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Shopping
Growing
up in my adopted land of Canada, one is overwhelmed with
the choice of products and the way the customer is
treated. You can walk into any large department store and
you can find just about anything. And if per chance, you
don't, there is another around the corner that will.
Then there are the little shops, from the "mom &
pops" to the small chains of specialized stores that
will carry or will get you just about any item from just
about anywhere. What I like most about these types of
shops is that I can haggle.
Canadians are will know for being frugal. Add to that my
Italian heritage and you have the perfect combination of
frugality and haggling. I am type of shopper who will walk
an extra mile to save a buck. Some call me cheap, others,
well it doesn't really matter what they call me.
In Costa Rica, you have to put all of that aside and
develop a new shopping attitude.
First off, there are no large department stores per se.
Yes, Hipermas, which is now expanding to many stores could
be classed as a large department store, and ther is La
Gloria. Please.
Over the last couple of years we have seen the
introduction of major US chains like Price Smart and more
recently the Office Depot. The only thing they share with
their parent in the US is the name and look.
Recently, I visited my local Office Depot and was as asked
by the security at the door to check my bag from my
purchases at another store. Uh? I thought I was leaving
Costa Rica for a brief moment.
I found the item I was looking for, an upright floor lamp.
The only one left was the display model and as accustomed,
took the last product slip to the cash counter. Oh, we
don't have that in stock. uh? Was it my imagination?
"Oh yes, the floor model is our last one". Wait.
Pause. More waiting. Nothing. Forget it. If I wanted that
kind of treatment I would have gone over to the Universal.
Oh well, a trip to downtown.
There I found the same item at half the price. I also
found other things I was looking for and got the same
no-service - we are more important than you the customer -
why bother us, attitude. No problem.
My accustomed concept of the customer is king and you can
haggle for anything goes out the window. Here, in most
stores - small or large - you are made to feel like you
are an intrusion into their daily lives and
business.
From the security guard, who in most cases is the lowest
paid of all the lowest paid, but who now has a uniform is
very important and everyone is suspect.
Then there is the staff, who, when asked for the price of
an item get a nasty look as I should know the price. Or
asked it if comes in different colors or shapes, the
immediate answer is no. Do they know their inventory that
well? or just can't be bothered?
And, then there is the haggling. I love to haggle. But
here, that's almost impossible. They would prefer to lose
a customer than to give you a discount, even the smallest
one. The price is the price and it cannot be changed. Ask
for the manager and if you are lucky the owner is around,
you get the same answer.
So, I use my debit card and get them to fork over 7% of
the sale to the banks. A subject for another time.
Many ask, so why do you stay?
Well, when I look at what is happening in the north, I
think ...
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