[D'Espice]

So I went shopping today... it was a beautiful day, sun was shining, birds singing, I was in a really great mood when I entered Media Markt (kinda like CompUSA) in order to get myself some new speakers for my PC.

You know how when you enter a store in the US, somebody almost immediately tries to help you (given that he/she is not talking to some other customer(s) currently)? Or at least they notice you're there and come over to help their customers as soon as possible? See, that's what I really miss in Germany. The salesperson will never come to your help, you have to find somebody willing to help you and ask him/her. Not that one can get any real help cause most of the salesmen are retards... but it's hard enough to find somebody to talk to at all. They're either busy talking to each other or friends or in general just don't care enough and (this has really happend to me a couple of times) run away as soon as they see you.

I was browsin' through their speakers for like 30 minutes, looking all confused and unsure and clearly looking for assistance. Of course, nobody gave a tiny Yeti's ass so I had to hunt down a salesperson. The guy was talking to some girl and clearly she was not a customer... you usually don't talk about your summer vacation to total strangers. Anyhow, after ten minutes of standing there and whistling I finally felt like interrupting them (given that my presence clearly wasn't helpful at all).
As expected, the guy didn't know nothin' about speakers, told me to "better read some reviews next time"... which was when I was very glad I didn't have a baseball bat handy.

The second person I successfully hunted down and asked didn't know **** either, but told me that "the guy over there is an expert" and pointed to Mr. Flirty.

Anyhow, I left the store with only two new cables for my old speakers and two DVDs (which I got quite cheap) only to realize, that they charged me two bucks too much for one of the DVDs. Now one would think they'd be sort of embarrassed but once again, they didn't give a sh**. I had to talk to four different people until they finally decided that it was their fault/mistake and that I was not too stupid and returned my two bucks.


I can already hear you saying "meh, that's probably just a coincidence, it can't be that bad over there" but no - that's everyday life in German stores. Whether it's Media Markt or a grocery store doesn't matter - these retards don't know what service is. The problem is, that if somebody is rude to your customers in the US, you can get rid of that person in no time - not in Germany. It's really hard to lay off people no matter how much they suck. That's what's wrong with this country... just had to vent somehow.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Boy you have been away from Macnn for a while. You forgot to add "but it's America's fault."

If it's any consolation, US salespeople can be overly willing to help. I've been all but chased out of some stores by a pack of commission-hungry sales staff. I'd have to say also that my most stand-out sales experience was at a (sadly, now defunct) camera store in Cologne. They pulled the camera (a Leica) out, sat me down at a nice table, offered me coffee. and answered my questions knowledgibly, and so on. It was the most low-key and subtly seductive technique. Only my lack of money prevented me from buying a camera I really didn't need.

On the other hand, I have the oddest experience every time I go to an Apple store. The staff are available and willing to help right up to the time when I want to buy something. Then they invariably disappear and make me stand in a long line for one lonely and incredibly slow cashier. Sometimes, I have had to wait up to ten minutes just to pay them money. It's very annoying.

[phoenixboy]

Originally posted by D'Espice:
So I went shopping today...

i can point you to a couple of good clothing stores...it looks like you need all the help you can get in that "department". *scnr*

[DeathToWindows]

same bloody thing here at compusa - salespeople with pea-sized brains... and nasty attitudes. yecch.

[Lateralus]

Originally posted by DeathToWindows:
same bloody thing here at compusa - salespeople with pea-sized brains... and nasty attitudes. yecch.

That applies more to Best Buy than CompUSA.

[Sage]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
On the other hand, I have the oddest experience every time I go to an Apple store. The staff are available and willing to help right up to the time when I want to buy something. Then they invariably disappear and make me stand in a long line for one lonely and incredibly slow cashier. Sometimes, I have had to wait up to ten minutes just to pay them money. It's very annoying.

My dad's had a bad experience with the local Apple Store lately... on my birthday (March 16th), he went to buy a new battery for my iBook. They said that they just got a new shipment, but hadn't looked through it yet. So my dad visited again a week later – They said they'd get more batteries later. He visited a couple weeks after that – Same story. During each visit, none of the salespeople offered to go to the back to even check for batteries.

[Tomster]

CompUSA and Best Buys are stellar compared to Fry's Electronics. Which was why someone was inspired to create the following site. Funny, but alarmingly true.

[dtriska]

I did a project on Wal-Mart's entry into Germany not too long ago. German shoppers, the research goes, tend to be less reliant on employees. Well, Wal-Mart has this policy called the Ten Foot Rule. Basically, whenever a customer comes within ten feet, an employee is supposed to look into the customer's eyes, greet him, and ask if he needs any help. This, as you can guess, really annoyed the Germans.

Can you guess how customers reacted to the greeter?

[D'Espice]

It annoyed Germans? It is true, that Germans in general are not that friendly, or so it seems. They don't know what small talk is, if you say something like "it's so nice to see you, how's the family doin'?" they give you a pretty weird look and back up. But I can't image anybody getting annoyed just cause somebody was being friendly...

I would really like a Walmart employee to greet me, to look me in the eyes. But then again, I'm not German. So far, I haven't seen a single employee (whether Walmart or whatever) that I didn't have to hunt down.

PS: There's also a Ten Foot Rule in Germany: Whenever a customer comes within ten feet, RUN FOR YOUR LIVE!!!!

[Gankdawg]

Originally posted by Tomster:
CompUSA and Best Buys are stellar compared to Fry's Electronics.

http://www.bestbuysux.org

[theolein]

Originally posted by D'Espice:
It annoyed Germans? It is true, that Germans in general are not that friendly, or so it seems. They don't know what small talk is, if you say something like "it's so nice to see you, how's the family doin'?" they give you a pretty weird look and back up. But I can't image anybody getting annoyed just cause somebody was being friendly...

I would really like a Walmart employee to greet me, to look me in the eyes. But then again, I'm not German. So far, I haven't seen a single employee (whether Walmart or whatever) that I didn't have to hunt down.

PS: There's also a Ten Foot Rule in Germany: Whenever a customer comes within ten feet, RUN FOR YOUR LIVE!!!!

Hehe, this is so true. Germans tend to have this cultural belief that being direct is better than being friendly, and it shows in shops with the personel tending to ignore your existence until you impose upon them and demand, preferably loudly, that they help you. I've got a veritable closet of stories from my years in Germany. Funnily enough, I got to prefer it over the years, as I found it saves one a lot of time haggling over niceties.

That said, I think the unfriendly mega-store employee is a world wide phenomenon, given tha my experiences with the same Media Markt chain here in Switzerland have been very similar to D'Espice's. In general, in a Swiss shop, someone will come over and ask if they can help, but most large supermarket employees will usually not do so, and ssking someone in a Media Markt if one can get WinXP Pro on a PC instead of WinXP Home is like trying to walk on water.

[Oisín]

It's the same a little North of the border (Denmark, that is)... in most stores, the staff will more or less ignore your existence until you approach them to ask them for help - of which I am very glad!

I've never been to the US, but here in China, you're attacked by a dozen staff people the second you walk through the door - it's annoying as hell!!! If I walk into a clothes store, I want to look around a little without being interrupted, and then when I've looked for a while, then I can ask for help! I don't need to be constantly surrounded by nitwit staff taking down the most horrible pieces of clothing in the store and telling me how good quality and cheap and blablabla this particular sweater is; I can make up my own mind about that, thankyouverymuch!!!

Obviously, I wouldn't want them to actually run away from me when I approach them, but if I want help, I'll ask!

[OreoCookie]

Go to Schilikon Valley (Schiller Stra�e near HypoVereinsbank, U4/5 at the Hauptbahnhof) for PC stuff (speakers). Litec is quite good, prices are good, but they expect you to know what you buy. But they usually know what they sell, so I think you might be able to get a good deal there.

[D'Espice]

I know Litec, been there like a gazillion times but when it comes to service and advice, I might as well ask my toilet bowl
The only good store there is Delektron, Landwehrstrasse. The guy really knows what he's doin' and selling but he ain't got any speakers.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by D'Espice:
I know Litec, been there like a gazillion times but when it comes to service and advice, I might as well ask my toilet bowl
The only good store there is Delektron, Landwehrstrasse. The guy really knows what he's doin' and selling but he ain't got any speakers.

Yes, the stories with the "Fetten Techniker" as my brother calls him. He said "Ich w�rde jederzeit auf seinen Stundenlohn und sein Wissen �ber Motherboards verzichten, wenn ich so aussehen m�sste wie er."

I haven't been to Delektron yet. My iBook was connected to my stereo at home, the sound beats that of any PC speakers.