holiday retail madness

[TaraPA]

Ditto Ditto Ditto!

This is my 5th year in retail management & I'm about DONE. This year the customers are more demanding than ever. The sense of entitlement is running rampant & that's what I hate the most. If you have a problem please approach me with respect & civility and I will bend over backwards to help you. 99% of people come at me yelling & demanding & honestly, you've just lost any "extra mile" help I could have given you. You are now only getting the bare minumum of "managers discretion" that I can bestow.

I understand the economy is bad, you've been out shopping all day, waiting im lines & you just want to get home. Please understand that I've been working 60+ hours a week, I'm missing 4 deliveries from the warehouse, 3 employees just called in sick, the phone is ringing off the hook with customers wanting me to go find them an item, one register just crashed & now 2 unexpected shipments are piling up waiting to go on the sales floor. I need to scan in every box which takes time & the UPS guy is tapping his foot waiting for me. Yes this is part of my job at this time of year, but when you yell at me for things beyond my control, it just makes me want to ignore you!

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!

 

[kaytieeldr]

And we left, so she lost a sale.

And - as in my favorite scene in "Pretty Woman" - she probably gets a commission for sales in her department. She didn't think you were going to steal the dresses, she just thought she was going to make some money from your purchase

 

[luvmy3]

My niece got married 2 days after Christmas last year, so her mother & I had the distinct advantage of having to shop for a dressy dress during the holiday shopping season. We were in Nordstroms in White Plains NY. Apparently the saleslady thought that we were going to shoplift or something, because she followed us around, staying about 3 feet from my right elbow until I said "Please allow us some time and space to shop. If we need you we will call you". She retreated to about 10 feet away, still watching us like hawks. We did find a few dressy dresses, which we proceeded to try on. Again, she was in the dressing room watching us like a hawk...apparently she thought that somehow I was going to be able to stuff a fuill length beaded gown into my little 6" x 6" shopping purse that I carry, which is large enough to hold my wallet and cell phone.

Well, nothing we tried on was to our liking, so we asked her if there were any other dressy dresses elsewhere in the store...she sniffed, looked us up and down and said "Well, there's the "Better Dresses" department upstairs, but some of those dresses run into the hundreds of dollars and some even into the thousands". well,OK, while neither myself not my sister-in-law were probably willing to pay $1000 for a dress, I would have paid $300-$400 for the right dress. I am sure that my SisIL, being mother of the bride, felt the same. But you know, the saleslady's whole superior attitude kind of aggravated me at that point and I looked at her and said "You do realize that we are the customers and that you are the sales clerk don't you? Because your condescending attitude leads me to think that you have forgotten that and that our money would be better spent elsewhere".

And we left, so she lost a sale.

Now, that's one bad experience I had with a snooty Nordstrom's lady. I generally find that most retail folks are great and helpful, and I always feel badly for them at this time of year and try my best to commisserate when I reach them in line.

Thanks retail people!!!!!! I appreciate you!

My first retail job was in the dress dept of a large Dept store and I had to follow around customers, not because we assumed they were shoplifting but because we were supposed to be there the minute they needed help and we were not supposed to let them come and search for us. If a manager, even from another dept was walking by and saw a customer looking for us to get help we would get written up. I would do what the saleswoman did in your example and it probably did look like I was suspicious of you but I was just doing my job.

 

[LBIJim]

Christmas may be two weeks away, but it ain't over. You have to deal with returns/exchanges on Dec. 26. which may be just as bad. And then, there's the after Christmas sales.

Yeah, forget Black Friday or the Saturday before Christmas. In my experience, based on casual observation, December 26 is the worst day to work in retail.

Jim

 

[dis-happy]

I was stuck in a horribly long and non-moving line the other day. I could have been cranky about it; instead, I pulled out my Kindle!!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This explains why some clerks are skittish. They get afraid of telling me something negative for fear of a lashing. Only, I am empathetic as a former retail employee and they seem almost too grateful that I had the good sense to NOT bite their head off. I had no idea that a pleasant customer has become such a novelty. (I even got yelled at by a customer in the post office yesterday! I don't even work there!)

In any case, to the poster below, I can only cite a famous scene that this reminds me of:

Vivian: "You work on commission, right? Big mistake. HUGE! I've gotta go shopping now!"

My niece got married 2 days after Christmas last year, so her mother & I had the distinct advantage of having to shop for a dressy dress during the holiday shopping season. We were in Nordstroms in White Plains NY. Apparently the saleslady thought that we were going to shoplift or something, because she followed us around, staying about 3 feet from my right elbow until I said "Please allow us some time and space to shop. If we need you we will call you". She retreated to about 10 feet away, still watching us like hawks. We did find a few dressy dresses, which we proceeded to try on. Again, she was in the dressing room watching us like a hawk...apparently she thought that somehow I was going to be able to stuff a fuill length beaded gown into my little 6" x 6" shopping purse that I carry, which is large enough to hold my wallet and cell phone.

Well, nothing we tried on was to our liking, so we asked her if there were any other dressy dresses elsewhere in the store...she sniffed, looked us up and down and said "Well, there's the "Better Dresses" department upstairs, but some of those dresses run into the hundreds of dollars and some even into the thousands". well,OK, while neither myself not my sister-in-law were probably willing to pay $1000 for a dress, I would have paid $300-$400 for the right dress. I am sure that my SisIL, being mother of the bride, felt the same. But you know, the saleslady's whole superior attitude kind of aggravated me at that point and I looked at her and said "You do realize that we are the customers and that you are the sales clerk don't you? Because your condescending attitude leads me to think that you have forgotten that and that our money would be better spent elsewhere".

And we left, so she lost a sale.

Now, that's one bad experience I had with a snooty Nordstrom's lady. I generally find that most retail folks are great and helpful, and I always feel badly for them at this time of year and try my best to commisserate when I reach them in line.

Thanks retail people!!!!!! I appreciate you!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yeah, forget Black Friday or the Saturday before Christmas. In my experience, based on casual observation, December 26 is the worst day to work in retail.

Jim

For me, in grocery, the day before Thanksgiving.

Heaven help you if you are out of stock of cranberry sauce.

 

[Disney Doll]

My first retail job was in the dress dept of a large Dept store and I had to follow around customers, not because we assumed they were shoplifting but because we were supposed to be there the minute they needed help and we were not supposed to let them come and search for us. If a manager, even from another dept was walking by and saw a customer looking for us to get help we would get written up. I would do what the saleswoman did in your example and it probably did look like I was suspicious of you but I was just doing my job.

Well I did think of that, but the problem was her terribly condescending attitude led me to think that because I was dressed in Crocs and a sweater that she thought I was "beneath" being able to shop in Nordstroms.

To all you retail managers out there..if you tell your employees to follow customers around, be prepared to lose some sales.

 

[eliza61]

God bless ya, my next door neighbor is a ticket agent for usair in Philly. She absolutely hates the winter when the weather gets bad. I can't tell you how many people curse her out becasue their flight is cancelled due to a blizzard.

Unfortunately she's not allowed to say "Hey, Einstein. do you really want to be on a plane 30,000 feet up in a raging snowstorm"?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I am not perfect and have made comments under my breath, directed at the "store", not a specific cashier/worker. I have also commented positively to someone directly.

Speaking of Macy's etc. I have taught my children to hang whatever clothes they have tried on and re-fold anything that they looked at. It is only common courtesy and only takes a few seconds. I would prefer they put it back where they found it, but I also accept hanging on the return rack in the dressing room.

One day, I saw a picture on DD's facebook. It was a picture of a dressing room where she and friends were trying on clothes and picture taking. There were clothes in the corner. Asked her why they were not on hangers. She said they were not the ones she tried on (which is true, she was not in those clothes in the pictures). Told her, she needed to lead by example and should have put them on the hangers for her friends. I hope she keeps this habit for her life.

 

[superme80]

My first retail job was in the dress dept of a large Dept store and I had to follow around customers, not because we assumed they were shoplifting but because we were supposed to be there the minute they needed help and we were not supposed to let them come and search for us. If a manager, even from another dept was walking by and saw a customer looking for us to get help we would get written up. I would do what the saleswoman did in your example and it probably did look like I was suspicious of you but I was just doing my job.

That is when you pretend to straighten something, so it looks like you are working near them. That was the Holidays when I worked in retail. Hover constantly and up sale all you can. Yeah I HATED working retail during the Holidays.

 

[tvguy]

I was in Walmart today, 1 pm on a Sunday. Only one person in line in front of me, but this is a Super Walmart with grocery store too, so his basket was full. Not a bad wait, but I have to admit I was surprised that about 1/3 of the checkouts were closed on a Sunday afternoon 2 weeks before Christmas.

But I would never yell at a clerk because their boss didn't have enough people working.

 

[Planogirl]

I go out of my way to be nice to retail people this time of year. I see rude shoppers everywhere and I can't begin to imagine how nasty these people can be to the poor people at the registers. It's ridiculous.

If only the rude people would stay home and shop online while the nice people go to the stores.

 

[GirTheGecko]

I already have had nasty customers. I work in a grocery store. Every grocery store I worked in, you can put in orders. So you can plan ahead. Or call. Don't scream at me when we run out of stuff. Or we can't pull off a save. It's just depressing to deal with, even though I do try to let it go.

It has made me so different in dealing with the holidays. I hardly do gifts. usually just Disney. I put in orders in advance. I also focus on just enjoying some quality time with the family, enjoying decorations, and eating really awesome food.

 

[MOMTOCUTESTDOGEVER]

My dad is sometimes one of those that get aggressive and nasty. I'm sorry you have to deal with those types of people.

 

[John VN]

DW has been in retail for 30+ years and this year's customers are by far THE WORST EVER!

 

[WeCantWait]

So tired of getting yelled at by customers because they had to wait in line. It's two weeks before Christmas, on a Saturday, with a sales associate at every register in the store ringing, and people are still complaining that they have to wait. One woman actually yelled this at me- " Doesn't anyone WORK at this store!"-this was while I was literally waiting on three customers at the same time ( jewelry counter ). So much for "Good will towards men"

I feel for you. It must be terrible. I have been yelled at twice this holiday season by other shoppers while shopping. Seems people are overly angry this year. I can't imagine working in retail at this time and having to deal with these angry people all day long, a few days a week. I try to be extra friendly to the sales people because I am sure they deal with quite a few angry people in one day.

 

[PebblesMom]

DW has been in retail for 30+ years and this year's customers are by far THE WORST EVER!

I agree....10 years here and this year has been the worst.

 

[MsLeFever]

I actually had a customer purposefully knock down a display of body splashes because SHE was confused about a coupon. And this was a grown woman!

 

[Saphire]

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond last week and there were long lines. Many registers were open, but there were lots of customers. Behind me stood some complainers. They whined and moaned and said how awful it was to be this backed up on a Monday, can you imagine how bad it would be if it were the weekend, blah blah blah, it is so unfair, blah blah. The thing is, I think we were in line less than 10 minutes!!! What is wrong with people that they think they have to get service immediately and can't wait a few minutes!
I think people feel more and more 'entitled' these days, and don't expect to be inconvenienced or slowed down at all. But to voice your protest for all to hear, especially to the hard working people in retail, is so wrong.