Korean Job Discussion Forums

Yo!Chingo · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: Seoul Korea

Ok is it just me or do department store salespeople creep you out with their constant attention and the following? I went to Emart Saturday and made the mistake of going into the skin care/perfume section looking for a gift for my niece. Couldn't get away from the saleperson and she kept watching me like I was shoplifting.
Does anyone else ever have the feeling that they're watching not to be helpful but, let's be honest here they probably can't speak a frigin' word of english, to make sure the strange blond haired foreigner doesn't rip us off.
Just curious

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Yeah, they make shoplifting so damn difficult. It was all I could do to make it out of the bookstore with a few dirty magazines under my coat. Geez.

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

Hehe-- it's the opposite of most third-world countries I've been to. When I lived in Mexico, it was total peace and quiet in the supermarket or mall, but I couldn't browse for anything in a street market without people bugging me: "BUY BUY BUY YOU WANT THAT I'LL GIVE YOU A GOOD PRICE HOW ABOUT BUYING THREE GREAT CHOICE YOU WANT THAT".

In Korea, it's the opposite. No one hassles me in a street market, but I get swarmed if I go to a Lotte: "it's.. a.. pencil! write.. write.. pencils are.. for.. writing.." As she demonstrates the usage of the pencil.

Ken:>

riley · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me

They do creep me out at times. I don't believe they think I'm a shoplifter, it's just part of the service. They make me uncomfortable because I can just feel the waves of embarrassment coming off of them. (usually young ones) They know they should help me, but they don't know how, so they fall back on the whole embarrassment thing.
(this is all guesswork, just my feelings, so yeah, I could be wrong)
Sometimes I get frustrated by them, other times I try to be helpful. It just depends on what side of the bed I woke up on.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Going to Lotte when it's not busy is creepy. All those women in grey uniforms watching me walk by like I'm a dignitary performing an inspection. How can they possibly afford to have all those people standing around doing nothing most of the day? They sure do a good job of dissuading me from buying anything or spending much time there.

PolyChronic Time Girl · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Location: Korea Exited

Actually, it works opposite in my case. My husband loves taking me to Carrefour or Emart, and stand a little behind me, so he can watch how salespeople part like waves to get away from me. He loves it because it keeps the pushy salespeople away.

BigBlackEquus · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:33 pm Post subject:

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

They are over attentive because they have to be seen to be doing their job, working hard etc.
The whole Korean idea of service is strong here, you are the customer and they must be at your bec and call.
in the west we like to browse, try things on, and only ask for attention when we need it.
here, if you try a shirt on its tantamount to buying it, and they have been quite offended when I've tried on a load of things only to leave without buying any.

best way to handle them, is do as Korean shoppers do. Next time you're out just observe what Koreans do when around alaes assistants.

Thats right: they usually totally ignore them and brush them away until they find what they want. There is no friendly smiley banter between them, they start bargaining and discussing the item in fairly aggressive/objective terms. Its as if the sales assistant doesn't exist.
This is the sort of tactic that will keep you focussed on your shopping. Don't smile at the assistants or take much notice of them.Wave them away until you find what you want, or you'll never get rid of them.

excitinghead · Joined: 18 Jul 2005

Considering that they get a lot of tourists, I'm always suprised that the clerks' training at Lotte Department Store in Busan doesn't include a simple 5 mins explaination that most Westeners don't like being followed around. Their sales to them would probably jump about 10% if they stopped doing it.

Because they don't know, and so most foreigners they deal with get very wound up and brusque because of it, the clerks probably don't have a very good impression of us...

For me, clerks following me is like my Korean wife smiling when she makes a mistake or something. No matter how much I know it's part of Korean culture, or that it doesn't mean she's laughing at me or not admitting that she made a mistake, it still makes literally makes me want to kill her Shocked

...and I never got angry before I came to Korea.
Similarly, after 5 mins with Korean clerks crawling up my *** I still get very tense and feel genuinely relieved once I've got away from them.

tacon101 · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Location: seoul

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

It's the way here. Freaks me out but that's the way they do things. They want to seem like they're on top of their job.

Wal-Mart in Germany had an interesting problem. Wal-Mart has bag packers, something that kind of died in Canada and most of the Western world. I was surprised when I moved to Seattle they still had people pack your bag and offer you a choice between paper and plastic. Anyway, bag packers must have all been the first ones sent to the Russian front because no one alive in Germany could remember a time when people at stores packed your goods into a bag. So the Germans were entirely alarmed when some stranger was grabbing their paid-for products and putting them in a bag. Even when it was explained this was a service, Germans were highly uncomfortable with people handling their paid-for goods.

paula1972h · Joined: 09 Oct 2004

Here are the magic words to get them to back off: "Eye Shopping"

Works everytime.

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

I think about 75% of the time, I'm highly to extremely irritated by the sales people at stores. It's especially annoying in small boutiques where there's barely enough room to walk around as it is, and then you have from one to three people standing right up next to you, watching you shop, but hesitating to actually say something to you because you probably won't understand. Ugh.

When I'm clothes shopping, I don't need help at all. There's absolutely nothing a sales person could do to help me decide what size I need, where to find the size I need, and if I like the way something looks.

That's why I say to them, "Please stop." "�׸� �սô�." Polite and effective.

Other times, if I'm in a jovial mood, the sales clerks can be very fun to mess with. I like to make up absurd product names and listen to them attempt to repeat it back to me and figure out what I mean. That's always a cheap thrill. And the hot young girls wearing little skirts and big white boots may help me all they want. Yes, I do need help choosing an over-priced, individually sold import beer, thank you.

Q.

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

It does get rather irritating, I must admit.

In E-mart recently, a guy just kept staring and it was unnecessary so I asked "Way yoggi iss o yoh?" (why are you here, politely?). He said something I didn't understand so I just said "it's okay, it's okay" and he left me in peace.

That said, I felt guilty afterwards because he was only trying to be helpful. I shan't do it again - just ignore them I reckon.