Christmas shopping should be a joy. We are shopping to give gifts to the people we love. It should not be a burden or a negative experience to do such a thing. But there is just one thing I hate. It is like in the Psalms where the Lord says there are 4 things the Lord dislikes and 5 he hates...there is just ONE thing I hate about Christmas shopping.
No, it is not the crowds or the lines (although pushy people are an immediate "attitude checker"), nor the traffic, nor the not knowing what to buy. All of that I can handle and at even times enjoy (the hustle and bustle of everyone out).
No, the thing I hate the most are the salespeople. Now, I remember a time or two living in the States where I just wished a clerk would stop staring at my every move or lurking over my shoulder, but those encounters hardly register on the annoying scale that the Brazilian salespeople reach.
The stores are completely over-crowded with stock. There would be little space to pass by other shoppers during a different time of year, but add the huge crowds of people and then only space between rows of items for 1 way traffic is difficult. They really should set up one-way signs to guide shoppers in an orderly fashion through the inventory.
Then, somehow, no matter how crowded the store is, the moment you step foot in the front, an over-chipper commission greedy employee says something like, "pois não? (Yes? Can I help you?)" as she hungerly stares into my eyes. Mine of course quickly avert as I respond, "Não, obrigada, estou olhando só (No thanks, I'm just looking.) Sometimes I add, "Se precisar, te chamo (If I need something, I will let you know)".
The GOOD salesperson will then back off and keep an eye on me as I browse and say "fica a vontade (feel free)". That is the store I will buy something from.
A TYPICAL salesperson will then preside to follow me 6 inches behind and say nothing, just stare over my shoulder in anticipation that I will ask for help. Or they will stay put, but their eyes BURN through my back as if I am being suspected of shoplifting. In these stores, I cannot concentrate. My browsing is interrupted to a point that I feel as if I am staring at a blank wall. I get that closterphobic feeling that I can't BREATHE!!! Get me out of there! Even if I am the only person in the store, I am much more at ease back on the "hustling and bustling" street where you are bound to bump more than one shoulder. And that store will not get my commission.
Now, I feel this sensation almost every time I go shopping in Brasil, but it heightens to a point around Christmas, that it puts me in a bad mood and I become to HATE Christmas shopping. My generous heart becomes cold as stone and I leave stores that have what I want because I don't want that person to get my commission! Lord help me and please help customer service training in Brasil!
Merry Christmas everyone! Hoping your shopping experience has not put you in a bah humbug mood!
Jess
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