We're already in mid December! What does that mean? Christmas shopping!
Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and I actually do love giving presents! I'm even ok with buying them, though I get stressed with the crowds. Let's take a pause here. My hometown is close to Barcelona, and I've done many Christmas shoppings there... those are crowds! But I suppose I have adapted well to Finland. I thought Helsinki on a Wednesday afternoon was busy and crowded.
And there I was, in Stockmann's electronics department trying to get a Christmas present. I shan't write more to not reveal any suprise. And now let's try to get some help.
This being Finland I had to pick a number (even though there wasn't any queue), but that's fine with me; I like organization. And I got help of one of their experts. I'll try to reproduce the conversation and interject the silly feelings:
Me: "Hi, I'd like to know the differences between this product A and this B."
Stockmann-guy: "Yeah, ok... Hmmm... let me see. Well, B is more expensive than A."
Me: Well, I kind of can read that on the big price tag, can't it? "Ok, why would that be?"
SG: "Hmmm... in the little paper under the product it seems that A is clearly better than B".
Me: I also read that! "'Why is more expensive then?"
SG: "Yeah, it's weird isn't it?"
Me: Right eyebrow lifted up and pulse raising... "Thank you very much for your help, I'll come back later"
Now, let me say that I usually have found especially good service from Stockmann, with helpful people and guys that know the products. That's probably the reason why I get so annoyed when they're rude (happened once) or they have no idea what they're selling (happened today).
Maybe it's because I'm a bit (let's not start arguing now) of a nerd and I expect the guy selling me electronics to know more than me so he can help.
That's why I write something for all:
Dear Stockmann (and any store for that matter), when you put someone to sell something, please make sure that he/she knows something about the product. At the very least something more than the average customer.
Dear customer service or person-selling-things-in-a-store (I'm complaining about electronics mostly) , customers (in general) know how to read. The little labels under the products give some information, if someone asks is because they've read them and it's not enough. If you don't know, it's ok! Just go and grab the colleague that can help.
Dear annoyed customers (like me), try to not get mad or rude to those people in Christmas time. They are busier than usually and they may be just temporary jobs. And say "Merry Christmas" before you leave!
To the rest of you, have good Christmas shoppings!! I'm already ready with mine :)
- R
And if you need to complain or give feedback, always, always do it in a friendly way: Some time ago I had to complain about scratches in a lamp. I returned the lamp back to Stockmann (of course during Hullut Päivät, without the original receipt), they took it back and ordered me a new one. The next day they called me "mrs, you had forgotten to remove the protective film, the scratches are on the film". That was embarrassing :) But it would have been even more embarrassing if I had yelled while complaining.
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