Retail salespeople

I am a shopper who prefers to be left alone to browse products and I choose which business to patronise in the process. I experienced two contrasting styles of sales service over these few days. The first one made my shopping experience a really enjoyable one, while the second style left me uncomfortable and pressurized.

At Centrepoint, I weaved in and out of a few retail outlets, in my quest to obtain a pair of kitten heels. At Payless, a polite male salesperson approached me to ask what kind of shoes I was looking for. He told me what the layout of the store was like, so that I could better navigate my way through it. He also recommended me a few pairs of shoes which he thought satisfied my requirement. After I politely told him I would prefer to browse the store on my own, he got my drift and offered his help should I need it. He knew I was a new customer to the store but he did not fawn all over me. :)

I was left on my own at Bata too. This male salesperson was even more remarkable. He somehow managed to understand my body language and gave me the space I wanted. I was really impressed and grateful. I was so tempted to thank him for it but I guess it would have sounded strange to him. It was the same at Hush Puppies too. No one 'bothered' me and again, I felt free to look at the shoes :) My last stop was at Robinsons where many shoe brands are offered under one roof. Again, the salespeople merely smiled at me and moved away from the shoes, so that I could look at them in detail. I really feel so grateful for such innate understanding from them.

At Marina Square, two particular salespersons at John Little's made me feel uncomfor-table, on the contrary. They started off on the right foot(pun!) by smiling at me and helping me find the size of the shoes I wanted. It went downhill from then on. They kept recommending shoes that were not to my taste and following me around, as I browsed. I guess they were aggressively trying to get me to choose their brand of shoes. However, I am a consumer who prefers to compare all the available choices and take my time coming to a decision on which one to finally go for. I did try to hint to them that I would prefer to choose my own shoes, but I guess my hint was too weak and was taken in the wrong way. There were two other salespersons who were there but gave me a lot more space to browse, thankfully. In the end, the two aggressive salespersons lost me as a customer, as I was too affected by their pushy service to buy anything from them.

The above contrast continued at Nex, albeit in a worse nature. DMK's male salesperson was like the one at Payless :) Charles and Keith's, Isetan's, Studio Tangs' and D&C's services were like Bata's, Hush Puppies' and Robinsons' services. Then, a saleslady tried to sell me a beauty treatment by first enticing me with a free skin product sample. I should have been firmer in walking away.... Using her bag of tricks, she tried to shock me by pointing out my black eye rings, which I took with a pinch of salt. I don't always have late nights. Then, she pointed out the white spots underneath my eye and said the beauty treatment could remove them in just one session. She stated the "special" price and I said it was too expensive. Besides, I am fine with their existence, as I told her.

She then asked if I go for facial treatments and what brand of skin products I use. She finally sensed my resistance and stopped her promotion. After all, I don't go for such treatments and I use cheap brands of skin products. It was the way she ended her conversation with me that made it ugly. Sensing I would not fall prey to her trick, she just abruptly took the pamphlet away from me and left me with the sample. Though I was polite in my rejection of her treatment by telling her I would first have to consider it before going, I guess she was frustrated in her failed attempt to convince me and felt that she had wasted her time on the wrong person, me not being the 'vain' kind of woman.

I had a very positive experience at BHG J8. I guess I had the courage to be more assertive in my shopping preferences. The salespeople also understood what I really meant. I told one that I needed to first consider before actually deciding to buy the pair. She got the message. I told another that I usually look at all shoes and then walk a second round to the ones I like. She respected my shopping style too and even said it was all right. The last one somehow read my body language and left me to browse on my own, after I mentioned that I had so many choices to look at and I kept rejecting the shoes she suggested to me. The service was really good. The staff did not mind going back and forth to get my requested sizes and they did it with a smile. The last saleslady even did it for a brand of shoes not her own. I am especially impressed by the other staff member who willingly answered all my questions with not one frown on her face. Even the cashier was genuinely polite in her transaction with me.

The Olympics

The Olympics have ended but boy, did it leave an impression on me!

My countrymen put Singapore in a higher position on the medal list, with an additional medal. They obtained for us 2 bronzes. They had given us 1 silver 4 years ago. One of the bronzes was an individual medal, thus ending the 52-year longing we had to obtain one! I salute their fighting spirit and tenacity to bounce back after defeat, specifically that of the Women's Table Tennis team. They had been sorely defeated by the Japanese team but gathered their battered spirits to trounce the South Korean team. Well-done! I am so proud of you! Thank you for a fantastic National Day present!

My favourite male tennis players were pitted against each other in the finals, a replay of the Wimbledon match earlier this year. Andy Murray was representing the host country England while Roger Federer, world no. 1, was representing Switzerland. I got the impression that the latter had purposely let the former get the gold medal. After all, he had beaten Murray soundly in the Wimbledon match. The way he played the match was one with less than his usual finesse and he made mistakes which did not fit his ranking. Granted, he had been worn out by his previous 4-hour match with the bronze medallist. However, he was smiling so broadly at the victory ceremony, despite having obtained only the silver medal. Somehow, it smacks of a sense of joy at having made someone else happy, and let him make his country proud for that moment.

How would Murray feel? Gratitude or Humiliation? It is probably a mixture of both, I reckon. Federer was a gentleman at giving him leeway during the match but at the same time, Murray may have felt insulted at being deemed desperate for a chance to make England proud, though as incapable of actually doing so. How would you have felt?