Sunday

Review: You Touch ~ You Pay Attitude in Hong Kong

Yes, HK is supposed to be a shopping haven especially if you are a bargain hunter. I had a week to spend in going around but our intention mostly is to do a shopping spree. My bad experience with the the stores are not what I expect from a country known to be famous for "business-minded" people.



This is what happened. I entered a fabric store with my wife to buy a couple of dress materials. We look around to check the colour and the type of material that we want. Then we found one, we touch it to have a feel of the fabric. The storekeeper did not like it ~ touching their goods. She took the material from my wife's hand and put it back to its original place. Then we leave because we thought they do not want our money.
We moved from one stall to another but we hesitate to touch their wares. Finally, there's one more store that we cannot help but touch the material. Without saying anything, the saleslady brought the fabric to cash register insinuating that we need to pay. I was trying to tell her in broken English that I have not decided to buy it and still have to see if it will serve our purpose. Impatiently, and without saying a word, she showed us the way to the door! Really, in Hong Kong most people cannot even speak and understand English. Even if they don't talk, their action speaks louder than words! Lesson we learned from this experience? Cut short our stay and did not waste our time and go somewhere else! 

Category: Shops
Name of Shops: Various small shops
Address: Kowloon Hong Kong
Website: None
Rate: 6

Read Reviews: (Rated between 1 and 10) 1-Worst   10-Excellent

From the desk of: 
Freddie Miranda
A blogger and a Canada-based freelance writer. He shares the value of his travel experiences and discoveries with his friends and fellow travellers. Share your passion, join and visit him. Send a message @ fromatravellersdesk(at)gmail(dot)com.

14 comments:

  1. I think you have been too nice ;)

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    1. I believe so! and that also reminds me of a travel saying by Clifton Paul Fadiman which goes this way, "When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable"

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  2. Indeed, very strange attitude by the shop keeper. If you like shopping this way then you must come to India where people touch and try before buying. Very interesting account.

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    1. Oh yes, the norm with fabrics and clothes is that you touch and feel the genuiness of the material and the clothes should be tried on and see if it fits. I believe you about India's way of doing business. Thanks for your comments.

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  3. Yeah I believe that. My shopping last time, just happened that the salesgirl is a Malaysian Chinese girl. She told me they had had such an attitude like you said. Actually, there's not much uniqueness to the product from what we can buy at home.

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    1. Thank you Zara for your views about shopping in HK. I have been to other Asian countries, and I never had such untoward shopping experience. I have not seen this in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok and Manila. Barely!

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  4. Seems like that the people of Hong Kong hates English language. If the shopkeeper's didn't let you touch anything than how do they expect you to buy from his shop.

    BTW, In Afghanistan no one understands English, but the shopkeepers in Afghanistan respects not only English speakers, but everyone.

    BTW, Thanks for sharing your story and also thanks for your comment in my blog. I appreciate that!

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    1. Thanks Ehsan on your views. I don't think English is the problem because I did not even start talking when it happened. It would be nice to see and meet people anywhere in the world with happy and welcoming faces, whether they come for business or not. What do you think?

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  5. Hi Freddie,

    I'm surprised that this thing could happen in a place well known as a shopping haven. Perhaps their business is doing very well that they forgot the need of respecting their customers.

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    1. Surprising as it may seem, customer respect and support should always be practiced in the business regardless of its size. Same is true with keeping the customers satisfied upon leaving the establishment.

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  6. Hahaha, my experience there was quite different. While I am really not the type to touch items, my companion was. She only touched one item and the store owner grabbed her by the arm and did not want to let go. Another one, my teacher who was with us in the trip tried to ask for a discount, and the store owner hurriedly turned off all her lights and shooed us away! Really, really unpleasantly unforgettable!

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    1. That's even worse! Most of us fly to HK to shop so this will serve as a warning to our fellow travellers. Thanks for sharing Cris.

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