Saturday 21 December 2024 (UAE)
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Dubai FAQs user survey results
Dubai FAQs visitor and user surveys - results, reviews, questions, answers, explanations, help, information.
| Survey date | Question | Nothing | Everything | Not clear or found | No answer | Comments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Nov 2013 | Site dislikes | 33% | 16% | 16% | 40% | ||
| 22 Aug 2013 | Site dislikes | 45% | 10% | 45% |
What don't you like about this website?
Question asked to random visitors to site. Responses are comments or questions about site, below is list of visitor questions and our answers or explanations to selected questions.
21 Nov 2013 survey results - some comments
- Q: Does not tell you how to put apply for invitation letter for a visit visa?
A: Invitation letter is not necessary, only passport copy and application form.
- Q: Website does not use Flash?
A: Site design is intended to avoid using Flash.
- Q: How to apply for visa if US citizen?
A: For visit visa no application necessary for USA citizens, free visa available on arrival. For residence or other visa, nationality is not a factor, same procedure as for all nationalities, explained in visa application sections.
- Q: School phone numbers out of date. School listings out of date - some schools are closed.
A: Listings are being continually updated as new information becomes available but we know we don't have everything up to date. If any specific school names are sent to us we will check more promptly.
- Q: One page listing all school fees for comparison.
A: The school directory listing pages for each emirate have a column with school fees (where available). Many schools do not make their fee schedules publicly available, or notify us of updates. We'll consider a separate page for schools and fees if it's not too much duplication of information already available on DubaiFAQs. We are aware of other sites that do something like this. The irony is that they have simply copied our school fee page tables - we know this because they have the same errors that we made in some entries.
22 Aug 2013 survey results - some comments and questions
- Q: Font size is too small to read, can it be increased by one point at least?
A: We agree, at least when viewed in the Chrome browser. We'll try increasing font size 1-2 points. Viewer can also control in some browsers by pressing [Ctrl] together with scrolling the mouse wheel to adjust zoom level. Browsers might also have a zoom option in the view menu.
- Q: Hotel advertising disliked.
A: Not sure what is meant. Dislike that hotels have advertising on the site, or dislike how they advertise? At present advertising is automated depending on page content. Ad format and style can be adjusted but adjustments are not dependent on what is being advertised. Some adjustments are made independently of the site developers. Further information needed to consider any changes.
- Q: Add government websites for UAE driving licence information?
- A: Update to be considered. Government websites related to driving and traffic in Dubai are Dubai Police, and RTA. Both are clumsy to navigate and when links are added to specific information, have ended up dead. A couple of other government websites - definitelydubai.com and dubai.ae - are not reliable, and it's not clear if they have original information or not, some of it is copied from our own dubaifaqs.com for example.
- Q: Some of the information is very out of date, not updated.
A: Yes, we are always updating. Sometimes pages get neglected for longer than others. If we are told to check specific pages then we will try to do that more promptly.
- Q: Dislike the large advertisements.
A: We prefer the smaller ads too but we are experimenting with different layouts and sizes. Recently we have noticed the format changed in a way that we dislike even more, so the format is being reconsidered.
- Q: Information is not given with 100% certainty, some of it is unknown, unclear, not sure.
A: We don't want to say we know something for sure if we don't. We'll do our best to try and find out but that's not always easy. Nor do we want to accuse people and organisations of blatantly lying even when it's obvious to almost everyone that they are. We'd prefer to try and find a way to give them the benefit of the doubt, and let them be hoist by their own petards, but at the same time, try to give new, innocent, or naive readers some sort of warning or advice.- One problem in Dubai and the UAE is that official sources sometimes are unclear, contradictory, change their minds, don't notify the public about changes, or supply incorrect information. We, along with many other websites and media publications do the best we can with what is provided.
- A second problem is that a procedure might be variable depending on a number of factors which are difficult to explain clearly. For example an attractive female wearing revealing clothing when applying for documents to be processed might find a gentleman who gives her every assistance to efficently process her paperwork, even if it is incorrect or incomplete, and perhaps gives her an additional discount on whatever it is she is buying or paying for. Or she might be told to go home and dress more appropriately. Or additional costs might be made up and a delay in processing introduced because her number allegedly fell out of the computer. Or etc etc ... and yes this is an example that could apply anywhere in the world, but for some reason, inconsistencies seem to be more evident or prevalent in Dubai and the UAE, perhaps because of the wide variety of cultures amongst resident expats. In such situations it is not entirely correct to state official procedures when they have a degree of flexibility, however it is also not correct to state that the flexibility applies to anyone. It depends ... Wasta is a useful thing to read about at this point.
- A different kind of example which is more specific to the UAE is the processing of work permits and residence visas. It is common for companies to blame the UAE immigration authorities for processing delays, when in actuality, the immigration departments can be quite efficient. It turns out the the blame for delays often rests with either the employee providing incorrect or incomplete paperwork, or the company simply being dishonest about initiating the process (they haven't and have no intention of starting the process promptly as an unofficial way of testing new employees and dismissing them easily if they fail to measure up, but they lie to their new employees about processing being under way).
- An additional consideration is that we might perhaps occasionally without some degree of certainty sometimes possibly give an element of vagueness to our information more frequently than other sources. Our excuse is that it seems to be endemic in the UAE for people and organisations to say things with certainty when clearly they are not certain, and on occasion just plain wrong but don't want to admit it. This kind of attitude is more prevalent in some cultures. For example when trying to ask for directions in the Middle East and Asia, if someone doesn't know, they are more likely to make something up and give you the wrong directions than admit to not knowing. There are many Asian and Middle Eastern residents in Dubai. We would rather admit to not knowing something than pretending we know everything and give you wrong directions.
- There are also cultural and legal considerations. The laws in the UAE regarding publishing information on the internet are in a change of flux, and as a group of young men discovered in 2013, can be backdated when changed. Hence we are deliberately vague with some information since as far as we know that keeps us on the right side of the law reagrding stating things that might be true, but offensive to some people. In UAE culture and law, truth does not always take precedence over slander or libel in the court system.
- Q: Appreciate the links from university names to information pages but would like direct links to all university pages.
A: Need more information, don't understand the request properly.- A list of names and links to information about each university or institute in the UAE? We have attempted to do that with individual directory lists for universities and colleges in each emirate at the bottom of each university information page.
- Links to every page on a university website? If that means to reproduce the sitemap for each institute's website on the information page on Dubai FAQs, that would be impractical and also is not in line with what we are trying to do. We are trying to be an information website, not a link directory.
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