Retail Blues...
To those regular readers of the Wacky World of Char, (those loyal bloggers, you know who you are and I love ya all), I must apologize for the lack of blogs lately. I have to say that I have not had anything exciting happening to me in the last few weeks, other than the tales of working retail and how it is sucking the life out of me and making me a drone of the corporate greed that drives oppulence and overspending in an already over saturated first world country. Let me get off my soapbox....
Anyways, my friend (my sister in retail Bliss) sent this along to me and I thought that I would share with y'all and remind everyone to be kind and not forget that we too are human and deserving of the Christmas spirit too when you are shopping for the holidays.
From Courtney...
Hey everybody, the holiday season is approaching, and
in the interest of general peace and harmony, I think
it's high time someone compiled a list of DON'TS for
shoppers across the nation. Having worked retail for
almost 10 years, I'd like to draw your attention to
the most common, most annoying bad habits of customers
I have dealt with.
I make no apologies for truly bad customer service!
I'd just like you to keep these things in mind for
those of us who really try to treat you well but
become frustrated by the following:
1. DON'T walk up to the counter with no salesperson
behind it and look disgusted that one does not
magically materialize before you.
2. DON'T enter a store talking loudly on a cell phone
and continue to gab as you browse, all the way through
your transaction, visibly annoyed that you must pause
long enough to receive your change.
3. DON'T throw your money or merchandise on the
counter when we have our hands outstretched to receive
it.
4. DON'T treat us like your own personal shopper.
Ideally, good customer service should make you feel
like you're the only person in the store. But this is
not reality.
5. DON'T give us bills all crumpled up, or, worse,
damp.
6. DON'T wait until everything is rung up to ask if
it's on sale. We will be much more cheerful about
answering your questions if we don't have to void the
sale and re-ring things.
7. DON'T neglect to estimate the total cost of your
purchase and then freak out like it's our fault you
can't add in your head as you shop.
8. DON'T carry things around the store, decide against
buying them, and leave them laying in random places.
This makes it harder for everyone to find what they're
looking for.
9. DON'T simply ignore us when we say hello or wish
you a nice day. You may be sullen, but you should at
least be polite.
10. DON'T let your children run amok. While you may
think it's cute that they're destroying things, we do
not.
11. DON'T try to make change with pennies when there
are 8 people lined up behind you.
12. DON'T set your items on the sales counter as you
shop, taking up valuable space and confusing everyone.
Unless your purchases are extremely heavy, use a cart
or a basket.
13. DON'T think you're cute by teasing or otherwise
harrassing us -- this goes out to older men for the
most part. You are not the first one to do so, even
though we may be humoring you.
14. DON'T ask for any amount of change in quarters so
you can do your laundry or wash your car. This is
what banks are for.
15. DON'T let us ring up half your items, suddenly
announce you forgot something, and spend the next ten
minutes running around the store some more. This ties
up the register, slows down traffic, and makes us want
to shoot you. If you can put a candy bar on your
debit card, you can come back and buy that forgotten
item later.
16. DON'T make comments like "You don't look like
you're doing anything" when approaching us alone at
the till. Chances are this is one of those rare
breathers in between mobs of people.
17. DON'T assume you are entitled to all the wonderful
boxes, bags, tissue paper, etc. Wrapping your items
is a service we provide to make you happy, not your
God-given right.
18. DON'T get angry when we ask to see your ID. We
are only trying to protect you and prevent fraud.
19. DON'T yell at us when returning an item that is
defective. We do not order merchandise for the store,
we did not purposely sabotage it, we just ring things
up.
20. DON'T wander leisurely for an hour and then check
your watch repeatedly while we ring you up, as if
WE'RE making you late.
21. DON'T assume we're half-wits. Many of us serving
you have other jobs and degrees.
22. DON'T summon us with beckoning fingers or
snapping, unless your socials skills are so limited
you have no other way to ask for help. You don't have
to treat us like dirt to prove you have money
