Bert was hired by a well-known multinational corporation as a representative in Saudi Arabia. There he was invited to Mr. Faud’s house to discuss the possible cooperation in a local joint venture. It was their first meeting and the conversation began with an informal small talk, such as: “How are you? How was your journey? How is your family? How are your parents doing?” etc. Mr. Bert, familiar with the greeting rules, answered: “Fine, thank you... My father is fine, but, unfortunately, his hearing has worsened recently... I saw him a few months ago, at Christmas, when we were taking him for a couple of days from the nursing home …”. From that moment on, something went wrong... Mr. Faud was quite hospitable and courteous, but showed no interest in doing business with his American colleague. What did Mr. Bert do wrong? What factors contributed to Mr. Faud’s loss of interest in Mr. Bert?

• Mr.Bert did not study the cultural characteristics of relationships in Arabic countries, that is why he did not know that he should not have mentioned Christmas when talking to Mr. Faud, because Arabs do not follow Christianity.
• Mr.Bert did not study the cultural characteristics of relationships within the Arab family where older generations are highly respected. When he said that his father was in a nursing home, Mr. Bert lost his partner’s trust.
• Mr.Bert did not study the cultural characteristics and etiquette rules in Arabic countries, where it is forbidden to give any specific detail about members of the family and their health problems, only formal “Fine, thanks” is allowed.