No, actually I don't work here

[RoJoHen]

This happens to me anytime I wear a polo shirt in a store. Apparently having a collar on your shirt automatically means that you are working.

It happened to me at Best Buy once when I was wearing a red shirt and shorts.

Once I was at Barnes and Noble, and the manager started giving me orders like I was one of her employees!

 

[jamestyler]

It's happened once or twice, though the only times it's been justified was when I was working security. Essentially I was a mall cop. I had nothing to do with the individual stores unless they asked for help. Whenever I was on my lunch break or having a chat in a store, or even doing fire safety checks, there'd always be someone asking me questions.

 

[An Officer]

It used to happen to me a lot, though not anymore for some reason. I think J.Allen was right when he said it's when you look like you know what you're doing. It used to happen especially in clothes shops. They don't often have uniforms, so customers have to look around for a likely suspect. The one flicking quickly through the jean sizes or folding things neatly back into place after they've had a look at them is going to be the one who gets it.

 

[captcalhoun]

i had it happen in two different places that have employee uniforms and i was wearing a shirt and tie. maybe they thought i was the boss?? after the second time, i started making sure i always wore my coat when i went in another shop.

i've also had people ask if work in my shop, even when i'm tidying up or putting stock out... someone did it to one of my old AM's as he was doing magazine returns and he sarkily said 'no i just like sorting out magazines for fun.'

 

[John Clark]

It's happened once at PC World.

I didn't realise it at the time but I was wearing a similar outfit to the staff uniform at the time. Some chap asked me for help and I didn't have a clue where the stuff that he was looking for was. Apparently he complained to the manager who came over to make sure my training was up to date - only to realise I wasn't one of his employees.

 

[SeerSGB]

I had something similar happen once in Target, but it was a shift-super who thought I worked there.

I was cruising around in electronics, ran into someone I knew from the comic shop I used to go to, so we started talking. Well the supervisor comes up and just starts reaming me about wasting time on the clock, and here it was my first day and I was already jerking around, out of uniform, blah, blah. The guy I was talking to is about to die, he's trying not to laugh. I just look at the super and say "You know what you can just shove this job and shove this store, I quit!"; that's it the other guy can't hold it anymore and starts laughing and the cashier that nearby loses it too. The super just stands there a minute and gets this look of "Oooooh" as it dawns on him and mutters something about hating when people pulled 'these stunts" and sulks off.

 

[bigdaddy]

It's happened to me several times, it's because I'm better looking and seem to be with it more than the fuckers that work in the stores.

 

[Holdfast]

Does this happen to anyone else or just me?

From time to time, in clothes shops. Partly because I dress nicely, and partly because in many of the shops I go to, I know some of the staff by face from previous shopping trips so end up chatting to them and then a customer comes up and asks "us" for help.

If they ask nicely (and especially if they're female & pretty), I give them the advice they need before telling them I don't actually work there.

 

[P0sitr0nic]

Cant tell ya how often this happens to me, but then Im a security officer, and Im usually in uniform when I get this. Doesnt matter where I am tho, if Im in uni, I get people thinking Im there for their amusement.

 

[Gertch]

Use to happen all the time. If I was familiar with the store I'd tell them No and them direct them to the area of what they were looking for.

 

[Kommander]

People ask me for help in stores sometimes. Not because they think I work there, most of the time it's because I'm tall and I can reach stuff on the higher shelves.

In bars, however, people think I'm a bouncer fairly frequently.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

i've also had people ask if work in my shop, even when i'm tidying up or putting stock out...

This probably explains why I get it in bookstores. When I see stuff messed up/out of order (ESPECIALLY in the CD sections...guys, having one of those preview stations DOES NOT give you free rein to disobey the laws of alphabetical order and proper filing!), I just start straightening up because it irritates me to think that someone could come in looking for something and not find it because someone else was too discourteous to take their stuff and put it back where they found it.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

In High School, my friend and I were walking through Wal-Mart and some old lady thought I worked there and started asking me questions.

Granted, she was old so that's a good excuse but I wasn't wearing a uniform and I was like 14 at the time.

 

[captcalhoun]

all you damn kids look the same when you're 80 and half-blind!

 

[alasdairsim]

Happened a few times.

Although its alot worse when you mistake a customer for an employee and ask them a question.

 

[Shaw]

It has happened to me a lot... I chalk it up to looking approachable (and safe). Most of the time I'm not in any hurry, so I'll actually stop my shopping/browsing to go find help for them.

I never really thought of it as odd, and I like being helpful anyways.

 

[TheSeeker]

If they ask nicely (and especially if they're female & pretty), I give them the advice they need before telling them I don't actually work there.

Dude, you seriously need to research this angle some more! I'll expect your report on it next week.

 

[Deckerd]

It used to happen to me a lot, though not anymore for some reason. I think J.Allen was right when he said it's when you look like you know what you're doing. It used to happen especially in clothes shops. They don't often have uniforms, so customers have to look around for a likely suspect. The one flicking quickly through the jean sizes or folding things neatly back into place after they've had a look at them is going to be the one who gets it.

In this country the clothes shop assistants tend to wear their own clothes but a badge or label which says they work there. My daughter was always being asked where her clothes were on the racks in Top Shop when she worked there. She was constantly disappointing people by saying 'I got it at a stall at T in the Park / Glastonbury / Knebworth / Bestival', etc.

 

[Kirby]

I was in Toys R Us once and a woman came up with her kid in tow and asked where the bathrooms were. I told her I didn't know and she got really upset and yelled at me "What do you mean you don't know where they are?"
I told that I didn't work there, and really not wanting any of her abuse I walked away and she actually muttered "asshole" to me, like I did something wrong. If she would have been even remotely nice I probably would have tried to find the bathroom for her.
Of course now that I have kids, I always try to figure out where the bathrooms are whenever we enter a store because more often than not, we'll need one.

I was also mistaken as a Best Buy employee once, but I was wearing kahkis and a blue polo shirt at the time.

 

[Kestra]

People ask me for help in stores sometimes. Not because they think I work there, most of the time it's because I'm tall and I can reach stuff on the higher shelves.

I've had to do that once or twice. I hate it; it's so embarrassing. But I'm only about 5'1" and often can't reach things. A lot of the time people see me trying to desperately reach for something and come give me a hand on their own, though.