At a retail store when you are checking out the cashier sometimes asks: Did You Find Everything Satisfactory? or something similar.
Suppose you answer you had a problem, for example Product X was out of stock. Do cashiers ever attempt to resolve the problem or at least keep track of and notify management of the problem or is this simply rhetoric that is supposed to suggest the company cares about its customers?
My own conclusion is that this is simply rhetoric.
Cashiers at my supermarket always ask, “Did you find everything today?” and I frequently tell them they are out of one thing or another. They never reply.
It’s just one of the phrases that upper management types require all cashiers to work into an interaction because they were told to do it at some “leadership conference” or read some survey that said 46% of shoppers like it.
When I managed a Jack in the Box, it was “How was your service today?” and whether or not used those exact words was part of our mystery shop score.
I’ve had cashiers who will attempt to get somebody to check in the stockroom, or look up to see when a shipment is due, or offer a raincheck when appropriate.
If I have a problem finding something, I will ask someone about it before I get to the check out. Then when I get to the check out and they ask me this questions, I tell them I couldn’t find X, but so-and-so helped me. I don’t expect the check out clerk to resolve problems.
It’s mostly meaningless rhetoric, IMO.
When I was a checker at Safeway and someone had a response to that question that did not require immediate action (“A jar of pickles is broken on aisle 12”), if it was something like “You should carry [product X]” the response was either “Please feel free to fill out a Comment Card and drop it in the box at the Customer Service window,” or “I’ll let the department manager know.” Follow up to the latter was generally to do absolutely nothing. Not because I didn’t care, but I saw maybe a hundred customers a day and it was easy to forget that someone said we were out of Tabasco Cheez-Its or whatever.
Don’t get me wrong, if I remembered, I’d pass it on, but most of the time I’d forget, or I knew the problem would resolve itself so there was no need to pass on any message (e.g. if an item was empty on the shelf, it should be obvious to the night crew, who wrote the orders, and they’d order more that night and it would come the next day).
I’ve answered honestly in the past, “Actually, no. I was hoping you’d have a [left-handed wangdoodler], but you only have [right-handed ones]”
Typical response: “Oh, gee, I’m sorry”.
I said I couldn’t find something once at Whole Foods and they had it waiting for me at the customer service desk by the time I was done checking out (where I had to pay for it).
Not bad, that was the only time I’d ever done something like that and it was to great results!
At my local grocery stores, there were several times they didn’t have what I was looking for, and the cashier recommended a bigger store, farther from home.
Cashiers at one of our local grocery stores are trained to ask this inane question. Once I did reply that I couldn’t find a particular advertised special.
It was as if I had personally insulted the cashier who did not want me to leave until all efforts had been exhausted to find the product. She left the register to go check. Uh, thanks but I already checked the shelf. I know where the product is stocked. You’re out. I need you here, oh cashier-woman, to ring up my sale so I can go.
She then called a stock boy who headed to the back on some sort of snipe hunt. No luck.
The cashier offered to have a manager check the stock at another store.
Uh. No thanks. I need to leave. I’ll stop by in a few days to see if it is in stock. Really. Just let me pay for my other items so I can go. Won’t someone please forget I mentioned it and just take my payment! STOP trying to help me. You’re starting to piss me off.
I no longer mention any problems. Waded through a broken jelly jar in aisle 2? Say nothing.
It’s been 20 years since I was a cashier, but back then I did do something if I could.
If someone couldn’t find something, I would offer to help them find it. (If not myself, I could call someone from that department). I tried to avoid being overly pushy about it, the way Iggy describes, but store policy was to be very pro-active about it. You’d have to tell me no at least three times before I’d stop offering to help find it.
If it was more general complaints, like cleanliness, the music, the temperature, etc. I sort of used my best judgment about whether it was worth passing along. If we weren’t sweeping up, that’s something we can fix. But music and temperature are things that will never please everyone and probably not worth telling my supervisors about.
At a Publix I said I could not find Kahns Liverwurst. The cashier dispatched the bagger to get some. The shelves were out but he got some from the back. good store.
They actually make a tool for left handed people to doodle on their wangs? What does it look like?
I rate it the same as “Have a nice day.” It’s meaningless to say it, and it’s meaningless to give an honest response.
My usual response as I finish unloading my cart is: “Yeah, I just came in for milk…” and I gesture at the full load on the belt. Weak attempt at humor. If I need to find something while wandering the aisles, I’ll ask someone on the floor.
Second the experience. I’ve said, “Well, actually, no, I couldn’t find the XYZ,” and the cashier brought out someone who led me to it.
But, yeah, usually, if I can’t find something, I ask before getting to the checkout line.
When I was a cashier,I would write the thingamabobbie down and talk to the manager of that department/send a runner for it/ recommend they go across the street to Wal~Mart… It’s been 8 years ago that I had to quit and I still have people say they miss me…
It’s mostly meaningless rhetoric but I’ll still answer in the affirmative if that is indeed the case. Sometimes it leads nowhere but sometimes its gotten me some good response as well; everything from “rain checks” to certificates for whatever off.
I’ll sometimes say that I couldn’t find a half gallon of ice cream, but that never has the desired effect.
Earlier this week, I was unloading my cart and realized one of the cans I’d been planning to buy was dented. I gave it to the cashier, who offered to send someone to get another one. I assume something similar would have happened if I’d told her I’d been unable to find a product.