Reaction To 7 Culture Shocks Since Moving to Sweden (An American Perspective) 

That seems to be one of the most clueless visitors we’ve ever had. Most of her “complaints” are things she just hasn’t researched or understood. She thinks it’s “rude” that the post office returns to sender when no one’s picking up a parcel? You get text messages and letters sent as reminders, but they should just store your goods indefinitely? Signing for card purchases is so insecure most developed countries stopped decades ago. 😂

About the waiting time on the phone. Really often they ask you for your number for them to call back to not making you glued to the phone. Often enough they also give you a time when you can expect them to call back.

I still prefer our system for package deliveries. We don't have the "porch pirate" problem. I'd rather collect the package from the post office or my local store of choice, which it usually gets delivered to. About how rude it is for the delivery company to return unclaimed packages... I personally think that it's even more rude to order something and and not picking it up for two weeks, which is the normal amount of time they will store it for you. Especially around christmas, black friday and cyber monday, when the space at the delivery point is filling up very quickly.

The PostNord thing idk what shes talking about when you choose shipping information u can choose between to pick up at your local store or home delivery u just have to choose it

It's quite obvious what the point is.. You have less problems with alcohol if people PLAN the drinking.... Norwegian here. We have the same.

Sweden used to have super high alcoholism, and it was normal to be an alcoholism. Systembolaget was a way to counteract that, and it has certainly worked.

You misunderstood her. She wanted to sign. That is no longer the system used in Sweden. Cards, Apple Pay, Swish and so on are the common methods.

The reason Systembolaget exists is because in the past Sweden had a big problem with alcoholism, so the government took total control over all sales of alcohol that is above 3.5%. I myself don't mind this system I rather think its a good system, it works well and the planning makes you think about how much you are drinking

About the package from the post, it's not 100% true what shes saying. It depends on your choice when ordering the package. You can choose home delivery express and not express, and delivered to a store near you or a post office and you can also choose if you want the delivery to be eco friendly etc etc.. So we have a lot of choices actually =) And about her friends packade beeing sent back when not picking it up FOR A COUPPLE OF WEEKS, I would say is normal. I think you have 1 or 2 weeks. I mean if it would been unlimited time, their post office would have has to be very large because of all the packages.

Sweden doesn't have a unique way of paying. It's usually no problem to pay with a non-Swedish card, but i know specifically American cards can be a little trickier sometimes. A lot of foreigners pay with their card no problem. And we also have cards with chip (that you wave in front of the thing), Apple Pay etc.

Her experiences are hers, she doesn't say if it was a company or a government service of some sort so it's hard to know really. 30 minutes is not unusual but 90 minutes seems out of the ordinary to me, it must have been extremly busy or it was a company that doesn't want you to call them... Systembolaget is a great thing, people's health is more important than cold wine/beer. More countries should take a responsibility for their citizens. Some can't handle too much availability. No problem planning one day ahead, americans seem not to be able to handle that, but swedes do.

to me who is a bit old swedish (65 years old) she sounds like a spoiled brat, packages normally stay for 30 days before being sent back so that packages that are not picked up will sit and take up a lot of room that can be used for other packages, man can also choose home delivery for an extra fee if you can't bear to get to a delivery depot.

I’m sorry but I think she hasn’t grasped some basic concepts. Import from China or the US are associated with customs tariffs because there are no free trade agreement between EU and China or between EU and the US. She would experience the same in US if importing from EU or China. As someone else wrote there are a lot of different ways to have goods delivered - home delivery or to a pickup point. Personally I prefer to use a pickup point since I can decide when to pick up the delivery. I think several American carrier services like UPS have a terrible customer service since their default delivery method is home delivery, but they don’t inform you when they will bring the delivery and you have to be home all day just to receive a package.

The opening hours are to limit the consumption of alcohol. There are not many stores abroad that have such a range or knowledge of wine/alcohol/beer, which is absolutely wonderful.

She is complaying of waiting time to talk to someone, but often you cans solve problems via chatt and often the price can cal you if you want

You don't need to pick up packages at store close to you, that is an option you have. You can chose how you want it delivered. When I bought a new tv PostNord delivered it up to my door with no extra cost.

My wife moved here from Thailand and after a week she had Bank ID and a Swedish bank account and often buy stuff online or in shops that only use Swisch.

Systembolaget is definately made that way to make you plan ahead and discourage drinking yes, the flip side is that systembolaget is one of the largest purveyors of alcohole in the world and hence get insanely low prices from producers. The selection is HUGE and if they dont have what you want, they import it for you free of charge. Considering we have extreme alcohole taxes it's quite ridiculous that we can still get a 0.5 liter can of lager for about a dollar.

As a Swede I find it shocking that an American finds the limited access to buy cold beer and wine seems to be so important. Almost every wine I've ever heard of is not supposed to be served cold; the need for cold beer is not that important to a Swede since our climate isn't really that hot (and if so, only for a limited period during a year).

1. No cold beverages are sold so you d not realy want to drink it right away, that's the whole purpose, you should not start drinking right outside of the store, where would those empty bottles go ey? (Workday is usually 7-16 or 8-17, but if you work outside of 6-18 you get extra pay, by law.) 2. Just use cash, I know there are stores that don't accept cash, but all grocery stores still do. 3. True, but usually there is a voice telling you some kind of estimated time. 4. Coffee to-go is a weird way to recover time spent on smalltalk with every random person. Smalltalk has a time and place and it's called "fika". 5. Of course the package will be returned to sender usually after 2 weeks, would it be better to trash it? If the package is small enough the mailman will stick it in your mailbox, which is usually larger than those tiny birdhouses in the US of A. Intercepting the mailman and ask for the package is also a valid solution, just make sure to bring your ID, so he can verify the package is meant for you. 6. Quiet? Yes, it's called showing respect for other peoples ears. There is a Swedish saying "låt maten tysta mun" = let the food silence your mouth.

If you have problems with your National US card is understandable, US is NOT the center of the world. You need an international card!

About the Payment system it’s not a Swedish system (though swish and bank-id is Swedish adaptations) it’s a European Union system, foreigners have very little issues paying in Sweden, only Americans have an issue as they have a very different system.

We have earlybird right to the door😊

Its always free to get your packages, i dont know what that woman talks about 😅, and yes we always have several delivery options, to the front door 😄

I´m Swedish and have lived in Spain, took me 3 month to learn the language! It´s good that you can´t buy cold drinks, that might prevent drinkdriving. Get a Visacard, than you can pay everywhere. Please, you have 14 days to collect your package, and it´s protected from dihonest deliverys.

Yeah in rural areas people always says hi to their neighbours and such

She was not prepared, she had no pin code and wanted to sign instead, Swedish stores these days avoid this analog insecure system. Foreigners can easy use Visa and Mastercard here in Sweden but needs a pincode, also often the chip activated on the card, so no Old insecure cards. Why foreigners have hard to get Swish, Bank account and Bankid is because these services demand person numberand that is tougher to get.

It is a EU regulation that demands a 2 Faktor autentiation to prevent fraud. In Sweden since most people have bank id its community to us that as 2FA but you decid in internetbank how to 2fa. It could also be a SMS verifikation. Its the same with the pin code. Its safer.

Mastercard and visa work everywhere. American Express, not so much

A couple of years ago she tried a Swedish bakery in the states. She bought something and a coffee and went out and sat in her car eating it. I comment on that, thats not the Swedish way to do it. 😀

The quietness is just respecting others' space.

13:28 A store or a shop have to pay to play music in Sweden, and are fined to play music, you ned something called a Stimlicens, and a stor about 300kvm open 6 days a week pay about 640sk (about 63 usd) every 3 months. This is to pay artist for their music.

You really need to look up Gotland! We have something called medieval week here which could be really interesting to have an outsider reaction to. It was also one of the largest hubs for Vikings during Viking times and had the Battle of Visby, one of the most gruesome battles, often forgotten or never talked about.

I think some US States have restrictions on when you can sell alcohol. Illinois - 7 AM to 2 AM Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 3 AM on Saturday and 8 AM to 2 AM on Sunday.

This is a strange video... It's almost like a doubt she has been here and making it up. I wonder where in Sweden she has been/live. I have not experienced ANY of these, nor have I ever heard any of them from my expat friends, tourist friends, or immigrated friends. Of course music is played in most restaurants, of course we do take away coffee, what companies have she been on the phone on, that have basically only happened to me with mobile/cable companies and only a few times my whole life. Just every thing she mentioned is very foreign to me. Also, I love Systembolaget and the reason why it exist. If you want cold beers right away you can buy low alcohol ones in every 7-11 or supermarket.

The reason beer and wine isn't refrigirated is to discourage impulsive drinking and drinking while driving home or likewise Bank ID is awesome and foreigners are not allowed to open accounts. Swish is also great which is a payment method that uses your phone number to send money instantly in like 3 seconds. you can transfer to friends stores mostly everything

in most cases you don't have to sit and wait on the phone, if there is a long queue you can usually choose to be called when it's my turn, that way you don't have to sit on the phone and wait,I don't think I've ever waited more than 15-20 minutes, normally they say it's a long queue and I can choose to be called when it's my turn, you usually don't need a bank ID either for to shop online you can choose to receive an SMS code to your phone then confirm the purchase with that code on the web page, there is also nothing to prevent a foreigner who lives/works here from getting a Swedish bank account, just go in and talk with the bank you would prefer.

Coffee is a ritual!! It is a beautiful thing.

About Postnord, it's true that you usually must go and pick up a delivery. But depending on which firm you order from they often offer home delivery, sometimes for free and sometjmes for a fee. So, it differs.For example, I live in the countryside with 12 (!) cats and always get cat food delivered to my home for free. It usually depends on how much the order is worth and what deal the company has made wiith the postal services. Some companies offer free freight, although it's rare. We also have other postal services, such as "Early Bird" that always delivers to your home.

Swede here, haven´t signed a receipt in like 15 years... her payment issues sound very strange. The thing most foreginers find strange is that we barely use cash anymore, and many places doesn´t even accept it. Not a big fan of that myself...

We do get our goods to our doorstep even from Postnord if you pay for it. If not we have to pick it up from the closest pickup place…

Our way of selling alcohol limits consumption It is against this background that Swedish alcohol policy and Systembolaget exist. The aim of alcohol policy is to limit total alcohol consumption, as research shows a clear connection - the more that is drunk, the greater the alcohol damage.

To be able to have a BankID you need a swedish social security number. When you have that you can use swish and pretty much sign for everything online. You don’t need BankId to pay for things in the store tho, differs from store to store, if you have an international card you usually don’t have to sign. About the talking to strangers, once you know the person you talk to each other. We talk about the weather and stuff at the hairdressers (for example), unless we know our hairdresser, then we talk about everything.

talking about parcels, usually its 2 weeks i think before it gets returned to sender, there might be an option to prolonge it if u know the person is gonna be slow to collect it, i havent tested that though also u can get it sent to your home but i think it costs extra and obv u have to ask for it

I like Systembolaget. But that’s mainly because they have the means to have a huge selection of drinks. When I compare to what I find in other countries that I’ve been to. You have to go to several different stores to get even close to the same selection.

Why does Sweden have a system company? Our way of selling alcohol limits consumption It is against this background that Swedish alcohol policy and Systembolaget exist. The aim of alcohol policy is to limit total alcohol consumption, as research shows a clear connection - the more that is drunk, the greater the alcohol damage.

Signing the purchase in a shop is no longer a valid way to show that you are the owner of the card making the purchase, which is probably why the staff didnt know what to do. We only use PIN code with the card nowadays, its better for the security.

ok so from when i was old enough to buy alcohol in the Systembolaget store, i have always planned ahead was easy to learn, and also when it comes to the sustem about bank id, u can actually vote using bank id and use the phone to pay a friend money u have borrowed just by using the phone, but this is about a culture clash right so makes sence there was some time before learning our way. One thing is that i dont think we had any bank robbings for at least 10 years now coz the banks dont even have money, its all electronic

as for systembolaget it has its pros and cons like anything else. The reason for all the inconveniences is absolutely to discourage people from drinking more than necessary and for people to plan their consumption ahead of time. It's also non-profit driven since its owned by the state which means you will never find booze on sale there.

Also alcohol commercial is very restricted and in some ways prohibited. The service that is good is descriptions and recommendations concerning taste and selection. Alcohol is supposed to complement food.

It's true, you can't get a BankID if you don't have a Swedish social security number. That in turn makes it impossible to get the pay app Swish (they require identification with BankID). But in the majority of places they have standard european terminals that accepts most common credit cards from all over the world. I have never seen a credit card terminal where you need to sign the transfer on a screen. Apple Pay and Google Pay works in most cities but maybe not out in the outback. Yes, the fee you pay for goods imported from outside the EU is import tax and sales tax (sales tax if you have payed for the goods).

Indeed, when in rural areas, people wave and say hi to people they think might live around there. A sort of neighbourly thing, even if you don't know for sure they live in the same place. It's in urban places where people ignore each other completely.

”To-go-coffe” is not ourway of drinking coffee. That’s it!

Systembolaget (aka Systemet) is great because of the extremely professional people working there (most often anyway). Also it is one of the reason that sweden have less problematic drinking than many other countries. E.G. France 30 % of the population vs. Sweden 15 %. And it is not that hard to plan ahead… :)

I think you missed the 7th thing?

So I lived in Utah for a year. It was definetly different! They also have a state owned liquor store system. One that is (was?) pretty terrible. Like stepping into a Soviet supermarket in the late 80’s. One thing absolutely positive about Swedish Systembolaget is the totally wild selection from all over the world. Very good. High taxes yes. Expensive yes. But the selection is excellent. Greetings from Nynäshamn, Sweden

Regarding packages, you either pay for delivery when you order or when you pick it up or you can pay for delivery to your doorstep. You can usually choose how you want it delivered and if you want it delivered to a box where you can pick it up, the post office or to your door. Having lived in Scotland, it's exactly the same thing as you have there and yeah, it's usually 2+1 week they say it's 2 but it's actually 2+1 week before they do anything about it. That's because storage is limited, these are not warehouses but usually backrooms with some shelves in them so during certain times (specifically Christmas but also mothers and fathers day) they would fill up REALLY fast if that wasn't the case.

The long waiting times on phone can sometimes be intentional to make you think twice about making that call. I tried to cancel my deal with my internet provider. I knew in advance it would be a hassle. It couldn't be done on their web page or via email, you had to call. I ended up in a loooong phone queue. Would that call be about signing up as a new customer I bet there would be no waiting.

I haven’t so much trouble with all that she talking about, but of course is some of them, like waiting for someone to speak with if you need to. In my opinion lot’s of this situation is no problem and all. She maybe have problems more than she should, because lots of people in the higher ages, are a little bit afraid to speak English because they don’t speak so well. I try by best and I know I sometimes get frustrated when I don’t can find the right words, and I know I don’t speak and spell correctly all the time. But lots of people say they know what I mean anyway, because I’m use more words than I have too.

"Apple" customer support is absolutely perfect.

Never had any problems about our systembolaget. Just shedule the buy. Some people still drink themself to death. But nowhere near as we did back in the days. And because of systembolaget sweden has maybe the biggest assortment in the world with high quality wine/spirits/beer products. Think that private owner only orders what sells to make a profit. Not so here.

Interesting. I moved to the US 1990 and back in 2002. Culture shock twice. A bit of all this.

as others said, home delivery is a thing, it's just often involves an extra delivery fee, due to gasoline costs. especially on the countryside, it's easier for the post to hold packages at larger cross-points, like grocery stores, than having to drive to every single house in the middle of nowhere. while it might be less convenient for some people (not everyone passes the pick up point on their way to/from work) it's a lot more secure than having the delivery clerk just drop it in front of your house. (just look at all the videos online of people stealing packages, or underpaid delivery clerks handling packages awfully) and of course they don't hold packages indefinitely, you are paying for delivery, not storage. if you send someone a package, just notify them ahead of time, to evade situation like int he video where the recipient is away on holiday. on a side note, i once had a bad timing with a delivery when i spontaneously had to go cross country to be with family after an incident, and all i had to do was to call the store holding my package, and they extended the pickup time-limit manually by a week while i do get her intention, the whole video seems a bit whiny to me, like when she talked about the coffe to go, she made it sound so negativly, that people actually take their time for breaks, instead of always being in a rush. also it largely depends on where you are. my local train station has a lot of people getting coffees to go in the morning, compared to a coffeeshop in the middle of town

There is fridges at some Systembolaget in Göteborg

We Swedes like to plan everything and hate to stress so, we are not the "grab 'n run" type of people. The planning makes our meetings lot more relaxed and enjoyable.

We do often have long wait times for customer service by the phone. But it is mostly state owned services that would have such long wait times. Private owned companies are usually shorter unless you call at peak hours or if there has been a big incident. But honestly we have so much self-service for everything I might call a customer service hotline once per year at most. 99% of things I can do on my own online, or just use the chat for quick assistance.

I am from Sweden...why would you say hi to strangers? I find it so weird, you can't possibly say hi to everybody out on the street? To neighbours maybe, if even that. I guess we don't half-*ss relationships, when we say hi, we mean it. When we ask how you are feeling, we mean it. On the other hand, I often take the elevator where I live and oh it is like the worst thing that could happen to some people if they see me already standing in there going up. I have to be the one saying to join me. Swedes are sometimes too awkward. It is mostly old ladies that are chatty.

Shes from a culture that are about 20 years after the culture in sweden. The credit cards of course have a pin code no one have used a signed recite for 10 years in sweden. The customer service here normally use chat online. I also prefer the telephone but its just it takes a lot more people to keep a csllcenter up with a chat one person can help 10 people at the same time. The postal is like other people already said

U ca use foreign cards in Sweden, in stores and online. Whats she is says is wrong..

If you're in rush to get drunk just pop it in cold water, but I guess it's a way to discourage drinking outside the shops - not a bad thing imho. Picking up a package in the (minimum) 2 weeks time is a good thing or their warehouses would have to be huuuge because people are lazy and won't pick their shit up :)

You can pay a little extra to get the package delivered to your door. And of course the package gets sent back after a couple of weeks, imagine if they wouldn't. It would be cluttered with unclaimed packages.

The payment issues she have can easily be solved by getting an online bank account like revolut. I use it all the time in Sweden in any store and for online orders.

Nobody uses phones to call for customer service. You use the chat.

We dont have any different payment system, its because of her card. probably does not have a chip or something so she has to sign. We usually do not sign ever. and about the customer service telephone wait times: yes they are crazy (for some places), but usually you can do all things yourself by logging in (using your bankid so they know its you and have everything connected to you) and changing things there or cancel or whatever so there is no need. And for the things you cannot do youself or you need help etc pretty much all places has a chat that helps you with no wait time. I never use the phone. If they do not have a chat I just email them and gets help the next day or the day after.

I mean it depends. There is often an option to have your package delivered to you for an extra fee. The free type of delivery is that it go’s to a “pick up spot” close to your address where they tend to have limited space to hold your package so that’s why you have a limited time to actually pick it up as there’s more and more things coming in every day. And also, no we don’t typically pay to collect packages…

The fee is importing tax since Brexit, and it is an EU law

The experience about payment I totally recognize. I am Swedish, living abroad since almost 20 years, and when I am back I have constant problems with the Swedish Bank ID system

Kim is wrong aboute some things at first you can juse cards if you have visa or mastercard and you can get packet deliverd if you pay some fee.

And yes you can have things delivered home to you here as well. Thing is that it is easier to pick the packeges up at you close general store since you then can pick it up when you have the time.

yes.. quiet, no fascinating school shooting and so on

I live 3 swedish miles from a systembolaget. But I can order to my gasstation and pick up 2 times a week, wednesday and fridays. I dont think swedes reflects because we are all used to it. You just plan ahead and if you cant, so be it. We all use swish and cards with 4 numberpin. Dont know what issue this woman had in the store, never heard of it. Odering online might be different, we usuallt have Mastercard and Visa I think. But you can use the IBAN aswell. I know I have when ordering outside EU. When you get a packege, it comes to your nearest gasstation or ICA, they store it for 10 days. You get a reminder. We dont have any postoffice anymore and your gasstation might not have a big place to store things.

With visa or Mastercard, there is no problems. Same as in US. Long waiting for custumer service...well, it depends on what time you call. I always call in the morning, right after they open. Sure, sometines it takes 10 minutes, if longer I hang up and try again later. Never heard of 1,5 hours of waiting in line..

If you are not a resident in Sweden, you can not open a Swedish bank account nor use BankID or Swish. You are stuck with whatever bank card you have from your native country. That means that if you have a bank card that is not compatible with EU standards, you are screwed. Swish + BankID are brilliant. The problem is that every single country in Europe is implementing their own cashless payment method and none are compatible.

For Systembolaget, the reason is obviously to reduce drinking. The lack of cold beer/wine however is abour EU competition rules. Since this is a monopoly there is an exception rule, but then they obviously can’t favor some suppliers. So either they build stores so that everything can be chilled, or nothing can be chilled.

All the tax from alcohol goes to the health system. Also, there is a zero tolerance with drinking and driving.

3:30 I agree with her that systembolaget is kind of totalitarian. However, most wines should NOT be consumed cold... :)

Goods from outside the EU you must pay declaration taxes.

Sweden is way ahead when it comes to paying online/store/or to a friend. Bank ID is the shit. If u got that then U can basiclly do anything. (Not just paying) very secure and instant payment etc.

It's not quite true that you always need to go pick up packages. I've had two recent thigs be delivered by truck directly to my door. A chair and a TV, for example. Smaller things, though, yes. If they don't fit in the mail box, you typically have to pick them up from a nearby store or gas station, for example. But isn't the point that this makes it much cheaper? I mean, we typically only pay about $3 shipping within Sweden. The times I've had it delivered to my door, it's been 10 times as much. And yes, you sometimes have to pay a toll on imported things. And then there's VAT, which may be added as well.

The ”cake” is smörgåstårta. Its like layers of sandwiches with diffrent filling between the layers. And topped up with lots of goodies If someone wants alcohol we have generous open hours for bars and nightclubs are even open till 4 in the morning at some weekdays as well as weekends. In larger cities the opening hours are more generous. And its a bit of a non existent problem in sweden to buy alcohol because you end work later in the states 😂 I wouldnt go 6 to 10 flight hours to buy alcohol…. But i dont totally agree with it beeing a good system. The government obviously say it reduces the mount of alcohol the population drink. But looking at Danmark they are drinking less and less and we are going the opposite direction despite our sustem. In denmark you can get beer and wine from the corner shop. You usually dont have to sign, mostly certain foreign cards. American Express for example is not accepted everywhere. But its like that pretty much everywhere you go in europe, not all cards are accepted. Could just get cash from the bank machine. But i dont get if you live in sweden why you wouldnt get a swedish bank account. And I dont agree with that you have to have a Swedish creditcard to buy things online. Its more that it has to be master or visa, its not a country thing but which cards are accepted. Paypal, applepay and Samsung pay usually works too. You dont pay to collect packages, you pay for transport/delivery. If its a package that comes from another country it can be customtaxes. If you buy something online you can get it delivered to your home just like in the states. But if you choose to get it to a pickup place, yes they dont have endless space to keep your package for you. Sounds a but spoiled to me and a bit of an attitude when she brings it up. Why not just order something for when you know you can be at home hahaha…

yeah, sounds to me like she has some weird american bank format, that's rare in all of europe. i've had both mastercard and visa on my swedish bankcards, and none of my american friends that visited me ever had any trouble using their cards. the only problem that came up once was at a gas station, where the register automatically pulled 50$ fromt he card prior to filling the car, to ensure thre is sufficient funds, and then refunded the difference a few days later

I have never signed anything when buying something with my card. Now I use Apple Pay and earlier I used a PIN code.

You dont need to buy out the parcel,you use to pay Over the net,when you buy something,and if you talk to people they answer,Why shall we begin the talk for your sattisfying?😊

We lover our queues, that includes phone queues XD. Not really, we just respect them because we all hate queues. So violating the queues pisses people off. I mean we do not like being near people we do not know normally, so we try to avoid it as much as possible lol.

When i was at Kirkwall Tesco in 2018, no cooled drinks were available. Beaver warnings though. BOBER KURWA

Different states have different rules. Everything from dry states to shopping in grocery stores. There are a few that limit opening hours.

It’s just American Express that’s not valid in most stores in Sweden. Visa works 🤷🏻‍♀️

I would recommend that you find some other "reaction to sweden " videos, because this is a very weird video, she seems completely clueless and a lot of things she is talking about are just wrong.

No problem at all

The was a time in swedens history when the people drank to much and had to regulate how much people drank. First they had a book called "Motbok" that had to be signed and there was a limit how much you could get. Systembolaget is in some way the same and still not. It is a way for the govourment to make it harder to buy alcohol and in that way benefit the health and the well being of the citizens