The Selling Point

I've worked in retail for about a bazillion years of my life. That might be a slight exaggeration, but pretty much the only jobs I had in high school and college involved the phrase, "Can I help you find something?"

My most recent job before I left for Spain was working at the Buckle. If you don't know what that is, it's a high-end retailer that specialized in denim-and is infamous for their customer service. If you don't know what "the Buckle Challenge" is, the link might explain how hardcore they are about helping everyone.

Especially working at the Buckle, where one works on commission, I got very good at selling things. I had extensive training on how to sell to "the mom", the "just-looking guest",  and the "I'm so rich I sh*t money" (my personal favorite). I wasn't the best salesperson, but I was pretty good, and I like to think that my salesmanship is up there.

It is for this reason that I notice a complete lack of salesmanship in Spain, or at least in Bilbao. I am going to talk about 3 instances where I was not sold to, and was a little surprised.

1. The peluquería

I have noticed that every time I'm getting my hair done, the stylist never tells me what products she's using. When I go to pay, no one ever asks me if I would like to buy said products. I had to drag the stylist away from the counter and ask her what product I should get for my new 'do. I find this weird, because in the States, I always feel slightly pressured to buy something, even though I just dropped a hundo on my hair.

2. The cellphone store

Matt and I went to check out new cellphones and get internet for our new piso.We asked about different phones, and when we wanted to leave, we just got an "hasta luego!". Similarly, when we decided to switch our internet from one provider to another, the company we were canceling with made no effort to try and find a different package that would suit us better.

3. Zara/H&M/Bershka/Pull and Bear

I've spoken about customer service in Spain before, but this is a little different angle. I know that the Buckle is an anomaly when it comes to customer service in the States, but I feel like most retail clothing store back home at least do these three things:

• Greet you when you enter the store
• Ask you if you need any help finding anything if you're wandering aimlessly, as you do
• Once at the register, ask if you found everything ok, and then try to bully you into getting their store credit card. 

Spain is 0 for 3 on that list. Every now and then, someone might ask you what you're looking for, but for the most part, I don't think I would ever ask an employee to get me a different size whilst in the fitting rooms for fear of being scorned.

Now, maybe this is only in Bilbao, or maybe it's because they know I'm a foreigner and don't want to deal with me (doubtful, as I know the H&M employees recognize me). Or maybe Spain just isn't a selling culture, which is fine with me.

Originally published 8.11.11