Suzhou? Never Again!

[Jose Beahan]

Sigh, Suzhou, this is the first city that left me with such a negative impression.

While it cannot be denied that the sceneries in Suzhou are really impressive. The idea of "a beautiful view at every step", the small bridges and flowing rivers, coupled with how locals speak in their soft, gentle tones (this might be what people refer to as "Wu dialect", right?) make one feel at peace and eager to live here.

But!!! (Maybe I just had a really bad luck?) My travel experience was honestly far from ideal!

• It seems like some merchants in Suzhou don't care too much about business, right? (I'm kidding but my point is that they may not be financially driven so their customer services tends to be lacking.) The attitude of the service I received was disappointing, I would say.
  • Just now, when my friend and I shopped in a clothing store:
    • After she tried on a medium-sized dress, it was found to be slightly big and she wished to try on the small size.
    • However, after requesting the salesperson several times, all she got was this dismissive response: "Try the medium size first. I’ll get you the smaller size if you want to."
    • My friend stated her intention clearly, yet the staff remained cold without any immediate assistance. Instead of providing quick service, the staff decided paying attention to potential customers instead.
  • At that time, there were four or five guests and only one salesperson in the store. I simply don’t understand why they reacted like that, did it seem that we couldn’t afford a dress worth RMB 200 because of how we were dressed?
  • Truly, these kind of shops are doing a disservice to the reputation of Suzhou!

Travel Tip / Warning to Watch Out For:

• Service Attitude:
  • Although Suzhou has beautiful landscapes, merchants in a few shops could be a bit...random in terms of service attitude. Be prepared to encounter impolite situations.
  • Caution: Sometimes, especially in non-prestigious shops, you might encounter employees who “adjust their service according to the appearance of the customer”(a Chinese slang which means these individuals adjust their service attitude based on your looks).
• How to respond:
  • If there’s something particular that you are really interested in, insist and communicate your request in a clear manner.
  • If feelings of disrespect begin to arise, or if the employee’s attitude worsens beyond reason, do not hesitate to directly switch to another retailer. Suzhou also offers its share of kind merchants and tourist attractions, let unpleasant experiences not affect your entire trip.

[Nathan Dickinson-Steuber]

It's a shop downstairs from the Pipa Yu Pingtan Hall on Guanqian Street, right next to the elevator.

[Leticia Ritchie]

I'm honestly speechless. Yesterday afternoon, August 17th, I went to Pingjiang Road. I found the tourist center and wanted to ask where to catch a boat and find the restroom. I peeked in first, saw someone come out, and the door was open, so I went in. There was a guy with thinning hair glued to his phone. As I entered, I asked, 'Excuse me, where's the restroom?' Without looking up, he just said, 'Close the door,' in a really unfriendly tone. I didn't quite hear him, so I said, 'Sorry?' He then impatiently repeated, 'Close the door!' It's ridiculous! Why didn't he ask all the other people who left before me to close it? Was it just because I'm a girl and they were men? Later, when I asked about the restroom, he just casually gestured with his head and said, 'Inside the scenic area.' Of course, I know it's in the scenic area, but I'd still have to search for it. I came to the tourist center because I saw a restroom sign there. Also, today, August 18th, I went to Xiyuan Temple for vegetarian noodles. At noon, while queuing for the Guanyin Temple meal token, the person in the middle handing them out...

[Linda Dietrich]

...the older woman handing out tokens had a terrible attitude! I waited until the person before me paid and got their token before I said what I wanted. I even repeated it twice because I was worried she wouldn't hear me with all the people around. And I only said it twice! She just yelled at me, 'Don't shout here! Even if you shout, I won't hear you and I'll have to ask you again later. My job is so busy, it's not easy!' Then she softened her tone a bit and said, 'Don't you think so?' It's so ridiculous! Why, out of all people, did she yell at me? This is your job! If you find it so busy, then don't do it! I waited for the person in front of me to be done before I stated my order, so how was I shouting? It seems like anyone can get a job these days. These two incidents have really soured my impression of Suzhou...

[Beulah Koelpin]

Many of the sales assistants here are so dismissive; they just ignore you. I went into several qipao shops and it was the same story. One shopkeeper flat out told me, 'That doesn't suit you.' Then I looked at a modern dress, tagged at over 800 yuan. When I asked if there was a discount, she just scoffed and said '12% off.' She never once suggested I try something on or offered any real help.

[Florence Stark]

Exactly! It was the same for us when we first got to Suzhou. Incredibly rude stall owners, incredibly rude motorcycle taxi drivers. We were here for three days and spent all three days fuming.

[Tanya Bogisich IV]

Oh, so to buy anything in Suzhou shops, you apparently need to perform a whole purification ritual and be dripping in gold and silver first!