An attentive shopkeeper may be something that a Danish shopper isn’t looking for.

According to a study conducted by YouGov for BTMX, 36 percent of Danes are annoyed when a clerk poses the question “Can I help you?”

“I think people are annoyed by the question because many clerks say it without honest and sincere interest,” Dorte Wimmer from the Retail Institute Scandinavia told Metroxpress.

“Sometimes it’s just something they’ve been told to do by their head office.”

Not sincere
Service expert Henrik Meng believes the survey results reveal that customer service in Denmark could stand some improvement.

“I’m actually a little surprised that there are so many who think it is annoying,” said Meng. “It shows that store personnel need to be better at reading their customers.”

Meng said that people sense – rightly or wrongly – that the shop assistant may not be sincere, but is simply practising salesmanship techniques.

“The truth is that if we go into a store without someone acknowledging us, it is easier for us to leave again,” said Meng. “When we talk to a clerk, we have formed some sort of relationship that can seem binding.”

Not when naked
Chamomile Ellegaard,  a 22-year-old student from Nyborg, said that help from a clerk can sometimes be a matter of timing.

“It’s fine when I’m walking around the store, but it is annoying when I am in the changing room,” Ellegaard told BT. “If they are pushy when I’m standing in my underwear, I may not go back into the dressing room to try on more clothes.”

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Amalie Bille a retail clerk in the underwear shop Wunderwear on Strøget said that her company’s policy is to offer help.

“I do it immediately after they enter the store,” she said.

“Our chain has a policy to approach the customer as soon as possible. We are a special shop, and customers often need help to find the right size. All my colleagues are trained to do the same. “