Shopping... part deux

In my last entry I reported that shopping in Korea is in most terms superior to that in Canada.
What I failed to mention is the quality of service offered.

A lot of Korean vendors are pushy and impolite. This can come across as a surprise especially since many servers at eateries are extremely nice (to the degree where they can be deemed submissive). I have yet to determine the cause of this rudeness. I still don't understand; they are trying to make a sale, and explicitly showing that they're reluctant to fetch a certain size goes against their objective.
One of the things that shocked me when I first shopped in Canada was how nice people were about exchanges and refunds. I still remember that Shoppers exchanged a used Smashbox foundation after I told them the colour didn't suit me. USED foundation. And they offered me an exchange or another colour without saying anything.

Shopping in Korea should be practiced with much discretion and planning. Prepare to fight vendors in the case of refund/exchange. Most will only take exchanges, and if you're lucky you can get store credit. If you don't speak the language you're pretty much screwed.

This led me to believe that perhaps this is partly why online shopping is so well-developed in Korea. Shopping is a much more pleasant experience without pushy salespeople, and you can return items without having to fight them in person. (You can always fight over email instead.) Add fast delivery to this option, and voila. You got what you wanted without having to frown.
Of course, sizes may not fit you perfectly and items may look slightly crappier, but I say the benefit outweighs the cost.

Korean shopkeeps, y u no be nice?!!