I always joke that while I am conversational in Korean, I am completely fluent in Konglish, a mix of Korean + English. Konglish can refer to a number of language styles adopted by Koreans, one being the adoption of English words into the Korean vocabulary. These “Konglish” words may be English, but unless you’re familiar with them, it would be hard to recognize due to the difference in the sounds of the English and Korean alphabets.
서비스 (seo-bi-suh) is one of my favorite Konglish words. Can you guess the English equivalent? It’s “service” and when used in Korean the meaning changes a bit. When we refer to “service” we might be thinking of an act that helps us, something provided to help us, or something useful. The Korean “service”, however, is referring to freebies given to the customer out of gratitude for their service. It’s like a “return the favor” deal. It’s so popular that places that don’t offer “service” would be looked at unfavorably.
Here’s a scenario for you. Korea is littered with beauty shops selling cosmetics, nail polishes, hair products, and the like. Many times there would be an employee standing outside offering customers a free gift for just coming in the store. You didn’t even have to buy anything! And if you did buy something, be ready for a TON of samples thrown in your bag. The more you buy, the more freebies you receive, but occasionally I walked in to buy one nail polish and walked out with the freebies totaling more than my actual purchase.
Not only do they offer freebies, but these shops would be falling behind their competitors if they didn’t offer a point card that could be redeemed for coupons, discounts, and even more freebies.
The larger organizations make sure they’re not falling behind in the service department. Particularly larger stores and banks make sure a greeter is in place to welcome the customers and help them in any way possible from the beginning of their experience all the way to the end. This has proved to be useful many times when visiting the bank, since the greeter will also assist you with the ATMs and other machines in the lobby. Ever walk into a bank and feel out of place and like you don’t know what you’re doing? Not in Korea.
The grocery stores in Korea also have their own special touches when it comes to service. They take being on sale to the next level. It’s not uncommon to find extras taped to your favorite products. Not only is it good incentive to buy that product, but it’s exposure to a new one as well. I used to say that I wouldn’t buy cereal if it didn’t come with something free attached to it – and I was only semi-joking.
Now, does all this happen in the USA? I believe it does, but not to the extent to where we’re really taking note.
Not to say that there aren’t problems with the service in Korea. The main complaints I’ve heard have been that the employees feel the need to lurk or follow you around while you’re browsing, sometimes pressuring you to buy and getting angry if you don’t. It stands to say that making your customers feel uncomfortable isn’t good for business, even if they do end up buying something.
If I could sum up Korean service to you, I would have to emphasize the attention to detail and respect for the customer. Show interest in a certain product? You get free samples of similar ones. Need something gift wrapped for free? A professional couldn’t do a better job. Look even a bit lost and confused? Someone will be there for you in a matter of moments. And you can always expect a friendly hello and goodbye every time.
Related articles
- Expat South Korea (expatintelligence.com)
- Understanding Each Other: Untranslatable Korean (cunningculture.com)
- Freebies Galore! ^^v (chrissantosra.wordpress.com)
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