Norway or Denmark: what’s the difference?
I recently moved to Norway after living in Denmark for four years. Now, when I return to Denmark, I’m often asked what differences there are between the two cultures. There are a lot - too many to explain here - but one thing that someone traveling from Denmark to Norway notices immediately is the level of service.
The first time I walked into a restaurant in Norway, I was greeted with a smile and had a menu in front of me the moment I sat down. The waitress confidently talked me through the dishes and took my drinks order. She was back with the drinks in a couple of minutes, ready to take my food order. I turned to my (Norwegian) girlfriend and said, “The service is amazing.” She raised her eyebrow and replied, “It’s just normal service; you’ve been in Denmark too long.”
Put simply: service is much better in Norway. And I’m not just referring to restaurants. I’ve found similar differences when dealing with my bank, the Norwegian tax system and my phone provider. So why is this?
I wonder if it’s something to do with Jante Law. According to the book Culture Smart Denmark by Mark Salmon, Jante Law is a set of social principles that stem from a 1933 novel. Written by a Norwegian/Danish writer, Jante Law had great impact in Scandinavia in general and echoes of it are still found in Denmark today, although it’s no longer so strong in Norway or Sweden. Essentially, Jante Law says that no one is better than anyone else. Could it be that this is interpreted to mean no person should ‘wait’ on another?
Can anyone shed any light on this for me?
September 18th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Hehehe, that’s so funny you should mention this now…I was in a nice Copenhagen cafe last week and I got really friendly service from a girl I thought was Danish. I even told her that it was great to get genuinely enthusiastic service for once. I went so far as to say that I found the service in most Danish cafes pretty inefficient, and often rude.
She laughed and said in flawless English: “I couldn’t agree more, but I’m Norwegian!”
September 18th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Interestingly, my girlfriend is convinced that the best service in Norway is actually from Swedes. She claims that the hotels and restaurants in Norwegian tourist areas are full of Swedish service staff.
It seems that the Norwegians employ Swedish service staff and the Danes employ Norwegian service staff. So who employs Danish service staff?
September 18th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Who employs Danish service staff? Would have thought that was obvious, British Rail up until it’s dissolution, believe most of them were then transferred to Social Services in Bognor Regis,……
September 26th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Firstly, people will act in a service-minded way if they have job satisfaction. Another factor is not to dominate with one’s presence … people are very self-aware in Denmark. Ever been to party where there are 5 Swedes and 50 Danes … guess who makes the most noise?
Talking about law … http://www.transparency.org/content/download/18708/255320
on page 13 and interesting summary. Kiwis aren’t listed there, but from what I read in other parts of the report they are close behind the Danes, two small countries with the same mindset?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:04 am
Yesterday I called Post Danmark about I parcel I was expecting. I was immediately told what the she COULDN’T do for me. I then called Amazon (a “faceless” multinational, if ever there was one) in Ireland and got excellent service, with an offer to replace my parcel if Post Danmark couldn’t sort it out.
Unfortunately, I could tell many similar stories from my ten years in Denmark. I have a feeling you get better service when you don’t speak or attempt to speak the language. An American friend mine, although fluent in Danish, speaks English in service situations and seems to get excellent service. What’s that all about!?
I believe this is no small problem for Denmark and not least for its economy.
The contrast in quality service in Norway also struck me.