WHAT A WEEKEND!! So glad that's over. Now to get through this week and VACATION!!
This is where I will be this exact same time next week:
That's right!! COLORADO.
That road there... that's a road to happiness!
Beer and friends for an entire week.
On another note, I do finally have something I can rant on, and maybe someone can help me figure this all out:
I'm the manager of a fairly large retail store in my area. If you've ever worked in retail, you can very quickly agree that it's usually very regular work. Stocking, cleaning, smiling. Most days i'm behind my desk, but there are times that you'll see me on the sales floor, usually to answer to a customer's complaint. Today a customer was interested in some storage totes that were obviously too high for her to get down. There was a pallet near by that had the SAME exact tote on it at a customers level. This customer was very stern on which tote was needed... the middle tote in the stack on the shelves, about 10 feet off the ground. When the customer asked an associate of mine to grab the tote, my associate brought the customer to the pallet that had the same totes on it and helped free one from the suctioned stack. HELL FROZE OVER.
Every word you could think of was used by this customer to describe the job description and customer service that had just happened. I hear this 100ft. away in my office and come down to see what's happening. Before my associate could tell me what had happened the customer had overwhelmed me with and endless list of reasons why my associate should be fired for such poor customer service. The customer literally had me climbing a ladder to pull down the specific totes that fit their need. Never would I belittle my associates, they work very hard, they are very friendly, and most days they want to scream because of how they're treated by customers, but my job is to run an efficient, well kept store that produces $$ for the corporate heads. I have endless amounts of paperwork everyday that I need to do in order to successfully run my store. It was extremely unpleasant to be brought down to my sales floor and be screamed at in front of some of my most loyal of customers because ONE customer wasn't getting their way.
My questions are:
1. Is it really necessary to cause such a dramatic scene over something so pointless?
2. It's a tote, they're all the same, they all do the same job. Why must someone take the time to request THAT one?
3. What do I need to do to fix these issues? What can be done so that everyone is happy?
4. Would you ever ask me to FIRE my associate because they helped you?!
I've work in the first levels of customer service. It sucks. Everyone yells at you and you feel like a piece of shit slave. On the other hand, my associates tell me all the time how they love working for my store and want to continue with the company. What my point is is that no one is going to want to stay and work for me if YOU the customer keep treating them like they're worth nothing. Next time you're in a store just randomly tell an associate, that ISN'T helping you, how well they're doing. You will be astonished at the reaction you get... jaws will drop. You may keep your manners when dealing with someone, but i'm here to tell you that most customers look at retail employees as gum on the bottom of their shoe. That next thank you, it's going to go a longs way.
I also know that some retail employees are rude and obnoxious. Tell them to fuck off.
Thank you for listening and giving feed back!! I'll be sure to post photos from the trip!! But until then keep my mind moving!!
This is where I will be this exact same time next week:
That's right!! COLORADO.
That road there... that's a road to happiness!
Beer and friends for an entire week.
On another note, I do finally have something I can rant on, and maybe someone can help me figure this all out:
I'm the manager of a fairly large retail store in my area. If you've ever worked in retail, you can very quickly agree that it's usually very regular work. Stocking, cleaning, smiling. Most days i'm behind my desk, but there are times that you'll see me on the sales floor, usually to answer to a customer's complaint. Today a customer was interested in some storage totes that were obviously too high for her to get down. There was a pallet near by that had the SAME exact tote on it at a customers level. This customer was very stern on which tote was needed... the middle tote in the stack on the shelves, about 10 feet off the ground. When the customer asked an associate of mine to grab the tote, my associate brought the customer to the pallet that had the same totes on it and helped free one from the suctioned stack. HELL FROZE OVER.
Every word you could think of was used by this customer to describe the job description and customer service that had just happened. I hear this 100ft. away in my office and come down to see what's happening. Before my associate could tell me what had happened the customer had overwhelmed me with and endless list of reasons why my associate should be fired for such poor customer service. The customer literally had me climbing a ladder to pull down the specific totes that fit their need. Never would I belittle my associates, they work very hard, they are very friendly, and most days they want to scream because of how they're treated by customers, but my job is to run an efficient, well kept store that produces $$ for the corporate heads. I have endless amounts of paperwork everyday that I need to do in order to successfully run my store. It was extremely unpleasant to be brought down to my sales floor and be screamed at in front of some of my most loyal of customers because ONE customer wasn't getting their way.
My questions are:
1. Is it really necessary to cause such a dramatic scene over something so pointless?
2. It's a tote, they're all the same, they all do the same job. Why must someone take the time to request THAT one?
3. What do I need to do to fix these issues? What can be done so that everyone is happy?
4. Would you ever ask me to FIRE my associate because they helped you?!
I've work in the first levels of customer service. It sucks. Everyone yells at you and you feel like a piece of shit slave. On the other hand, my associates tell me all the time how they love working for my store and want to continue with the company. What my point is is that no one is going to want to stay and work for me if YOU the customer keep treating them like they're worth nothing. Next time you're in a store just randomly tell an associate, that ISN'T helping you, how well they're doing. You will be astonished at the reaction you get... jaws will drop. You may keep your manners when dealing with someone, but i'm here to tell you that most customers look at retail employees as gum on the bottom of their shoe. That next thank you, it's going to go a longs way.
I also know that some retail employees are rude and obnoxious. Tell them to fuck off.
Thank you for listening and giving feed back!! I'll be sure to post photos from the trip!! But until then keep my mind moving!!
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but, looking forward to the pics from your trip/...!