We were warned about this, even by our German friends who spent some time abroad-- German customer service can be an elusive beast. Overall, we've been treated with what I'll call "benign indifference" for the most part-- we're not exactly high maintenance folks, and it's not like we ask anybody to go above and beyond their job description. Plus, we knew what to expect before moving over here-- so the bar is set rather low. But today was one of those bizarro culture clashes that really falls outside the lines.I've written about the regional bakery chain Der Beck before-- they are as commonplace in Nuremberg as, say Dunkin Donuts (for this blog's USA east coast readers) or Starbucks (west coast), and they make a decent, if unspectacular group of products, as well as some of the better coffee in town. We were there to buy bottled jam of all things (Der Beck is very big on local sourcing and no preservatives), and that's when the fun began. I asked for strawberry jam in German, the person at the counter repeated my request back to me, handed me a jar from behind the counter, took my money, and gave me change. It was then that I noticed that I was given "Strawberry-Lime" jam. When B protested, the lady got a tad snotty, and indicated that they are sold out of strawberry, and all they have is Strawberry-Lime. OK then... we'll come back some other time, no big deal, give us our €1.95 back. She then told us that there are NO REFUNDS at Der Beck, so tough luck, try another flavor. Um, the item I ordered and you confirmed back to me was out, you knowingly slipped us the wrong flavor, refuse to refund my money and this is somehow MY fault? Ay Curamba! We were saved from any further blowups when the counter lady searched one more time and found one remaining bottle of strawberry-- you know, the flavor I ordered. Sheesh. This is almost precisely the behavior I was warned about.
This isn't to say that all CS stinks here-- far from it; a lot of it is quite good. I've come to find out that it's all about building relationships with the shopkeepers. So when we left Der Beck to go to the fruit and vegetable stand where I'm a regular (they put up with my lousy German and practice their English on me) to get fresh cherries, the dude behind the deli counter waves me over and cuts me a slice of salami and fresh camembert to snack on. Schmeckt Gut (tastes good)! Regarding the cherries, I'm having some right now and they sadly don't even come close to the fabulousity that is the Rainier Cherry.
3 comments:
I'm sorry, but I have to laugh. Now you know that you have to verify everything before you pay!
And you're right, it's all about building a relationship with your vendors. They don't care about you unless you're willing to spend some time with them.
And just wait until you get into an accident. At least, here in France, if someone runs into you, she/he will get out of her/his car yelling at you "What are you doing there?", as if it was your fault.
I just wanted to add:
Sometimes this behavior can be explained by the fact that the vendor may not have a system in place for giving money back once a transaction has been recorded.
I was in a big clothing store in Nice when I paid with a credit card for something, but after paying, I noticed that she charged me twice for the same thing. She couldn't refund me the money when it was clearly her fault. I had to take a credit and try to find something else of similar value - grrr.
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