Differences Belgium / US: Part 1: The supermarket

After talking briefly about gas prices, I would like to address some differences between Belgium and the United States. I will talk about things that are expected to be different but I will also highlight some other things that aren't so obvious.

Part 1: The Supermarket (Delhaize, Walmart, GB, Bashes,...)

The biggest differences our family encountered when we compared supermarkets in the two countries were the following:

* When the supermarket closes at 18h00 (6 p.m.) in Belgium, one of the people working there won't allow people to enter the store from 17h50. So she/he gets paid for standing close to the door and telling people the store has to close and that they are not welcome...

In the US, if you walk into a store at 17h59 and it closes at 18h, they are happy to let you in.

scorecard: United States 1 - 0 Belgium

* In the U.S. everything you buy is put into plastic bags by personnel. In Belgium, you have to do it yourself and the biggest retailers will stop offering free plastic bags from July 2007 on.
Putting your groceries in your bag is probably the most annoying thing when shopping, so:

scorecard: United States 2 - 0 Belgium

* In the U.S. shopping carts are brought back to the store by store personnel. In Belgium you have to put change in the cart and then bring it back to get your coins back.

scorecard: United States 3 - 0 Belgium

* Personnel in Belgian supermarkets are not what you would call customer friendly (wink, wink). They are not only disliking the work they do, they also show it. I think in the U.S. you would get your C4 within the day. People were always friendly in U.S. supermarkets.

scorecard: United States 4 - 0 Belgium

This one is a clear victory for the United States. I will address other differences tomorrow.