Korean Job Discussion Forums

[flummuxt]

A new four story department store opened in the nearby city, and I decided to see what they had to offer the other day.

I put my daypack in a locker and took the escalator to the second floor. There I was approached by a man in a suit, possibly a store manager, who said something in Korean and poor English.

I walked over to the aisles of merchandise, and the man followed me, of course. I stopped and looked at the shelves, the man stood 2 or 3 feet away staring at me. I walked down an aisles past a family of Koreans shopping, he walks right by them, even though no employee is waiting on them. I walk by another Korean employee and she starts to follow me and the Korean man, standing with me as I shop. She then thinks better of this and walks off.

I then walk briskly to the elevator to go to the third floor, the man rushes to the elevator and gets on with me. He then follows me around some more, standing next to me for about 5 minutes while I stare at some shelves.

He does not seem to take a hint, so I then wallk briskly to the elevator again. He follows me. I press 1 to leave, and seems upset. Poor, poor man. Did I hurt his feelings?

Needless to say, I did not buy anything there. I did my shopping at Lotte and EMart.

If a store pulled this stunt in the States it would be viewed as a terrible insult. The implication is that they think you are going to steal something. It would be called racial profiling. It is quite likely that the customer would sue the store for discrimination, a federal law. And they might win. More likely, there would be newspaper articles and the group would boycott the store or restaurant, as happened to Denny's Restaurant chain many times (talk about slow learners).

The experience was annoying and insulting. But I'll survive. I just wish Koreans would understand what a cultural faux pas they are committing, ssuming it was an innocent mistake.

I went to two of those electronic/appliance stores later (hey, it's Christmas shopping time) and the same thing happened, of course. At least at the second one the guy was not quite so annoying and had a sense of humor. I bought some things. (But, oddly, he refused to give me a receipt. We went to the cashier. He asked me for the money, I handed it to him. He took it. The cashier just stood there. And he said goodbye. Do these stores, one of the major chains, systematically evade taxes, or are the employees openly stealing from their employer?)

At any rate, I have just this to say:



KOREAN SALESPEOPLE, GET OFF MY BACK!!!



Kamsamnida.

[Young FRANKenstein]

Why didn't you do what any normal person from the planet Earth would do: Tell him to back off and you'll call him if you need assistance. At the cashier, you ask them for the receipt.

It's not rocket science.

[flummuxt]

I did ask for a receipt, twice.

They ignored me. And I think they understood the word "receipt."

But you never know.

Your suggestion makes sense, provided the salesperson understands English, or you speak Korean. Not always a safe assumption.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[flummuxt]

Say, do you speak Korean fluently? You seem to have the Korean attitude that it's anyone's fault but the Korean's.

This was the only store I have been refused a receipt at.

People, generally, do not "walk all over me," here or in Korea. Except, perhaps, when these salespeople followed too closely.

I was trying to be polite. I do not want to be the one who creates a negative impression of Westerners in the minds of Koreans.

Most Koreans and most stores are polite to me and other Westerners.

MY POINT is that someone should tell these Korean businesses that this practice is considered rude, and that they are losing business because of it.

Is this so hard to comprehend?

AND IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS BEING RUDE TO ME.

[Ilsanman]

영수증 = receipt

[pkang0202]

Some places won't let you carry your backpack around. There are footlockers by the entrances for a reason. They want you to put your backpack or any other bags in the locker until AFTER you are finished shopping.

The man was probably trying to tell you that when you first walked in.

Also:

[flummuxt]

pkang0202 wrote:

[The_Eyeball_Kid]

It's becoming a bit of a cliche but here it is nevertheless, with all appropriate apologies to Whatever (who hasn't been around much of late):

[tzechuk]

Flum, I don't think the manager was worried you were going to steal. I think he was worried that no one would be able to help you because you are a foreigner. He probably thought he was just showing you extra attention.

I would have asked him to leave instead of having him follow me around.

As for *receipt*... you know, Korean salespeople do NOT know the word for receipt in English because it's so vastly different from their Korean word. I would've pointed at the receipt and gesture for them to give me one...

It is annoying what happened to you but I wouldn't assume the worst.

[endo]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Korean retail.

You should know by now that it's part of their job to follow you. It's a customer service thing here, and actually many Koreans expect the service staff to wait in them like that. I don't think the store manager was racially profiling you; instead he was likely trying to help you and set a good example for his fellow employies.


As for the reciept, I guess they just forgot or were flustered by serving a non-Korean.

And really, it's your own ignorant fault that you were not able to ask for a reciept.

What if a Korean came to America and asked the sales clerk for a "young-soo-jung"?

Would you expect them to know what they were saying?



Really your anger against the Koreans is primarily about cultural misunderstands on both sides. Yes, the Koreans service industry at department stores is annoying as hell, but that what they do here.

Learn a little bit if Koreans; it'll go a long way.

[crsandus]

I agree with tzechuk. The Korean department stores don't seem to have the term "just browsing" in their vocabulary. They're overly helpful if anything (actually I'm planning on using this helpfulness to my advantage the next time I see a hot salesgirl). I try to avoid eye contact as much as possible in those stores because once I do, I'll get one of two sales people swarming to help me. I just want to browse darn it! Anyhow, I'm sure I will eventually develop a reputation for being a sullen, standoffish person for looking straight ahead and refusing to make eye contact with sales people in a 20ft radius.

Don't fret **** happens.

[WoBW]

[Vicissitude]

[Vicissitude]