My Journey of Learning German!: Shopping!

After working another long weekend in retail and helping some unpleasant customers, I realized some things about shopping here in the United States. I've come to this realization after venting to my penpal and hearing how most of the problems I deal with, when it comes to other customers, would never happen in Germany.

I told him how a particular customer ended up buying, returning, and re-buying the same ring (in the same day) just to get the most for her money (and by the way, I totally understand getting the most for your money, but be respectful about it though). Once I told him the WHOLE story, he was shocked and said that this scenario wouldn't even be possible in Germany. It appears that shopping there is more strict, which I have to say, I wish it was like that here. I believe customers get away with too much these days (and yes, I know it all has to do with capitalism and making money). And speaking of capitalism, it reminds me how we are way too materialistic here in the US. This all promotes spending and buying by having stores open everyday for hours and hours, or even stores that are open 24 hours a day! I think it's interesting (watch the first link posted at the bottom!) that stores in Germany are CLOSED on Sundays!! It's a day of relaxation and spending time with friends and family. No one is allowed to shop on Sundays, which I think is a great idea. The only place that I can think of that is closed on Sundays in the US is Chick-fil-a and that's it! Also, some places close down for a few hours during lunch time...another fantastic idea!!! :)

Even though this refers to shopping, I think it's quite interesting how one of the shopping channels here in the US (QVC) is also in Germany. But, besides that fact, I think it's even more interesting how the same products are being sold over there in Germany. The influence of being materialistic, I guess. The representatives for these products don't even speak German and a translator has to translate verbally for the audience at home. But I have come to the conclusion that yes, Americans are too materialistic and that is why we need bigger houses and storage facilities. Thanks to my penpal, I realized that I was continuously spending money on new clothes and makeup. He would always mention and ask, why I needed to buy a new dress for a special occasion and why I couldn't use a dress that was already in my closet? He has shown me pictures of his house and it is much smaller than houses here and I can see why! I have to admit, that I HAVE NOT spent any money on new clothes, makeup, shoes, etc.!! :D

After taking my German class, I never knew how big the German market was here in the US, when it comes to certain products, like cars. Germany is the home to some of the nicest looking cars out there: BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, VW and Audi. Luckily, where I live, that's all I see driving around, so the German influence is all around! Other products that I have seen in stores here include certain food, decorations and beauty products.