Customers...
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I remember a Becker episode where Becker's TV stops working. So he goes to a big electronics store...looks like a Best Buy but I don't think they actually said/showed it to be a Best Buy. Becker asked an staff member where to find one of those vacuum tubes. The staff member said something like an antique shop
This one comes up fairly often. People want cashback with their shopping so they are told to put their card in (into the reader) only for them to use contactless before you can stop them. When you say sorry you can't get coashback with conactless they say "why didn't you tell me." You are of course thinking I did, I instructed you to put your card in.
Sounds like the "clearinghouse" for clearances isn't as efficient or successful as it ought to be. I wonder why?
Well ... that pretty much answers my question above. This isn't how education is supposed to work.
Part of the duty of teaching future educators is to help them learn personal and professional responsibility. If they are currently lacking it, for whatever reason, this kind of response and attitude isn't likely to teach it, much less create an intrinsic motivation to become a responsible professional.
I used to have a home typing business, with mostly college and university students for clients.
One day I got a phone call from someone who wanted a term paper typed. As usual, I asked for the person's name.
Dead silence, then, "Why do you want to know my name?"
It should have been obvious that when you make an appointment with someone, you're supposed to give them your name so they know who they're expecting, but I just said that I'd need to know the name to put on the front cover page of the term paper.
Again, the person asked suspiciously, "Why do you need to do that?"
"So your instructor knows who to give the grade to when they read your paper," I told her.
"Oh. Okay."
I finally did get the student's name, she did come, and I did type her paper. But that was a one-time customer, and I can only assume she must have found a different typist who wasn't nosy enough to want to know her name (one other person actually slammed the phone down in my ear when I asked to take their name down to put on my schedule - how can they expect to get grades for anonymous papers?).
One day I got a phone call from someone who wanted a term paper typed. As usual, I asked for the person's name.
Dead silence, then, "Why do you want to know my name?"
It should have been obvious that when you make an appointment with someone, you're supposed to give them your name so they know who they're expecting, but I just said that I'd need to know the name to put on the front cover page of the term paper.
Again, the person asked suspiciously, "Why do you need to do that?"
"So your instructor knows who to give the grade to when they read your paper," I told her.
"Oh. Okay."
I finally did get the student's name, she did come, and I did type her paper. But that was a one-time customer, and I can only assume she must have found a different typist who wasn't nosy enough to want to know her name (one other person actually slammed the phone down in my ear when I asked to take their name down to put on my schedule - how can they expect to get grades for anonymous papers?).
I remember one from when I worked at a grocery store some years back.
It was around 10pm at night and this man came through, checked out and wanted everything bagged in paper. Which is fine and good. But when I put one thing in plastic by mistake, he bitched and moaned and wanted to do it himself. I took the item out of the bag and finished. But... wow, I was shaking my head over the guy's attitude over a simple mistake.
It was around 10pm at night and this man came through, checked out and wanted everything bagged in paper. Which is fine and good. But when I put one thing in plastic by mistake, he bitched and moaned and wanted to do it himself. I took the item out of the bag and finished. But... wow, I was shaking my head over the guy's attitude over a simple mistake.
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Sometimes, there are small people who just want to look down on someone they perceive as smaller than they are. It makes them feel better. I had some good experiences with retail, but there were a lot of bad apples in that bunch, too. The one that stands out the most is when I was still in high school, working in the electronics department for a local department store. We had advertised a huge discount on a popular cell phone. This was in the late 1990s, and most cell phones were expensive as hell, so you can bet people were lining up to buy it.
Unfortunately, we only had one in stock. I sold it to the very first customer who wanted it. When the next person came up, I had to tell them we were out of stock, and that I could issue them a raincheck for when that model came back in. Understandably, she was frustrated, but she wasn't the problem. The problem was the customer about two or three people back, who proceeded to scream at me because I didn't have the cell phone. He assumed, apparently, that I had hidden them away so people couldn't buy them. I assured him we simply did not have any in stock. He demanded I check the back, and I had to explain to him that we didn't keep cell phones in the stock room, they were all in the case I was standing behind.
He called me every name in the book and told me he was going to climb the counter and kick my ass (I was a minor at the time). By this point, people in line were telling him to back off, and that it wasn't my fault the store was out of stock. So the guy gets angrier, and pushes his way through the line and tried to climb over the counter to grab at my shirt. Fortunately, my manager arrived just then and had the man escorted out. The other people in line clapped as he was lead away by my manager and a security officer.
Retail, in general, is a soul draining experience.
Unfortunately, we only had one in stock. I sold it to the very first customer who wanted it. When the next person came up, I had to tell them we were out of stock, and that I could issue them a raincheck for when that model came back in. Understandably, she was frustrated, but she wasn't the problem. The problem was the customer about two or three people back, who proceeded to scream at me because I didn't have the cell phone. He assumed, apparently, that I had hidden them away so people couldn't buy them. I assured him we simply did not have any in stock. He demanded I check the back, and I had to explain to him that we didn't keep cell phones in the stock room, they were all in the case I was standing behind.
He called me every name in the book and told me he was going to climb the counter and kick my ass (I was a minor at the time). By this point, people in line were telling him to back off, and that it wasn't my fault the store was out of stock. So the guy gets angrier, and pushes his way through the line and tried to climb over the counter to grab at my shirt. Fortunately, my manager arrived just then and had the man escorted out. The other people in line clapped as he was lead away by my manager and a security officer.
Retail, in general, is a soul draining experience.
Word. I even had to deal with a winner who worked at the grocery store I was working at. Guy got away with a lot of stuff due to being related to someone who owned the store. He was a brat. Period. I was glad when I didn't work there anymore to be honest. But on the lighter side, most of the customers were good eggs. Only had that one really bad one.
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Nepotism worms its way into bad places and makes them worse. We had several people like that at the farmers market I worked at many years ago. She was the girlfriend of the son whose family owned the place, and she got away with everything. They accused me of stealing money from the petty cash box (I had no access to it, no key, nothing). When it was found that I was innocent and the thief was the girlfriend, it was dropped. She currently manages the place now.
Yep it does. Some people, I swear. Damn, that sucks. Glad it turned out ok for you. Wow. Wonder how the business is going now?
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There was a fire about 5 years ago, and they rebuilt and repainted a large portion of the complex. From what I can see, they seem to be suffering quite a bit. My dad often goes out there to set up and sell the little toys and knickknacks he has, and he says the crowds are getting thinner and thinner every week.
When I get the rare occasion to visit, I notice that about 1/4 of the shops are closed in the early afternoon when there are still hours left in the day. Back when I worked there, the (former) Manager we had, who was great at her job, was a stickler for that, making certain vendors didn't close up until it was time to close the whole market. She was adamant about the market not looking like a junk sale, where now it looks like people just dumped their crap in the aisles. So I would say it has gone downhill, but the boss's girlfriend (now fiance I believe), is still in charge.
Ah I see.
Sucks that the place went downhill for anyone who needed to shop there or liked to. But yet... guess in a way she's getting what she was owed.
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I don't think she'll ever learn her lesson, though. She always got what she wanted when I worked there, they got rid of an excellent manager and gave her that position, and she's bringing the place down from the inside. The few people I know who still work out there say she is awful to deal with, and that she *always* gets her way. I don't think the owners care, to be honest. If they did, they would have likely done something at that point, so I figure the son must now own it, and just doesn't care what she does with it.
Shame, too, because across the road there's another farmers market, and the one I worked at was always cleaner, friendlier, and more accommodating to vendors with what they could do (as long as it was safe). Between the two, there's not much of a choice anymore.
I've had a couple of people (who am I kidding, it were all men) come in and ask "Do you have films with animals?".
As for douchebag customers, one example was a guy who came in with his wife or girlfriend or whatever, and she wanted to try on some of the lingerie.
Now, in our store, most lingerie can be tried on in our changing booth, but there are exceptions, mostly panties and other lingerie in direct contact with genitals (when worn) because of hygiene.
This couple had chosen just something like that (I honestly can't remember whether it was a thong or a body, but something falling in the hygiene-category), and the guy brought it to the counter so I would unpack it and she could take it into the changing booth. I told him that I wasn't allowed to let her try it on, because of the hygiene.
He started to argue with me, they would have to see her in it before they'd decide to buy it, but I said I was sorry, but I couldn't let her try it on. If she tried it on and they decided not to buy it, we could not in clear conscience let any other customer buy the item. And this would be practice in most stores concerning underwear. So he said: "Maybe where you buy your underwear."
Obviously I didn't say it out loud, after all, I am a professional, but I just thought: "Yeah, go on insulting me not as subtly as you meant to be in a Social-Darwinistic manner, that'll surely get me on your side."
I stayed polite, but didn't budge. So the asshole and his companion left without buying anything. Good riddance.
As for douchebag customers, one example was a guy who came in with his wife or girlfriend or whatever, and she wanted to try on some of the lingerie.
Now, in our store, most lingerie can be tried on in our changing booth, but there are exceptions, mostly panties and other lingerie in direct contact with genitals (when worn) because of hygiene.
This couple had chosen just something like that (I honestly can't remember whether it was a thong or a body, but something falling in the hygiene-category), and the guy brought it to the counter so I would unpack it and she could take it into the changing booth. I told him that I wasn't allowed to let her try it on, because of the hygiene.
He started to argue with me, they would have to see her in it before they'd decide to buy it, but I said I was sorry, but I couldn't let her try it on. If she tried it on and they decided not to buy it, we could not in clear conscience let any other customer buy the item. And this would be practice in most stores concerning underwear. So he said: "Maybe where you buy your underwear."
Obviously I didn't say it out loud, after all, I am a professional, but I just thought: "Yeah, go on insulting me not as subtly as you meant to be in a Social-Darwinistic manner, that'll surely get me on your side."
I stayed polite, but didn't budge. So the asshole and his companion left without buying anything. Good riddance.
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I want to know where he buys his underwear. What reputable business says "Sure, get your hair and stink all over these, we'll just put them back on the shelf" and still gets customers?
Yeah. I really stopped going once the little book seller who was over in aisle one left. Once the building had been burned to the ground, and rebuilt, he never came back. Honestly, he had probably lost all of his inventory. I loved going there. I could get armloads of Star Trek books, and he'd always knock 50% off because he liked meeting another avid reader.Ah.
That stinks. It sucks when there aren't a lot of choices store wise.
Dang. That's a bummer. Had that happen awhile back with a local bookseller (they also sold video games, cd's and the like). Lightning struck the store and it caught on fire. They never rebuilt. They still have another location, but it's aways away. So I haven't been able to go there yet to see the selection.
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There is a used book store about 10 miles from here, but it's in a city I don't know well at all, and in the opposite direction of anywhere I ever am, on the ultra rare occasion I can go somewhere. So for me it's almost always Amazon.com, which is okay, but I miss going into a book store.
Ah yea, I still have Barnes and Noble that's closer in... but I don't go there that often either. Me too. I remember one where I used to live, it's still open the last time I checked, but I'd go there to see if they got any new stuff in. It was just fun going through the aisles.
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I like to walk into used bookstores, and just sniff the air. The smell of old paper, worn covers, dusty book jackets, it's a wonderful aroma. I love my Kindle, and would be lost without it, but I simply adore physical books. I sometimes fancy that, perhaps when I'm in my twilight years, I might own a tiny bookshop filled to the walls with used books of every kind, and I can be the little old bookseller who still sells hard copy books to people willing to read them.
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