The problem, he says, is that US companies dictate strict policies for dealing with customers, for instance that people in clothes shops should be asked three times if they want to try something on.
"If they don't ask three times, their manager will want to know why. Anyone left to their own initiative would know that the customer was only wanting to browse, but they don't have the opportunity to say that. There's no room for dealing with customers as individuals, and that's what people in Europe really want," he says.
Incidentally, two of the the "Top UK stories now" are "No rush to war, says Blair" and "Beckham forgives Ferguson." Ah, the garden of forking paths.
