Just thinkin about my friend Kate and waiting to hear all about her wedding and honeymoon.   What a great couple no doubt.  

Pois nao vs. Yes Man

So I walked into a store to see if they could refill my printer ink cartridge. I was having a great day by the way; I was headed to the market to go fruit and veggie shopping with one of my favorite little helpers. I get to the counter, pulled out my cartridge and said “Do you have” and I didn’t even get the question out of my mouth when the woman said “Nao” as she shook her finger at me and made a sound like “tst tst tst” with her mouth.
I just want to mention that I hate this sound; Rodrigo would use it when I asked him a question after an argument and he too would move his finger back and forth. So, I tried a gain…”well, can you” and again I didn’t even finish when she said “Nao” and tst tst tst and shook her finger at me… Oh! No fricken way! At least let me ask the question! So this time I said in English as I looked straight into her eyes “So, you aren’t even going to try to help me? So, you can’t help me, Right”? And again…”Nao, tst tst tst”. Right before I wanted to lose my mind, I was reminded that this is Brazilian Customer Service …Of course I knew that the “yes” is out there, but it is just a matter of finding it; I usually have to go 1-2 more places to find what I want. With that I turned away and moved on with my day. However, the next morning…
I had a English Conversation class with people from a factory. The slides opened and the first words on the screen were “The customer is always right”. The projector no more than put the words up and everyone was laughing and saying “yeah Right”. But they weren’t saying this because it was ironic they were saying that because they truly didn’t believe it. They believed that the customer is always trying to take advantage of the system and everyone will take advantage of you. So I looked at them through the hooting and hawing and said….”But you’re the Customer”! This thinking is a vicious cycle because it is actually what people expect from one another, it is the relationship between boss & employee and Government and citizens.

I have been working on this blog for a month now because one day I was reading a list of Portuguese sayings and stumbled upon this interesting Brazilian phrase. “Pois Nao”
“Pois Nao” is an expression here in Brasil. Brazilians use this as Americans would use “can I help you?” However the literal translation is “Because No”. This is a direct connection to customer service here. This is very significant to me because I believe you get back what you give out.
Have you ever heard the phrase what you say is what you are or you are what you eat? It is just that when you say something over and over even if you tell yourself that it has a different meaning, there is a truth to what you are saying and it feels different coming out of one’s mouth. The words are negative energy and it is a cycle that spreads from person to person.
What I would have liked to say to that woman or to workers who greet people in their business with the words “pois nao” I would say “If I was an owner of a business and you greet my customers with “because no” (pois nao), I would fire you on the spot.
Now, one thing is for sure that Brazilians have a sense of humor. They are tough people who know how to laugh and relax when times become difficult; I know that this phrase is a part of the culture and there are many reasons why Customer service is not a recognized service here in Brasil. 1) Because it is very hard to fire Employees and 2) Because it doesn’t matter how good the sales person or employee is the pay will never increase just because you are good at your job or a good person.
A lot of Brazilians treat their customers & workers like they don’t need them. The people don’t expect more and they do not organize; they do not demand to be treated better because let’s face It here someone will always be willing to do the job for less money and the people will continue to buy. Look at the Banking system, people stand in lines as if they are getting on a carnival ride or waiting to enter into a concert. One bank in town actually only has room for 6 cars to park at one time. I know the smaller the town the better the service but in the larger cities and mostly in retail there is room for an improvement or as I like to say; a head change.
So, please Stop “pois nao”, how about a little “Posso ajudá-lo” or something like “YES”.
Become a “Yes Man”, it just feels Better!