Saving face

In Asia saving face is culturally pretty big. I am told that it is a form of respect towards others & helps keep the peace. Personally I have only ever experienced it as a method to lie, cheat & avoid responsibility and my face has certainly never been saved as a result of it. It seems the phrases "I do not know", "I am wrong", "I did not do", "That was my fault" & "I am sorry" are not synonymous in cultures that 'save face'. I will give you a very small, non-medical example of this phenomena. 7 am - I call the water man to deliver a new container of water. 9 am - My khmer teacher is concerned that maybe the water man did not understand my request (it has after all only been 30 months that he has been receiving calls from me), so she calls him to check that he is coming - 'in a minute' she is told. 5 pm - I call my teacher to ask her how long is "in a minute" and she says she will call the water man to see if he has forgotten about me. 5 05pm - She calls me back to say that he delivered the water this morning. I tell her maybe he is confusing me with another house as I still have an empty container of water with the money waiting for replacement. She seems pretty certain that he has delivered to my address. I am also pretty certain, being that I am actually AT my address that he hasn't. She says she will re-check with him. I tell her it is not a problem if he has forgotten but it would be good if he could deliver this evening as I have no water in my house. 5 10pm - Second call from my khmer teacher telling me I am mistaken as he has told her he has definitely been to my house & delivered a new container of water already. HE DID IT HIMSELF. She is quite insistent that I must be wrong as he has said he has definitely done it already earlier today. Slowly & patiently I explain that I am at my house with an empty water container & the money for a replacement one. It is sitting in the same spot that I left it over 10 hours ago. It is fine if he has forgotten to deliver it but if he is insisting on 2 separate phone calls that he has done it already then he is just a liar. Please wait until 6pm & I will call again my khmer teacher urges. 5 15pm - silently the water man furtively comes up the steps to my house & replaces my empty water container with a new one. I watch through my screen door as he creeps away trying to mute the rustling plastic of the empty container.  I think he is a lying, incompetent idiot who can't even admit to forgetting my delivery & have the decency to admit it or say sorry. Not really sure how this saving face thing is meant to work but it is really not working for me.