I’ve worked retail a long time and I calm myself by believing that 90 to 95% of our customers a great. Still, as part of the job I have to deal with and clean up after the jerks and sometimes I need to vent. So it begins.
Our merchandise is not there to entertain your fucking kids while you shop. I know parenting is hard but teaching them respect for other people’s property is part of the responsibility. Teach them to look and not touch without asking permission. If they do touch, like in the toy department, {incidentally I’d like to meet the person who thought of the little “try me” hole in packaging and smack em} teach them to be careful since the item doesn’t belong to them. It’s not okay for them to open packages or run around the store playing with things we are trying to sell. It’s not okay for them to just throw it down where ever they or you happen to be standing when you decide to leave. Teach them to put things back where they found them. You might do this by setting an example but many of you seem to find that beyond the limits of your consideration for others. If your kids rip open a package or break something you should at least offer to pay for it rather than pitch a childish fit when we ask you to. {Another fine example for the kids} This is especially true when you handed them the item or watched them playing with it without saying a word.
It’s not okay to rip open packages because you want to check something out. If you have questions, please ask and we’ll help. If we open it ourselves we can usually manage to do it carefully and get it back in so we can sell it. It costs money when you destroy merchandise or make it unsellable as new just out of idle curiosity. Even if you’re considering a purchase {which is what you always say} stores don’t want you to rip open the packages and that’s not a justification. That is especially true when you tear new boxes and packaging and then leave the merch laying open on the shelf you inconsiderate assholes. Then if we politely ask you to please not open the box and point to the sign right there that clearly asks you not to, you have the nerve to act indignant because just maybe you might spend $20 bucks and how can you make an informed consumer decision without ripping open every package you’re even mildly interested in. You make an informed decision by asking a question and letting us help you. I know that might take up a couple of extra minutes of your valuable time but if you can’t manage it come back when you can.
We’d rather you and your kids didn’t eat and drink while you’re in the store but since you do, please pick up after yourselves and make sure your kids aren’t handling things with sticky dirty hands. We have trash containers so we’ll gladly throw your cup or wrapper away for you or your kids. If your kid spills something we expect you to clean it up or at least offer to just like I would at your place.
We run a small discount store but we are still there to make a profit and that’s how the customer / merchant relationship works. You get a good value and we make a little money and continue to offer our services and employee people. Occasionally when you ask nicely and the merch has been around a while I’ll give you an additional discount on our already low prices. When I don’t or when it’s 10% instead of the 25% or 50% you were hoping for say thanks or no thanks. Please don’t try to harass me into a better price or act like I’m being ridiculous for wanting to generate a profit for the company that signs my fucking check. Along those lines, when something is on sale for more than 10% off or after we’ve negotiated a lower price, don’t then expect to add an additional 10% off because you have a student ID or a little gift card that says 10% off. When I’ve politely explained why that is you can certainly ask for my bosses number if you want but it’s wasting your time.
There’s no law that says we have to sell you something at a ridiculously low price because it was either tagged incorrectly or somebody, maybe you, changed the tags. Customers pick things up and often set them in the wrong place such as the $1 bin or the clearance section. “I’m sorry that’s not on sale” is not the same as pissing on your shoes and its not false advertising. You look like an adult. Try behaving like one. Pitching a hissy fit and creating drama to get a discount or freebie does not work with me. Talk to me like an adult ought to or get out before I invite you to.
Look folks, I know it’s not your job to give a crap about our profit margin or the extra time it takes to clean up after you. Technically, it’s my job to care about keeping you satisfied, but the old “customer is always right” meme is a myth and it might be nice to show other humans you interact with a little basic respect and consideration. For fuck sake, I assume many of you have been shopping in the US for years so why act surprised and offended when you hear the basic guidelines. An interesting technicality is that I have a right to refuse service to anyone and cut customers off if they repeatedly are more trouble than they’re worth.
You wouldn’t be the first customer I’ve fired.
Sometimes I think it would be funny to visit your house and casually walk through opening drawers and moving stuff around only to leave all the drawers open and your shit all over the place.
Now grow the fuck up, Learn how to read the signs, stop whining and control your dam kids.
It’s not that they let you get away with it. IMHO. they made a choice to cut staff and accept those losses as part of doing business. It’s logical to look at numbers only when making decisions on a cooperate level but what happens is this.
btw; I worked for Sears and Circuit City for years and prefer the small more personal business.
You are so lenient that you help create really bad customer habits such “Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed” over the door of Sears and cooperate call lines that have no idea what is actually going on in the store. When a customer called with a complaint they got what they wanted and the home office rarely listened to or backed their employees on the front lines. That had two effects. The employee, including managers had little reason to actually protect profit margin by saying no to unreasonable requests. You taught customers that they could fuck us over by making a complaint.
Companies have routinely altered their return policies because after a while it becomes acceptable and common to rent for free and fuck the retailer. The policies changed because there was a high enough loss that needed to be addressed. After a couple of generations more people were doing it and more people justified their dishonesty by pointing to them.
My sister and brother in law worked for Dexter Shoe in Dexter Maine. For years Dexter tried to stay in Dexter, Maine and employ people there. Eventually they had to move production offshore and a few thousand people lost their jobs. Years later my brother in law commented “Why should I spend money someplace else when I can save a few dollars at WalMart?” I was flabbergasted. Even he didn’t see the connection.
When the giants like Walmart have eventually driven most small business out the consumer who refuses to see the connection will be handing them the mallet to strike us with.
I don’t have much money and I never have but I understand how it works and I want my local business to succeed. If they do a good job and the people are nice and helpful I’ll spend my money with them even if it’s a little more expensive.
There’s a vicious cycle people won’t see because they are {maybe understandably} caught up in the short cycle of paycheck to paycheck and convinced that saving a buck or two is the best and obvious choice.
As Walmart cuts prices to get your business they also cut employees , wages, benefits etc. So more and more people have to be more concerned about making ends meet , more people make cuts, and more people buy based on price alone. Where will that get us in a generation or two? I got me and my family to worry about so fuck the rest of you. I’ll trample your ass to death on Black Friday to save $30 on a Nintendo DS. How does that kind of lunacy affect us as a society?
Here’s the other odd thing IMO. Even if we say it’s fine to save a buck or two and buy based only on price, would you make a special effort to give your business to someone who has the same price or even one that’s just a dollar or two cheaper? Because we’re a discount store that sells over stock, close outs and even some returns our prices are better than Walmarts or other retailers fairly often. Still, people get pissy with me because they think the price isn’t quite low enough. They don’t want to save 5 or ten dollars they want to save $25 and again they don’t see the connection that by supporting our business it will maintain smaller savings over the long haul. {The same reason they buy at WalMart I suppose} They also seem to want the prices to be gutted but if the merchandise is less than perfect they want additional discounts.
Some of that are cultures that are used to haggling and want to return to it , even though I suspect they are smart enough to not try the same crap at other stores.
Honestly, when you bring an item marked 2.99 that probably cost 7 or 8 bucks somewhere else why bother with “I’ll give you a dollar for it” I smile and say “I’m afraid not” when I want to say “Are you for real? I mean you don’t mind if we keep the lights on and our employees paid a decent wage do you?”
The sad truth is they don’t get it and they don’t care that eventually that kind of BS comes home to cost them and theirs. Maybe not today or even in this generation but we got here somehow.
Most people are royally pissed about major financial firms being bailed out by tax payer funds while they raise interest rates on people who never missed a payment.
I don’t blame them. I’m pissed too. Want to hurt the banks and help out local small business. Carry cash. Do you have any idea how much it costs small business in processing for credit cards and debit cards. Banks have encouraged us with cute commercials to not carry any cash and keep the market place all butterflies and rainbows by swiping our cards. They make millions and your local small business loses a big chunk of potential profit to those fees. This is especially true on the less than $20 dollar purchases. At a previous store we tried a $10 dollar minimum for plastic and people acted like we kicked them in the crotch.
Even now with all the outrage at the banks we just can’t be bothered to give up the convenience, or miles, or points, or whatever shit they offer, to help our neighborhood business and take even a small stand against those greedy fucks.
Just imagine if a few million consumers decided to pay for all purchases under $20 or even under $10, with cash.
That’s funny. It always surprises me that most stores have no smoking policies but guys with snuff or chewing tobacco bring in their disgusting spit cup all the time.
I agree with most of your other statements, but there IS a law that says that a store has to sell merchandise at the tagged price, if the store tagged the item. Of course, if a customer switched the tags, or claimed to take a $25 item from the $5 bin, that’s an attempt to commit fraud, and is illegal.
When I worked at a clothing store, I was amazed at how many women would want to buy a fancy outfit, wear it to their special occasion, and then want their money back. We had a “No Refunds” policy for all our merchandise, and we finally made a “No Returns” policy on fancy garments, which meant that they couldn’t be returned even for store credit. After getting burned by people buying Halloween outfits and returning them, we declared that we weren’t going to accept returns for anything bought between October 15-31. These policies pissed off some people, but since these people were costing us money, then it wasn’t a loss to us.
Fair enough. But how about having one unpackaged item on the shelf so that we can see and touch the merchandise before we buy it? I hate it when I buy an item sealed in a clamshell, then get it home and only discover after opening the package that it is not what I expected, or even what was advertised.
If you don’t like people opening the packages, how about lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness?
You’ll have to show me the law because I don’t think it exists in the way you describe it. The law allows merchants to make mistakes. At Circuit City if an add came out with a low price of specs for a computer that were too high we posted an apology and explanation at the front of the store and by the product and we were legally protected. I had a customer insist we sell him a computer that was in the paper and I had to tell him "That computer doesn’t exist with those specs.
Sears got in trouble years ago forBait and Switch and had to be cautious. That’s why you sometimes see “at least 10 per store” or something in an add. CC told us to always offer to ring up the item in the paper before asking questions and pitching something better. Often people are buying based on price and it really won’t meet there needs. If there was a tagging mistake we made a judgment call on the money vs the customer satisfaction. If you’re off by 5 or 10 dollars you’d probably take the hit for the sake of good PR. If it’s more serious , say you carelessly left the 2 off a 299.99 tag you simply didn’t do it and sell an item for $200 below the price. We usually offered some reasonable compromise no matter how the customer insisted.
Customers often get confused and mad and insist it is the law. It ain’t. I had a young man take a CD out of a sale bin. Same Artist but clearly an old CD rather than his new one and it was plainly tagged {good tagging is the best defense} He insisted I had to sell it at the bin price. I pointed out the signing that indicated it was a different CD.
“well I didn’t see hat before”
Uh uh, but you see it clearly now don’t you? He still insisted until I offered to get a manager to tell him no!
We sell discount items so I had a a shelf of Dockers for $10. Some of the pants had a 0.02 tag on them to designate them as clearance from our supplier. A customer brought them to the cashier and plopped down 2 cents. The cashier laughed before realizing he was serious. She sent him to me and I explained the mistake. A grown man of about 40. He said, “I don’t care about the mistake, I want them for that price because they’re marked that way” I looked him in the eye and said “I’m not selling you these pants for 2 cents” at which point he stomped away like an angry little girl. If he had been reasonable I might have offered him a discount for the inconvenience, but since he was a dick I didn’t bother. I respect my boss because as long as I’m following policy he defends my choice even if he offers some alternative. “No you can’t get e refund after the return policy has passed but I’ll let you exchange it for merchandise.”
My general policy is that unless it’s a huge amount the lower price is the correct one. I think that’s good business. We do have to be seriously concerned about customers switching tags or making outrageous claims to get a discount.
I love the customers who are so honest they bring a price up and ask, “Is this right? It seems too cheap” I feel like hugging them.
Right. Sears and probably now WalMart had the worst policies that encouraged abuse. Camping gear, lawn and garden items, camcorders and the list goes on of things people want to rent for free because they think it’s clever. I had a lady bring back a phone that she’d had for 9 months. When I explained she couldn’t return it she looked at me bewildered.
“I can’t believe you’re telling me no. I live an hour away and don’t get here that often”
“I understand. When you decided you lived to far away to return it you decided to keep it and live with it. That was a decision you made. Is it broken?”
“No I just don’t like it”
Sorry. Turns out she had brought the box without even putting the phone in it. Um…Now I’m not sorry.
“Hey I bought item X here about 6 months ago and it never worked right. Can I return it?”
No I’m afraid not.
“Why I just told you it never worked right”
“Guess how many people would say that if I took things back after 6 months? You have to bring it back within a reasonable time frame”
I think that’s reasonable.
“The policy printed on your receipt is what we think is reasonable.”
“Oh bull, you know people never read that stuff.”
“If you got something that didn’t work ever you ought to.”
the stories go on and on. People don’t see renting for free as stealing but ethically that’s exactly what it is. It’s sad that it becomes so common that it’s the rule that retailers have to respond to rather than the exception.
I understand that and am glad to help a customer and open and item for customers who are serious enough to ask politely. The good news if they’re really interested they’ll buy the one I opened because they know it’s new and everybody wins. If not no hard feelings. Sometimes I can answer a question without opening anything. You’d be amazed at how many people open a 2nd item while an open one is right there. Maybe it’s different , even though the box is exactly the same and I didn’t fucking bother to read anything before I ripped it open. I hate the freaking blister packs myself. The problem is what the other poster said. People will destroy or break the display and then we have to open another and throw that one away. You’d be surprised how many people open things that have color pictures and clear descriptions. That’s what return policies are for. It’s not a perfect world and customers are just mistaken if they think stores can afford to do it all.
Next time you’re in a major retailer or even a non major one like us take note at how many things are not on display to touch and feel.
While destruction may not be able to be monitored effectively, you ought to be able to secure the demo quite easily. Surely a small business shop needs those merchandise detectors more than a large one that can just write it off.
As for the small business outcry: very rarely do I step into a small business that offers a substantially better experience than a larger one. The times when I have, those small businesses have remained in business. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to subsidize you just because you exist. It’s up to you to convince me that you are a net benefit to the community. I’ve seen just as many communities’ unemployment soar because they refused to allow a larger business in.
Once again it’s about cost effectiveness. Demo’s and ruined merchandise is much more than computers and electronics which are fairly easy to watch. Often it’s smaller items that you can’t secure cost effectively. I wasn’t talking about theft either. I was talking about customers who ruin the merchandise just to look at it and don’t seem to care.
I’m not asking anyone to subsidize anything. I’m asking people to be a little more aware of how their everyday choices impact the other people they share the community with and by extension, themselves.
Small businesses are sometimes owned and operated by greedy dishonest jerks as well. I don’t support those myself. If I have a choice between a good family owned restaurant and a chain that will at least weigh in on my decisions of where I spend my money, specifically because that I think supporting a good local business is a net benefit to the community and it’s about more than personal convenience and price.
I’m saying once I have convinced you that we offer decent service at good prices show a moderate amount of consideration for that business so it can stay available to you.
Walmart certainly employees a lot more people short range but their practices concerning their employees buying cheap can cost you and we fail to see it because it’s indirect. The community we should be concerned about isn’t just this year or the next five, but when my Great Grandchildren are adults and the ones after that.
If a store decides to put one of everything on display for people to touch and feel and then regularly replaces the merchandise that becomes damaged on a daily basis what happens to their bottom line?
If they then raise their prices to compensate what will happen? People will come to their store to check it out , feel it, touch it, try it, damage it, then go buy it someplace that doesn’t put them on display because they have it $5 cheaper.
It happened and happens all the time.
Customers have repeatedly told the merchant that price is about all that matters. Merchants have responded by putting low competitive prices as their top priority. They have to cut costs and service to keep prices low and customers chose that even if they don’t know it.
Of course people are free to shop at higher end stores that charge a lot more and offer the amenities. The majority doesn’t.
I agree about reining kids in, but I swear, retailers take advantage too. Like at Blockbuster, where they have dozens of brightly colored toys and candies and whatnot, specifically designed to entice small children, located 2" - 24" off the floor right at the checkout. A checkout where there’s usually a wait.
I’m convinced they do that just hoping little kids will damage the spinny-fan-with-feathers so that parents will buy it (for $4.99!) out of guilt.
