Last week I was sitting in one of Tallinn’s most popular expat bars and something extraordinary happened.

Our group, which included some Dutch and Spanish friends of mine, were drinking and chatting in our little corner when we were interrupted.

A girl came up to us and asked “Could I get you anything else?” with a smile. Nothing out of the ordinary you would think but after she took the order for more beer and nibbles a Spaniard said. “That’s unusual.”

Twenty minutes later she came back again. Then one of my Dutch friends said “I think we are getting service!”

The subject of service ended up dominating the evening with comical and frustrating stories pouring from every member of the group.

There are cultural issues of shyness and politeness that make Estonia probably the worst country in Europe for service, but from a business point of view the treatment of customers is generally nothing less than disgraceful.

My girlfriend is an interior decorator. She’s well-known, she goes into empty stores, she takes photographs of furniture for clients, looks around.  No one says a word, more than hello and goodbye. They don’t move, they don’t ask a question and the store remains empty. It’s bizarre.

I’m generally very patient about service and find being ignored, the lack of eye contact and the unwillingness to help amusing. However, last Christmas I was on a mission. The whole family was here from the UK, the girlfriend was preparing an enormous meal and stress was in the air.

I was dispatched to Stockmann department store, with a small list and told in no uncertain terms not to come back without everything as that’s “all I had to do.”

First on the list was blood sausage. I forgot the Estonian word, but knew worst and could see it at their meat counter. I approached the young shop assistant and said “sorry” in Estonian, “I need” in English and pointed. She said “NO!” I said, “what?” She repeated “NO NO!” and backed off. Then I cracked. “Don’t say no,” I said.

“I want you to help me, I only want” and I pointed. She shook her head and retreated further. Was my fly undone? Was I carrying a gun? Apparently not. I was in an international department store and not being fluent in Estonian meant I could not get served. That was the Estonian shopping experience.

Don’t get me wrong — I love living in Tallinn and have long accepted this phenomena, as part of the experience, but as a business consultant you just can’t get off the first page with clients. Customer service — it’s a simple concept. Fix that problem and your profits will improve, end of story.

However, after a few more beers last week the consensus was that things were starting to change. Small signs of hope were creeping into our day to day lives and we convinced ourselves that customer service was on its way.

It’s churlish to say that the credit crunch and Baltic crash is good for the country, as 13 percent unemployment is surely too high a price to pay. But hopefully business owners and their staff will realize that not just now, but forever, basic courtesies and respect for customers is a prerequisite.

Such a change should improve the general economy and the visitor’s experience of Estonia.

On my side, perhaps it’s time to start to reward service when I see it, with my custom if not a tip. I will also shun the organizations that don’t want to change. Perhaps being too tolerant was part of the problem.

There’s a revolution taking place here in Estonia, let’s hope it continues.

Disclaimer:

Views expressed in the opinion section are never those of the Baltic Reports company or the website’s editorial team as a whole, but merely those of the individual writer.