Today, I walked into a store called “The Good Guys”. I was carrying a bag from Borders book store and an iced tea in a cup with a lid. As I entered, I was approached by a security guard. I thought he was going to greet me and ask to check my bag, etc. But no…the first words that came out of his mouth were “no drinks allowed” That really irked me.
First of all I don’t remember “no drinks allowed” as being a greeting.
Second, what if I were going to by one of their $1000 TVs or something? You can bet I would have immediately gone down the street to Best Buy and bought a TV there.
I resent the implications that I will set my drink down somewhere and leave rings on their products or that I will take the lid off my drink and spill it all over.
Don’t these big companies have a clue?
–Gail
“Predictable, really I suppose. It was an act of purest optimism to have posed the question in the first place.” --John Cleese
Sorry, Gail, I’m with the store on this one. A spilled drink can do a lot of damage. Yes, you may be the neatest, most careful considerate customer in the world, but if you let in one person with a drink, even covered, then the store has to let in the whole world with THEIR drinks, covered or not, and popcorn and hotdogs and slushees…what’s the security guard to do, lline them up and say, OK, you can go in with that, you can’t come in with that, you can go in if the cup has a cover…
EVERY store is like that!!!1
Every one I go into anyway
That is not a unique situation at all…that is a no brainer. No Drinks Allowed goes along with No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. Period
woah woah woah! what’s with the implication you’re making that an adult wouldn’t absent mindedly put their drink down, leaving a ring, but a child would?
“If anybody wants a sheep, that is proof that he exists.”
The principle was sound but the execution sucked. No retailer–clothing, books, electronics, etc,–can tell the neat and conscientious from the slobs. Even the most innocent and unavoidable spill can totally trash a product.
But there are ways to handle this. All it would have taken was a courteous, “I’m sorry but we don’t allow food or drink in the store but I’d be happy to hold it for you behind the desk. We’re glad you’re here and is there anything we can help you find?” would have solved it.
The store’s needs and your dignity would have been protected.
My clients know, early on, that I will give them shit about resting a coffee cup on a plotter or whatever. They spill it, they’re out $10K. Period. I think TVeblen put it best.
Well, I’ve been in plenty of stores, including bookstores and a comics store, that had no problem with me having a drink. Of course, they were all store I visit frequently…
Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99.
Thunder’s just a noise, boys; lightning does the work. --C. Brock
They’re also selling much cheaper merchandise than The Good Guys is. It’s not that big a deal to throw out a book someone spilled their drink on. A damaged CD player is another story.