My retail rants

[raysnkaysmom]

For those who blame others for 'ruining' their vacation....it is truly them that is ALLOWING their vacation to be ruined....
ridiculous

 

[Joanna71985]

I wish you could hear how many time people said that to me in a day when I worked at WDW. I was working Fantasyland attractions when Small World went down for rehab. We stationed a greeter outside to tell people, and we would get screamed out about how that's the only reason they came and we ruined their vacation. Fastpass is out? We ruined your vacation. Peter Pan has a 90 minute wait? We ruined your vacation. It is time for the character to go in for the day? We ruined your vacation. That is my pet peeve comment.

Oh I know! I can't count how many times I "ruined" someone's vacation because the character's line was closed (either to go get a snack, go to the parade, or were done for the day). If the character really meant that much to you, you would go see them first thing.

 

[Ephany]

OMG, I used to deal with the "why don't you have a real job?" people almost daily when I was working at Michael's while going to school full-time. I couldn't tell you how many days I actually drove home in tears because the people were so hateful.

I get this all the time. I just look them straight in the eye and say I just completed my bachelors and am working to gain experience in my field before starting my graduate program next fall. They usually don't know how to respond to that.

Sometimes we get yelled at for the most random things. One lady went off on us because we couldn't guarantee that the boxes on the shelves weren't sterile. Not what was in the boxes, the packaging itself. 99% of our customers are great, it's just the other 1% who are obnoxious, rude, and think we're there for them and only for them.

 

[Kteacher]

I don't think it's asking too much to ask not to be knocked down by a customer, or to ask not to throw something at a sales associate-yes this actually happened to me! A customer threw something at me because we were sold out of an item on Christmas Eve .

Luckily for me these kinds of customers are more the exception than the rule but it still is -I don't understand why anyone would think it was okay to treat someone like this.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I don't think it's asking too much to ask not to be knocked down by a customer, or to ask not to throw something at a sales associate-yes this actually happened to me! A customer threw something at me because we were sold out of an item on Christmas Eve .

Luckily for me these kinds of customers are more the exception than the rule but it still is -I don't understand why anyone would think it was okay to treat someone like this.

I had an irate customer because we lost his layaway *old job* at Xmas. Yes, our fault, and we apologized, but he was cussing at me...and told me that if I wasn't (expletitive verb) behind the counter maybe I could find his layaway. He was really creeping me out (I was early 20s at the time) and I told him that if he didn't stop his foul language and threats I would call the police. He said a few more things and I picked up the phone next to me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled the phone out of my hand with his other hand... Finally, a customer stepped in, and he left.
Some people are just insane...

And..yes, I've had people throw the product at us when it didn't ring up the right price or their method of payment was declined....

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

One more thing.

Dear customers,
if your item doesn't scan at first, PLEASE don't say "Oh I guess it's free!" and then laugh at us. We have heard that one before and no, it's not funny the 4 BILLIONTH time we've heard it.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

One more thing.

Dear customers,
if your item doesn't scan at first, PLEASE don't say "Oh I guess it's free!" and then laugh at us. We have heard that one before and no, it's not funny the 4 BILLIONTH time we've heard it.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal and don't forget to tip your waitress!

I did see a customer one time..a 12 or 13 year old white boy wearing an oversized teeshirt with the WB shield logo that read "If You See the Cops Coming, WARN A BROTHA!" that made me giggle because he was very, very white with white blonde hair and blue eyes. He was in no way, shape or form anything close to a 'brotha'.

 

[John In Illinois]

One more thing.Dear customers,*** if your item doesn't scan at first, PLEASE don't say "Oh I guess it's free!" and then laugh at us. We have heard that one before and no, it's not funny the 4 BILLIONTH time we've heard it.

I manage a retail store, and when this happens I reply "no, we have to charge you extra for the additional labor"Shuts em down every time!!!*

 

[Keira1387]

Oohh, I have one:

If the clothes don't fit you right, don't yell at me, I didn't make them!

 

[starrzone]

I have worked retail for many years, and while most of my experiences have been nice, I do have my share of unpleasantness. This is an abridged version of a blog that I posted on my Myspace page.

To retail customers everywhere...some tips to make our shopping experience better all the way around.

-Please, parents, do not drop your children off in our store and leave them there while you have your taxes done, get your hair cut, or do all your holiday shopping. We are not a babysitting service. We are a retail establishment and we simply don't have time to watch your kids and make sure that they are not getting into trouble. (This has happened to me more times than I care to experience. I am talking children as young as 4 or 5!!!)

Haven't they ever heard of Adam Walsh? I have a brother 10 years younger than me, and when I was 13-14 my mother let me take him around the mall while she did her grocery shopping. I had read Adam's story, and would not let my brother out of my sight under any circumstance. I can't imagine parents who would just leave them completely alone in a store!!!

-Please, do not yell at us if your card is denied. We can't help it and we don't enjoy turning you down.

-Please, don't point at me and yell "You, there...". I am a human being and I deserve respect. I will strive to give you the best customer service experience that I can, but I demand the same respect in return.

Oh, I hate this! I worked in a gift shop in a touristy area the summer I was 17. The customers were fine; it was the woman who owned the chain of gift shops who was the problem! It's not like she had hundreds of employees, but she would say things like "Hey, you; put this shelf up"! We DID wear name tags, too!

-Please, don't come into my store first thing in the morning and pay for a two dollar item with a one hundred dollar bill.

-Don't use my store as your personal trash bin. Don't toss your empty cups in our baskets, don't leave your kids' sticky suckers on our shelves, and don't leave piles of crap just wherever you happen to see a space. Leave them with us, and we will put them away. If your kids make a mess, please tell us, or clean it up yourself.

I work in a national historic site which is basically set up as a museum. We have found trash in iron pots, wooden buckets...WHY??? They are called GARBAGE CANS for a reason! You know what they look like, and a wooden water bucket is NOT a place to put your used kleenex.

Treat my store as you would treat the home of someone you are visiting. We have invited you into our establishment because we value your patronage. You are honored guests to us. In today's tough economy, we will do what we can to retain your loyalty. We simply ask that you treat us with decency and respect.

That's my .02...

Amy

But at the end of the day we are human...

...We sign on for a lot by taking a job in the customer service field but at the end of the day we *are* human and still have feelings... The thing about it- *someone* has to work retail, food service etc. If we all had "desk jobs" our society would quickly come to a halt. So those of us who sign on to it deserve respect. When you are home enjoying Thanksgiving we are hard at work getting ready for tomorrow.. I havent eaten Thanksgiving with my family in 6 years- but if we weren't ready for Black Friday...

I totally agree with this! NO ONE should accept being treated rudely. My father is a retired chartered accountant, and he has certainly dealt with his fair share of rude people. Did he "sign up" for it? No. Was it part of his job? Yes, and he loved what he did. Just because you are in retail should not mean you should "expect" the rude behavior that inevitably comes your way. Rude behavior comes from rude people, and without one, there would not be the other.

I try and compliment salespeople as much as I can when I get exeptional service. One of the best customer service experiences I have had in my city was at the local WalMart. I went into the electronics departmet near Christmas to pick up an XBox game for my brother. This woman was working the register AND unlocking the cabinets for people at the same time. I was amazed at how she handled things, and a couple of months ago I checked out at her register again. I mentioned to her that I remembered her from Christmas and that I was really impressed with how she dealt with the crowds. I like to think that I made her day, because I bet that she doesn't get nearly enough recognition for the job she does.

 

[Barb]

To all of the "ranting" retail employees:

Can I remind you that WITHOUT these "rude" customers, you wouldn't have a job? Can I also remind you that it IS your job to wait on said customers, rude or not?

Not everyone is going to be in a good mood, 100% of the time. So, yes, you might run into people that are rude and mean. BUT, that is your job, am I correct in saying so? You DID apply, accept and attend this job.

If you don't like dealing with rude/mean customers, then find a different job.

G'day!

Well that's certainly an interesting point of view. I don't remember seeing anywhere on the application that I had to deal with rude and just plain nasty people. I can't imagine how anyone can justify being rude and nasty "just because" they can get away with it. Wow!

Fortunately, most of our customers are pleasant people. I'm very glad they don't have that kind of attitude.

 

[TomLovesBecky]

I usually have a craft demonstration in the front of the store(sometimes it is for children and sometimes it isn't) and parents think I am a babysitting service..."You sit here with the nice lady and Mommy will be over there shopping..." Um no, I don't think so...I can not be responsible for your child and do my job.

Not retail, but we were in the library today and this woman breezes into the children's room and asks the librarian if she can leave her young children (2 girls) in there while she browsed through the rest of the library. Um, what??? The librarian just looked at her for a few seconds, then said, "Well, only if you feel comfortable. After all, this is a PUBLIC place and just anybody can walk in. And I will be working and can't keep an eye on your children." The woman was totally clueless. Who on earth thinks that librarian=free babysitter??? So then she started asking when the afternoon children's craft started and could she leave them at that time. The librarian said yes, during the class the person running the program would actually be sitting down with the kids the entire 45 minutes and parents are not allowed to stay, anyway. But the class didn't start for another hour. So the woman said, "Thanks!" and then WALKED OFF. Leaving the 2 little girls alone in the room. And the older one turned to the younger and said, "I'm in charge!" She wasn't even old enough to cross a street without holding someone's hand, and now she's babysitting her sister (maybe a year or 2 younger).

 

[EveDallas]

To all of the "ranting" retail employees:

Can I remind you that WITHOUT these "rude" customers, you wouldn't have a job? Can I also remind you that it IS your job to wait on said customers, rude or not?

Not everyone is going to be in a good mood, 100% of the time. So, yes, you might run into people that are rude and mean. BUT, that is your job, am I correct in saying so? You DID apply, accept and attend this job.

If you don't like dealing with rude/mean customers, then find a different job.

G'day!

I bet you are just a delight to wait on. This is the kind of attitude that made me go home every day wanting to throttle someone when I worked retail.

 

[TaraLee4]

To those of you that let a manager know when their employee has done something right, THANK YOU! you don't understand how my employees light up when i come back around the corner and say, "no, she's not mad. she said you were an excellent server"

i try to thank my employees everyday for what they do. I've been a waitress and worked in retail. I know what they subject themselves to when they come in everyday. There are some people that are impossible to please.

But in general, i find that kindness on both ends goes a long way.

I would like to add my comment about people though:

I am an assistant manager for a resturant in a mall. We are obviously hiring for the holidays. I had a young woman come in tonight (about my age 22-23) and ask if we were hiring. Very kind. I gave her an application and she came in to sit down and eat with some friends.

half hour later i was being yelled at by the girl and her friends for slow service, no toilet paper in the bathroom and the soup being cold. The waitress was rude and the carpets were gross. Anything they could grab on and complain about (i'm not saying that they were all not true... at the very least we were out of toilet paper in the ladies room...but i don't know that if no one tells me). litterally yelling in a diningroom full of people who are now watching me handle this table.

10 minutes later my carryout window says someone wants to talk to the manager....

yep, the girl. who wanted to hand in her application and also wanted to know when she could expect a phone call.


I my job. I've been there for 3 years and i get up happy to go to work, and deal with everyone, happy or not. But somedays, it just seems you can't make anyone happy. especially at holiday time.

 

[mrs_hower726]

I don't think it's asking too much to ask not to be knocked down by a customer, or to ask not to throw something at a sales associate-yes this actually happened to me! A customer threw something at me because we were sold out of an item on Christmas Eve .

Luckily for me these kinds of customers are more the exception than the rule but it still is -I don't understand why anyone would think it was okay to treat someone like this.

When I worked customer service at K-mart, I had a truck bedliner thrown at me. He first came in and wanted to see about exchanging it for another one since the one he bought didn't work for his truck. He is carrying the box for the liner on the truck. Ok, no problem. Then he comes back 5 minutes later and says he couldn't find anything that will work and he wanted a refund. I told him that I needed the product in order to return it (not just the empty box). He gets irate, swearing at me, banging the door to go outside, etc. I'm standing there confused as all heck why he was upset about bringing in the product he wanted to return. He came back inside with the liner all balled up and threw it at me. It didn't hit me, but hit my co-worker and she totally flipped out on him. Apparently she scared him because the next thing we know he is being all nice and apologizing.

I also have 3 requests for dear customers:

1. Please don't let your kid run wild in an area where there are many breakables such as heavy plates, bowls, lamps, glass furniture, etc. We do not want your child to get hurt. If one of those heavy items falls on your child or if he trips and falls into a glass coffee table, I do not want to see that child have to be rushed via ambulance to the nearest hospital because you were too busy shopping to take care of your own child.

2. Don't you dare think that you are better than the person behind the counter of a store, restaurant, etc. You don't know their situation or are in the position to judge them. I was softly singing at my job one day while stocking the registers with bags and a person had the nerve to come up to me and tell me to "not quit my day job." At that point, I just graduated with a degree in music education, was subbing music at schools since I just moved and couldn't find a permanent position and teaching private lessons.
I told her I would be happy to start her child with lessons if they were interested since I was a certified music teacher and her jaw dropped, asking me why I was working retail. It was simple: I wanted to support myself and have a stable income and I found something that I liked doing.

3. An extra smile or thank you goes a VERY long way. If you receive great customer service, let the associate as well as the manager know. If you receive appalling service, let the manager know but don't start screaming and ranting so that everybody can hear you. Nothing gets accomplished and everybody leaves the situation angry. If you are really angry, count to 10 before talking to the manager and explain the situation. They will listen and remedy the situation.

Most people that work retail like their jobs. It's also nice to be able to vent either publically via here or privately to family so they can go into their jobs the next day and take care of their customers without bringing the extra baggage from the previous day. No matter what the job is, there is going to be an aspect of it that you will not like and you learn to live with it or move on.

*steps off soapbox*

 

[mrs_hower726]

*steps back on soapbox*

Ok, one last thing to mention to dear customer.

Do not literally snap your fingers and expect us to come running to help you, especially when you are a repeat rude customer. We are not your animal or spouses and do not respond to non-verbal cues in this fashion. If you need our assistance, a simple "excuse me" or "can you help me" suffices.

Ok, I'm done, I'm going to bed. Night all

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

To those of you that let a manager know when their employee has done something right, THANK YOU! you don't understand how my employees light up when i come back around the corner and say, "no, she's not mad. she said you were an excellent server"

i try to thank my employees everyday for what they do. I've been a waitress and worked in retail. I know what they subject themselves to when they come in everyday. There are some people that are impossible to please.

But in general, i find that kindness on both ends goes a long way.

I would like to add my comment about people though:

I am an assistant manager for a resturant in a mall. We are obviously hiring for the holidays. I had a young woman come in tonight (about my age 22-23) and ask if we were hiring. Very kind. I gave her an application and she came in to sit down and eat with some friends.

half hour later i was being yelled at by the girl and her friends for slow service, no toilet paper in the bathroom and the soup being cold. The waitress was rude and the carpets were gross. Anything they could grab on and complain about (i'm not saying that they were all not true... at the very least we were out of toilet paper in the ladies room...but i don't know that if no one tells me). litterally yelling in a diningroom full of people who are now watching me handle this table.

10 minutes later my carryout window says someone wants to talk to the manager....

yep, the girl. who wanted to hand in her application and also wanted to know when she could expect a phone call.


I my job. I've been there for 3 years and i get up happy to go to work, and deal with everyone, happy or not. But somedays, it just seems you can't make anyone happy. especially at holiday time.

People amaze me! I was at a Taco Bell one night and there was group of teenagers in the booth closest to the counter making very loud and very rude comments about the customers, their weight, and their supposed eating habits. I almost asked for my money back and left, but decided I would just ignore it. The teenagers workin were yelling expletives back and forth to this group. It was rather irritating.

Anyway, one of the girls was filling out a job application. I happened to see the name on the ap when I went to get my food, and that night I filled out the online feedback form detailing the incident and the girl's name. I stated in no uncertain terms that I would not patronize that store if I saw her behind the counter. The next day the manager called me apologizing saying he would fix the situation immediately. They never did hire her.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I manage a retail store, and when this happens I reply "no, we have to charge you extra for the additional labor"Shuts em down every time!!!*

Oohh, I have one:

If the clothes don't fit you right, don't yell at me, I didn't make them!

What also amazes me is when women want to take PANTIES into the fitting room to try them on Nasty!! If you dont' know what size you wear by now.....go commando!! Also... I dont' see how people think it's ok to return worn panties. Now....if you paid $20 for a pair and they ripped up after one wash.. MAYBE...but c'mon.. you paid 4bucks and YOU bought the wrong size... take your lumps, throw them away and buy the next size up.. Would you REALLY want to buy panties and a place that happily takes back someone elses returned ones??? Yuk

I am an assistant manager for a resturant in a mall. We are obviously hiring for the holidays. I had a young woman come in tonight (about my age 22-23) and ask if we were hiring. Very kind. I gave her an application and she came in to sit down and eat with some friends.

half hour later i was being yelled at by the girl and her friends for slow service, no toilet paper in the bathroom and the soup being cold. The waitress was rude and the carpets were gross. Anything they could grab on and complain about (i'm not saying that they were all not true... at the very least we were out of toilet paper in the ladies room...but i don't know that if no one tells me). litterally yelling in a diningroom full of people who are now watching me handle this table.

10 minutes later my carryout window says someone wants to talk to the manager....

yep, the girl. who wanted to hand in her application and also wanted to know when she could expect a phone call.


I my job. I've been there for 3 years and i get up happy to go to work, and deal with everyone, happy or not. But somedays, it just seems you can't make anyone happy. especially at holiday time.

I've experienced similar... A customer is rude to my cashier, and yelling about a wrong price. Yes, mistakes happen, let us check our signage and fix it for you..no biggie. No need to go on and on, loudly that she's an idiot because she couldn't just change it before asking for approval. THEN..I see her coming to customer service to ask for an application pretending to be a calm and collected individual. Honey, this is NOT the job for you....

 

[photobob]

For those working in retail...feel free to add....

Here's just a couple things that bother me, sparked by a customer yesterday..

We aren't a personal shopper in a boutique (this is big box environment, we aren't on commission and aren't in a small atmosphere). Do customers think the ONLY thing we have to do is be on the floor WAITING for your questions? If we aren't bringing the stock to the floor or ringing up your purchases, you're mad there is no selection or not enough cashiers.... it's like we can't win! We dont' have the payroll to have an associate for every customer. Yes, our company, luckily is still doing very well, and we try our best to accomodate who we can. We will help anyone who asks (hopefully that's always the case) but dont' complain that you can't find someone to help you way back in the bedding department because we happen to be stocking bath at the time.

And, customers can go online and tell about their shopping experience. The most complaints we get are that our fitting rooms aren't maintained and that our clearance isnt' sized!! OMG! I want to scream at that complaint... LOL -
To keep up with these women (yes, women are worse than men in a fitting room or a bathroom) who leave their clothes piled inside out on the fitting room floor like some undisciplined teenager is beyond comprehension!! I'm scared to see what your house looks like. Yes, I've heard 'you get paid to do this'. Ok, that may be PART of our job description, but have some class, and understand that we have MORE to do than clean up after you, and it's not only YOU we have to clean up after....it's hard to keep up!!!! And, on Friday afternoon, our clearance was sized for your convienience, but come Saturday afternoon it's all on the floor and placed on any rack you found convienient to drop off your 'neverminds'. Then you literally yell at us for it being on the wrong rack or that you can't find your size. We aren't the ones shopping it!! We are just trying to keep it off the floor after you've 'accidentally' dropped it!!!!

Yes, I've been in stores with rude associates, and if this is the case, I can understand how the 'little' things bother you... but c'mon.. we are just a few people trying to keep up with cleaning up after the masses, as well as bring your selections to the selling floor... Have a little sympathy and courtesy for us too this holiday season...

Ok, I;ll stop now

Sounds to me like you need to find another line of work.