Kohl's Vent but Manager did the "right" thing.

[DawnCt1]

I am SO over Kohl's right now. Used to love them, but I've had nothing with bad luck with them this holiday season. I placed an online order THREE weeks ago, and they notified me yesterday that they cancelled part of it due to "product availability". /QUOTE]

Same thing happened to me! I ordered weeks in advance so I wouldn't have to go to a mall so close to Christmas and, of course, that's what I ended up doing when they cancelled my order. You would think they would know a little earlier that my order wasn't going to be available.

Dawn, did the manager put more people on the registers?

They opened another register.

 

[Kath2003]

They were rude, but I wouldn't have said anything to them about the cash registers being backed up. Sometimes staff aren't allowed to leave a particular area of the floor; sometime's they're not trained to use the register or sometimes they're on their way out of the store desperately trying to escape from a barrage of customers (especially when the only way out of the store is through it). It doesn't excuse them being rude but having worked in retail, the only person I would have said anything to about the cash registers would have been the manager. I'd be fairly sure that the duo were Christmas temps who don't give a darn about their jobs...

 

[goofyernmost]

In the course of shopping I noticed two young men, dressed almost alike , who were employees, standing around chatting in women's lingerie. I said in a very nice tone, "I am surprised that there are so many people out on the floor when there are only a couple registers open and the lines are 20 customers deep".

Even though I will agree that their response to you was not very civil, I'm really not sure what part of what you said wasn't equally rude. You knew they weren't managers, they don't have control over how many registers are open. Your beef was with the manager, not them. Did you expect them to just drop everything and run to the front of the store? These people are human and if you had to work that "wait till the last minute" crowd just before Christmas your fuse would be pretty short too. So in the spirit of the season, let's get them fired even though they were standing there minding their own business when you approached them saying that they were wrong to be standing there when there was a line at the register! Sorry, I just don't understand that.

 

[DawnCt1]

They were rude, but I wouldn't have said anything to them about the cash registers being backed up. Sometimes staff aren't allowed to leave a particular area of the floor; sometime's they're not trained to use the register or sometimes they're on their way out of the store desperately trying to escape from a barrage of customers (especially when the only way out of the store is through it). It doesn't excuse them being rude but having worked in retail, the only person I would have said anything to about the cash registers would have been the manager. I'd be fairly sure that the duo were Christmas temps who don't give a darn about their jobs...

All either one of them had to say, was "Thank you, I will let the manager know". That was all that was required. They weren't on their way out of the store. They were hanging out in lingerie! I didn't report them because they were "hanging out". I reported them because they were rude, not once, but twice to the point that one of them started shouting at me! It was so out of character for that store, where everyone is nice.

 

[nuke]

My question is did the store open on time?

 

[connorlevismom]

I do think that parts of what they did was rude. I think that talking about a customer to another employee out in the open is rude.

But I also think that what you did was rude as well. Unless these two were standing at a cash register, why would you make a comment to them about how busy the cash register lines are? What were they supposed to do about it? It is the managers job to make sure there are enough people on the registers and if you had a problem with it, you should have taken it up with her. You say that they should have said "thank you, I'll let me manager know". Really? I don't know any store where that would happen. If the registers are busy, the people working at the REGISTERS should let the manager know. Not some person working in a completely different section of the store.

Kristine

 

[Rhonda922]

Absolutely - you never stand around taking a break out on the sales floor. Even if it is a break that you are fully entitled to - it looks very bad to the customers to see employees just standing around when the store is busy. Back in my retail days - if you were on the sales floor -you were working - you went to the back room or left the store on your breaks.

Right, if it's your break time, I'm sure that there's a break room or somewhere that employees can go. I get so tired of hearing employees' personal conversations and their gripes about their jobs as I'm passing by. It's very unprofessional.

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

I need to start up fights with employees to get some gift cards.

Me too....

 

[Disney Doll]

it's also a shame that two guys who might have busted their butts all week are going to get in trouble with their manager for taking a minute to themselves.

My guess is that if the manager knew exactly who Dawn was talking about, that they weren't the "busting their butts" type.

Sorry...you were with public, you need to be polite.

 

[acourtwdw]

Please don't get mad at me, but I am betting that nothing will happen to those employees. If they are seasonal, they won't be in the store much longer so most managers won't bother with them. I agree with the fact that if a customer feels that they aren't enough registers open, it is up to a manager to correct it. But employees shouldn't be rude either.

I work in a big box store with the slowewst department in the store. I pretty much stand in my department begging customers this time of year to buy something from me. Thank god I don't work on comission. But I really can't leave that area for the most part. If there is a large line at the register I can't do anything about it.

Keep in mind its 2-3 days before christmas, there will be a long line every where you go.

 

[Stacerita]

Those employees were rude. They could have said nothing or walked away. To say something rude to the OP is just not right. And to say it to her in two different departments, rude. I can't believe that after the first incident they went to another department to complain about the OP, and were rude to her again when she called them out. Im sorry, but obviously, they weren't at break in the store. They were just trying to get out of some work and extend their break. On the floor is not the employee break room. If they didn't want to be bothered, or were actually taking a break, they should have not been on the floor.

 

[Regina]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that two guys were hanging around in women's lingerie. Thank goodness they changed into women's sportswear before heading over to Burger King. They would have caught their death of a cold.

Seriously, while its been quite some time since I worked retail, you never hung around on the sales floor when taking your breaks.

 

[SeeVee]

To me, the height of hypocracy is telling someone to their face that they are rude.

Had you started where you should have - the manager- this little episode would not have happened.

 

[disneyaggie]

If they need a "minute to themselves" then get off the sales floor; take it to the break room, or other non-public area.

Well said!

Rudeness should never be tolerated. I think the OP did the right thing by reporting it. I know I would have!

 

[kylara]

I use to work in retail, and I can believe the kids were on break....and possibly doing some last minute shopping of their own. It is not uncommon at this time of year for employees to use their break to take items off the floor to put on hold in back to buy after their shift...and Kohl's does allow this (my sister is working evenings and weekends as holiday help for some extra holiday cash). However, if they are not on the clock, they are suppose to take off their nametags.

I do think that approaching two people on the floor to complain about the lack of people in registers is not the correct way to go about getting more help on registers. Many of the floor people are not trained or allowed to work register so they can't just go up and help. If the OP really had a complaint about it, it would have been better to approach customer services and let them know or approach someone on the floor and ask if they could inform a manager that more register help was needed.

But even so, that doesn't give the two employees the right to be rude. If you are going to work in a customer service position, you sometimes just need to learn to let comments go. And to go and talk about a customer on the floor with another employee is really not right. I always found that complaining in the back works just as well.

But it does sound like the customer service person made it right for the OP.

 

[Nancy]

While I agree that the salespeople were rude I myself would never walk up to 2 random employees in the store and comment about what was going on in another department. If you have a gripe with registers, talk to the manager..not someone in another area that has nothing to do with the registers. Employees should never talk about customers in earshot of other customers that is wrong. But I also don't think a customer should go up to random employees in a store and make comments about standing around or being on the floor while the registers are backed up. They don't make the schedule and not everyone in a store is cash register trained.

BTW, in 16 1/2 years I never took breaks in the breakroom or my lunches either, we did not have to, we could be wherever we wanted to be in the store on our own time.

 

[DawnCt1]

To me, the height of hypocracy is telling someone to their face that they are rude.

Had you started where you should have - the manager- this little episode would not have happened.

If someone dishes it out to me, they get it back. It isn't my job as a paying customer to placate rude, bratty workers. The manager knew exactly who they were and she didn't seem surprised.

 

[DawnCt1]

I use to work in retail, and I can believe the kids were on break....and possibly doing some last minute shopping of their own. It is not uncommon at this time of year for employees to use their break to take items off the floor to put on hold in back to buy after their shift...and Kohl's does allow this (my sister is working evenings and weekends as holiday help for some extra holiday cash). However, if they are not on the clock, they are suppose to take off their nametags.

I do think that approaching two people on the floor to complain about the lack of people in registers is not the correct way to go about getting more help on registers. Many of the floor people are not trained or allowed to work register so they can't just go up and help. If the OP really had a complaint about it, it would have been better to approach customer services and let them know or approach someone on the floor and ask if they could inform a manager that more register help was needed.

But even so, that doesn't give the two employees the right to be rude. If you are going to work in a customer service position, you sometimes just need to learn to let comments go. And to go and talk about a customer on the floor with another employee is really not right. I always found that complaining in the back works just as well.

But it does sound like the customer service person made it right for the OP.

I happened to be in lingerie. These young men weren't "shopping". They were standing around chatting. I happened to be walking by them, not towards them. I made a general comment about more people on the floor rather than at the register. I didn't say, "Why aren't YOU GUYS at the register". They chose to personalize it. It isn't my job to seek out a manager. I should be able to ask anyone with a badge a polite question and not get vitriol and defensiveness. The right answer would have been, "Thank you, I will tell someone". That is all it would have taken. Not only did they talk about a customer on the floor, that almost ran to another employee and talked loudly and rudely. I think they were quite surprised that I was within an ear shot and said that I was the woman they were talking about and asked their names. They refused to give me their names. They were outrageous.

 

[dogluva]

To me, the height of hypocracy is telling someone to their face that they are rude.

Had you started where you should have - the manager- this little episode would not have happened.

I don't understand why you had to say anything to them either. Why not just go up to customer service. They were probably told to stay in that department in case someone needed help.

I just don't get it-looks like someone was trying to start a fight. How they handled you was bad, but you seem like you were almost asking for it.

I kind of feel bad for these poor buggers myself.

Just because someone is a "worker" doesn't mean they don't deserved some kind of respect themselves. Personally, I would have never have said anything to them.

 

[DawnCt1]

I don't understand why you had to say anything to them either. Why not just go up to customer service. They were probably told to stay in that department in case someone needed help.

I just don't get it-looks like someone was trying to start a fight. How they handled you was bad, but you seem like you were almost asking for it.

I kind of feel bad for these poor buggers myself.

Just because someone is a "worker" doesn't mean they don't deserved some kind of respect themselves. Personally, I would have never have said anything to them.

I don't see why I would have to walk all the way to the opposite side of the store, to customer service, when there are employees out on the floor whose job, do I dare say it, is to provide some type of customer service, even if it just means politely listening to a polite comment by a customer. With the number of women that work at Kohl's, what kind of "help" could two just past adolescent males offer women with bras and underwear? I believe everyone deserves respect and I was certainly respectful, but after strike two, being talked about loudly and rudely where it was clearly audible 15 ft away, you bet that I am going to respond to that.