This past week I had a short holiday in Egypt. Due to the food poisoning, paying off the police, watching the world cup, unexpected tomb visit and a few other hiccups; the planned relaxing week was more of an adventure!
However, besides all of this there is one incident that stood out for me. We were at the Valley of the Queens and walking up to the entrance when I stopped to look at a scarf (big mistake). After shaking off the sellers by promising to come back on the way through they let my guide and I get back to the business of looking at tombs. Unfortunately these guys are somewhat competitive and on the way out they spotted me coming from a long way off and I had 6 men waiting with scarves in hand shouting for me to buy.
I understand the whole mentality of their selling process as they are competitive and quite poor.... However, they should take a leaf out of a gold & jewelry store in Dubai. This store is located in a souk with at least 20 other gold and jewelry businesses, it looks a little more run down then some but there is one difference when I went in there on a recommendation from a friend... it is BUSY!
The first thing that happens when you walk in the door is someone says hello and asks if you need help. If this offer of help is declined than they indicate that you are welcome to look, please ask for any assistance and would you like some coffee? Then, they go away and do something else, leaving you in peace. There is no pushy person yelling at you to come inside the store, no shoving products in your face and consequently this store was full of clients! They still ask for the sale at the end and do a bit of bartering for the final product but overall a pleasant experience.
Back to our friends selling stuff in Egypt... Overall, negative experiences like mine are enough to put tourists off buying anything. However, wouldn't the government get further ahead and generate more capital by investing in its people through simple customer service training for everyone in the Tourism Industry. This simple step is called "Capacity Building" and is one that mature organizations use to their competitive advantage.
Just a thought!
However, besides all of this there is one incident that stood out for me. We were at the Valley of the Queens and walking up to the entrance when I stopped to look at a scarf (big mistake). After shaking off the sellers by promising to come back on the way through they let my guide and I get back to the business of looking at tombs. Unfortunately these guys are somewhat competitive and on the way out they spotted me coming from a long way off and I had 6 men waiting with scarves in hand shouting for me to buy.
I understand the whole mentality of their selling process as they are competitive and quite poor.... However, they should take a leaf out of a gold & jewelry store in Dubai. This store is located in a souk with at least 20 other gold and jewelry businesses, it looks a little more run down then some but there is one difference when I went in there on a recommendation from a friend... it is BUSY!
The first thing that happens when you walk in the door is someone says hello and asks if you need help. If this offer of help is declined than they indicate that you are welcome to look, please ask for any assistance and would you like some coffee? Then, they go away and do something else, leaving you in peace. There is no pushy person yelling at you to come inside the store, no shoving products in your face and consequently this store was full of clients! They still ask for the sale at the end and do a bit of bartering for the final product but overall a pleasant experience.
Back to our friends selling stuff in Egypt... Overall, negative experiences like mine are enough to put tourists off buying anything. However, wouldn't the government get further ahead and generate more capital by investing in its people through simple customer service training for everyone in the Tourism Industry. This simple step is called "Capacity Building" and is one that mature organizations use to their competitive advantage.
Just a thought!
