Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Moments

[PsychoPere]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

[...] I like it when I'm walking through the store from the checkout or kitchen area to the break room, drink in one hand, food in the other, paper under the arm and people stop me to ask me questions.

Heh. This is why I'm glad my uniform is a vest: I can take it off whenever I step out of the pharmacy to go on break.

 

[Thena]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Most people in retail and service see hundreds of people per day. I can tell you, its pretty damned hard to find the energy or inclination to even smile, much less speak, after the first couple of dozen. Its nothing personal, its exhaustion. Most of us don't get paid just to stand around recharging our 'smile!' battery.

Honestly, I have days where I won't even recognize my own family if they walk into the store. Just last week, a district manager that I've worked for over the last year walked into my store, and I was so frazzled that I walked up to her and started asking if there was anything I could help her with as if she was just another customer.

 

[Arthur Frelling Dent]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Honestly, I have days where I won't even recognize my own family if they walk into the store. Just last week, a district manager that I've worked for over the last year walked into my store, and I was so frazzled that I walked up to her and started asking if there was anything I could help her with as if she was just another customer.

That may very well have made a good impression!

On the topic of being mistaken for an employee, once I went shopping in Target wearing khakis and a red polo shirt, which, as many of you know, is their company uniform. Another shopper approached me and asked me where an item was but quickly realized from the humorous look on my face that I wasn't an employee. However, since I knew where the item in question was, I directed him to it!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

On the topic of being mistaken for an employee, once I went shopping in Target wearing khakis and a red polo shirt, which, as many of you know, is their company uniform. Another shopper approached me and asked me where an item was but quickly realized from the humorous look on my face that I wasn't an employee. However, since I knew where the item in question was, I directed him to it!

Sounds like that flash mob that happened in NYC last year when a bunch of people descended upon a Best Buy wearing clothes that resembled the company work uniform. Linky

 

[Captain Ice]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Kind of realted to the whole "do you work here" riff, (though I'm not sure I'd put it in the "this customer needs a brain" catagory) I love when I'm carrying an obviously heavy object through the store and people decide to stop me to ask me to help them find something, along the same line I like it when I'm walking through the store from the checkout or kitchen area to the break room, drink in one hand, food in the other, paper under the arm and people stop me to ask me questions.

I mean, yeah I'm on the floor, I'm in uniform, I should be there to help. But, come on! There's a time and place people! There's people all over the palce you can stop and pester!

How about simply removing your apron and nametag, folding them up, and either putting them in a pocket or under your arm?

You are being more than a little hypocritical here. How can you expect your customers to read your mind and know you're on break by just giving them the most basic of information while also getting frustrated with them for the same behavior?

 

[AdAstra]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Here's a questions I get asked constantly, and I've never understood it.

"Do you work here?"

You could be off-duty; from another store (within the same chain); not in customer service, ...
It could also just be another way of asking "Do you have time to help me?".

I don't see that question as being stupid or ignorant at all; it sure beats "You! Help me, now!"

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

How about simply removing your apron and nametag, folding them up, and either putting them in a pocket or under your arm?

Apron and nametag are removed. But I'm still in pants, and a dress shirt and tie and I still get asked.

And even if I did still have them on, if people see a person carrying food and paper (hands full) and can't deduce from that that someone is on a break or, at the very least, otherwise occupied then there's no help for them.

 

[Guartho]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

I was in Wal*Mart once and an older lady in one of those Wal*Mart go-karts told me to get her a clerk. She didn't ask. She didn't say "Excuse me." She didn't even say "Hi." She just said "Go find me a clerk to fetch that."

I had to ask her what she said a couple of times because I couldn't believe she'd actually said what I thought she said, and I couldn't quite understand what she was saying when she said clerk, since I almost never hear the term.

I saw her again when she left. She parked her go-kart and walked to her car without any visible walking problems.

Which leads me to another Wal*Mart story. I went in one weekday afternoon and it must have been %10 off for people with high cholesterol day because I couldn't turn left or right without being in danger of being run over by a go-karter inching along in a sadly over-burdened little machine. I honestly didn't know they even had that many karts.

I saw one gentlemen with his oxygen tank on the kart, but everyone else was just plain overweight. I didn't stick around to take scientific data, but at least two of the go-karters parked them in the entrance and walked to their cars without issue.

 

[Arthur Frelling Dent]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

I saw one gentlemen with his oxygen tank on the kart, but everyone else was just plain overweight. I didn't stick around to take scientific data, but at least two of the go-karters parked them in the entrance and walked to their cars without issue.

This brings back horrible memories of my last ever visit to a Wal-Mart. Two things that are permanently burned into my mind are the couple who literally almost came to blows arguing over whether to buy a 49 cent hinge or splurge on the 69 cent one and the member of a large (no pun intended) family of morbidly obese people whom I overheard say, "Let's go to the snack bar again." Not even going into the why some people are obese thing, I couldn't believe that A) people actually eat at the Wal-Mart snack bar, B) people actually eat at the Wal-Mart snack bar more than once, and C) people actually eat at the Wal-Mart snack bar more than once on the same visit.

 

[KiraDax]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

I saw one gentlemen with his oxygen tank on the kart, but everyone else was just plain overweight. I didn't stick around to take scientific data, but at least two of the go-karters parked them in the entrance and walked to their cars without issue.

Our particular (nonWalmart) store has two electric carts, and generally only one is working at a given time. We have one lady who comes in at least every other day and insists on using one, despite the fact that we can prove she's nothing but morbidly obese. She's also always a screaming shrew who spends her entire visit seeing how many employees she can reduce to tears, but one day beat all. An elderly couple came in just ahead of her and one of our wily managers swept the 80ish year old, barely tottering woman onto the cart before our shrew could claim it. The shrew then demanded that we unseat the elderly lady and give the cart to her (we refused) and didn't stop ranting until they had shopped and returned the cart.

The sense of entitlement some people carry around is unbelievable.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Here's a questions I get asked constantly, and I've never understood it.

"Do you work here?"

You could be off-duty; from another store (within the same chain); not in customer service, ...
It could also just be another way of asking "Do you have time to help me?".

I don't see that question as being stupid or ignorant at all; it sure beats "You! Help me, now!"

When I'm off duty I either remove my uniform shirt, or wear a sweatshirt to cover it up. If I'm off duty and just walking around the store in uniform, yeah, I would expect to be asked for help. Because its obvious that I work there. Not to mention the fact that ever single time I have been asked this question, I have been doing something that only an employee of a store would be doing. And no, I'm not in customer service, but that doesn't meant I don't work there, and I would still be able to help them out or at least find someone who can. So really, I see no reason for that question t be asked, if only people would practice some basic skills in observation.

 

[Captain Ice]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Our particular (nonWalmart) store has two electric carts, and generally only one is working at a given time. We have one lady who comes in at least every other day and insists on using one, despite the fact that we can prove she's nothing but morbidly obese. She's also always a screaming shrew who spends her entire visit seeing how many employees she can reduce to tears, but one day beat all. An elderly couple came in just ahead of her and one of our wily managers swept the 80ish year old, barely tottering woman onto the cart before our shrew could claim it. The shrew then demanded that we unseat the elderly lady and give the cart to her (we refused) and didn't stop ranting until they had shopped and returned the cart.

The sense of entitlement some people carry around is unbelievable.

I'm surprised that one of your managers has not invited this woman to shop elsewhere. One's help should never be subject to this kind of treatment. You simply cannot pay them enough to allow it.

 

[cultcross]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

She's also always a screaming shrew who spends her entire visit seeing how many employees she can reduce to tears,

We used to have an old lady customer who'd come in every night and ask about products. Fair enough so far. But without exception they were either products we didn't sell/had run out of, or products that hadn't been made since the war. It was like she'd done a recon tour of the shop and made a list of stuff we didnt' sell to ask about. Adn this wasn't stuff you'd expect a small store to have like bread, milk, cereal, etc. this was very specific stuff,
'Do you have any almond sponge fingers out the back?'
'I'm sorry ,but I'm afraid we don't sell almond sponge fingers, madam'
'You did last week, what happened to them?'
'We've never sold that product, madam'
'I bought some from here last week, can you check out the back please'
*internally*'ohforfuckssake' *to her* 'OK, but I can assure you we don't have any'
go and check - surprise!
'we don't have any out the back, madam, I'm sorry about that, is there any alternative product you'd like?'
'This place has really gone into the gutter, you never have anything in here!' (and so on for the next 5 minutes)

In the end it got so irritating we invented a special code, which if anyone spotted her they'd say over the tannoy, and all the employees would run for the back room. I think she figured that out eventually, cos she actually started coming out the back to ask her questions.

 

[ancientone51]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

About those cart things, powered ones.

Hubby needs them. He can't do much walking for any length of time. And dang it, sometimes he wants to go in and shop with us an not wait in the car.

Now, once in awhile, he can make it to and from the car to the cart, it may be the only exercise he can get and it helps his self confidence immensely when he can, feels less helpless.

Yes, I've seen people who are obviously taking advantage of them, but like Handicapped spaces (which is where we are parked with him) you really don't know why someone is aurthorized. I prefer to think there is a need unless I know better, than to embarase someone.

(Just today, he walked into the fast food place for lunch, had a sinking spell, went white and I went our and got his wheelchair from the car because there was no way he could walk that short of a distance at that time.)

 

[MIB]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

*snip*

I'm surprised that one of your managers has not invited this woman to shop elsewhere. One's help should never be subject to this kind of treatment. You simply cannot pay them enough to allow it.

That's modern America for you. No matter how rude, disgusting, and downright nasty a customer is- that customer is still revered as untouchable. Afterall, you don't want to lose that 0.00001% of the store's income by telling her to fuck-off. This is especially true when the managers aren't even the ones that have to deal with it.

The mentality is truely unbelievable. I see people downright STEALING and eating out of packages they don't buy in my my section of Sam's Club (Produce) and the decree from on high is basically to leave it alone. Don't want want to risk pissing off the member and losing thier business. I guess they buy more than they actually steal and render unsellable.

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

I saw a bunch of laughing, playing, kids (young teenagers) come in once and snatch up all three of our motorized carts. They were just this side of racing them around the store. Knowing the Wrinkle Wagon was due in I walked up to them and told them to return them, and to either leave the store or get their shopping done with a buggy. They left.

Good riddance.

Damn kids.

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

The mentality is truely unbelievable. I see people downright STEALING and eating out of packages they don't buy in my my section of Sam's Club (Produce) and the decree from on high is basically to leave it alone. Don't want want to risk pissing off the member and losing thier business. I guess they buy more than they actually steal and render unsellable.

It's been said that if a customer has a bad experience at a store they tell 10 people if they have a good experience they tell 3 people. So if you kick a customer out or tell them to stop/not do something you risk the chance of not losing 1 customer but 10. Now, I don't know how someone stealing/eating something in the store or doing something else obviously wrong is going to get away with convincing 10 other people to not come to the store because he was kicked out for eating a 50c inidi-bag of chips, but if the friends are as stupid as they are it could go like this:


"So I was at Sams the other day and you know those little bags of single-serving chips they have in the deli? I was hungry so I grabbed one and started eating it in the store. When I was done I just threw the wrapper on the floor, well some punk-kid came up to me and told me to pay for it or lose my membership. :huff: I just walked out of there! The nerve."
"Oh yeah! You know, what's the big deal. You know that bag of chips cost them like 15c, so what difference does it make if you eat just ONE?"

Anyway, in a lot of seminars and classes I've been through in my time with the company they've crammed a lot of CSR stuff down my throat. Been quized a few times my the Director and the answers are always contrary to what should be "right" and what basically lets the customer do whatever they want.

I swear, a customer could come into our store, take a dump in the middle of the floor, and wipe his ass with a loaf of bread and they'd still be allowed to shop through the store and get a friendly smile when they check-out.

 

[Mallory]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

I didn't stick around to take scientific data, but at least two of the go-karters parked them in the entrance and walked to their cars without issue.

Around here you don't have a choice. The carts aren't allowed to leave the store. So you either walk to your car or someone needs to come carry you (or bring your wheelchair or whatever).

 

[archeryguy1701]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

Well, at least I now know not to work in a grocery store. I personally operate under the mentality, even in the computer lab, that if they earn it, they are gone. "Customer is always right" doesn't matter to me if they need to be removed.

 

[Guartho]

Re: Your "I Won't Say Anything, but this Customer Needs a Brain" Momen

.

Around here you don't have a choice. The carts aren't allowed to leave the store. So you either walk to your car or someone needs to come carry you (or bring your wheelchair or whatever).[/QUOTE]

Oh no, I didn't expect them to take the carts out to their car and take the fact that they didn't as a sign of not needing them. I just mean that they had no problem hauling themselves up out of the cart and over to their car. They had none of the "I have a hard time walking" issues that usually go with actually needing a cart.