I don’t recommend this. I nearly got a fired for saying that to someone as a joke once. Turns out they had no sense of humour and lodged a formal complaint with Head Office.
(I had to get the freaking Union involved, and their advice to me after it was over- decided in my favour, but begrudgingly by my boss- was “Find another job, because if this is the sort of shit your boss is pulling, it’s only going to get worse.” I took their advice.)
I don’t know how it is where you live, but where I live large chain stores and restaurants don’t bother with open/closed signs. I can think of a number of possible reasons:
• Expense of constantly replacing them, considering there may be a lot of stores in the chain - you know how corporations love to cut every expense they can
• Multiple entrances increasing the likelihood of somebody forgetting to change one of the signs
• Assuming (mistakenly) that posting the business hours, in large numbers, on the doors themselves, combined with locked doors is sufficient
Small local business all seem to like the open/closed signs (especially those red & blue neon jobbers). Chain stores, not so much.
Now, I have to admit I’ve never seen the movie, but isn’t Fargo still in North Dakota?
Mister Rik, I’m going to have to ask if the front desk does that if we don’t have availability for walk-ins. I don’t work up front, we have a dedicated reservations office.
When it comes down to it, we almost always have some accomodations somewhere on the property on any given night; but what with holding space for groups and stuff it can look like we have no rooms (so I can’t sell any) when two months later, on the night in question, we actually will because of cancellations and stuff. Most people coming here, especially from out of state, book months ahead. We don’t get many walk-ins.
Anyway, my only annoyance there is people who can’t understand the concept of “we have no rooms.” I’ve been told “Sorry, we’re sold out,” before, and I didn’t push and push the person to give me that room I just know they must have.
I wanted to add but it won’t let me that the vast majority of our guests come for several days, as well; if they were mostly one-night stays some things would be a lot easier. Now, don’t get me wrong, we do manage to do that quite well, but it’s more complicated to do my job than it sounds like it should be on the surface.
IIRC very little of the film actually takes place in Fargo (or ND), most is in Minnesota with Minnesotans. Checking the Wiki article, the opening scene where a crime is planned is in Fargo.
One of my managers decided that she’d had enough of this and always closed out the register a few minutes before we actually closed. Then she’d tell the late shoppers that the register had been closed out, the money put in the safe, and no, we couldn’t open the register again until 10 AM the following day, but that we’d be happy to put their clothes behind the counter so they could come pay for them tomorrow. Predictably, this pissed off a lot of shoppers, and we had several who never darkened our door again. Since these were mostly the customers that gave us the most aggravation (they bought evening wear and then wanted to return it after the event, for instance) it seemed like a decent solution.
She was a rotten manager, but we had a LOT of entitled customers. They wanted Nordstrom service at WalMart prices.
“I bet you’d have a room for President Obama if he dropped by!”
“Well, yes, we would probably be able to accommodate him.”
“Well, you might as well sell me his room. He is not coming.”
:: sigh:: I could write a novel with all of the ridiculous things that have occurred while working retail over nearly a decade of time… thank God I have always known that retail was never my true calling and did it only when there were no other options. Most of the time I did do whatever possible not to raise a fight with anyone and was generally a go-to type of person if another employee refused to bend the rules for ya… but there were some instances where I really did want to walk out.
Returns were always a great reason to start up a fight.
Me: “Ma’am there is no tag… no receipt… I could look it up on ur (particular very large corporate retail store) credit card but you say you paid cash… and you want cash back… which I cannot do… I would bend the rules for you if we had that particular merchandise by using the sku off of the one in the store… but Ma’am I have never seen that item before and I know we don’t carry that brand. I’m sorry.”
Ma’am: :: hands object to me:: “HERE! This kinda looks like it! Just use that.”
:: ears steaming… because you know its not going to be over for at least another hour::
–actually there was an instance where the same sort of thing occurred with a lady who used a wheelchair… because there was nothing I nor my superiors could do for her… and after 2 1/2 hours and thats not an exaggeration… she stormed off saying she was filing for sexual harassment… (wtf?!.. )
another reoccurring burden… having sales and having markdowns (ie additional 20% off!!) and having customers bring up a whole armload of merchandise… and insist you check the price of each one…
:: looking at merchandise:: me: "Ma’am… it’s originally $9.99 so with the 20% off it is $7.99…
Ma’am: “can you check?”
::sigh:: ::scan:: BEEP me: "Yes… it is $7.99.
Ma’am: “hmm… No. I don’t want that…” ::Ma’am hands me another $9.99 item: “and this one?” (repeat x 15)
::me pulling out hair:: ::me putting 15 items away because you needed to check each one although it certainly is not that hard of a concept::
even better is merchandise that is about to be zero-ed out… meaning it will be quickly leaving our store and no longer sold for various reasons… out of season… out of style… just plain ugly… so its marked down to $4.99 but then you lucky customer you get it an additional 40% off…
annoying lady customer: "so it is 2.99? Gee... I just don't know if it will fit little Jimmy. Oh gosh... let me think. Well... no... well... maybe.... his mother can bring it back if it's the wrong color right?"
::nodding and underbreath... that bottle of evian in your hand costs about as much as this stupid shirt... throw it away if he doesn't like it... here I'll even pay for it if it means you will leave my presence quicker::
::smiles:: "There you are... Have a wonderful day! Come back and shop with us again Mrs. Cheap.. er... Mrs. Chaplin..."
::customer starts to leave... then frantically:: "Oh no! Silly me... I forgot I have this coupon for an additional 10% off... I'm sorry dear.... we can redo the sale right?"
::smiles:: "Of course Ma'am!"..... I know u need to cut back on that 30 cents... cuz there isn't like 30 cents in everyone's couches across America. #%^& RETAIL!!
Between a bank and a credit union, yes. Being served as if you’re at your home CU at another across the country, though, is entirely possible.
I just found the most apropos quote in the book I’m reading:
“Each man thinks himself an island of virtue, surrounded by a sea of louts.” – Jaz Laren Sylvarresta in David Farland’s “The Sons of the Oak”
I’ll be darned. According to your link, however, my credit union still doesn’t participate in shared branches, so I’m still SOL.
She drove through the drive-thru the wrong way. I don’t think any question she asked could be considered “reasonable” after doing that.
[spam report: removed link]
To be fair, there is no universal standard for return policies in retail and policies have been shifting quite a bit over the last few years. Furthermore, there are still retailers (the one I work for, for example) out there that do offer refunds (or at least merchandise credit) on items well beyond 30 days from original purchase. Part of the reason for this is that the loss taken on refunds is so insignificant, it is worth it when the return is a loyal customer who will continue spending money in your store. Yes, there is abuse, but the company I work for has determined that the abuse is so negligible that it doesn’t affect the bottom line the way a stricter return policy would. I can tell you as an employee, it makes my job a lot easier.*
It’s not always an issue of overriding policy, it’s setting policy that is customer-friendly. Obviously, the big box stores are financially more capable of absorbing loss on returns than smaller, independent outfits would be.
*Now, if customers would just either keep their receipts or otherwise ensure that I can prove they purchased their return in my store, it would make it even easier!
My return-related story:
To preface, even with a liberal return policy, we still require proof of purchase, either via receipt or membership records (we are a consumer co-op).
Some time before the holidays, I am assisting a distinctive couple purchase several hundred dollars of clothing. As part of my job, I explain that we are a co-op and membership would save her a considerable amount of money on her purchase. As part of the spiel, I indicate that as a member if she needs to return anything, she won’t need her receipt as we keep records of purchases. She opts to not become a member. Too bad since she’s a regular shopper and with this purchase alone she missed out on about $50 back, but whatever.
Flash forward several months, she returns to the store to return an item that she had purchased on the day I assisted, but she has has no receipt and the item has since gone on sale. Because I have no physical proof of purchase, no record of the purchase, I can only refund the sale price. She balks. But, she says, I know I paid full price for it. All we need is a receipt. We gave you one, just bring it back in. No can do. It’s a shame, too, because I was very specific about our return policy with you before you even bought this. Why didn’t you anticipate this situation? We did.
The irony is that if she’d spent $20 on a membership, she would have received
$50 back and not lost another $40 or so returning an item without a receipt. Such savvy shoppers some are… :rolleyes:
This was something I overheard while shopping.
A month or so before Christmas, a local clothing store went out of business, and had a big “everything must go” sale. This wasn’t a chain where only some branches were closing, they just had the one store.
Someone was apparently buying a dress for someone for Christmas, and wanted a gift receipt because she wasn’t 100% certain it was the correct size. The poor cashier tried and tried to explain to her that a gift receipt wouldn’t do her any good, since the store would no longer exist in two days. Several times the customer said “So if it doesn’t fit you’re going to refuse to take it back?” She just couldn’t grasp the fact that in two days, there would be no store to return it to.
The cashier was far more patient than I would have been with her. I would have just said “Sorry, no returns” and let her make a complaint to whoever she thought would listen or care.
Whereas I would have smiled and said, “sure, bring it back to the store if it’s the wrong size”, then laughed by ass off as the person departed.
All I know is I have had good service and I have had bad service but never in my life have I ever had service that was one-tenth as obnoxious and clue-free as some of the customers I and Hamish dealt with over the course of our respective tours of duty in the retail mines.
If you’re like many (probably most?) of us who have worked in the customer service trenches, though, I hope this means that you acknowledge great service when you are a customer. I’ve worked in all manner of service jobs (retail in high school, restaurant/bar in college and afterwards, hotels, photography, and private deejaying,) and I have a personal policy of letting people know what I think about service. Sometimes, when service I receive is just clueless or careless, I vote with my wallet, choosing not to use a particular business, or avoiding a certain waiter at my favorite restaurant. In tipping situations, I make sure that a great waitress receives a great tip for her work, I thank her, and I let her boss know how much I enjoy dealing with that employee. And then I request that particular server whenever I patronize that business. In non-tipping situations, I try to make sure that I’m not obnoxious, ridiculously impatient, demanding, whatever; and I also thank the employee and let supervisors know. I really think that people should not just be reprimanded for bad behavior, but also recognized for friendly and competent service.
The added bonus? When I’m nice to service people treat them well, I get even better service (and sometimes, other perks.) For example, I stop at the c-store across from my office an average of 4 times per week for a soda, cigarettes, beer, a snack, whatever. About half the time, my fountain soda is free. If they’re nearly out of my brand of smokes on the day before the truck, the clerk will pull a pack and “hide” it for me until I come in. I get compliments on my new haircut or the five pounds I may or may not have lost, the clerks keep an eye on me from across the street (I’m the only employee on duty at my hotel overnight,) we chat about children/grandchildren/nieces & nephews. It doesn’t always work, but I find that the benefits of being a nice customer practically always outweigh the occasional urge to blow a gasket when I receive lousy service…
But tonight’s “winner” for clueless (probably drunk) customers: One guest called around 1 am to ask whether we have pay-per-view movies. “No, sir. I’m afraid we don’t have a PPV system.” Five minutes later: “Can I order a movie anyway?” “No sir, I’m really sorry, but we aren’t wired for PPV.” Two more minutes: “Do you have a number for an escort service?” “No, really, sir. I have no idea. All I can advise is that you check the Yellow Pages in the telephone book on your desk.” Another minute: “Can you come to my room?” :eek::eek::eek: “Nope! No can-do! If you need anything, you are welcome to come to the night window outside the lobby.” :eek::eek::eek:
Absolutely. It is unfair to just complain you also have to commend. I have written several letters of commendation and thanks.