K-Mart Shoppers (Or anybody who shops)

The BBQ Pit
1

I’m posting this rant because there are a LOT of people on this board, and I know at least ONE of you is guilty of one of the following offenses.
So, to stop the spread of ignorance, I’m going on this little rant. I have experience, I know what I’m talking about, so here it goes. Please, READ the following CAREFULLY!

  1. ** Sales Ads **
    Just because you idiots get the ads on Friday, doesn’t mean it is in affect. * REad the dates at the bottom of the circular * No amount of begging/whining/crying/threatening is going to change the fact they cannot sell products to you at the sales price early. ** * Wait until the the day the sale goes in affect. Usually the following Saturday or Sunday ** *

  2. ** Managers **
    Just because you are being an asshole, doesn’t mean you can complain to the manager. Just because the store doesn’t have the item you want doesn’t mean the manager needs to hear about it. He/She KNOWS what items they do or don’t have long before you come into the store. That’s part of the JOB. So before you complain to the managers, taking their attention away from truly important things, pull your head out of your ass and THINK about it for a few minutes.

  3. ** Sales Associates **
    These hard working people are not at the store to listen to you bitch and moan. Just because you act like a brain dead fuck doesn’t mean they can magically pull what you want from the air. ** IF YOU ITEM IS NOT THERE DON’T BITCH AND MOAN. They * cannot do anything about it! They are not magic! GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELVES [/I}

  4. ** Rainchecks **
    If you get a raincheck for an item, it’s for THAT ITEM. Not one similar to it, not one that’s cheaper, or anything else. IT"S FOR THAT FUCKING ITEM!!

  5. ** Register Workers **
    These people deal with YOUR stupidity all day, every day. YOU are not so special that they have to listen to your bitching and moaning. They are NOT intenionally charging you the wrong amount, and when they DO, they cannont fix it. YOU MUST TAKE IT TO THE SERVICE DESK! Do you understand? It’s not a hard concept to grasp.

These are the top five complaints I have heard from people who work at Kmart. I used to work at Kmart. I have put up with kind of stupidity before.
Why the fuck can’t you people understand that if no amount of bitching and moaning is going to change anything? They do the best they can with what they have…your impatience/rudeness/ignorance will NOT help matters.

The customer is NOT always right, especially when the customer is an asshole, so just STOP it.

2

No, the customer is not always “right,” technically speaking. Having done a 5-year stint in retail while I was in high school and college, half that time as an assistant manager, I understand all too well about customers that are pains in the neck.

The best way to deal with these folks is with a smile, and a polite response to their queries. Really. Lots of people get up grumpy, and go out into the world prepared to continue to be grumpy. If you treat them with anything other than courtesy, you have just given them a perfect target for venting their spleens. They get a chance to be grumpy out loud, you get pissed off, and in the worst possible case a minor matter flares up into a major deal that can get people fired (I’ve seen it happen). If, on the other hand, you respond with sweetness and light, you don’t give them a hard target for their anger - and they either walk away in search of another victim, or else come away calmed down by your effort to respond to their concerns.

Now, a comment on your items 2 and 3:

Have you ever heard of the concept of “customer service”? If you have, what does it mean to you?

The sales associates are supposed to be there to assist customers. That means saying for the umpteenth time, “Yes, I’m sorry, we are out of that thingamabob until the next shipment arrives,” rather than grunting, “No, I guess we don’t have it” and not moving an inch to check. It also means maintaining a professional demeanor (not necessarily smiling) and responding to my request/complaint with your full attention, rather than rolling your eyes at my request, heaving a sigh, or carrying on conversations with fellow salespeople and ignoring me. Those are MY beefs about the sales staffs that I’ve encountered lately, who all seem to have forgotten that they are actually supposed to DO SOMETHING while at work.

And what “truly important things” take precedence for the manager over customer service? The store manager’s position is as much public relations as it is retail management. It is most certainly his/her job to listen to an irritated customer vent, and to do their best to resolve the issue - it’s part of why they get paid more than the sales staff. No store wants to gain a bad rep by ignoring customers; they’d much rather have the manager bend the rules a little, in some cases, than have a major blow-up with lots of witnesses. (It’s no accident that a quickly resolved problem is seldom one that was aired loudly by an angry customer.)

You said:

Your attitude doesn’t seem any better than that of the customers you’re slagging. Maybe some people were quicker to get annoyed with you because you responded poorly to them in the first place. Facing the world with a better attitude won’t stop the real assholes in any situation, but could a) defuse some potentially tense interactions and b) make you a happier person regardless.

3

I have never been anything but polite to everybody I have ever encountered at work. I have always done my best to take care of the customers and make them happy. I have never had a short fuse with the customers, and have always exercised an extreme amount of patience. Even when I have been yelled at for the 50th time that day about something that I have absolutely no control over. THis is the first time I have ever ranted/vented about this particular problem.
My BF and my friends who work at Kmart are some of the most polite people I have ever met. THey do their best every day to do a good job, to do a complete and thorough job.
Sometimes being polite works, with a great smile and assurances. And when it works, the people are great.
However, that’s not what ALWAYS happens.
My beef is with people who AFTER the sales associates nod, smile, offer assurances, and check, they STILL are mad.
My beef is with people who blame me and my friends for every little problem they encounter, no matter whose fault it is.
My beef is with people who completely ball out the sales associates, then the department managers, and THEN the store managers.

I realize that sometimes valid complaints are registered and handled. I realize that sometimes the sales associates are not the best around. But in my extensive experience, there are some people who refuse to be placated/helped/calmed. These people cause a great amount of stress in the work place, and take away time from people who have legitimate complaints that can be handled effectively.
There’s a difference between customer service and putting up with immature assholes.
And if I can stop even one person from being an immature asshole, my life will have served a purpose.

4

Pepperlandgirl,

The sad truth is that the real assholes will be assholes regardless of whether you encounter them at work, out shopping, at school, etc. The worst of these (if you haven’t encountered him/her already) is the boss who is an asshole. A nuisance customer is no match for a supervisor who makes life hell.

At some point, if you find yourself getting aggravated on a regular basis, you have to ask whether the job is worth it; if not, time to move on. But in the meantime, not descending to the level of idiots by responding in kind is important to maintaining some level of self-respect (IMHO).

[BTW, I’m assuming that the third post in this thread is yours. You might want to make sure that you don’t post under The_gunslinger’s name next time, to avoid “sock puppet” charges.]

5

hey, maybe you need to quit and get a new job??? or take a vacation…

6

pepperlandgirl, if you’re just ranting because you’ve had a crummy day, I understand that. I worked in the retail end of sales (AND it did feel like the END, many times!) and I could have written your same post, years ago. The turn around came when I realized they weren’t yelling AT me. I was there, and they felt inconvenienced, so I was having to hear their frustrations, but it wasn’t me personally.

If you back up from the situation (mentally or physically) and keep your own cool by thinking of just the person. No they aren’t the ONLY one that’s had to face a particular problem, but ya see, they are the only one with THAT problem on THAT day, TO THEM. They’ll only see it as YOUR job (or mine, for that matter) to make the situation better.

Keep your own voice level, DON’T ever raise it, it only ups the ante in the problem, and never, ever solves anything. They are just, people who have to come to that place to get something, and it’s being interferred with, and it makes them unhappy. Sometimes, a little empathy, even if you can’t help, just SAYING, ‘Boy, I’m really sorry about this, but…’

And, many times, or at least in the ‘old days’ it DID help to ask for a manager. They didn’t like being bothered, and they were more likely to have a cooler head than those involved, and it gives you an immediate out.

Sorry that you had a ‘no good, very bad, terrible day.’

7

Pepperlandgirl,

I used to work in retail too. It sucked. I was nice, I was cool, I was efficient and friendly. Unfortunately, there were days, and nights where certain customers could NEVER, ever be satisfied.

That’s just the way it is. Keep a cool head, a calm tongue, and excercise your best customer service skills possible. At least you will know who is right, and who is wrong.

I’m not sure where you live, but after a few years in the service industry in my area, in retail especially, one is elligible to get a great job in customer service at a high-tech company.

Maybe you should think about it?

8

I was in total agreement after reading the OP, and then I thought about it.

There’s never an excuse for rudeness – from customers or sales staff. Point taken in that regard.

But we’re just customers – you can’t assume that we know the ins and outs of retailing, warehousing and shipping, or that we read the fine print in all your ads.

Your mission is to have the stuff available when we want to buy, to help us find it, maybe even have a little info on how to use it.

Our mission is to spend money in your store, to be honest about returns, to abide by your store’s posted policies.

But hey, I can relate. I’ve ranted here about my customers too. Usually, there are level-headed Dopers around to help me see my part of the problem.

I can’t assume that the few truly obnoxious people I encounter know how impossible, illegal or unlikely their demands can be. It’s my job to be ready for them so they don’t feel like they have to be jerks to get results.

That make any sense? I dunno. I’m tired and it’s past my bedtime. :slight_smile:

Oh, am I in the Pit? :frowning:

9

Fillet, I don’t think Pepperlandgirl and The_gunslinger are the same person. The latter triple-posted in MPSIMS earlier today, and apologized, stating that that had been his first post.*

*We appreciate your courtesy, GS! :wink:

10

Ya’ know, I could go into a rant about the time I spent 20 minutes in line and found out that the “bargain” pair of boots I had was missmarked and my only recourse was to take them back and wait in line again.

Or how about the computer I am using now, half price because the store was discontinuing this brand. Problem was it was the only one they had and it was on display. There it sit, displaying the store logo and telling me how they lived for their customers, and the only person who had the password to clear it was on vacation. Would they take a deposit to hold it for me…noooo. Would they call her at home and get the password…noooo. I had to call the store every day for a week to finally catch her.

Point is, while I understand your beef, it goes both ways. sometimes it’s the customer who smiles and the store personnel who make life miserable. Personally, I try to just take it all with a grain of salt and realize that any given person on any given day can be an asshole.

11

If Pepperland Girl worked for me, I suspect I would fire her in an instant.

12

PEPPER: That post is so unlike you. I hope you felt better afterwards. gee, and i just called you “nice” in another post. “Watch your mouth, Young lady” :smiley:

Most of your stuff is justified, except that part about not talking to the manager about being out of a sale item. some chains advertise a “loss leader” then deliberately have very little stock. They know that few ask for rainchecks, and anyway, that can be an item that they never stock that exact same version of. If I encounter something like this, I 1st ask for the manager, then write a letter to the CEO. When your Company plays dirty, illegal tricks on us customers, expect to hear about it.

I’ve done retail too. My advice, and I mean this sincerely, is to go to nite school, and then GET OUT OF RETAIL!

Louis: don’t be too sure, try a rough day in retail when your company screws up, and you spend all day with customers yelling at you like it is your fault. A 20mg Valium day, fersure. :smiley:

13

I have put in many hard days in retail and have never had a customer yell at me. Never. Treat people with reason and respect and you will get the same in return. Treat people with contempt and anger and you will get the same in return. Pepperland Girl sounds to me as if she regards her workplace as a place to visit with fellow workers—she probably resents her chats being interrupted by customers.

14

Louie, Louie – I didn’t get that impression of PepperlandGirl at all. She was just venting, that’s all.

What did you read in the OP that made you think she’s a slacker?

We’ve all had to wait impatiently while sales clerks finish chatting, but nothing PLG said led me to think she was one of those.

15

While this is a good rule of thumb, it is simply not true in many cases. I’m going to wager a guess that you never worked in a store that sold Beanie Babies during the craze. Or at a McDonald’s when their Monopoly game first started. Or at K-Mart during Christmas tree season.

Customers are often unreasonable, unsympathetic, hypocritical, rude and generally, unthinking.

The unreasonable ones are the ones who don’t understand why no stores in the area are out of stock of the premium artificial Christmas tree the week before Christmas and why you can’t order one from a store 300 miles away to be delivered to them at home tomorrow.

The unsympathetic ones are the ones who come into the store on Easter Sunday and then bitch because the store only has three cashiers working and they are standing in line when they could be home visiting with family–like the employees who are having to work can’t do.

The hypocritical ones are the ones who bitch and complain loudly in line about having to wait behind some woman trying to give the cashier all her coupons and then get to the register themselves only to price point ("This is only $7.99 at Wal-Mart and that is only $19.99 at Target) evey single item they want to purchase.

The rude ones are ones who purchase thirty 50-lb bags of mulch and then expect the employee to load all of the into the hatchback of their Ford Festiva (“Don’t put any of those on the seat! Be careful! Watch what you’re doing! Can’t they get decent help here?”) in record time.

And the unthinking ones are the ones who call a catalog order business at 3am and get hateful and rude when the only customer service person working at that hour cannot call the customer’s local store and find out if a particular item is in stock so they can be the first person in line when the store opens.

Think these are extreme? They are not. I have experienced them all.

In my town, there are four basic job fields for people with degrees. If you have a degree in the medical field, you work at one of the twenty medical facilities in the area. If you are a computer programmer, you can work for one of the computer firms. If you are a professor, you can work at one of the colleges. If you fall into any other category, you can get a customer service-oriented job.

Service is becoming worse and worse, I freely admit that. However, customers are not getting any better and many of them get much better than they deserve.
Ooh, that was a rant, wasn’t it? I need some caffeine!

16

Of course, that should read "why all stores in the area are out of stock…"

17

And I suppose you’ve never behaved in any of the above manners. One day, you’ll grow up and realize that other people may be having bad days just like you might.

Maybe you should take your own advice and “get the fuck over yourself”.

18

Sorry, PLG, but you are wrong on 3 counts and off the mark on one:

As one with experience as a manager in several retail stores, including K-Mart, and in retail banking, I can tell you that managers DO want to hear from customers about selection. Cripes, the reason the merchant is there is to sell goods. To do that one needs to have the proper goods on hand. Who better to tell you what goods will bring the customers in than an actual customer? Perhaps YOU need to “think about it for a few minutes”.

Au contraire, my dear. That IS, unfortunately, a part of any sales associate’s job. Not a fun part, to be sure, but an important part indeed. If you actually listened when customers “bitch and moan” - instead of going into brain dead ignore mode - you may pick up valuable clues about improving your business for ALL customers. As you (personally and corporately) improve, “bitching” declines. Novel approach, eh?

You forgot the addendum “…and it is my job to get THAT ITEM for you as soon as possible. If THAT ITEM is temporarily unavailable - for ANY reason - I will contact you to offer a similar item at the same or better discount.” Oh, and thank you for shopping at K-Mart!

Wow, where to start? Again, listening to customer complaints IS a part of every csutomer contact empployee’s job. Listen, learn and improve. It makes everyone’s life better.

True, cashiers usually have no control over the prices loaded into the store database. Shouldn’t they, though? It sure isn’t the customer’s fault that somebody fat fingered a price. How about this - instead of making the customer get out of your line and move to another line to fix a problem that is clearly yours, why not have a mechanism to fix the error on the spot? “Thank you for noticing, Mrs. Jones. I’ll have my supervisor come over and correct the price on your order and update the database so no one else is inconvenienced.” The cashier looks like a hero. The customer feels like they have been served well and helped out the merchant. I don’t know about you, but I always like win-win solutions.

Having said all that, there is a fine line between customer “bitching and complaining” and abuse of employees. Any manager who allows his employees to be abused is an ass. I have, on several occasions, invited a customer to do business elsewhere because their behaviour would not be tolerated in our store. That is, however, ALWAYS the manager’s call - never a sales associate.

Perhaps AuntiePam is right and you are just blowing off steam after a rough day. That’s what BB’s and break rooms are for. If you feel this way on a regular basis though, or you EVER let it show to a customer, then I’m with Louie - you’re fired. Maybe a government job is right for you. They’re the only one who can stay in business with that kind of attitude.

19

I agree that customers can be assholes.

I also know that sales clerks can be smarmy little self-important twits (Hell, I was one for a while).

I think the root of this problem is the idea that if a customer raises enough hell, the majority of the time they are going to get what they want. I sometimes wish I owned my own establishment and some “the world revolves around me” fucknut walked in, wanted something unreasonable, and then raised a stink when he couldn’t have it. I would stop one step short of beating the shit out of him before I threw his ass the fuck out.

Why do we cater to people like this? It irks the piss out of me that 2 people can go somewhere. While the cordial, friendly one can (get poor service/pay more/not get a certain product/whatever) while the asshole can go in and raise a stink and get their way. These are the people who should have their cars stolen and their homes broken into.

Grrrrrrrrr. Now I’m pissed off. I need to go take out my aggressions on a sales clerk. Which Kmart do you work at, PLG?

20

I didn’t think so either - I figured she posted accidentally under his name (GS is her boyfriend, I think). But I did a double take at first, and so just chucked that comment in.

Pepperlandgirl, I also didn’t mean to imply that you, personally, are a slacker. I meant to illustrate that there are also plenty of occasions on which the sales staff falls way short of the mark, thus irritating the hell out of a customer who might not have been a problem to begin with. As a manager, I once spent nearly an hour on the phone calming down a customer who had been hung up on by a cashier, because the cashier thought it was some kids playing a joke.

When I was in retail, I had some prize-winning customers, too. I have especially fond memories of:
[ul]
[li]The woman from a local consulate who kept demanding, loudly, that a cashier be arrested for theft because she handed back the wrong change. Other customers began to get so angry at her behavior that we nearly had a brawl ensue;[/li][li]The “gentleman” who wanted to speak with a manager, refused to believe that I (a woman) was one, and so stopped every male employee in the store to ask his question… and ended up stomping out of the store complaining about my company’s inability to hire a “real man” to run the place;[/li][li]The customer who wanted to protest our stocking of a particular item by breaking that item over his knee, and then shouting, “Arrest me! Arrest me!” and causing a huge scene until mall security escorted him away.[/li][/ul]
Yes, there are loons out there. I just want to emphasize that when you ARE confronted with such a one, DO NOT respond in kind. It doesn’t make you feel any better, and it doesn’t help the situation. If you need to get your frustrations out, buy a punching bag or the like - it helps. (Don’t touch anyone, or you might end up facing assault charges.) And if it is that bad on a regular basis, it is indeed time to move on.