t leave for 45 more minutes.  It’s a hot summer day in the 80’s and we have time to kill in the parking lot.  (At this point, an American would buy a coke or at least a bottle of water).   I thought that at this point I should use my networking skills and make a few calls on my phone.  I call one PCV who works at the Chamber of Commerce in Orhei.  Can you find out where the Raion Center got those new benches in the plaza?   I try another PCV who works with a business development organization here.  ‘Well my partner has a very good wood work shop and makes all sorts of things.’  No solid leads as yet.

The bus leaves and within 10 minutes we are there.  I paid for both of us as we left the bus.  Our village bus is 5 lei, so I gave the driver 10 lei.  When we got off, Sergiu says how much did you pay?   I say 10 lei.  Oh, no! he says.   It was only 3 lei apiece.  These type of money mistakes just kill Sergiu.  Consider that one lei is less than a US dime.  We find ourselves in something of a factory zone.  With a little walking around we find the metal works shop.  ‘Do you make benches?’   Yes, indeed and we are shown exactly the type of park bench we were admiring in front of the Codru restaurant.  ‘How much?’  Well it’s the wood that makes it expensive.  We’ve heard this before.  ‘One thousand one hundred lei  1,100 lei. ‘  BINGO!   We’ll take two of those.   How soon can we have them?   In about three weeks.


This looks like about the best deal we could hope for.  We’re getting a quality bench made right here in our raion center for half the price of the Chisinau market or of the one man artistan shop in Orhei.  Believe me, by the time we were done with this shopping exposition, I was ready for a park bench.

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