Western Sales but Chinese Customer Service

There is a nice bed and furniture store in SIP. The designer is from Europe and made in Europe. The price is also European (not cheap).

When we stepped in the store, the all store sales clerks welcomed us with big smile. They gave us fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee made by an expensive espresso machine. First time we went there, we had orange juice and coffee. Jesse asked them to refill the coffee. All sales clerks speak good English.

We went back there during the holiday to buy a hemp carpet. We have known what we wanted, sold beige color. Jesse had a cup of coffee and we bought the carpet.

They delivered the carpet quickly but they brought a carpet with a beige-coffee color pattern in the center. We told the delivered store clerk that we want the solid not the patterned. He told us just try it. We told him we want the solid. He called the sales clerk who took our order. He said the same thing just try it.

[Jesse- at the store, the sales man showed us the smaller version of the carpet. He showed us a pile of carpets and we said we want the same one as the sample only larger. The sales person pointed out the carpet, which was on the bottom of the pile, so we didn’t see the pattern in the center.]

Meanwhile the delivery driver’s feel were so smelly. His feet stank up the entire our living room (we should never ask Chinese workers to take off their shoes).

Jesse was dealing with the sales clerk very courteously. However he kept telling him the same thing that we should try the patterned because it is the same material. They don’t have a new sold color carpet at their inventory. Otherwise he will charge us the delivery fee.

Akiva started crying. The room stank.

Jesse yelled at him over the phone, “We want the sold! It is your mistake to deliver the patterned. Take it back right now and bring back the cash!!”

[I think it would be more accurate to say that the demon came out. The same one that is in my father. My eyes got wider and a little trembling. The voice came from my stomach. The worker left quickly]

We often make the same mistake. Whenever we go to Western hotels, restaurants, and stores, an English speaking person comes up to Jesse and make us feel like a home.

Chinese people are good at sales. They can be a good sales person. English speaking sales person know how to smile and sell stuffs. We forget the basic Chinese shopping rules, price negotiation (even American gym chain can price down their membership fee), order confirmation (at least three times), and product quality check (literally we need to upside down and inside out the product before we buy).

On the other hand, the English speaking Westernized Chinese sales person don’t know customer service; they don’t want to confirm; they don’t want to accept; they make wrong assumption; they want to negotiate customer service so on.

Eventually the patterned carpet was taken back. The cash was brought back by the sales clerk and he said “I am glad we took it back. The patterned is more expenxive than what you want”.