Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamlet53
Could be a lot of reasons.
When I go into the sort of shop where I would even expect attention from staff or the proprietor I often really do not want to be greeted, nor asked "Can I help you?" That is if I'm just there to browse, maybe with out any intention of making a purchase, or would prefer to just find what I am looking for myself. I guess that greeting and/or "Can I . . ." just makes me feel like pressure to buy something or if I'm not going to do so to get out.
BTW I love visiting Holland. Everyone speaks and understands English and doesn't get affronted that that's my only language.
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I tend just to greet, not only because it's nice but also to acknowledge the customer and show that if he or she needs help I'm there. I hate pushy sales persons, so I tend not to ask "can I help you" unless someone's looking a bit lost (we have lots of small items, it's hard to see the forest through the trees) or when I don't trust a situation (which luckily doesn't happen often). I don't stare at a customer browsing (unless, again, I don't trust the situation) and do something that is productive, but makes it easy for the customer to ask a question when they need to.
We learn English at quite a young age. When I was young (I sound old now) a lot of foreign kids tv programs were subtitled, like for adult tv programs. Nowadays most foreign tv programs for kids are dubbed. With subtitles programs kids picked up English and it was good for their reading. Sometimes we are a bit too eager to speak English and learners of the Dutch language find it hard to practice in real life situations.