Several things make it fun to go shopping in Latvia. Obviously, the language has a lot to do with it. We can't help but laugh at some of the Latvian words (translated into English).
There is certainly not the selection that is so common in the US. So, we spend a lot of time just looking at the products, holding them up, guessing what it is and maybe even taking a chance and buying something that we think we know what it is.
Customer service is something that has not made it to Latvia, yet. When you go to any store, it is very rare that anyone asks to help you. Now, it is extremely hard for us to hide the fact we don't have a clue what we are looking for, what the name is, what the price is, or even if they have it. But, you will not find a sales person coming over and checking to see if we need any help. Sometimes it is like they will do anything to avoid meeting your eyes! It is probably a left over from the Soviet times, when it really did not matter if you wanted something or not, they didn't have it.
Many items are sold by the individual piece such as one band-aid, one pillow case, one balloon, one glue stick, etc. Things that are sold by the pack are sold in very small packages. Tonight we saw frozen french-fries in the freezer case not even packaged...you just dipped in and got however much you wanted and put them in the bag yourself. I guess it is a sign of our American materialism that we want everything in the Sam's gigantic size.
When you check out at the veikals (store) the cashier sits on a stool and she's not getting up. They do have scanners for the most part but they do not sack the groceries. You sack your own and if it is crowded you'd better sack them in a hurry so you don't get your items mixed up with somebody else. If you want anything more than a little thin plastic sack you'd better bring it from home. In some of the large stores in Riga, you pay 1-lat ($2.00 US) to use an ordinary shopping cart. Being the frugal person I am, I carried several armloads around the store!
So, I thought I'd have a little quiz on the blog today. Below are common kitchen products that everyone uses. Can you figure out what is what? Send me an email if you want to guess what they are. My numbers got all confused so don't pay attention to them .... just count from the top, there are 13 items. Some should be pretty easy but some may give you a problem.
1 comment:
In some of the large stores in Riga, you pay 1-lat ($2.00 US) to use an ordinary shopping cart.
It is for safety, so you don't take it away, it is one lat or 20 santims that fits, and you get back that money when you return carts!
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