Good Customer Sevice-A thing of the past?

[happycowlover]

I'm beginning to worry about the customer service these days. Employees are just becoming ruder and ruder by the minute. When I was younger (wow, I'm only 15 and I sound like I'm 50!) getting a welcome and a smile was the norm when you walked into a store. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to even get treated nicely!

When my sister was at the register at Best Buy, the employee didn't even say 'Hello', 'Welcome to Best Buy' or anything. He didn't even look at my sister; he was actually looking past her like he was waiting for someone. When we went to leave the register, we got no 'Thank you for shopping at Best Buy' or even a 'Goodbye'!

Then, when I went to Subway yesterday, the employees acted as if I was annoying them and they came off like they didn't want to be bothered by me. Mind you, all I simply ask was to fix me a sub. I'm not a customer to yell and cause a huge fiasco (like my mom) when something goes wrong either.

Another customer service problem in my area is that the Home Depot employees walk extremely fast when they see that you need help. They practically run away when you call on them. Two employees actually stopped their conversation and walked to the next aisle when they obviously saw that we needed help. It's really sad that in order to get some help at my Home Depot, we have to track down an employee instead of them coming to us.

What are your views on the deteriorating customer service in recent times? Are the employees just getting fed up with their jobs? Are customers being too demading and quick to yell when an employee makes a little mistake? Is customer service the same as it was years ago? What are your sides of this issue-as an employee and a customer?

[Blake_SC]

Customer service seems to be neglected in some (to most) stores. People being treated rudely or not being treated at all seems to have risen. When I was at a WaL-Mart (D: I know...I don't like them either) it seemed that all the registers were taken (including the self checkout) except for one register, just my luck :)..right?

I walk up to the register with my item in hand, and I realize that it's a student from my school, we both know each other and (i hope) like each other well enough. I say "hello!" He looks up from swiping my item and looks back down, calculating the total. No words were spoken from his mouth....I'm not going to that Wal Mart again (yay!) Its just that if he even said hello or have a good day, I wouldn't have bothered with even typing this, its just that the service industry seems lacking in..well, service. =[

[Psy10]

I find that the customers are the biggest problems these days. If you think I'm joking just google "retail sucks". I've seen it up close. Personally, I like a nice hello but I really don't care if the cashier talks to me or not since I'm at the end of my shopping trip. I want my items rung up quickly, pay the correct amount, and get the heck out of there. No, I don't need to have a conversation with you.

However, when I need something on the floor then I expect help and I'm willing to wait patiently for it.

[rome_raven]

I work in retail and honestly, I think it's all about the personality. Some people are great at interacting with people face to face. Some people just suck at it. I am one of those friendly people who say "Hello" and "Good-bye" and actually will try to hold a conversation as I help people. But sometimes it does get discouraging when customers ignore you, act like they don't see you and are ridiculously upset at you for something you can't control. I cannot control the fact that we no longer have the size that you are looking for. I will do my best to help you find it at another store however I will not spend my entire shift tracking down a $3.97 t-shirt on the other side of the country.

It's not just a customer service thing either. A lot of customers come into the store with the mentality that the customer is always right however they do harass the employees, try to haggle with them and are very willing to call the customer service line for the stupidest things.

[slice_SC]

I don't think I could ever work in retail for a long period of time. It's not just the customers and it's not just the employees. Both sides of the fence are just plain rude. From there it just creates a circle. Rude customers lead to rude employees which leads to rude customers etc.

[HCAC]

I worked in (phone) customer service for 2 years and honestly I blamed the company for the poor service we provided. Customer service reps where I was employed were poorly paid, and expected to handle enormous amounts of calls (6 people handled all the calls for a major firm that came from all over the USA and Canada). In addition we had to service 'walk in clients' by turns thus taking off 1 person from the phone to do this.

Also we had to do paperwork, handle and process orders/credit cards/refunds, find items on the floor that were being repaired and other office tasks. If someone was out sick, you'd have to work even harder to answer the phone and deal with irate customers.

We were told how many millions the company made in 'rah-rah' sessions but we never saw an increase in our salaries. It was always 'sorry.'

Add to it the bad manager we worked under (he loved having people snipe and backstab each others), psycho supervisor (imagine someone with CONSTANT PMS) and you have the picture.

The customers could ruin my day by complaining about the long wait times. I'd want to agree--I mean if you run a BIG company, PAY for a good amount of staff.

Some companies invest in customer service, others in 'sales.' To this day I'd NEVER buy a product made by my former 'company.'

Let me add about Best Buy (I shop there a lot) that I think they hire some very rude and clueless people but then again, what do they pay them?

[touchdown_girl_182]

It's not just a customer service thing either. A lot of customers come into the store with the mentality that the customer is always right however they do harass the employees, try to haggle with them and are very willing to call the customer service line for the stupidest things.

Amen. I work as a cashier in a supermarket, and it seems a lot like customer's manners are the ones that are deteriorating these days. A lot will blame me for wrong item pricing, or a spill in aisle 4, or their child who has run off on them. One even had a go at me for not handing over a carton of cigarettes until the transaction had been finished! (At our store, we have a lot of snatch and run incident with cigs, so store policy is that until a transaction is completely finished, we don't hand over cigarettes) Some of their attitudes suck, period.

Having said that, there are a lot of cashiers too that are plain rude, who don't greet customers and who refuse to help. However, it's their ass thats on the line when they get complaints for it.

Politeness unfortunately is becoming scarce in today's society, and in retail, it's both the customer and the employee that are at fault, not just one or the other.

[Amish Nick_SC]

I think we will learn a lot that we, those who work in the serves industry have to deal with. S2G and I will more then likely share plenty.

One needs to remember, attitudes affect the people around, and last all day. That one employee that seems to always be in a bad mood and takes out personal problems on the people around. Or those customers who come into the store and take out their daily frustrations on the employees for the littlest things.

Case in point, had a little old lady come in, we are always told, pleasant smile when dealing with the customers. Well, I smiled at her, she complained to my manager because of "MY" inappropriate "SMIRK". All I did was smile. After she left, my boss even said she had problems.

Then there are those who are particular about greetings. A few absolutely must never be referred to as "Sir" or "Ma-mm". To do so will set them off instantly in a pissy frenzy. This one lady I have here where I live and work says your just calling her old by saying "May I help you Ma-mm?"

When you get that one pissy customer in the morning early in your work day, well its shoot and your no longer in a good mood.

Then there's "The customers always right" attitude. Thinking that what they say is final and must be honored. NO, it is a treatment idea. That this is how to best treat them in respect, not a policy that "MUST" be followed.

We have some that will walk up to the register and say they got this off the self and the Tag above it said it was $1.99, while it rings up at $3.49 with it labeled as such, and demanding that it is given to them at that price. NO this will not happen. Trust me, the customer is NOT always right.

Well this is enough of a rant to start for now. Tired, and have other things to do.

[hszmv]

As a lifeguard, my job entails punishing people for rule breaking. Ever had a parent find out their "darlin' little angle" of a boy was thrown out for harassing a female lifeguard. For the rest of the season, Angle wasn't allowed back in and Mom complained to any guard who was foolish enough to listen to her. And I have to tell her that I support my staff and their discisions (there are times I don't agree, but I need to back the rule anyway.). Eventually, I give them the companies number (who will tell her the same thing) to get her out of my hair. But when Darlin' gets in trouble, the parent will be pissed when it gets back to them.

[PorkChopzNGravy]

I'm beginning to worry about the customer service these days. Employees are just becoming ruder and ruder by the minute. When I was younger (wow, I'm only 15 and I sound like I'm 50!) getting a welcome and a smile was the norm when you walked into a store. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to even get treated nicely!

When my sister was at the register at Best Buy, the employee didn't even say 'Hello', 'Welcome to Best Buy' or anything. He didn't even look at my sister; he was actually looking past her like he was waiting for someone. When we went to leave the register, we got no 'Thank you for shopping at Best Buy' or even a 'Goodbye'!

Then, when I went to Subway yesterday, the employees acted as if I was annoying them and they came off like they didn't want to be bothered by me. Mind you, all I simply ask was to fix me a sub. I'm not a customer to yell and cause a huge fiasco (like my mom) when something goes wrong either.

Another customer service problem in my area is that the Home Depot employees walk extremely fast when they see that you need help. They practically run away when you call on them. Two employees actually stopped their conversation and walked to the next aisle when they obviously saw that we needed help. It's really sad that in order to get some help at my Home Depot, we have to track down an employee instead of them coming to us.

What are your views on the deteriorating customer service in recent times? Are the employees just getting fed up with their jobs? Are customers being too demading and quick to yell when an employee makes a little mistake? Is customer service the same as it was years ago? What are your sides of this issue-as an employee and a customer?
Most places I go I get good customer service. Whenever I enter Walmart the sales person always smiles and says "Welcome to Walmart." unless they're busy with another customer.
Most times and most places I don't even have to ask for help they come to me. And if they don't come to me they hadn't notice or it's a busy day.
But every once in a while there is the employee that gets on your nerves. Like the other day when my mother called Home Depot for something- I forgot. Everytime my mother asked the lady a question she sighed loudly and acted as if she really didn't want to be bothered.
Then another time when I went to a drive-through at McDonalds, the lady couldn't hear me. So every time I said an order loudly she snapped, "Okay!" like it's my fault she's death.
Those are rare occurances, and like I had said, most of the time I get treated like I should. Some we even make friends with.

[sammIE99]

work in retail yourself for a few days. then you'll understand why we hate you.

My store (which I won't name) is largely perused by cranky old people. They know that if they just keep yelling, eventually we will give them that price they thought it was (yesterday I had to discount an item by forty dollars to get these people to shut up). I feel that some of them will be nasty to you because they know they can get away with it, and they've got something up their ass which gives them some kind of 'misery loves company' complex.

I say, screw the customer. The key to customer satisfaction is happy employees. If I was making more than 7 dollars an hour, not working overtime every week and was able to be like "this is what the price is, deal with it," I would be soo much nicer to customers.

[nekochanpurr_SC]

work in retail yourself for a few days. then you'll understand why we hate you.

My store (which I won't name) is largely perused by cranky old people. They know that if they just keep yelling, eventually we will give them that price they thought it was (yesterday I had to discount an item by forty dollars to get these people to shut up). I feel that some of them will be nasty to you because they know they can get away with it, and they've got something up their ass which gives them some kind of 'misery loves company' complex.

I say, screw the customer. The key to customer satisfaction is happy employees. If I was making more than 7 dollars an hour, not working overtime every week and was able to be like "this is what the price is, deal with it," I would be soo much nicer to customers.


Amen. I'm ALWAYS nice to my costumers, but i agree that it'd be easier to be nice if we weren't so flipping stressed the whole time you are there. Your not a person, no, you get treated as an object that does stuff for 8 1/2 hours till you go home. Even if i heard a please or thank you every once in a while, i'd be happy. You can't treat a person like shit without making them feel like shit.
I've been blessed with LOTS of nice customers, fortunately. However, when i get them bad.. i GET them.. Ugh. Like when people change the stickers then try and make us change the price.. Or when they throw a hissy because somethings not the same than ANOTHER CHAIN.. >.<

In closing.. i think that we'd be better employees if we were ever treated like we actually were people. :howdy:

[edejan]

I worked in retail for several years at a store in the Chicago area which was infamous for its rude salespeople. One thing I had learned in the working world - it's like an acting job - you have to be "on" when you go on the sales floor. Like you have to go outside yourself and "pretend" to be happy and up. And that was my goal - to always be customer oriented and friendly and helpful. But here's another side of the coin - this prestigious store I worked for which catered to the richer customers with exclusive and expensive items - paid minimum wage, demanded that you dress in very upscale clothing to present an elegant appearance, and, unless you were one of the regular long term full tiime employees, you got no commission. Yet the company treated the staff like dirt. You had to accept the schedule and hours they gave you and like it or else. Minimum wage hourly employees were constantly under duress to meet sales quotas, we were constantly watched on inhouse cameras. were only allowed to take bathroom breaks if we could convince someone else to cover our register and we had to keep a strict manual inventory of every item (it was gourmet food) and pay for anything that did not match up. The employee morale was so low that most of the staff were depressed and angry before the doors even opened. So if anyone actually had the strength of character to actually muster up some courtesy for the customers, it was a miracle. So some of the poor customer service you see may be related to how abominably bad the employees are treated by their employers and supervisors! And I think the big companies don't feel any responsibility to be good to their employees in any way, either financially or just by treating them like human beings!!

Just my experience...

Oh yes and the supervisors would actually send you home if your suit and heels were not upscale enough so you'd lose the whole shift's pay and the decision about appropriate clothing was always very subjective.

[Kakashi_Hatake_SC]

I'm a cashier at Walmart, and I think the main reason customer service is lacking is because of rude customers. We deal with ALOT of crap, and sometimes some customers make us horribly miserable. I've had customers almost make me cry, perhaps if they were nice to us we'd be nice back. I always make it a point to go out of my way and be friendly but there are some customers that just do not deserve it. I've been screamed at, sworn at, I've had things thrown at me (change, items, etc), now wouldn't that make the people that work in customer service just a tad irritated? Usually when someone has a bad day and they come into our store it's us that get the brunt of it. I honestly don't think it's fair, and some customers deserve an attitude. Granted there are some bad cashiers and people who work in customer service. But remember the customer is not always right, despite what they say.

[GummiBears]

You need to have more good customers for more good customer service ;). I've had three jobs in retail and they all sucked more than anything. I'm one of those people though at work, who always has to be friendly, pleasant, and talk to the customer as if they are always right and I'm always wrong. Some people just won't be happy regardless of what you do, you can dance the Irish Jig and give them a million dollars and they would still complain and whine. I would say about 60% of the customers were always grouchy and nothing was going to change that, 30% would just be regular people who weren't friendly or grouchy, and then the last 10% would be friendly and nice people. It's hard to stay friendly and treat all customers nicely but you should do it if you are working in retail unless of you course someone really pushes you. I mean I don't know how many times I've been told I'm stupid because we didn't offer a senior discount, or something was too expensive, or there wasn't enough chairs (Wth you are here to shop not lounge around), etc.
Forget about Christmas shoppers, they will make you hate people.
Anyway, whenever I go shopping and what not I always seem to get good service. Maybe it's because I know how it is to be a cashier and I don't let every little thing bother me, who knows.
I do know for sure that, RETAIL SUCKS. :)

[slice_SC]

I worked in retail for several years at a store in the Chicago area which was infamous for its rude salespeople. One thing I had learned in the working world - it's like an acting job - you have to be "on" when you go on the sales floor. Like you have to go outside yourself and "pretend" to be happy and up. And that was my goal - to always be customer oriented and friendly and helpful. But here's another side of the coin - this prestigious store I worked for which catered to the richer customers with exclusive and expensive items - paid minimum wage, demanded that you dress in very upscale clothing to present an elegant appearance, and, unless you were one of the regular long term full tiime employees, you got no commission. Yet the company treated the staff like dirt. You had to accept the schedule and hours they gave you and like it or else. Minimum wage hourly employees were constantly under duress to meet sales quotas, we were constantly watched on inhouse cameras. were only allowed to take bathroom breaks if we could convince someone else to cover our register and we had to keep a strict manual inventory of every item (it was gourmet food) and pay for anything that did not match up. The employee morale was so low that most of the staff were depressed and angry before the doors even opened. So if anyone actually had the strength of character to actually muster up some courtesy for the customers, it was a miracle. So some of the poor customer service you see may be related to how abominably bad the employees are treated by their employers and supervisors! And I think the big companies don't feel any responsibility to be good to their employees in any way, either financially or just by treating them like human beings!!

Just my experience...

Oh yes and the supervisors would actually send you home if your suit and heels were not upscale enough so you'd lose the whole shift's pay and the decision about appropriate clothing was always very subjective.

Why would you work someplace if you obviously hated it so much.

I'm sure if a person disliked small children they wouldn't go work at Kindercare. Why work in retail if you aren't prepared to deal with people?

[Kakashi_Hatake_SC]

Because retail is the only industry I know that will hire people no matter what, I've tried getting other jobs in different places. I'm either under qualified or over qualified, and it sucks. I'd rather hire someone who was over qualified because I'd be assured they'd do the job right instead of hiring someone new. In todays world alot of employers have a stereotype, if you're overweight, not cute, etc they won't hire you. I've experienced this quite alot, places like Kohl's, Dillards, Fashion Bug, are thoes types of places. Yet stores like Walmart, Target, etc will hire you no problem and you get to work crummy long hours, not get paid enough and deal with jerks. There is a certain look employers go for you don't have it, they don't hire you. It's not based on experience hardly anymore, sadly.

[happycowlover]

Some people may not have the choice to just quit their job and get another one. Finding a job isn't like it is on TS2, it takes weeks if not months to get another one. Plus, people have responsibilites (family, bills, house, ect) to take care of and if you quit a job, an employer will want to know why and they could even call up your last job to see why you quit. Some people may not have the skills to get another job too. No one likes hiring teenagers because they usually have no skills, can only work certain amount of hours, and school gets in the way many times. The only place teens have to turn to is retail.

[cary123]

it is and I have 1 thing to say... blame capitalism damn it.

[Zaggytiddies]

Restaurants are really bad too... I used to work at the Olive Garden. Worst job I ever had. I completely think that the Customers Always right some of the time... lol If you're an ass in general and you're just doing it to get free food then no... you're not right. I once had a guys scream at me while we were in the middle of the dining area telling me the smoking section was bigger than it was. I took him back to his table and he didn't like that one so he goes, "I want to sit over here in a booth." I said, "Sir... that's fine but that isn't the smoking section. You said you wanted the smoking section." He goes, "Well I was here a couple of weeks ago and we sat at this table and we smoked." I replied, "Well you probably shouldn't have." Mind you now, I'd worked there for almost 2 years and there never was a different seating arrangement. He proceeded to scream at me and demand to see my manager. I went and got her. I'd been completely polite the entire time... actually I thought it was kinda funny cause he was being so ridiculous. She told him the exact same thing I did and comped his appetizer and he sat in non smoking. Essentially he got rewarded for acting like a moron. This is what is wrong with customers today. They know the customer is always right and use it to their advantage. Now, granted sometimes the employees just suck but it's def a case by case scenario.

[PandaGuin]

I worked in retail for two miserable years. It was a place that offered me a traineeship after I left half-way through year 12 so I took it.
I hated it. The customers were rude, the staff didn't give crap and management didn't manage at all. I was abused more times than I can remember even though I've always had great customer service skills. Retail is about putting the happy face on, no matter what you're really feeling. One day I had two woman having a screaming match over my head at my register. One was accusing the other one of switching price tags. The accused one was a very regular customer (3 or 4 times a day) and I'd already had a call from the department the item they were fighting about came from.

I worked refunds. People are rude when they think they're entitiled to something they're not. My supervisor got called a lot of 4 letter words (the bad ones... C and S mainly) because some wank thought he was overcharged fifty cents.

When I'm at a shop now, and there are people in line carrying on about waiting, I just say "quietly" to my mother or whoever I'm with 'you can always tell those who haven't worked retail' and normally I get dirty looks but they generally shut up then.

I work lay-by over christmas. Never again. If people are stupid enough to leave getting their parcels until christmas eve they deserve everything they get.

Now I'm a very different line of retail. I deal with mainly builders and tradespeople and I love it.

[edejan]

Why would you work someplace if you obviously hated it so much.

I'm sure if a person disliked small children they wouldn't go work at Kindercare. Why work in retail if you aren't prepared to deal with people?


I didn't say I hated it. I liked the store, its goods and the hours were convenient to my situation at the time. I'm telling you what a bad atmosphere some stores are to work in. I did say that I had learned that you have to be "on stage" when working in the public with customers. That's how I dealt with it and I also learned the "norms" for the store quickly so I never really had a problem with any supervisors. But not everyone can deal with it that way and many people don't have a lot of options regarding what jobs they take. I think when you complain about customer service, you also have to realize that there's another side to the story.

[breakage]

In my opinion, it's the customers' manners that have gone down hill.

I used to work at the UPS store. I'd take people's items and box it and ship it, or just take items they already packed and ship it for them. You wouldn't believe the number of people who would yell at ME for our prices. Like I have control of it?

I also had this lady who came in on the phone (sidenote: GET OFF THE BLEEPIN' PHONE WHEN YOU GO SOMEPALCE WHERE YOU MUST BE A HUMAN BEING AND TALK TO PEOPLE. Thank you). She said she needed a box and wouldn't tell me what kind. I proceeded to show her every box we had and with each selection, she got more and more angry at me to the point of yelling at me. And yes, she was still on the phone. She finally picked a box, started putting peanuts in it (she'd brought her own) only to huff, dump them out all over the place and THROW the box at me, telling me it was the wrong size.

Needless to say her abuse continued to the point of me crying for the first time because of a customer and then a customer behind her threatening to call the police on her.

I have other horror stories - like parents who can't take care of their children and let them skate around on those roller-shoes and knock over my retail bins when I worked at GameStop or knock the games off the shelves.. the parents would only giggle and then not even bother to pick it up or tell their children too. Anyway, enough of me complaining.

The point is that I'm sure people would be nicer if customers were. I'd like to see you try and put on a smile after being yelled at for things that aren't your fault for 8 hours a day. And yes, I agree with other people who said that it's hard to find a good job these days and many people who work retail work it to pay bills, not because they want to.

[Wintermute]

I'm also more inclined to blame customers, though I've experienced some (mostly through others) bad customer service which was clearly not the customers' faults.

Customers in general seem to be getting harder to please--for some, no amount of service will ever satisfy them. They don't seem to really notice or care that employees are people like them, who have their limits and personal needs--it's just demand, demand, demand, demand, and "to **** with your needs, what about mine?" They can't seem to take "no" for an answer, and seem to think that they deserve special treatment because of their perceived needs.

I witnessed an example of a hard-to-please customer when I was at a local Cingular (now AT&T) store months ago to replace my phone's battery. She took a phone to an employee and asked him to remove some of the services from the plan she wanted to purchase because she had no need for them and didn't want to pay for something she would never use. He politely told her that she would need to buy another phone or choose another plan because removing that service wasn't an option. She bickered with him for 15-20 minutes, switching phones repeatedly with him telling her the same thing with each phone; she went from demanding to literally yelling, even asking him to call or bring in his manager to do it. He told her he would call, I believe it was, the regional manager and discuss the possibility of an exception, but he told this customer that it was unlikely they would be able to meet her request. In the end she stormed out, but not before saying that she was done with/sick of Cingular and would buy a phone plan from another service. I went up to the same employee, who was flustered, asked for a battery change, and he did it without hesitation and didn't charge me a dime.

[Chelleypie]

it is and I have 1 thing to say... blame capitalism damn it.

So narrow and so wrong. Ahem.

I work at a restaurant, as I've said before. We have one manager who is inherently not a people-person, by her own admission. I am a people person. Said manager puts me up front when I work with her because I am a people person. But I've been cussed at, had food thrown in my face, and had people argue with me about what is or isn't on our signs. For pity's sake, I had a guy argue with me about a price because we don't list our price after tax on the signs. Today I got sworn at because I refused to give a price over the phone, which we've been told not to do.

I went to WalMart just after I got my WIC, and they literally put me in tears because the girl literally looked at me and said 'White trash always gets our money!' and was outright rude.

I don't think it's all about the person behind the register. I think it's also about the people in front of it. I will not, I repeat, WILL NOT let someone treat me like utter garbage just because they cannot be bothered to read the menu boards. I repeat prices when they have questions. I do not make the decisions regarding said prices - please don't scream at me about them.

I am not looking forward to when our prices go up. Much irate screaming and much cursing will ensue.

[HCAC]

I went to WalMart just after I got my WIC, and they literally put me in tears because the girl literally looked at me and said 'White trash always gets our money!' and was outright rude.


That's just wrong. You should have told her manager--it's not the cashier's business how you pay, as long as you do. :naughty:

[coltraz]

Customer service depends where you are. Like, I live in Halifax Nova Scotia. It's a bit of a smaller city, so customer service is quite good. Generally folks in stores are nice, helpful, and wouldn't dear be rude. Of course every once in a while you'll run into someone who isn't friendly or clearly doesn't want to help, but I grew up knowing fairly wonderful customer service. When I went to New York City a few years ago I was stunned at how rude people were at stores. They'd give us dirty looks, shrug their shoulders with a scowl, and two men outright made fun of my dad who was trying to look for a cheap digital video camera: "We'll give it to you for 2 dollars, ha ha ha!"... Another time my dad asked someone about a chip for his digital camera and the guy snapped back in a way like, "how could you NOT know that"... It was very unusual.
So I think it depends on where you are geographically, a lot. Bigger cities will likely have worse customer service, and in NYC good customer service probably IS a thing of the past.

[Chelleypie]

That's just wrong. You should have told her manager--it's not the cashier's business how you pay, as long as you do. :naughty:

Shared with the manager and my WIC staff at the office.

[sayyadina_SC]

Hahaha! (yes, laughing helps, or I would probably cry instead). This is one of many reasons me and my husband wants to move from the city to the country. Everyone is rude in here! The clerks, the busdrivers, people representing the goverment, your neighbour, the bartender, you name it! Ive been working in retail, and my husbands doing it right now. Were both nice people with a high level of service-mindedness, but that doesnt help a lot when customers are rude as well. It eats you away, so to speak. Its chaos, its a mess, its nerv-wrecking!
Same time there is a lot of statistics pointing at peoples lack of psychological health in the city. Far more depressions and sleepingdisorders due to stress. Is that the reason everyone is so mean?
I cant wait to get out of here! After spending some days in our summerhouse I feel like a normal person, but I only have to be here in Stockholm a couple of days to feel irritated, snappy, even paranoid. :yech:

(theyre coming to take me away, hihi, haha...)

[Hakuryuu_SC]

As a teenager in the fast food service business I try my best to give my customers quick, friendly service (I even have a few favourite customers that I recognize and even know their orders by heart now) I've been lucky enough to have some very nice and tolerable customers but I've also had some I'd rather not deal with.

I hope I never have to do proper drivethrough because I see the stress those people go through during peak, it's enough to make anyone frustrated. Think the next time you go through the drivethrough, you may not be able to hear us but half of the times we can't hear you (there is usually two of us on drivethough) And we annoy you with our "would you like a fries with that?" It's not because we want to it's because we Have to, our managers constantly drill it into our heads we even get evaluated on things like that and get scored on it.

I think I am pretty friendly with my customers and always give the "Hi, how are you today?" "Have a nice day" type thing. But next time you complain about not getting your friendly greetings think of what it feels like to be serving people all day long (try 5-7 hours through peak without a break) on top of school and trying your best to be plesant for these people, some of them barely even look at you as a person or even acknoledge us.

All we ask is a "You have a nice day too!" and a "I'm good, how are you?" We are people too you know. We may get your orders wrong but we really don't mean to and we are more than happy to fix it for you but please don't abuse us for it. Once I saw a friend of mine at work get abused by a customer who came through drivethrough and had something missing, we are only kids! It's just not fair for what we get paid and deal with.

[emcake]

I absolutely love how this thread became about customer-bashing. :D

work in retail yourself for a few days. then you'll understand why we hate you.

My store (which I won't name) is largely perused by cranky old people. They know that if they just keep yelling, eventually we will give them that price they thought it was (yesterday I had to discount an item by forty dollars to get these people to shut up). I feel that some of them will be nasty to you because they know they can get away with it, and they've got something up their ass which gives them some kind of 'misery loves company' complex.

I say, screw the customer. The key to customer satisfaction is happy employees. If I was making more than 7 dollars an hour, not working overtime every week and was able to be like "this is what the price is, deal with it," I would be soo much nicer to customers.

totally agree with you. my place of business is exactly the same way with our guests. if they whine enough, we'll just give in.



i work in merchandise at an amusement park, it gets pretty horrible sometimes but I am ALWAYS nice to EVERYONE. The store is on the way to the main gate of the park, so guests are always walking through on their ways in and out. You'd think I was working an information booth some of the questions people ask. Some of the most random crap you'd ever heard. I can't think of any real good ones now, because I'm pretty exhausted from bending over backwards for 7 dollars an hour and little-to-no recognition at all (actually, i shouldn't say that because today i went to a special recognition bbq for guest service all-stars -- the food was gross and made of cardboard, its the thought that counts though, i guess.. oh well, that's the retail life for you...

The other day someone asked me how to get to Las Vegas. Yes, I know how to get to Vegas from here, but why are you asking me? I am just a very young looking little sales clerk!

I've also been asked how to get to Rancho Cucamonga, Big Bear and "LA".

Another favorite is "The Beach." This is Southern California, there isn't "The Beach" there are a bajillion different beaches. Does anyone ever know which one they want go to? No, of course not. So I tell them the easiest way, which leads them to the ugly ghetto beach.

Someone asked me where a Condom Revolution store was around here...

I've been asked, "What did -that building three blocks from here- used to be?" a bunch of times, I still don't really know what building everyone's talking about... nothing stands out to me.

I also get really annoying questions like:
Where's the nearest bathroom? (there are doors clearly marked RESTROOMS right in front of your face!)
Where are all your jams and jellies? (oh, maybe they're on that HUGE WALL stocked with jams and jellies that is RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU)
*after staring blankly at the menu for 2 minutes* Do you have caramel apples/coffee/espresso/fudge? (CAN YOU NOT SEE ALL OF THOSE THINGS? AM I MISSING SOMETHING?)

I get pretty angry, but i feel that working in retail has made me a better human being. Now that I know we are all inherently stupid and do weird things, I can change that and be totally smart and normal. :D

[Chelleypie]

I call those Stupid People Tricks, emcake. My favorite was really recent.

We have both a drive thru and a lobby for people to sit down and eat in. We do not, however, have a speaker in our drive thru. So we have to go out and take orders sometimes. I went out a week ago to take an order, and the following occured:
Me: Hi! What can I get you today, ma'am?
Woman: I want a hamburger. To go! And onion rings!
Me: Yes ma'am, I'll go in and get that started for you right away.
Mind you, this woman was IN HER CAR. IN THE DRIVE THRU. I think I realized it was to go.

I had a guy earlier that day ask me why his hamburger with cheese (that annoys me to no end) was $1.41 instead of $0.99 - I pointed out on our menu board that
A) Cheeseburgers are $1.29
B) Sales tax is not added on our menu board.
He flew off the handle! He started yelling at me about how we need to put prices with sales tax on the board! I was like 'Uhm... nowhere I know does that."

I also hate it when people assume because I work in fast food that I must be an idiot. I'm going to make a copy of my diploma and shrink it, laminate it, and wear it around my neck after I graduate for a week. Along with a sign that says 'I graduated college this week. What'd YOU do?'

[BlakRoses]

I think it's a combinaton of the customers and some employees. My mother works at Wal-Mart, so I guess I know a lot about this stuff.

The customers can get pretty rude, and some are just downright mean! My mom has been cursed countless number of times by ignorant customers. They also do completely illogical things, like hitting themselves in the head with a can and saying it fell, just so they can sue.

Employees can get pretty bad too. Not all employees are lazy slackers who are wasting jobs. My mom will help you out, joke around and just be friendly because it's her job to help you. Other employees will just sit there and talk to each other. I do thing customer service is getting worse, just because people are more lazy.

[ChihoSan]

Yeah I agree with the tone of this thread. There is a lot of horrid customer service. But there are a lot of horrid customers. I hate going somewhere and not being acknowledged. I've worked at Walmart, Wendy's, Target and now Starbucks and I do my best to be kind to people. But it's come to a point now where I have to coach myself to stand up for myself at work. I mean yeah I know some people will just say to ignore it and all but I really don't get paid enough to be called a b**** just because I politely told you that your coffee was down at the register and not at the bar where I'm making espresso drinks. Is it my fault you stood and waited oblivious to the cashier who was calling out your grande coffee for the last five minutes? No.
Target was the worst I think though. They have a decent return policy, they can look up reciepts on checks, gift cards, credit/debit within 90 days. Is it my fault that you bought a PSP with cash then lost your reciept and then decided you didnt want it and now find out you can't return it?
I agree with what was said earlier about being an object to people 8 and a half hours. I'm kind of wondering now if I just call someone out on harrassing me for things out of my control maybe they will realize how mean they were being.

[coltraz]

Yeah I agree with the tone of this thread. There is a lot of horrid customer service. But there are a lot of horrid customers.

I worked at a coffee shop all winter, VERY busy as it was located in a collage. Some students were complete tools - both idiotic AND rude. I don't like dealing with people at all, so I was very rarely "friendly", more just like, "Hi, what can I get you?" Right to the point to get the customer on his or her way. But if someone was a jerk to me? I had no problem snapping at them. It's unbelievable how much people will treat you like nothing if you're serving them coffee or anything else. And - no lie - I used to spend entire days talking in gibberish (Simlish?? hehe) to customers. And you know something? They had NO idea I wasn't speaking English. I don't know how they can't tell but if you utter some gibberish in the right tone, they'll just start ordering from you, or agreeing. I did this for my own entertainment, and since no one noticed I thought it was a pretty strong indication about how most customers feel about someone who's just there to serve them.
When I'm at a coffee shop or some such thing, I am always, ALWAYS careful to order promptly, know what I want, and be polite. And I ALWAYS say "Thank you", which I thought was just, ya know, some common courtesy thing you learn when you're three years old, but evidently it eludes a lot of people who would just take their drink after you made it, and leave without so much as looking you in the eye.

[LilacBaby]

First of all the problem is both customers and employees.

Employees: I recently went to Wal-Mart for a few school things and the girl at the register was a little snobby. She did say hi, the total and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart but she said it like she's counting down the seconds until she goes home. When you're on the job you don't have to go by the "customer is always right rule" but you should at least act like you like your job especially when the customer is being nothing but nice to you. They deserve some niceness as well.

Customers: When I went to the U.S in March we were waiting in line at price chopper and there was a movie on the 9.99 sale rack that wasn't suppossed to even be on a shelf until Tuesday. The woman picked it up and when it scanned 24.99 at the register she strted going on and on about how it was on the 9.99 rack and so on but the cashier was very polite and said that it was a mistake and they were sorry but the lady kept going on and on about how "the custoer is always right" and she was creating a huge scene. I was very impressed with the cashier though because she kept her cool the whole time.

On the other hand not everywhere has lost the joy in working where they work. Most of the stores in my area have very pleasant people. The smile and they are polite and they get along with each other as well. So not everywhere has lost good customer service.