never even close to being right at most of the stores here in Germany. I have learned that the term “Customer Service” is more of an afterthought and not the standard here. This is totally different then back in the states where you are greeted with a smile by virtually every employee, asked if you need any help, and then repeating the process a few times. Here –not so much. You are lucky if you get eye contact let alone an actual ‘halo’ (hi/hello in German). It is so bad that some bigger ticket items – like car salesman – actually hire a majority of people from other countries that are more accustomed to this crazy customer service idea.
This is even the case with things like apartment renting companies and other services where you are willing to pay A LOT of money. Apparently money is not an important factor in business here because no one goes out of there way to “seal the deal”.
I actually like not being bothered sometimes when I go shopping and I know what I’m looking for. I can get in, get out, and really only have to say “danke” which is great. Other times though, it would be nice for the person renting out an apartment to actually show some interest and initiative to get all of the details worked out. (yes I’m moving, and yes I’m a little perturbed about working with a person that has a house I REALLY want to live in).