I remember quite well what a nuisance it was to buy an airline ticket, especially in summer, when I was adolescent. If you remember, the ticket office was next to Tumanyan Statue. A few dozens of people used to gather in that narrow place and they stood in a line, naturally, in the Armenian manner, i.e. like a mob. It was considered a big success to buy a ticket after standing for only a few hours among that mass disorderly gathered around 4-5 ticket offices. Today you go to one of many ticket offices, sit in an armchair in a cool room and a good-looking girl patiently explains to you which option is more preferable for you. Certainly, the main reason is that say a ticket to Moscow cost 36 rubles at the time, which was one fourth of ordinary salary and now it costs 100 thousand AMD, which, frankly speaking, equals the average wage or is a bit less. This is the reality that has its positive and negative sides. In my opinion, the former are more, but talking about this will lead us very far.
The issue here is different. Why is selling airline tickets a business and say, notary services not? Have you ever been to the Kentron notary office next to Central Election Commission (CEC)? Let me describe it for those who haven’t been. Imagine a one-room apartment with a balcony, the latter is divided into two parts. Again a few dozens of people gather in the room and stand in a line in the Armenian manner again, added to that, copy girls. The two compartments of the balcony are occupied by notaries who probably have strong nerves to work in that chaos. And the work is basically to tell citizens “you lack this paper, bring it, make this copy there, make that payment here.” So I wonder whether there is no way to avoid this nuisance in our enlightened era.
Guess you want to sell or buy an apartment. You have to go to the above-described notary office, make payments, then go to cadaster, make payments, wait for two days, get a general notice etc. However, if there is such a demand for notaries, they should be ten times more and have many private offices, as lawyers do. Those offices should have internet connection with the cadaster units and all kinds of notices should be virtual, not hard-copy, in order that a citizen doesn’t run here and there to get them. So the notary can open the respective page on his computer and see that notice, receive payments for cadaster and himself and say goodbye to the customer. And citizens who have additional money can invite the notary to their homes, in order that he comes with his laptop and does the necessary things. In Yerevan and a set of other cities, it is technically quite possible.
If I can deal with the tax office in this way, why can’t I do the same thing with the others?
Read also
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
