Finnish customer service or lack thereof

This is a sensitive topic and there has been much discussion about it by Expats and Finns alike.  Whether it is a casual conversation with one of my co-workers or a chat with my wife, this topic seems to come up somewhat frequently.  Some people believe that "customer service" and "Finland" should not even be used in the same sentence because Finland doesn't have a clue about treating the customer while others might think that everything is fine and there are just some misunderstandings among expats living in Finland.  I am going to try to be neutral here, but based on observations and experiences that I have had while living here for 2.5 years, I would rate Finnish customer service a 3 on a scale of 1-10.  I would estimate that from my experiences I have had a pleasant customer experience approximately 30% of the time.  I guess it could be worse.  :)

I think the big debate here is: Are the Finns just rude and don't appreciate or give good customer service or is it just a cultural thing.  Perhaps they are not really intentionally trying to be rude, but it is a perception of outsiders used to a different level of service that their level comes across as rude.  I personally was shocked in regards to one experience I had after I had just arrived to the country.  I needed to change the car from summer tires to winter tires so I went to a local tire shop in order to do that.  First of all, when I asked the guy behind the desk if he spoke English, he said "no", but then spoke English anyways.  I noticed he said the same thing to every non-Finn who came to the shop looking for tires.  Sure, he might have wanted people to attempt Finnish, but rudely saying "No" to everyone who asked wasn't really a nice move.  Then later it came time to get my car as it came off the platform.  I tried to drive away, but the key did nothing.  Some message then came on the screen which referred to the electronic system.  Everything was fine before coming to the tire shop and now since they changed tires I cannot start my car. I asked for some help, but no one seemed like they cared or had the time to help.  Some guy turned the key a few times and finally after some minutes they just proceeded to push my car out of the garage into the yard without saying a word.  Now I was in the parking lot with a car that doesn't start and not sure how to handle it.  So, then I go talk to the manager who acts surprised but gives no help at all.  Almost like he just wanted the situation to go away.  I called my wife, who then attempted to call the place, however, they simply did not answer the call.  She finally got a manager of the entire chain on the line, who was apologetic but unable to help.  I went back to my car and after monkeying around with the engine for a while and having my wife search for technical solutions online from her office, the car finally started back up.  I took a deep sigh of relief and then raced over to pick up my son at school.  I think even Finns would admit that this was bad customer service.

I have already blogged in the past about numerous stories of frustration that my wife and I have had when dealing with Finnish banks.  I was rejected many times for simple credit cards and we were rejected by banks for loan applications.  Finally a good story to share when a very friendly and accommodating Finn at Danske Bank (formerly Sampo Pankki) helped us get a good rate and loan on our new home.   See my earlier blog article (2012) on "Do Finns trust foreigners" for more about this experience.   Also, in spite of my horror story at the car shop, we were finally able to find a friendly car repair shop in Espoo with a very friendly owner who normally accommodates our needs.  I just have to remember these pleasant situations and understand that there are indeed exceptions to the rule.

Another expat shared a story about how he offered to open the door for an older gentleman and after the man walked through the door and said nothing, my friend said "you're welcome".  The Finnish man then proceeded to say "Well, I never asked you to open the door for me" rudely and walked away.  :)  Hmm, it seems like many Finns just don't want the help, they want to "do it on their own".  Trust me, I know from experience myself that Finns are forever independent and proud and generally shy away from help.  They do not seem to want to owe anything to anyone.  I am still a bit torn over whether to chalk off these experiences and stories as rude and unacceptable behavior or just part of the culture that needs to be accepted when living in someone elses country.  I don't expect things to be just like in the States when living in Finland, but I do think some form of customer service should be practiced by Finns.  Sure, in the US we have much higher level of customer service and many people's livelihoods depend on the cash they receive from tips and such.  Still with that said, one should not feel entitled in their jobs just because they know they will not receive anything extra or lose their job because of it.  So, I actually do think that the Finns could learn a bit about customer service in the States and perhaps change their habits a bit to make their country a better place to live.   Sure, every culture is different and no country is perfect, but I think it is pretty safe to say that if there is something that the Finns can improve on, it is definitely customer service.

Happy New Year!

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and wonderful 2014.  The Finns says "Hyvää uutta voutta"!  New Year's Eve is a bit different from Christmas in Finland.  Seems that Christmas is a very peaceful family Holiday where no one appears to run around to multiple gathering, but stays local with the family. I was told that on New Year's Eve in Finland, from the time the sun goes down till midnight, fireworks become legal.  Since moving to Finland we have practiced a family tradition where we light off fireworks from our front yard. There are no legal problems doing this and police do not interfere on this night.  We light actual rockets, streamers and ground sparklers.  The kids are always excited for this and it reminds me of my childhood back in the States when we had fireworks on the 4th of July celebration.  However, I think in most places in the States, the use of fireworks is not always permitted, maybe just restricted to certain areas and types of fireworks.  It is interesting how many families in the small neighborhoods in Finland take part in the New Year's fireworks.  I think the cacophony from the fireworks last year began around 8pm and didn't let up till past midnight in our little neighborhood in Espoo.  This seems to be the general theme around the country.

There is still a distinct lack of snow on the ground here in Southern Finland and also no signs of the first major snow storm.  Most people have expected the snow to fall by this time of year; however it just hasn't been cold enough. The last week or so we have had about 5C (41F).  The snow is actually welcomed this time of year since it brightens up things nicely in the dark and allows for snow activities.  The days are still very short now and will be until early February when it starts to get noticeably lighter with each day.  The sun rises about 9:15am now and sets at 3:22pm.  However short and dark the days might be at this moment, staying positive and knowing that it will eventually change helps one get through the dark, dog days of winter in Finland.

As another year races by I have much to be thankful for and reflect on. 2013 was another busy year filled with fun, work, adventure, traveling and learning.  Our family hasn't let go of the travel bug as we plan on visiting several more countries in Europe this coming year, 2014. Whether you live in Finland, The United States or any other place in the world, I appreciate the fact that you stopped by my blog and I hope you find some of my previous posts interesting.  As always, I appreciate comments on my page and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

An American expat living in Finland for 2 years now

It has now been just over two years since I moved with my family to Finland from the United States.  This two year milestone is a good time to reflect on my experiences as an expat and hopefully learn from them and continue on with my voyage.  I thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope it is something that you enjoy and can learn from as well.  I hope that in my writing I never come off as arrogant or self-absorbed because that is not my intention.  Yes, I know this blog is mainly about my personal experiences living abroad but since I have a larger audience now, I would hope people reading it like yourself enjoy my ramblings and perhaps gain some insights as well.  I think it could be especially useful for someone wondering or perhaps considering to make a move abroad.

Time really does fly and before you know it the children are growing up and the years are passing you by.  So much happened during my second year living abroad in Finland. At this time last year, we purchased a home in Espoo and that experience in itself was quite scary, but we survived.  Buying a home in a foreign country can be daunting, but once we figured out the rules and got through the red tape, it wasn't such a bad experience.  Fortunately the interest rates in Finland are at rock bottom now, so it makes perfect sense to buy instead of renting even if only for a few years.  Life went on as usual, my children kept busy with their school and sports activities, I remained working for the same start-up in downtown Helsinki and we went on several trips and adventures. I was also able to see some amazing artists live in Helsinki, including Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Omar Rodriquez-Lopez, Rush, Kiss and The Smashing Pumpkins.

 Last winter (2012-2013) was long and cold, but we were able to enjoy winter sports and other winter activities. But like all things in life, the winter came to and end, so it wasn't so bad. This last summer was fairly dry and warm and was probably one of the best in Finland in a long time.  The seasons change and everything seems to balance itself out.  Life is fairly normal now, we know more people in the neighborhood and in the school network and we are familiar with most of the local shops and know how to get from place to place without much hassle.

I have learned so much from living abroad and I am still learning more almost everyday.  It is always eye-opening to see how things are done in a culture and country other than you own.  Sometimes you are shocked and others times awed by the little things that you are not used to, but each day you learn and grow.  I am starting to crack the code of Finnish society, but it definitely takes some time and effort.  Finns are not going to become your best friends overnight, there is trust and patience involved.  I have learned much about the Finnish workplace and the value of time off.  I have learned how people here have a greater separation between work and personal life.  I have learned how folks are more efficient with space and how they recycle more.  I have experienced the silence on buses and the peaceful walks through the endless forests.  Of course, learning and experiencing should never stop as it keeps one's inner fire burning.  I think what I have learned this far in life through my travels and living abroad is that we should always keep our minds and hearts open, we should never stop learning and experiencing and try our best to avoid stagnating.  Of course it is easier said than done, but let's not forget that we only have one life and it is short so why not try to live it to the fullest?  

Summer Vacation Part 3 (California and Finland)

The 3rd and final leg of my summer holiday started the same day I returned from Greece.  We arrived back to Helsinki at 3 am and I grabbed a few hours of sleep before jumping back on a plane heading towards Los Angeles.  This part of the trip involved some business in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for my employer, followed by a quick visit home to the San Francisco Bay Area.   I was excited again to return to my home state, even though I needed to work during the first part of the week.

Misson Inn, Riverside, Ca

No need to get into details of the business portion of the trip, however I was quite amazed at the hotel that I stayed at while in Riverside, California.  I stayed at the historic Mission Inn hotel which made my stay feel a bit more like a vacation than a business trip.  The Mission Inn was built in the Spanish Mission style just over a 100 years ago and has been visited by many famous dignitaries and important folks through out its history. Albert Einstein, Emelia Earhart, Teddy Roosevelt among many presidents stayed here.  Ronald and Nancy Reagan had their honeymoon there as well. The hotel was palatial and in addition to the interesting Spanish style architecture, it had 2 bars, 4 restaurants, a swimming pool and various staircases, nooks, crannies and meeting rooms.  It is definitely one of the most impressive hotels I have ever stayed at and for $125 per night for a large room (about 95€), it was an absolute steal from what I am used to in Europe.  So, in between work sessions I was able to indulge in awesome food and swim a bit in the pool and soak in some California sun.

Grand staircase, Mission Inn

At the end of the week, I drove over to Venice beach from Riverside, strategically trying to get on the freeways during light commute hours, which is almost impossible in Los Angeles.  The traffic in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas is an absolute nightmare and even worse for someone coming from calm and efficient Finland.  However, with that said I made decent time from Riverside to Venice beach.  I hadn't been down to the famous Venice beach area since I was a small child and I had no idea of the motley characters that now call it home.  There is the famous Muscle beach which was a showcase to the muscled celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Joe Weider among others.  As I walked down the beachfront, I noticed jugglers, entertainers, freaks, a man playing guitar on skates, various merchants, aggressive dudes trying to sell their new rap CD's, among other characters.  It reminded me a bit of the old Telegraph Avenue area in Berkeley as a beach community in Los Angeles.  A lunch near the water, hanging out a bit near the beach and strolling down the beach front and I was ready to go back to the airport and head back home (San Francisco, CA).  I always enjoy a trip back home to relax and catch up a bit with family and friends.  However, as always time seems to fly and my short stay at home was over and I was again at the airport and boarding an airplane back to Helsinki.

The Saimaa

My wife already had plans to visit her grandmother who lives in the North Karelia area of Finland and driving there takes around 4 hours from Helsinki/Espoo.  I have been to this area several times in the past and have always enjoyed it.  The drive takes you directly through the Finnish lake land region which features the great Saimaa lake among other natural sites.  We would spend an afternoon visiting her grandmother before driving over to a campground in the Punkaharju ridge area.  This gorgeous area features views of the Saimaa and a drive across a high ridge that splits one of the lakes in half.  This was our first camping experience in Finland and it was nice, the facilities had everything one could ask for including clean showers, restaurants and activities.  The next day we visited the famous city of Savonlinna which features the best preserved castle in all of Finland as well as a lively market at the lakefront.  It was another beautiful, sunny day in Finland to stroll around, take in some views and enjoy our surroundings.  The long drive back home included passing through the center of the Saimaa and stopping for lunch in the lake port city of Puumala.  Puumala is a neat little city that is right in the heart of the lake region and features a nice harbor for the boats that seem to come and go all day long.  Then we continued the journey through the lake region taking in the views along the way and then back home to Espoo.  It was the wonderful end to a long summer Holiday. I can say that this summer was definitely one of the most memorable in a long time and the weather in Finland cooperated.

Punkaharju ridge

Living in a land full of linguists

In the United States most children are not given a choice to begin studying a second language until high school.  Sure, English is the national language in the US, but doesn't it make sense to start exposing our children to more languages at an early age?  I have to admit that I do have some regret about not having been taught any additional languages in my early years.  I was not exposed to any other languages until I started learning Spanish during my sophomore year in high school.  There are proven studies that learning a second or third language is much more effective when it is started before age of 7 or 8.

In Finland, it is mandatory for all kids to start learning a second language in 3rd grade.  In elementary school, most children learn both English and Swedish (Finland's 2nd national language) as second and third languages, respectively.  The third language is usually started at the 7th grade, and many children elect to start a fourth language at 8th grade.  So, by the time most children graduate from high school they are usually fluent in 3 or more languages. Since they start taking these language classes when they are fairly young, they build a solid base and much of the learning is preserved.  It is much harder to learn and retain a language when you start much later in life.  I am amazed everyday at how easily people switch between languages.  In my workplace we have several people who speak English, Swedish and Finnish in their daily interactions and they don't struggle at all. I also have some co-workers who speak German, Spanish, French, Romanian and Dutch.

In the United States, educators and parents might think that there is no point in learning additional languages because our only official language is English, but I think they are missing the point. There is strong learning and growth in the brain when we study and pick up additional languages and that training has been proven to facilitate other areas of learning.  There are only positive benefits of learning additional languages, and I think many American educators and parents might be short-sighted in their way of thinking.  Hopefully, in the future things will change and there will be an increased acceptance of learning additional languages in the United States.  I know that Spanish is becoming increasingly more important to learn, especially in my home state of California.  They really should require a second language like Spanish or French in grammar school; I think the benefits would be priceless.

My son, who moved to Finland at age 5 has learned the difficult Finnish language fluently after just under one year of living here.  He had heard a little bit of Finnish as a child, but had never spoken a word before we moved to Finland.  We basically did the immersion method, just placing him in an all Finnish school.  The teachers were very good about first explaining things in English and then switching to Finnish.  But, after 7 or 8 months they no longer had to use any English and switched to only Finnish.  Knowing how difficult the Finnish language is, I was amazed how quickly he learned.  He is even twisting most of the words correctly and in Finnish they have approximately 15 different cases for nouns.  One neat thing is that if you learn 2 languages early enough you will not have an accent in any of the languages and they will both sound natural and native.   At age 5 the brain is a sponge absorbing everything that is thrown at it, and kids learn fast.  I am glad that he was able to have this experience of learning another language at a young age. 

Parking in Finland

Excuse me, but I need to go on a little rant now about parking in Finland.  I have been frustrated with the parking situation in Finland for sometime now and have kept quiet about it, but now I must vent a bit!  Finland is a relatively large country by European norms and is very sparsely populated.   I would expect builders here in Finland to build proper parking lots with enough space for people to park most types of cars.  Why not, since space is not that limited, with notable exception to Helsinki.  Perhaps it is the public policy to build the spaces smaller?  I am not one of these American "bigger is better" car owners with a jumbo sized SUV or Escalade. I  currently drive a mid-sized Toyota Camry family car.  There never seems to be enough space to park your car in the Helsinki-Espoo-Vantaa area (Southern Finland).  It could be the local shopping mall, your friends row home (town house) parking lot or the local Supermarket, parking is not always going to be easy.  The spots are roughly a quarter size smaller than what you would expect in the USA and making matters more difficult is that many of the parking lots are underground because of the frequent harsh weather conditions here in Finland.  When you pull into the store's underground parking lot, expect a tiny lane the usually dips down a few floors and twists and turns around hair pin corners to the bottom.  Once you are lucky enough to find a free parking spot (because spots are normally at a premium) then you can take a deep breathe and get back to your business.  There are almost never parking attendants in Finnish garages, so when you leave the lot, you usually have to pay and validate your ticket at a machine before leaving the garage unless it is a free spot.  In the case of a free (timed)  spot, you need to leave your parking disc on your dashboard.  The twenty-four hour parking disc displays the time you parked.  Most spots allow at least 1 hour if they are free.  Most folks are honest about setting their disc start time correctly when they arrive.

The winter weather also adds quite a challenge to outdoor parking.  Ice, snow and bone chilling temperatures in the early morning makes it quite the experience.  First you should spent at least 5 minutes warming up your car and scraping the ice of the windshield to ensure safe driving/parking.  Then, after arriving at one's destination, one may need to squeeze their car into an icy spot, sliding between some other cars and avoid those large clumps of snow that has been building up for weeks.  Those of us from warmer climates should definitely appreciate and not take what we have for granted.

Doesn't sound all that bad, right?  Well, if you can get past the smaller spots, tight garages and winter weather, there is the constant threat of a parking ticket.  I have received 3 parking tickets since moving to Finland.  The price in Espoo is 60 euros per ticket which is roughly 80 $, so definitely more than one would pay in the States.  Some of these tickets were my own fault for forgetting to set my parking disc, but the thing is that when you overextend your parking time or forget your disc you will almost always be popped for it.  There is no breaking the rules in Finland, they will get you almost every time.   One time my wife left the car quickly to get the change for the parking machine and in just a few minutes while she was gone, a hidden parking attendant wrote her up a ticket. It seems as if they are just sitting there and waiting, then they pounce on the opportunity to give a ticket.  In Finland it is usually very difficult to fight a ticket once it is issued.  You can attempt to email or call them, but normally they will not take the time to help or be empathetic to your situation.  Luckily, in my wife's situation, they said they allowed up to 10 minutes to get your cash, so they let her off, but that was after she emailed several times back and forth with no clear resolution.

I think that society in Finland is more geared toward public transportation.  That is probably a good thing, but some of us with families need a car which makes transportation a bit more convenient.  However, with that said I just don't understand the tight little parking spaces, strict rules about tickets and lack of parking attendants.

Settling into a busy life in Finland

One of the major reasons we moved to Finland was to slow down.  To take time away from the crazy Bay Area (California) lifestyle and enjoy a more relaxed pace of living.  In some ways it has been that, but other ways I feel we are becoming just as busy as before.

It is good to keep oneself occupied with activities, but there is always the danger of burn out.  The first year living abroad in Finland was a time for learning and discovery.  Finding out new places, bus routes, getting around the cities, getting to know neighbors and school parents, learning the general system, rules, grocery stores, etc.  You can make a case that the first year or so, you are still very much a tourist versus an expat.   I think now after 1.5 years in Finland, we have plateaued or gotten over that initial hump and are fully engaged in our day to day activities and generally feel like this is home (for now at least).  My son is now involved in karate, gymnastics and swimming classes every week while my daughter is keeping busy with sports that include swimming and soccer.  She is also looking forward to badminton and other sports.  My wife works full time and is also getting an LLM (advanced degree in law) at the same time.   I have now been working for a Finnish technology start-up (Scoopshot.com) for nearly 1 year now.  In addition to taxiing my children to all their after school activities, I engage myself in various outdoors activities such as cross country skiing, jogging and cycling.  I am realizing it is very difficult to find spare time for social outlets, but I sometimes find some treasured moments for an occasional concert or a few beers with friends.  These winter days, by the time the weekend arrives I am fully ready to just lay around and do absolutely nothing, until my inner fire to get active outdoors strikes again.

My hope is not to fall into the "rat race" in Finland that consumed our family in the United States.  On the bright side, in Finland, when time off is taken, it is really enjoyed.  I have mentioned this in previous posts, that generally when people take vacations in Finland, they take plenty of time to relax and do not check work unless it is critical.  In the US, many jobs have pressure to always be available even if you are away on vacation.

We are now deep into the middle of winter, but have turned the corner as the days are getting lighter and lighter.  The worst of the long dark days are gone for now, but we will still have to deal with about 6 weeks of winter weather until the inevitable Spring thaw begins.  Enjoy some recent pics I took during my morning walk to the bus stop.  Finland is beautiful in the winter when the trees display their fresh white coats.

Engulfed in darkness at -26 Celsius (-15F)

I told myself I wouldn't complain about this winter season in Finland.  However, the winter which commenced in late November with a blizzard, isn't even half over and I am already counting the days till Spring.  We just experienced the two coolest days of the season and the coldest single day since I moved to Finland.  Last Saturday morning it reached -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit).  That was officially the coolest day I have ever experienced anywhere.  As much as I love outdoor activities, I wasn't able to go for a walk or ski.  Some days are just meant to be indoors.  I think 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit qualifies as a day you just stay inside and keep warm.  :)

A rare glimpse of  the sun

I won't lie to you, Finnish winters are definitely challenging.  Many might think that the cold, freezing weather conditions are the worst part of the winter.  While the cold is not always comfortable, in my opinion the most difficult aspect is the darkness.  This time of year in Southern Finland it gets light around 9:30 in the morning and gets dark again starting around 4:00pm. That doesn't sound all that bad, and trust me it is much worse in Northern Finland.  However, what people who don't live here don't know is that most of those days, the sun almost never appears.  It slowly creeps up the horizon each morning and sets each evening, but it is normally obscured by clouds.  This time of year, it seems the cloud cover goes on for weeks and magically all of a sudden the clouds depart leaving blue skies that I once thought had disappeared forever.  And trust me, I celebrate those days when the sky reappears to cast its bright blue spell.

Secondly, my next biggest complaint about the winter is the slippery, icy sidewalks and streets.  It makes no difference, what type of shoes you wear, you will slip if you do not walk carefully.  You must slowly trudge along, kind of like a penguin.  It sometimes feels as you are walking on glass or an ice rink. Then, sometimes a small powdery snowfall will dump a light cover on top of the ice, making it even slicker than you thought was possible.

Lastly, I must complain about the whole driving experience.  First, you must always plan on starting your car 5-10 minutes before your leave.  While the engine is warming, you can scrape off the ice layer on your windshield and windows, and if necessary dig the snow out of the driveway.  There is nothing worse than pulling out of the driveway and spinning your tires in the deep snow cover and going no where.  Then you must try to drive safely to avoid sliding all over the road, even though you are armed with the latest high tech snow tires.  Knock on wood, I haven't actually had any accidents, but several times my car slid as I tried to stop at various stop lights, nearly avoiding hitting the car in front of me.  Sometimes there is just no control and not much the driver can do.

The challenging winters are an inevitable part of living in Finland.  But, as I blogged last winter, with a positive attitude and by using some of the techniques I posted, you can overcome the winter and go on with life.  Maybe I will re-read this section myself again for tips.  :)

http://scandinavianinterlude.blogspot.fi/2012/01/tips-on-surviving-finnish-winter.html

A winter's smiles among the darkness.

A traditional Finnish New Year's Eve

Like most countries, Finland also celebrates on New Year's Eve.  Beyond the typical drinking and late night parties, Finland has a specific custom practiced on New Year's eve which tries to predict the following year.  This involves melting down a tin horseshoe with a specialized ladle over the stove.   One places the small tin horseshoe in the spoon and then lifts it over the hot stove top.  Once the tin is melted, it is then dropped into a cold bucket of water where it will change from liquid to solid again.  It is any one's guess what shape will transform once the tin turns solid again and it is safe to say there will never be two identical ones.  This is the second New Year's eve our family has spent in Finland and the second time we have practiced this tradition.  We have uncovered shapes from the melted down tins, such as leaves, dragons and even a lady.  However, many times the shape is just a inanimate blob of melted down tin.  Let's just hope these are not exactly accurate predictions of the upcoming year.  :)

Unlike in the USA where fireworks are illegal in most States, fireworks are legal between certain hours on New Year's eve in Finland.  Anyone over 18 can purchase and light fireworks in Finland.  Our family typically buys a few packages of fireworks to shoot off .  Starting at about 6pm, until just after midnight is a constant cacophony of various fireworks.  We started the children off with some sparklers, which were followed by some actual rockets and roman candles.  Like myself in the middle of my childhood years, my children love to watch colorful rockets exploding in the sky.  Luckily with all the snow covering the ground, shooting off the rockets was a safe and enjoyable experience.

As in most Holidays in Finland, store and services are usually closed or have very limited hours.  New Year's eve was a short day for most business and New Years Day everything (including food stores) are closed.   In the USA, New Years Eve is a normal day and you can still find some store and restaurants open on New Years Day. Here's to a happy and prosperous 2013!

Hullut Päivät - Crazy Days

It seems that American marketing techniques have infiltrated Finland.  This week, Finland's largest department store, Stockmann had their "Hullut Päivät" or "Crazy days" store promotions.  And crazy it was, it brought hordes of maniacal shoppers to the stores.  They had massive amounts of signs and promotions to lure in customers in, like pieces of metal being sucked into one giant magnet.  


Since I have lived in Finland, I have not seen many American style marketing tactics being used, with most stores just doing some basic newspaper promotions, etc.  The recent event at Stockmann was like experiencing the day after Thanksgiving's "Black Friday" in America all over again.  The parking lots were full early and the stores were buzzing with energy.  The stores even featured people dressed in costumes and they were having canned conversations with each other to create more fervor.  It went something like this "Hey, did you know about the great deal in electronics", "No, can you show me" and then they would proceed to the electronics department trying to lure more suckers along with them.

The irony of these crazy days is that there aren't really any crazy good sales going on.  They are simply sucking you in and then giving a few good deals, but most of the items are not really at bargain basement prices.  They had many items in bins just outside the store to get your attention and then the shoppers would walk into the store and unload half their wallets.   I never thought the Finns were very good at marketing, but Stockmann has it down to a science.  Finnish businesses should take note, but is this a good thing?  Let me now your opinion on the American marketization of Finnish products.    Who knows before long Black Friday will invade Finland, but I sure hope not anytime soon.

Time off, Finnish style

In Finland and most of Europe, people know what it means to really take time off.  Time spent away from the office relaxing with family and friends is highly regarded in Finland.   With summer vacations approaching soon, people are starting to get excited about their longest stretch of time without work.  In Finland, since the summers are precious and short, most people take off several weeks in July.  I don't just mean 1 or 2 weeks off, but 3, 4 or even 5 weeks in a row.  Finns know what it means to truly relax from the stresses of the workplace and recharge their batteries.  Some spend 2 weeks traveling, then 1 week relaxing at a summer cottage, then an additional week just to recover from their vacation.  The goal is to totally decompress and get work out of the mind and the system.  Having worked in the US for most of my career, I recall struggling just to reserve 2 or 2 1/2 weeks off without interrupting the work schedules.  If I wanted to take off more than 2 weeks in a row, I needed upper management to sign off on my vacation request.  US bosses always say to take your vacations, but when it comes down to it, they care more concerned about keeping the business running like a well oiled machine.  In Finland, almost all businesses completely shut down during the month of July, so managers are not running around with decreased staff trying to keep the business at full speed, but they actually relax and take the time off themselves.  It makes sense since the summers are short and precious, people should not be wasting them in the office.

Most US companies start with 2 weeks of vacation and increase to 3 or even 4 weeks when employees reach a certain level of seniority.  In Finland, most companies start with 5 weeks, however many other Holidays and  extra days off can taken during the year.   I was lucky enough to have 4 weeks of vacation in my last US company, however that was kind of exceptional. Good luck if I was ever going to get off 4 weeks off in a row.  I normally took off 2 weeks during the summer and spread the other vacation days around throughout the year.  It will be nice talking off long stretches during the summer now and feeling guilt free about it.  I am truly looking forward to vacations, Finnish style.

So you want to learn Finnish?

There is one topic I have avoided writing about in my blog. That would be in regards to my painful struggle with the Finnish language.  In the past I have always considered myself to be engaged and truly interested in learning foreign languages. However,  Americans like myself are a bit crippled in this respect and the majority of the US populous are monoglots.  Language learning just isn't supported in the United States the same way it is in Scandinavia and Europe.  We are not required to take languages in school and usually don't even start to learn them until High School (which is much too late).

Excuses aside, Finnish truly is a difficult language to learn, and some say it is one of the most difficult in all of Europe if not the entire world.  You might think why is Finnish any more difficult than most European languages?  First of all, Finnish doesn't belong to the same language tree as the other Germanic Scandinavian languages and it isn't really related to any other languages.  Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric language tree.  In fact the only other major languages in the Finno-Ugric tree are Estonian and Hungarian.  So, it is a truly unique language.   What makes it super difficult for Americans and other native English speakers without language backgrounds is the fact that the pronunciation is so difficult and there are so many different cases.  The Finnish alphabet uses a few special characters like the ö and the ä.  These have distinctly different sounds from the English o and a.  I won't get too deep into pronunciations, Finnish words, or grammar cases because that would be an entirely different post.  However, I do want to give an example of the twisting of words in Finnish.  For example, in English when you use a noun in a sentence like "glass", the word stays the same.  The spelling of the noun never changes.  However, in Finnish depending on how you use "glass" in the sentence, the word changes.  So if you drink from the glass, throw the glass, break the glass, put the glass on the table, etc.  The word will change in each case and you must remember how to twist the word in all the cases.  This is by no means an easy learning experience. I find it hard enough just to learn all the new verbs and nouns and then having to worry about twisting words up to 15 times is just mind boggling in my opinion.  You throw the difficult pronunciations on top of that and you are in for a very challenging language learning experience.

I had taken some Finnish lessons several years ago before moving to Finland, so I had some knowledge of the language and knew some vocabulary.  Also, now living here for 9 months I have obviously had more exposure to the language.   But, to be totally honest, Finnish is not a language you just pick up while living here.  You don't just string a bunch of words together and speak slowly in Finnish, you pretty much either know Finnish or you don't.  There really isn't much in between, because if you attempt to speak Finnish and you can't be understood by the locals, in 95% of the cases, you will get English spoken back to you.  Their command of the English language is very impressive to say the least.    It is very frustrating knowing how many Finns can speak perfect English, when I am in their country and can barely string 2 Finnish sentences together and make sense of it.   The Finnish language has been compared to a triangle, where one must learn the most difficult and challenging part at the base and then work their way up to the top of the triangle where mastery takes place.  The bottom of the triangle or base is very difficult and takes a long time to master, however once the rules are learned, the learning curve gets easier. Where in English, the language has been compared to an upside down triangle where the rules of learning in the beginning are easier and one can learn to speak basic English fairly fast.  However, as they climb up the triangle, the challenges grow with the different rules of English words and tenses.  So, basically what I am trying to say is that Finnish is extremely challenging in the beginning and English not so much, but in the long term Finnish gets easier where English can get more difficult.  It is a combination of the initial difficulties and complexities of Finnish combined with the fact that so many speak English which makes learning Finnish a difficult but not impossible proposition for any expat living in the Helsinki area.

The Finnish Easter Experience

Easter (Pääsiäinen) in Finland is a distinctly different experience than what is celebrated in the United States.  The Palm Sunday before Easter the kids dress up like witches and go door to door collecting sweets.   Reminiscent of the trick-or-treat tradition in the British Isles and North America, this practice is believed to be a mixture of Orthodox Easter blessing customs from Eastern Finland with pre-Christian rituals from Western Finland and Scandinavia.  The kids must recite a rhyme in Finnish and they exchange a decorated branch before receiving their treats.  The Finnish rhyme is: Virvon varvon, tuoreeks terveeks, tulevaks vuueks, ison talon isännäks. Vitsa sulle, palkka mulle.

I really enjoy the long Holiday weekends in Finland and Easter is no exception.  Both Friday and Monday are official Holidays, making Easter a 4-day weekend in Finland.  In the United States some people get "Good Friday" off while others just have a normal 2-day weekend.   In Finland, most of the businesses shut down on the long weekend (with exception to Saturday) so many people leave town for vacation.  In Finland most people already get 5-6 weeks of vacation, so these long weekends are a nice addition to the already generous time off policies.  Many folks I had spoken to decided to go downhill skiing in Northern Finland and there is usually still plenty of snow up there at this time of year. 

In addition to eggs and chocolate sweets, traditional Finnish Easter dishes include Ham, Lamb and Mämmi.  Mämmi, a distinctively Finnish desert dish is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel.  Some are afraid to eat Finnish Mämmi because of it's consistency and dark brown appearance.  It really isn't that scary and besides being kind of thick and filling, doesn't taste all that bad.  It is traditionally eaten with cream and sugar.  Give it a try if you are ever visiting Finland during Easter time.

It recently got a bit colder and snowed a little bit on Palm Sunday and remained cool (25-38 F) during the entire week leading up to Easter.  The Finns said that these brief returns to Winter during Spring are common, and they call them "Takaisin Talvi" or "Back Winter".  Old Man Winter may have reared his ugly head again and placed Spring on hold, but the days are longer, the sun is out and the snow has almost all melted.  You can definitely feel Spring in the air, and now I am just waiting for the warmer barometer to stay longer.

Henry Rollins storms through Helsinki

Last Wednesday night I attended a spoken word performance by an American super artist Henry Rollins.   I would be surprised if you haven't heard of Henry.  He has to be one of the hardest working men in the arts world.  He is a singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor and radio DJ.  Those are quite some credentials, and it seems that he never slows down.   Perhaps that is the issue with Henry, he has been performing in one fashion or another for the last 30 years nonstop.  He claims he is not a "workaholic", but I beg to differ.  I think work keeps him sane and suppresses some earlier pain in his life.  Henry is legendary in the punk rock world for his work in Black Flag in the 80s, but in my world it has been his spoken word performance that I find the most captivating.

I had once seen Henry perform spoken word way back in 1993 at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, California.  However, last night almost 20 years later I had the treat of seeing Henry perform for the Finnish audience in Helsinki.  It was quite surreal to be perhaps the only American in the audience of 700 or so Finns.  Henry started his show by saying a few pleasant words about Finland and it's unique geographical location in Europe and how he played several music shows in Finland when he was younger.  He showed total respect for his Finnish audience this evening.  He then proceeded to go on an angry rant about the "circus act" that is the Republican primary election currently going on in the United States.  Later, he went on for about 20 minutes on American gluttony and the Costco shopping experience.  Other topics including his stint with a National Geographic travel show which took him to India to eat rats with the locals, and how he got a tourist visa to visit North Korea.  In North Korea he visited the mausoleum that displays the body of the so called "great leader" Kim Il Sung.  In North Korea he ate the same food everyday while being escorted around by his Korean guides.  Henry seems to have a lust for life and really enjoys visiting places off the beaten track that Americans haven't really had a chance to explore (Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, etc.)  He seems to want to give "forbidden" locations a chance to see what really lies behind the iron doors.  Rollins explained to the crowd that it doesn't matter what country you visit and what kind of political regime they have, people are people with thoughts and feelings just like you and me.  Henry also spoke about how he really tries to personally answer each and every email or letter that he receives from his fans.  He claims that he doesn't have an assistant to help him and that he takes everyone of them seriously.  If that claim is true, that is definitely a rarity in the celebrity/artist world.

In classic Rollin's fashion, he got pissed off in the beginning of the show when his microphone kept cutting on and off.  He proceeded to taunt the sound mix guy, to which the crowd got quite a kick out of.  Finally, after another 30 minutes passed, someone handed Henry a fresh microphone,  he cheered up and the crowd clapped.  He is definitely not one to hide his feelings and thoughts about anything; he appears to be as honest as one gets.  This attitude is quite refreshing when viewed by the Finns who are sometimes known to suppress their feelings.  I was quite surprised how well received the show was in Finland.  Especially in light of the fact the he is rattling off non-stop in English for 3 hours straight at break neck speed.  I wonder how much of his show was "lost in translation" to the Finnish crowd.  Finland's command of the English language is very impressive to say the least and English is spoken and heard just about anywhere in Southern Finland.  All in all, it was another great spoken word performance from one of the industry's hardest working man.

The Finnish presidential elections heat up (Niinistö vs. Haavisto)

The Finnish presidential elections are in full swing here in Finland.  They are down to 2 candidates from the initial pool of 8 that were running.  I promised myself that I would not get wrapped up in politics while living in Finland, but I must say that the political process here is quite different and more interesting from that in the United States.  It seems that in the US, the candidates are running to get elected or re-elected from the day the president takes office.  :)  The official election process is well over a year and it appears that the candidate with the most money (PACs, Super PACs, etc.) seems to have the best chance to win.  Money and advertisements are a powerful combination in the United States.  Not to mention the endless amount of needless banter as witnessed by the 20+ Republican debates that seem to have been going on for months now.  What did all these debates really accomplish?  To me these Republican debates were downright laughable and really only provided comedians with an endless array of arsenal for their comedic war chests.  In Finland, the 8 candidates are actually represented by 8 official parties and they each are allowed only one advertising sign per individual.  In addition, I have not even seen many TV adds for any of the candidates during the process.  I did notice a few civilized debates on the local TV though.  To even compare this to a US presidential debate would be entirely out of the question.  In Finland, it is not just Republicans versus Democrats like in the US, their 8 specific parties get true representation.  Parties, such as the Finnish Green Party or the Perussuomalaiset "True Finns" (Finnish incarnation of the US Tea Party) actually have a voice and get to officially run in the election.  I am not here to write detailed descriptions about the 8 specific political parties in Finland.  If you want information about the Finnish political parties, feel free to Google them.

After the first round of voting, the leading vote receiver by far was Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party and the runner-up was Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party.  What I have heard is that the National Coalition Party would be like the "Republican" party of Finland, but supposedly the Republican party in Finland is much more moderate than the Republican party in the USA.  They probably would closer align to the United States Democratic party.  Also, Niinistö is known as being a moderate candidate even in the National Coalition Party of Finland.  I find it interesting that he has even been described as being Bohemian by some people.  That is definitely not a description you would typically apply to a Republican.  :)  Right now, Niinistö is the most popular choice and seems to be heading towards becoming the next president of Finland unless something short of a miracle happens to Pekka Haavisto.  Haavisto, from the Green party is a very interesting runner-up who received more votes than the 6 other candidates.  Many were surprised (probably not just in Finland) that a Green party candidate received as many votes as he did and that he even has a slim chance to become the next president of Finland.  I read something on the internet that a Green party candidate has never become a leader of a nation.  I guess in a nation like Finland this would be a huge achievement.  I honestly don't know enough about the candidates and Finnish politics to take a side on this, but I do like the values of the Green Party and would find it interesting should the "Green" candidate claim victory.  May the best man win!

Haavisto (left) Niinistö (right) 

The Finnish wine and beer experience

Finland is definitely not your wine and beer mecca of the world, but times are changing.  My observation is that many people (not all) aren't exactly drinking in this country to savor a boutique micro-brew or Gran Cru Bordeaux, but they are looking to get loaded.  However, in all fairness I am noticing a better selection of beers at the grocery stores and different wines offered at restaurants and Finland's wine monopoly store, Alko.  In Finland you cannot buy alcohol over 5% strength in the local grocery stores (that includes beer, wine and hard liquor). So, that means that all liquor purchases (stronger beer, wine, scotch, etc.) must be purchased at the monopoly store.   That means that you can only buy your wine from one government chain.  It would be like saying in the United States, that all wine and hard liquor can only be purchased at the Beverages and More chain.  There is no concept of a wine shop in Finland and it is not even legal to have one.  The government completely controls all alcohol sales in Finland.

So you want to try Finnish beer?  I hope you enjoy gold colored lager style beers then.  75% of Finnish beer seems to have a very similar taste and look.  Karhu, Koff, Lapin Kulta,Olvi, and Karjala are all very popular ones.  They are all typically sold in 3-5 different alcohol percentage designations.

	percentage by volume	sold in restaurants	sold in stores	notes
I-beer	0.0% - 2.8%	yes	yes	doesn't require a license
II-beer	2.8% – 3.7%	yes	yes	not usually used in Finland, however, it is used in Sweden
III-beer	3.7% - 4.7%	yes	yes	known as "keskiolut", "kolmosolut" or "kolmonen", the most popular class of beer in Finland
IVA-beer	4.8% - 5.2%	yes	no	steep taxation before the 1995 reform, usually sold as Export-beers
IVB-beer	5.2% - 8.0%	yes	no	steep taxation before the 1995 reform, usually sold as Export-beers

If you want imported beers like Heineken, Miller or Corona you can get them, but be prepared to spend about $3 or more per can in the grocery store.  I was surprised to see Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (from my home state-California) in the Alko store, but they wanted like $4 per bottle for it!  I was also in this "American" restaurant called Chico's a few weeks back and they had a "Taste of California" feature on their menus and it included, not one, but 3 types of Sierra Nevada beers! They had the Torpedo IPA, Porter and Pale Ale.  Wow, It was a pleasant surprise that they carried it.  They even had a map in the restaurant highlighting the city of Chico, California.  Chico, Ca is a university town in Northern Cal that is famous for starting the Sierra Nevada Brewery among other things.  It is considered a micro-brewery and is now one of largest micro-breweries in USA.  So, spending $3 on a beer in a store might seem a bit steep, but if you want to go out for a beer to the center of Helsinki, be prepared to pay from $8-$10 per beer.

You want to try Finnish wine?  Ha - did you really think they grow grapes in Finland?  :)  Well,  I have heard of a few different Finnish fruit wines, but I haven't tried them yet.  In the meanwhile, you can get your wine from the monopoly Alko store.  The store prominently features wines from France, Italy, Spain and South America (Peru and Argentina).   You will not find that much California wine, at least not in most Alko shops.  Time to get used to that "un-oaked" Chardonnay or Chablis from France or a light earthy red instead of the California fruit bomb you are used to.  Actually, the selection at Alko is not all that bad, and many decent wines can be purchased for about $10-$20.

Wine in restaurants is a whole different "ball game" in Finland as compared to the United States.  First of all, you are quite limited when ordering by the glass versus buying a bottle.  However, if you think you are going to save money by ordering a glass of wine, think twice.  Finnish bars and restaurants actually measure the pour of wine they give you and it comes in 2 or 3 different sizes.  You can have a "normal" glass of wine which is 12 deciliters or a larger 18-20 deciliter glass.  Prices for single glasses are for the small version and if you want a larger pour you will be charged twice the price.  Essentially that means for a good glass of wine it will be $10 or more for a small and $20 or more for a larger pour of wine.  In US the larger glass would be the "normal" glass and you would pay much less than $20.   I was kind of shocked to see the waiters measuring the wine, seems kind of silly, but that is how they do it in Finland. So, then why not just save by buying a bottle of wine you might ask?  In a decent restaurant in Finland wine is marked up like 3-4x the normal cost of a bottle, compared to about 2x in US (most cases).  So, it is hard to find a decent bottle under $60 US.  OK, the first two options don't save any money, then why not just bring a nice bottle of wine to the restaurant and pay a corkage fee like in the US.  Sorry, bringing a bottle of wine is not an accepted practice in Finland and not allowed at this time (as far as I know).  I guess just try to limit your wine consumption in Finland or stick to wine at home that was purchased from the Alko store.

So, drinking wine or beer in Finland is quite expensive compared to the United States and the inventory is quite different.  However, if you want to splurge you can get very good non US stuff from your local Alko store or favorite restaurant.  Just remember to save your cash for a special occasion.  :)