This weekend I was told by one of my new friends and blog reader Emi (hi!) that based on my blog she didn't think that I was into or interested in shopping.  Really?! Because I love shopping.  I love finding a deal, a bargain or something on sale.  I am always hunting for something unique, something to set me apart from the crowd.  So I was surprised to hear her say that she didn't think I liked shopping.

I assured her that in fact I love shopping and after our coffee we walked around and popped into a couple of shoe stores and then I showed her my new favorite scarf shop.  I am not sure that the shop has a name but it's on Graf Ignativ across from Slaveikov Square down a small little alley/walkway.  There's a mannequin at the corner of the walk way wearing a scarf and maybe 50 feet in on the right is the shop.  <!--more-->

The shop owner doesn't speak English but her prices are great and she is extremely friendly.  She told my friend that she used to be a ballerina and looking at her this doesn't surprise me one bit.  I guess now I've got to admit that I found the shop on Thursday afternoon then I took a guy friend on Friday and I was back again on Saturday.  This might make me obsessed with the shop or it might just make me a regular.  The shop owner greats me each time with an even nicer smile and greeting--something that is relatively uncommon here in Bulgaria. I think it's because of her warm welcomes, the good selection of scarves and the super prices that I've promised to take many of my other friends there as well.

What's interesting to me is how much I like this shop.  Sure I like scarfs but there's more to it than this.  Even though I don't understand half of what this woman says to me she genuinely wants to help you find a scarf.  Some might say that she's doing it because she needs the money and it's good for sales.  This may be so but what's striking is how there's never anything forced about making a sale.

The first time I went in the shop I was by myself and I didn't even know that I was looking for a scarf.  I just saw the sign and followed it into the store.  In the store the shop owner was talking to another woman.  She greeted me and continued on in her conversation.  The other woman left.  At this point, I'd been able to look at a lot of the scarves and was in the process of picking one to buy.  I took the scarf to her and she told me how pretty it was.

Normally this is where she'd stick it in a bag and tell me how much money I owed.  Instead, she takes the scarf and me outside to show much how much prettier it is outside.  Mind you, I am buying a 4 leva scarf.  That's a maximum of $3 and I've clearly already decided to buy it but still she's showing me the scarf outside in the sunlight.  This example reveals just how much this woman loves her scarves (and just how inexpensive life in Sofia is).

In the grand scheme of things, buying a scarf isn't that big of a deal but it was a nice change from most of the service that I've received in Bulgarian shops.  I guess on some level it proves that you really don't need to know the language to treat someone else well.  And for me the whole experience matters and I like leaving a store and feeling good about my purchase, myself and the way I was treated.

Maybe I am more aware of these things because my parents, who own an antique store,  ingrained this in me when I was growing up or maybe it was taught to me working at a local coffee shop during the summers in college.  Whatever it is, this idea that the whole experience matters and is what brings people back to your shop is a fundamental part of a successful business.  Is this this is in part cultural? Yes, but is it good business practice? I think so.  Am I saying that all Bulgarian shops should change the way they treat customers? No.  To each his own really.  What I am saying is that there are shops that I will gladly return to because I have good memories of my shopping experience there and other stores that I will not return to.