Retail Request

[mrodgers]

I saw JoAnn Fabrics mentioned. My mother worked at JoAnn Fabrics quite a while ago. She and my wife were talking about customers shopping after quitting time and my mother said someone walked up to the register half an hour later and she just told her that corporate shuts down the registers at 9:05, sorry. They don't, but I think it's great.

My wife works an hour after the store closes. She said just the other day, they must have missed someone still shopping. Everyone was standing at the locked front doors waiting for the manager to come unlock so they could leave when a customer pulls up a cart full of stuff to the register expecting to be checked out. Everyone was punched out at this time and no one was on the clock working.

My wife and I talk about this all the time and we always wonder if it is just this area. We live (or should say work, we live 45 minutes away out in the country..) in an extremely snobby area. Others who my wife works with that transfer from other stores say those other store customers are nothing like what they see at this one.

 

[luvmy3]

If you don't have the luxury of quitting, you don't have the luxury of treating customers badly. There is no excuse for bad behavior on either side. If the day is frustrating, you still have no right to treat the people you interact with poorly. If customers weren't there, the clerk wouldn't have a job in the first place.
I'm not that passive aggressive. My whole point is that there are rude clerks just like there are rude customers.

Of course there are rude retail workers out there, nobody here said otherwise

 

[Jennasis]

If you don't have the luxury of quitting, you don't have the luxury of treating customers badly. There is no excuse for bad behavior on either side. If the day is frustrating, you still have no right to treat the people you interact with poorly. If customers weren't there, the clerk wouldn't have a job in the first place.
I'm not that passive aggressive. My whole point is that there are rude clerks just like there are rude customers.

I wasn't referring to the rude employees. I was defending the workers posting here about frustrations dealing with awful customers and them venting about it. Perhaps I misunderstood your first post. You seemed to be suggesting that those who are complaining should get a new job if they can't hack dealing with the job stress or awful customers.

There are certainly awful employees, nobody has suggested there are not.

 

[PeterPan09]

I wasn't referring to the rude employees. I was defending the workers posting here about frustrations dealing with awful customers and them venting about it. Perhaps I misunderstood your first post. You seemed to be suggesting that those who are complaining should get a new job if they can't hack dealing with the job stress or awful customers.

There are certainly awful employees, nobody has suggested there are not.

And the fact that there are some rude clerks out there doesn't give anyone permission or excuse the rude behavior of the customers. If you come upon a clerk who seems to be in a bad mood, maybe you can help them by treating them nicely. Maybe they just had an encounter with one of the nasty customers and they're upset. Maybe they're just having a really bad day and need your smile and your good attitude to help them. Just as one nasty customer can really put a damper on your day, one really nice customer can remind you why your job can be fun.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I think I love you!!!!!!! Do you work for Clinique by chance?? You used the word consultant! I manage a Clinique Counter!

Nope... but right near it in the world of Dior I did use consultant I hang out with the Clinique crowd though and am their back up help in busy time

 

[Jennasis]

And the fact that there are some rude clerks out there doesn't give anyone permission or excuse the rude behavior of the customers. If you come upon a clerk who seems to be in a bad mood, maybe you can help them by treating them nicely. Maybe they just had an encounter with one of the nasty customers and they're upset. Maybe they're just having a really bad day and need your smile and your good attitude to help them. Just as one nasty customer can really put a damper on your day, one really nice customer can remind you why your job can be fun.

Yes. This.

 

[SaraJayne]

And the fact that there are some rude clerks out there doesn't give anyone permission or excuse the rude behavior of the customers. If you come upon a clerk who seems to be in a bad mood, maybe you can help them by treating them nicely. Maybe they just had an encounter with one of the nasty customers and they're upset. Maybe they're just having a really bad day and need your smile and your good attitude to help them. Just as one nasty customer can really put a damper on your day, one really nice customer can remind you why your job can be fun.

Those really nice customers get a lot more time and effort on our part, too.

 

[PeterPan09]

Those really nice customers get a lot more time and effort on our part, too.

Most definitely! I'm human, I'm more likely to go the extra mile for a nice person than I am for a nasty one. I'll do more than what my job requires simply because I'm enjoying the experience of working with that person. If the person starts off nasty, I'm going to get rid of them as fast as I can, and usually say a silent prayer that they get in a better mood before their family has to live with them!

 

[Arm Flaps]

As someone already mentioned, don't complain to me about prices. I have no control over the prices and I really don't care if you think our merchandise is too expensive.

What exactly did you think you were going to find walking into a high end jewelry store?

I thought you worked for Pandora.

 

[SaraJayne]

Most definitely! I'm human, I'm more likely to go the extra mile for a nice person than I am for a nasty one. I'll do more than what my job requires simply because I'm enjoying the experience of working with that person. If the person starts off nasty, I'm going to get rid of them as fast as I can, and usually say a silent prayer that they get in a better mood before their family has to live with them!

Same here.

 

[SaraJayne]

I thought you worked for Pandora.

Yes, I do. I'm guessing you aren't familiar with all of their products.

 

[moray26]

If I am instructed by my manager to close a line, please don't go behind my back (literally!), go through the exit gates, and stand in a closed line and then get nasty when I tell you that the line is closed and yes, you do have to go wait in the long, long line you were trying to avoid. There's a reason I'm standing in front of the line which is closed by a chain, redirecting people to open lines.

Also, the cell phone thing. I will not try to talk to over you. I also don't care about how Aunt Sally is going to deal with the boil she found on her backside, so I'm not going to stand and listen to your conversation and wait for you to finish. I'm going to move on to the next person, and you're just going to have to get back in line when you're done with your conversation.

 

[Grimley]

If I am instructed by my manager to close a line, please don't go behind my back (literally!), go through the exit gates, and stand in a closed line and then get nasty when I tell you that the line is closed and yes, you do have to go wait in the long, long line you were trying to avoid. There's a reason I'm standing in front of the line which is closed by a chain, redirecting people to open lines.

Also, the cell phone thing. I will not try to talk to over you. I also don't care about how Aunt Sally is going to deal with the boil she found on her backside, so I'm not going to stand and listen to your conversation and wait for you to finish. I'm going to move on to the next person, and you're just going to have to get back in line when you're done with your conversation.

Oh the cell phone thing drives me crazy, as a consumer and as a service provider. It is so incredibly rude.

SaraJayne, maybe it's a regional thing. I wouldn't ever think of Pandora as high end but I live in an urban area. High end to me is Tiffany's and the like, where you're spending multiple thousands, not multiple hundreds.

 

[SaraJayne]

SaraJayne, maybe it's a regional thing. I wouldn't ever think of Pandora as high end but I live in an urban area. High end to me is Tiffany's and the like, where you're spending multiple thousands, not multiple hundreds.

Could be.

 

[Sorsha]

I thought you worked for Pandora.

Yes, I do. I'm guessing you aren't familiar with all of their products.

SaraJayne, maybe it's a regional thing. I wouldn't ever think of Pandora as high end but I live in an urban area. High end to me is Tiffany's and the like, where you're spending multiple thousands, not multiple hundreds.

Could be.

Yeah, definitely regional.

Where I live, most people consider a $50-$75 per person limit on their gift list to be almost extravagently expensive, so anyone spending "multiple hundreds" on someone on their list would be considered very "high-end" around here. They'd be considered a tourist, actually...

 

[connorlevismom]

And the fact that there are some rude clerks out there doesn't give anyone permission or excuse the rude behavior of the customers. If you come upon a clerk who seems to be in a bad mood, maybe you can help them by treating them nicely. Maybe they just had an encounter with one of the nasty customers and they're upset. Maybe they're just having a really bad day and need your smile and your good attitude to help them. Just as one nasty customer can really put a damper on your day, one really nice customer can remind you why your job can be fun.

I understand what your saying, I totally do. But the same can be said about the customer.

Maybe the customer that comes up to you in a bad mood has had something happen to them that has made them crabby. Just like the clerk that had a bad encounter with a customer. So it kind of goes both ways. You can't expect a customer to be nice to a nasty clerk because something "might" have happened to them and then not give that same courtesy to the customer. They to "might" have just had something happen to them too, you just don't know.

 

[crashbb]

Yeah, definitely regional.

Where I live, most people consider a $50-$75 per person limit on their gift list to be almost extravagently expensive, so anyone spending "multiple hundreds" on someone on their list would be considered very "high-end" around here. They'd be considered a tourist, actually...

But we aren't talking specifically about shopping for Christmas presents or basing "high-end" on the amount spent on someone on a Christmas list.

When I think of "high-end" jewellery stores, I'm comparing it to other jewellery stores - not all the stores in the mall or in the city. Like Grimley, I was thinking of Tiffany's or Birks (Canadian store).

Also, since Pandora does have a large range of items, I could see someone being shocked by the price of one of the more expensive items.

Never knew that shopping at Tiffany's made one a tourist - learn something everyday.

 

[Coconut36]

I understand what your saying, I totally do. But the same can be said about the customer.

Maybe the customer that comes up to you in a bad mood has had something happen to them that has made them crabby. Just like the clerk that had a bad encounter with a customer. So it kind of goes both ways. You can't expect a customer to be nice to a nasty clerk because something "might" have happened to them and then not give that same courtesy to the customer. They to "might" have just had something happen to them too, you just don't know.

It's one thing to not be a chatty customer..I don't think anyone here say anything about that but bad days do not excuse asking the retail worker to babysit, snapping your fingers at them, talking on your cell phone while checking out, leaving piles of clothes in the dressing room..etc. Those things are inconsiderate behaviors and have no relevance on the mood of the customer IMO.

 

[connorlevismom]

It's one thing to not be a chatty customer..I don't think anyone here say anything about that but bad days do not excuse asking the retail worker to babysit, snapping your fingers at them, talking on your cell phone while checking out, leaving piles of clothes in the dressing room..etc. Those things are inconsiderate behaviors and have no relevance on the mood of the customer IMO.

Oh I totally agree! I am just talking about someone being in a bad mood, nothing else. There might be a reason for it, on either end.

All the other things you listed are not acceptable, ever. Those are behaviors demonstrated by someone who thinks that world revolves around them.

 

[Sorsha]

But we aren't talking specifically about shopping for Christmas presents or basing "high-end" on the amount spent on someone on a Christmas list.

When I think of "high-end" jewellery stores, I'm comparing it to other jewellery stores - not all the stores in the mall or in the city. Like Grimley, I was thinking of Tiffany's or Birks (Canadian store).

Also, since Pandora does have a large range of items, I could see someone being shocked by the price of one of the more expensive items.

Never knew that shopping at Tiffany's made one a tourist - learn something everyday.

I completely understand where you are coming from.... please don't take it wrong.

BUT. The nearest Tiffany & Co to me is 3 states away. AND a middle class income, for those who still have a job around here, is less than $40,000 a year. Hence, most likely anyone I meet who has the means and opportunity to shop there IS a tourist in my area.