On our first trip to China, we went across the street to a department store. We just wanted to walk around and look. I was still reeling from jet lag and being in a communist country for the first time. All I could think of was, is someone watching us? The store was set up like a Sears. We walked around looking for deals. It's just what we do.
As we are looking, I notice all these employees standing around. Some are stocking and folding clothes. We go to look at some clothing. I think we were looking for Michelle, our new baby, but we did not know hear size. When we picked up the item, an employee's interest was peaked. Sort of like they were looking for a shoplifter. She approaches us to ask us a question. Of course, it is in Mandarin. I think we understood that she was asking about assistance and we said we were looking or tried to convey that.
Once we were ready, we got the clerks attention. She showed us, the best she could, that if we wanted to buy it, she would take it to a cashier booth. When we wanted to check out, we would make our purchase there. Each area had a booth. Each area had a number of employees. We would not see that here. Our companies would find that it is a waste of manpower vs. payroll. Each employee's job was to take care of an area, like men's clothing or toys. They were there to assist the customer and bring their purchase to a cashier.
Later, we found that this was they way things ran in some stores, not all. Some stores had fixed pricing, while others had bargainning. I will get into that one later. Suffice it to say, our first shopping trip was interesting.
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