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Customers are always right!

AL AIN - Twenty-two-year-old butcher Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed Ismael from Afghanistan arrived in the UAE two years ago and since then he has been working in a butchery near the vegetable and fruits market in downtown Al Ain.

Mohammed spends almost 14 hours and a half among piles of meat and a stream of customers. His job is to chop the meat into pieces of different sizes and weights, in addition to preparing minced meat.

Each day in his life comes with the same problem - the problem of constantly grumbling customers. His day begins at 6.30am.

"Along with two others, I work in two shifts. The first shift is from 6.30am to 2pm while the second is from 5pm to 11pm," he says.

"It is so difficult to satisfy different types of customers, some of whom are very fussy and some others who think that they are always right," he complains.

"Some customers order huge quantities of meat by telephone, but do not make payments on time," he adds. "Some customers even haggle over prices."

Mohammed is not married, but he certainly has marriage on his mind.

The discouraging factor is his salary, Dh1,200 a month, out of which he claims to be spending Dh700 on accommodation.

Like others, he too feels the pinch of the rising cost of living in Al Ain.

"After paying the rent, I am left with only Dh500 for my monthly rations and other expenses," he adds.

• UAE