What We Want is Not Always What We Can Get

OPED

Let us drop our political concerns this once and embark on something more humane like our regular happiness day in day out, part of which, as I understand, must be the agreement between our desires and solvency.

Georgia is a typical country of contrasts, where prices for service are of a Western level and the ability of the majority of people to pay for that service is as low as it would be in any developing country, maybe even less. Incidentally, I recollected here my son’s quick joke of several years ago: ‘Dad, it’s so frustrating to have a Lord and Taylor eye, but a Wal-Mart pocket-book all your life’.

I do not exclude that one of the main obstacles to business development here is the fact that people want to use certain amenities, suggested by various businesses, but are unable to afford to do so. For instance, tourists do not want to return to Georgia because of price incongruity on many products and services, especially in the short summer season they intend to enjoy here. I come across sporadic stragglers in chic boutique or perfume stores in Tbilisi – another example of the sharp discord between our appetite and ability to quench it with dough.

Compounding the story, Georgia has places where it is just a pleasure to be. We have all heard, for example, about the Gino Paradise which is just a haven to hide out in for a day – with equal pleasure in winter and summer – but with summer offering something outstanding: numerous swimming pools, both outdoor and in, spas, eateries, entertainment and what not. They often do courtesy admissions in special cases, giving a chance to those who cannot afford the pleasure. I have personally witnessed some of those events a couple of times. The other day, Gino Paradise hosted the schoolchildren from socially vulnerable families to enjoy an entire day program, including transportation and food. On the other hand, Gino is a business which was created thanks to a huge financial investment, and it is easily understandable that it needs to make money to operate as a remunerative enterprise. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to stay in business. Gino definitely has ample clientele, especially in the summer season, but the regretful thing is that the general economic situation among the broader population does not allow all of us to splash in the wavy waters of its main pool under open skies.

What I am trying to say is that sometimes Georgia amazes us with the level of service business, like Gino. Yet sometimes even at its lowest prices, it might still be financially out of reach to many of us, the reason being the low standard of living in the country rather than prices there. Frankly, the same kind of service would have cost us in America five times as much, if not more. What can businesses like Gino do? Should they go for charity all the time? Impossible! Lower the prices to the minimum level? Then you cannot run the business at all!

So, how to turn things around? Probably, through the general enhancement of living standards in Georgia to the point where entertainment centers like Gino would thrive thanks to the solvency of the population. Otherwise, there might be an empty plot, as there was not very long ago, just where Gino stands today. Nobody wants that to happen. Just the contrary, we all wish to have our water parks full of kids and their happy parents watching their progeny learning how to swim, how to become physically fit and how to relax.

Gino is just an example. There are numerous other businesses that are sailing in the same boat with Gino. Generally speaking, entrepreneurs in Georgia, both foreign and local, are trying hard to build useful businesses – spending a lot of money on this – to make profit and to cater to all desires and appetites, but they also need people in the market who can pay for their service. Why would their efforts make sense otherwise?

Nugzar B. Ruhadze