Harris Poll: Americans happier and more optimistic then Europeans
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OldDog.Net wrote: Obviously in Denmark, or at least in Copenhagan, there are no Jiffy Lubes and no $19.95 oil changes. Seeing that the $19.98 is slighly less than what the mechanic gets paid per hour it's not surprising. As for the hairdressers: I've never been dissatisfied, if she goes from the shop with a different hairstyle than she wanted, then obviously she didn't pay enough attention. It's not like they blindfold you when you enter :-) "God doesn't play dice" - Albert Einstein "God not only plays dice, He sometimes throws the dices where they cannot be seen" - Niels Bohr
Hi Jan, Maybe there's just more competition here. When you're providing a comodity that can be gotten in many places, the only thing you can offer to differentiate your business is superior service. Again, I have no personal experience in Europe but what I am hearing, including from you now, is that where the two cultures seem to be different is: in the US the customer expects to be served (hence the word service) and at least in Copenhagan the customer is supposed to be thankful for whatever the merchant decides to give them. When we go into a "hair dresser" we are asked, "What do you want?" Some women bring a photo or a picture from a magazine. Also, the salons usually have a lot of photos hung on the walls. The hair dresser doesn't do ONE style and everyone gets the same style. As far as the cost of an oil change, you're right. A mechanic gets around $50 an hour (well, shops charge that for labor anyway. Hopefully the mechanic gets the majority of that.). But, changing the oil takes about 10 minutes. I do my own oil changes at home in less than 20 minutes (another difference: we don't mind getting our hands dirty) and shops that specialize in that type of simple service (and it is oh so simple) can easily turn it around in far less time than that. I think we are more used to getting what we want and getting it easily and inexpensively. That might account for a somewhat more optimistic perspective. Will
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Unless numbers changed fundamentally since about 2002, USians should still be - pardon - "record poppers"
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygenif you think people in the US do more hard drugs than euros. Then I suggest you are adding to their numbers even as we speak~
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Hi Jan, Maybe there's just more competition here. When you're providing a comodity that can be gotten in many places, the only thing you can offer to differentiate your business is superior service. Again, I have no personal experience in Europe but what I am hearing, including from you now, is that where the two cultures seem to be different is: in the US the customer expects to be served (hence the word service) and at least in Copenhagan the customer is supposed to be thankful for whatever the merchant decides to give them. When we go into a "hair dresser" we are asked, "What do you want?" Some women bring a photo or a picture from a magazine. Also, the salons usually have a lot of photos hung on the walls. The hair dresser doesn't do ONE style and everyone gets the same style. As far as the cost of an oil change, you're right. A mechanic gets around $50 an hour (well, shops charge that for labor anyway. Hopefully the mechanic gets the majority of that.). But, changing the oil takes about 10 minutes. I do my own oil changes at home in less than 20 minutes (another difference: we don't mind getting our hands dirty) and shops that specialize in that type of simple service (and it is oh so simple) can easily turn it around in far less time than that. I think we are more used to getting what we want and getting it easily and inexpensively. That might account for a somewhat more optimistic perspective. Will
OldDog.Net wrote: Maybe there's just more competition here. Can't say as I don't know, but why would that be? OldDog.Net wrote: only thing you can offer to differentiate your business is superior service. Or quality of service. Danish mechanics are highly educated. OldDog.Net wrote: and at least in Copenhagan the customer is supposed to be thankful for whatever the merchant decides to give them. Not really, no. OldDog.Net wrote: When we go into a "hair dresser" we are asked, "What do you want?" Some women bring a photo or a picture from a magazine. Also, the salons usually have a lot of photos hung on the walls. The hair dresser doesn't do ONE style and everyone gets the same style. I know only a few salons that do one style only, and they are not expensive as your friend claimed. To become a hairdresser requires years of schooling here. You can open a shop, but then you're not allowed to do fancy things like colouring and curling. The cheap shops are like that, and they primarily serves men who just need a haircut. OldDog.Net wrote: another difference: we don't mind getting our hands dirty Right, whatever you say :rolleyes: "God doesn't play dice" - Albert Einstein "God not only plays dice, He sometimes throws the dices where they cannot be seen" - Niels Bohr