NEVER use the phrase “First you have to tell me…”
That is so rude.
As in:
Me: “I’d like to get my licence renewed.”
them, sounding disgusted, or that I’m stupid. “First you have to tell me your name.”
NO. First I have to tell you I’d like to get my license renewed. Otherwise, I might be here for any of the other six things the counter is for.
Them: “May I help you?”
Me: “Where are your bolts?”
Them: “First you have to tell me what size.”
NO. I just want to know which direction to go. I would never ask for specific help from a snotty clerk like you. I really don’t want to talk to you at all, but you approached me and I was being polite.
[/QUOTE]
Me: “I’d like to get my licence renewed.”
them, sounding disgusted, or that I’m stupid. “First you have to tell me your name.”
[/QUOTE]
Do you walk up to the counter, tell them you’d like to get your license renewed, then just stand there, expecting them to remember you and all your pertinent information from the last time you were there? They’re not psychic, friend. The first bit of info they’ll usually need is, in fact, your name.
Good. I see you noticed it applied directly to you.
That’s your favorite line isn’t it?
Well, it’s VERY rude.
And, no, I don’t "just stand there, expecting them to remember you and all your pertinent information from the last time you were there? "
That would be assinine. And you know that’s not the case from the way I worded the post.
It’s you I’m complaining about. I don’t expect you to be psycic, but just civil, and apparently you can’t do that.
Fine, but just know it makes people think you’re a jerk.
What the fuck is your problem? Did you just decidde to post here to harass Persaphone? Of all the myraid injustices that one must encounter on a daily basis, having service people ask me for the information they need to serve me is as close to the bottom of the list as it’s possible to get. In that situation, I give them my name without a second thought, unless a bit of embarassment for assuming that the person is psychic is called for.
My god, do you get this worked up about the phrasing of anything anyone says to you? Leave us alone you hypersensitive fuckwad. We’ve got ignorance to fight here, and your petty squabbles do not merit our attention.
Well, considering the fact that I did start a thread on how to be a good customer, yeah, this one was pretty obvious, even for me. Bully for you.
No, it isn’t my favorite line. In all honesty, I’d have to say my favorite line is “have a nice day.” I don’t think I need to explain why.
If you don’t just stand there, then pray tell, where does the clerk find the time to ask you for your name? If you offer it immediately in some form or another, either verbally or by presenting your ID, the clerk wouldn’t have the opportunity to make such a request of you. If your beef is with the clerk’s attitude, take it up with the supervisor. You can do that, and if the clerk is particularly rude, you should.
I am civil at my job at all times. I greet my customers with a smile, and wish them a good day when they leave, regardless of how they’ve treated me during the time they’ve spent at my counter. I treat my customers the way I wish to be treated, because at some point or another, we are all customers. Someone that I wait on during the course of my day may well be waiting on me later. Yes, there are crappy customer service clerks, but I’m not one of them.
Not only am I a good customer service clerk, I’m also bright enough to recognize a set-up when I see one. And even though this is the Pit, where it would be perfectly acceptable for me to have some fun with this, I’ll let it go. So…
Well, I was going to post about how I deeply dislike everyone asking me for my phone number - even in cases where it has no bearing whatsoever on what I want or need to know.
But it’s apparant that this is really just a public drive-by attack on Persephone by some fellow, so I won’t say any more.
OH god I hate that! I bought some little $3 whatever from Radio Shack and apparently their computer system will self destruct if you don’t first enter in the customer’s phone number. ARG!!!
Radio Shack has changed lately. The founder of the chain (not the original store, but the guy who made a chain out of it) was so proud of his two “secrets of success” that he wrote a book about it.
His secrets were to get an address and mail a catalog for everyone who had bought within the last six months.
This was perfect for the old ham radio crowd, who pored over the fine print for the perfect specs, but not the modern world, where customers just want to buy a $15 dollar phone and get home for diner.
What I thought I said and somehow edited out, was that the address is now optional.
They still ask, but don’t push any more. The main reason is that catalog sales are in the dumper (as witnessed by Sears’ dropping theirs after 99 years). So they only send catlaogs for select people now, the one who are “Sharper Image” types who buy expensive gadgets. Thus losing a few names won’t spoil their strategy.
I’ve got a gripe with two chains that have “strategies” that clash with the way I like to shop.
True Value has a written policy that the clerks shouldn’t just answer simple questions, like “where’s the plungers?”, but engage the customer until they have a handle on his problem. So instead of saying “far wall at the back”, they say “Is it a toilet or sink you’re having problems with? Is your basement flooded? Do you have a pipe snake?”
At which point I say “I’ll just look around”.
The other one is Home Depot, where they are instructed not to tell you, but to make you follow them and find it for you.
I’m a bit too much experienced with my own hardware needs to be treated like a green teenager. And I don’t like describing my problem when I already know everything about it except where this store keeps its plungers.
Also, I think it must hurt sales. I like to shop in a hardware store, poke through the sale bins, read the seed packets for planting dates. If they whoosh me to the plunger and walk me back to the counter, I’ll leave buying one item instead of ten.
It seems that you both agree.
Henbin says “First you have to tell me…” is rude, which it certainly seems to be.
But Persephone says she doesn’t say it.
So there’s really not a problem.
The one I hate is the Olive Garden where they advertise “Bottomless Pasta Bowl”.
The trick is if you order it, you can’t see a waitress to get it refilled. They normally come back to see if you need anything else, but not if someone orders all-you-can eat.
The busboy will come by though, and start removing plates and if you need a desert menu. If you say you want another round of pasta he says to ask the absent waitress. Finally somebody says I guess it’s time to leave anyway and you go home feeling half-full and cheated.
I’d been working on a tough project and my friend the manager was cutting pieces to fit for me. He calls that they’re ready but he has some questions and to ask for him.
So I come in and ask the kid clerk “Is the manager around? He just called me.”
He says “Yes, he’s around. And I heard him call you.”
Then he smirks as he leaves me hanging a minute.
So I catch on to the jerk and say “Maybe I should be more specific.” and he nods and smirks some more.
So repeat “Is my flying buddy the manager around?”
And he got startled and came back with “Yes Sir, right away Sir! I’ll get him Sir.”
But it was too late. The boss had heard it all and the jerk was asked right there to punch out. It turned out I hadn’t been the first to get wisecracks.
Barnstormer - Maybe I’m missing something, but huh? If the upshot is: “Friend’s employee was a jagoff; he got fired,” then I followed you, but I felt like Michael Knight piecing it together. Next time send me a talking car that can help me solve the mystery, k?
Henbin - nice baiting, ya tool. It’s really insightful how you picked out a harmless rant to, ya know, stick it to the man and all. You’re hardcore. I’d weep in your presence… but you’re not only off-base, you’re an idiot. Persephone is the kind of person MOST people would find intelligent, sincere, and direct. You, of course, might find that she used words of more than one syllable, so maybe you’d think she was “puttin’ on airs.” Next time you want to blame some random person for your mommy-issues, lurk a little longer to find a target.
TGIF - nothing to say other than “Yes. Pasta is yummy, everyone needs more.”
OK, here’s one. If a customer asks if the store carries an unusual item, do not look at them like they have a leperous sore on their forehead and ask, in an extremely snotty tone of voice, "What’s that?
I’ve had this happen to me on a couple of occasions. If there had been a manager in sight, I would have complained about the clerk’s rudeness. Instead, I simply took my business, and my money, elsewhere.
Ooh! I had that one happen to me, too. That first bowl of pasta was good, but I’ll be darned if I ever saw my waitress again. I haven’t been back since.
tshirts: A very good friend of mine happens to own a very successful hardware store. It’s one of those ones where the staff is on a first-name basis with most of their customers, and they know that half their customers come in just to browse and visit. I can’t imagine having a clerk tail you at a hardware store. I can’t imagine what would happen to my friend’s sales if he started having his clerks tail the customers.
