Complaint About Retail Store Workers

[goofinoff]

I work for a major retailer and you would be shocked at how people treat the fitting rooms (I think they think they are in the ladies room if you catch my drift!). That being said, she could have been a little nicer about it. She could have walked up to you, instead of yelling across the store, and said "Go ahead in and if there's something you don't like, bring it on out and we will take care of it." If that happened to me, and I came out and there was a group of them standing there chatting, I would have brought the things I didn't want right over to them and said "Here you go, I didn't want these so I brought them out like you told me to!" As a manager, I would want to hear about that. You should really give the store a call and speak to the manager. You can't fix a problem if you don't know about it! I can also tell you that retail does not pay well at all, so it's really hard to find good help!

 

[mickeysgal]

You'll know when the economy actually starts to get bad, because customer service will return.

They'll need to do everything they can to entice people to spend those precious retail dollars.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

You'll know when the economy actually starts to get bad, because customer service will return.

Unfortunately, I think that it is the other way around. When the economy is bad, they start laying off sales employees first and cutting starting wage to the dismal minimal, thus providing the worst customer service you can find. Retail has high turn around rate because of this: the good ones leave for better jobs and you are left highering from a pond of inexperienced and poorly motivated applicants. If anything, prices will go up and the employee count will go down. Not a good combination and not a good time to be in retail.

 

[ilisao]

I was at the mall yesterday and decided to stop into The Limited. I looked around and decided to try on 3 shirts, and as I went into the dressing room, the sales woman yells to me (with a slight additude) to make sure to bring out what I wasn't going to purchase. Why is this OK??? I was like, "Ok, and when I get out, make sure to have part of your pay check waiting for me!" ETA - There was no rack to put the unwanted clothing on - she wanted me to put them back.

I don't ask people to do my job for me at my work, why do I have to do theirs for them? What, was actually doing their job going to take away from the fact that all they were doing was sitting on the tables and chatting!?!? Oh, I was so annoyed!! And then when I actually wanted to purchase one of the shirts, it was a 5 minute wait/search to find someone to actually ring me up.

Ok, vent over.... anyone else experience this? How do you feel about it??

Did your arms break between the time you got to the dressing room and the time you left it? Is it really that much of a hardship to bring out your clothes?

How do you know she wanted to you to return the clothes to the racks? According to you, she said bring the clothes out. Maybe she meant hand them to her and they would put them back.

Frankly, it never occurred to me to get all bent out of shape because I had to bring clothes out. My arms worked just fine going into the dressing room; they'll work just fine coming out.

 

[bicker]

Unfortunately, I think that it is the other way around. When the economy is bad, they start laying off sales employees first and cutting starting wage to the dismal minimal, thus providing the worst customer service you can find. Retail has high turn around rate because of this: the good ones leave for better jobs and you are left highering from a pond of inexperienced and poorly motivated applicants. If anything, prices will go up and the employee count will go down. Not a good combination and not a good time to be in retail.

However, consumerism, overall, also declines, so fewer workers are serving fewer customers -- but the real impact corndog alluded to is that the average capability of the workers who are still working is higher.

 

[goofinoff]

Unfortunately, I think that it is the other way around. When the economy is bad, they start laying off sales employees first and cutting starting wage to the dismal minimal, thus providing the worst customer service you can find. Retail has high turn around rate because of this: the good ones leave for better jobs and you are left highering from a pond of inexperienced and poorly motivated applicants. If anything, prices will go up and the employee count will go down. Not a good combination and not a good time to be in retail.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Dontcha just love working retail???

 

[just4today]

I always return unwanted clothes. However, I would have a problem with a snotty saleslady TELLING me I had better do it. It is a matter of respect and it doesn't sound like the saleswoman in the OP had any of that for the OP.

If the store wants customers to return unwanted clothing to the rack, they need to put up signs. They would have better compliance that way, rather than depending on a snotty sales person, imo.

I agree. I put the stuff back because it just has never occured to me not to. But I would have a real problem with the clerk telling me to do it, especially if she had an attitude about it.

 

[eliza61]

If you want to have the sales clerk put your clothing back for you, it's gonna cost the company extra to hire more clerks. Hence, the price of your clothing is going to go up!

Exactly!! I was a retail worker most of my adult life, either full time or part time. It's called the "Walmartization of America" people. You want cheap clothes, electronics, goods but you also want customer service. Ain't gonna happen.
Most clothing departments have 1 maybe 2 girls working tops between handling the cash register and answering questions on the sales floor, no time to worry about the dressing room.

You want customer service go to Bloomingdales.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Exactly!! I was a retail worker most of my adult life, either full time or part time. It's called the "Walmartization of America" people. You want cheap clothes, electronics, goods but you also want customer service. Ain't gonna happen.
Most clothing departments have 1 maybe 2 girls working tops between handling the cash register and answering questions on the sales floor, no time to worry about the dressing room.

You want customer service go to Bloomingdales.

Even with two girls working, it sounds as though they were not busy if they were sitting down and chatting. If you have time to sit around and chat, you have time to help a customer. In fact, in retail, there really is no time to sit around and chat. There is always something that can be done, especially if there is a customer in the store. The attitude of the employee was unnecessary.

 

[I_Know_You2!]

Did your arms break between the time you got to the dressing room and the time you left it? Is it really that much of a hardship to bring out your clothes?

How do you know she wanted to you to return the clothes to the racks? According to you, she said bring the clothes out. Maybe she meant hand them to her and they would put them back.

Frankly, it never occurred to me to get all bent out of shape because I had to bring clothes out. My arms worked just fine going into the dressing room; they'll work just fine coming out.

No kidding.

Aside from leaving stuff about, it gets dirty and wrinkly...twice the work for the slave labor, I mean, retail staff. It amazes me how people treat those lower on the labor totem pole as lower caste.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

I hate a salesclerk with an additude

 

[Shyvioletisme]

The girl did have an attitude. But don't you just hate going into dressing rooms that have so many clothes left in them that there is no where to hang the ones you want to try on? Even when they do have a rack to hang them on I still find tons in the dressing rooms. I must be in the minority but I always put the clothes back after I try them on. If there is a rack for that purpose I will use it, but I mostly just take them back to the rack I found them on.

Most stores are understaffed. Good help is hard to find.

this is what I do too. I hate dressing rooms with all those clothes laying around. I realize there should be someone there to do that, but often the stores don't have enough people, so I feel better about just taking what I don't want back myself(unless there is a rack to hang them on outside the dressing room)

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

No kidding.

Aside from leaving stuff about, it gets dirty and wrinkly...twice the work for the slave labor, I mean, retail staff. It amazes me how people treat those lower on the labor totem pole as lower caste.

Excuse me, but I don't think I was treating anyone as if they were slave labourers. Give me a break!!!
"lower on the labor totem pole" - Sorry, those are your words, not mine. I don't treat anyone differently, no matter if they are wearing Old Navy or Armani (I happen to own both!!!!). Maybe you have a problem???

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

I don't think there is a problem to expect common courtesy from everyone, in general! If you are going to spend your hard earned money at a store, you expect to be treated nicely, and without attitude. And in the same fashion, if you are going into a store where people ARE treating you kindly, you should give them the same respect you expect at your place of work. It's kind of like what you learn in kindergarten: Everyone needs play nice with everyone else.

 

[ilisao]

Excuse me, but I don't think I was treating anyone as if they were slave labourers. Give me a break!!!
"lower on the labor totem pole" - Sorry, those are your words, not mine. I don't treat anyone differently, no matter if they are wearing Old Navy or Armani (I happen to own both!!!!). Maybe you have a problem???

Oh, so you treat everyone poorly?

 

[PghLybrt]

I don't get it . People leave stuff around my stores all the time, it drives me insane!


If someone is grocery shopping and picks up a roast and then 5 aisle later decide they don't want it do they just leave it in the cereal isle?

 

[goofinoff]

No kidding.

Aside from leaving stuff about, it gets dirty and wrinkly...twice the work for the slave labor, I mean, retail staff. It amazes me how people treat those lower on the labor totem pole as lower caste.

OMG!! I can't believe you said that! You say you can't believe how people treat retail staff but from what you just called us...slaves, low on the labor totem pole, YOU just treated us worse than anyone else! How dare you!!!!

 

[bicker]

"Common" courtesy requires "common" understanding. I'm not saying that that is the case in the scenario in the OP, but in general, I've seen enough instances where Person X perceives what Person Y said as rude whereas Person Y perceives what they said as no rude. Reasonable people disagree, so relying on "common" courtesy is relying on a house of cards -- I wouldn't put much stock in the concept. What I feel people can "expect" is courtesy as defined by the person providing it (but of course that is kind of useless, unless you're a mind reader! ) It is better to specify specific actions/behaviors, rather than "common" courtesy, and discuss the extent to which we all agree on whether or not those specific things are reasonable to expect, under specific circumstances.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Oh, so you treat everyone poorly?

Can you please explain to me how I treated anyone poorly? I walked into a store, chose some close to try on, walked into the dressing room, was somewhat rudely told to put the clothes back that I didn't want, and then did so!!

Then when I wanted to purchase one of the items, I waited patiently for the sales clerk to actually do her job (i.e. stop chatting and come to the register), I paid for the item, and left. Yeah, I should be taken off the streets!!!

Your comment is for to laugh!