248 CultureShock! Austria
Service? Was ist das?
Service is still a foreign word to many government offices,
stores, restaurants and coffee shops. In many government
offices, the clerk decides when to come to your aid. If you
push, the clerk will pull back.
In stores, and especially in boutiques, you are often
judged by your outward appearance: hair, clothing and
shoes. Of course, it helps to have shopped there before or to
know someone with a title who has sent you to ‘this special
boutique’. In larger stores, the outlook is different, but the
customer is still rarely king. Try to take something back and
the store employee might come up with the line that ‘if you
can’t handle the product, it’s your own fault’. Of course,
service in upscale or tourist-oriented restaurants, shops and
hotels is much better.