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Comment by ThJ | Hacker News Reader

It helps if you just imagine that every large brick and mortar chain in the Nordic countries operates kind of like IKEA. Lots of self service, spartan shop interior, and also, since labour is expensive here and you can't fuck your employees over with low wages like you can elsewhere, store owners tend to want to cut down on the number of staff.

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>>you can't fuck your employees over with low wages like you can elsewhere

Not all Nordic countries even have minimum wage laws (Sweden, Norway). I'm not sure how you were able to construct that observation.

There is no minimum wage, but salaries are bargained for via collective agreements. So everywhere but the smallest shops and temporary jobs you get paid a decent wage.

My god, aldi/lidl and ikea are the worst shops in europe. I can't imagine a country filled with the same awful shops

The Nordic countries are not big on service, because you're a big boy and can take care of yourself. The reason IKEA came from Sweden is because that's the attitude here. Shop clerks aren't there to be your servants. They are your equals. Foreigners often complain of the awful service they get here, but it's a deliberate part of the working culture.

>Shop clerks aren't there to be your servants. They are your equals.

I love that attitude. I've always felt a bit weird in very high end establishments where the staff are overly deferential.

> Foreigners often complain of the awful service they get here

In addition to your point, I think this also has something to do with people from Nordic countries being a less likely to smile at strangers than people from smiling cultures.

One time when I was the last customer to shop before closing (yes, our stores close over night) a store employee bagged my groceries while I payed for them. It felt extremely awkward and I felt embarrassed and didn't know what to do. So I just stood there, watching as somebody else packed my stuff, smiled, said thank you, and left feeling really weird. I don't know how other people do it regularly.

Hmm.. It is not that we dont care about service. It is more about what kind of service you can get. If you go to IKEA and say ”Hey, I am a student what is the best sofa for my budget?” they will help you find something without upselling you. If they cant help you find something they will usually refer you to OTHER stores. Service is more than just being a slave to the customer.

I've actually experienced much better service at aldi/hofer and ikea than at other stores in europe. Staff are very happy to help answer questions and track down hard to find items.

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