Am I Making A Fuss About Nothing? Opinions Please.

ian1969uk

goater78 wrote: »

I was standing in Primark once and this woman asked me where the shoes were. I said I didn't know and she got a bit shirty with me as she said I should know where they were, so i told her to "go away".

Would it not have been common sense to say you didn't know because you didn't work there?

rustyboy21

goater78 wrote: »

I was standing in Primark once and this woman asked me where the shoes were. I said I didn't know and she got a bit shirty with me as she said I should know where they were, so i told her to "go away". She said she was going to make a complaint to the manager about my attitude. That would have been fine but I didn't actually work in Primark I had just popped in with a friend for 5 minutes as they wanted some flip flops. Because I was wearing a shirt and tie with my work badge on she assumed I worked their. So the morale of the story is when you are complaining about a member of staff make sure they actually work in the shop!

Would you mind telling flyboy that, as he seems to suggest that even if you do not work in the store, you have to be pleasant to anyone who screams at you , thinking you do. And any staff who do work, there are there to take any abuse given, as he ' owns ' them

I have never taken off on a member of staff, perhaps due to me working in retail all of my working life, I know what it feels like, to be on the receiving end of abuse. If you speak to a member of staff in a courteous way, then you will get a better response. It is the minority of the general public who think that staff in shops belong to them, to be abused as and when they feel like. They are usually people who work in offices and call centres, who do not know the first thing about how to conduct themselves with other people.

Use politeness,you get it back. Be abusive and you reap what you sow. It is human nature which you cannot switch off.

Flyboy152

rustyboy21 wrote: »

Would you mind telling flyboy that, as he seems to suggest that even if you do not work in the store, you have to be pleasant to anyone who screams at you , thinking you do. And any staff who do work, there are there to take any abuse given, as he ' owns ' them

I have never taken off on a member of staff, perhaps due to me working in retail all of my working life, I know what it feels like, to be on the receiving end of abuse. If you speak to a member of staff in a courteous way, then you will get a better response. It is the minority of the general public who think that staff in shops belong to them, to be abused as and when they feel like. They are usually people who work in offices and call centres, who do not know the first thing about how to conduct themselves with other people.

Use politeness,you get it back. Be abusive and you reap what you sow. It is human nature which you cannot switch off.

Now, you know very well that is not what I had written at all. But, nonetheless, there is no need for anyone to be rude to others. I was merely pointing out, that it made more sense to politely explain that you did not work there, rather than be abusive. Does it not make sense to you?

Malory

Flyboy152 wrote: »

But unless poor service is brought to the management's attention, how will service be improved in the future?

True. But you have to pick your battles.

rustyboy21

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Now, you know very well that is not what I had written at all. But, nonetheless, there is no need for anyone to be rude to others. I was merely pointing out, that it made more sense to politely explain that you did not work there, rather than be abusive. Does it not make sense to you?

You talk about being rude..... let me see ,so you are being polite in posts 26,56,59,62,66,82.

If you really read what people, as well as myself have been writing on here, you would see that we are all saying similar. There is no need for rudeness and abruptness from either side.

If you have ever worked in a shop, whether big or small, you will have no doubt been faced with rude, obnoxious customers. Likewise you may have been in a store and asked politely for some help, to be met with a short sharp answer, which is totally unhelpful to you on your quest for an answer. I get it, understand and acknowledge that some shop staff have the courtesy of a wino at a bustop.

But I feel that you do not understand that some of the general public( A minority as already stated) do look down on shop staff and speak to them in a totally disgusting way. They feel that they are beneath them and use no manners in their conversation with them. You must see that this does nothing more than demoralise staff and , unfortunately for the nicer members of the human species, can have a negative effect on their shopping experience. In all Honesty, my posts are down to being approached on numerous times in shops and had a heated statement thrown at me. One time I was accosted in a comet store ( in Manchester) and was grabbed by the scruff of the neck by a middle aged bloke, who was refused a refund on something. He thought I was management, as I was in a suit. Security guards had to pull the guy off. The bloke was cautioned by police over his action against me. I had only gone in to buy a kettle ! And you wonder why I get irate at people who are stroppy against retail staff. I must give off a '' I work here'' aura.

Do you , or do you not agree with the above statement.

Perhaps in the ideal world, all shop staff would be fully trained in customer awareness, and all customers, would be the perfect customer, but we do not live in this ideal world.

Shopping should, and used to be a less stressed procedure. These days people are in a rush for everything, but taking that into account, there is no need for rudeness.

My working life started in retail. I have also worked in a call centre, office, on the road as a rep, but have always gone back to retail work. There are some people in retail work, who shouldnt be, as well as some people who work in offices, who were born retailers. In retail you need a personality, to be able to cope with work. but sometimes the wrong people slip through the net.

On behalf of all retail workers out there, I apologise for any shop staff , who have upset anyone in the past. But I won't be holding my breath for an apology off an abusive customer, as they haven't done anything wrong ( in their eyes )! They never apologise even after shouting at another customer !

Flyboy152

rustyboy21 wrote: »

You talk about being rude..... let me see ,so you are being polite in posts 26,56,59,62,66,82.

I think you need to sit down and have a cup of tea, all that searching must have exhausted you. Your tolerance, if it is such, needs resetting. You seem to enjoy baiting people and crying victim. I have read a number of your posts and the tone leaves something to be desired. None my posts you have mentioned have been rude to anyone. The one in which I replied to you was a little direct, but rude....no. But sorry, pretending I have written something when I hadn't, does tend to get me a bit miffed. You seem to be rude to most people on here, but don't like being reminded of it.

If you really read what people, as well as myself have been writing on here, you would see that we are all saying similar. There is no need for rudeness and abruptness from either side.

No, not everybody is agreeing with you, you should have taken more time reading others' posts, rather than searching out mine. It does tend to help, especially when you are making claims on behalf of others.

If you have ever worked in a shop, whether big or small, you will have no doubt been faced with rude, obnoxious customers. Likewise you may have been in a store and asked politely for some help, to be met with a short sharp answer, which is totally unhelpful to you on your quest for an answer. I get it, understand and acknowledge that some shop staff have the courtesy of a wino at a bustop.

That has never been a contention.

But I feel that you do not understand that some of the general public( A minority as already stated) do look down on shop staff and speak to them in a totally disgusting way. They feel that they are beneath them and use no manners in their conversation with them. You must see that this does nothing more than demoralise staff and , unfortunately for the nicer members of the human species, can have a negative effect on their shopping experience. In all Honesty, my posts are down to being approached on numerous times in shops and had a heated statement thrown at me. One time I was accosted in a comet store ( in Manchester) and was grabbed by the scruff of the neck by a middle aged bloke, who was refused a refund on something. He thought I was management, as I was in a suit. Security guards had to pull the guy off. The bloke was cautioned by police over his action against me. I had only gone in to buy a kettle ! And you wonder why I get irate at people who are stroppy against retail staff. I must give off a '' I work here'' aura.

Do you , or do you not agree with the above statement.

I could point out that you seem to court controversy wherever you go . Perhaps it was the same person you met in Marks and Spencer or Tesco, "before telling them to f*** off I dont work here." Not a very savoury turn of phrase and I apologise to anyone reading it, but I think someone needed reminding of what they had written.

You seem to bring the worst out in most people, especially on here and I am disappointed in myself for rising to your bait.

Perhaps in the ideal world, all shop staff would be fully trained in customer awareness, and all customers, would be the perfect customer, but we do not live in this ideal world.

It doesn't take that much training to be polite, respectful and courteous, does it?

Shopping should, and used to be a less stressed procedure. These days people are in a rush for everything, but taking that into account, there is no need for rudeness.

Well, we can at least agree on something. But please, make sure that it is a two way street.

My working life started in retail. I have also worked in a call centre, office, on the road as a rep, but have always gone back to retail work. There are some people in retail work, who shouldnt be, as well as some people who work in offices, who were born retailers. In retail you need a personality, to be able to cope with work. but sometimes the wrong people slip through the net.

On behalf of all retail workers out there, I apologise for any shop staff , who have upset anyone in the past. But I won't be holding my breath for an apology off an abusive customer, as they haven't done anything wrong ( in their eyes )! They never apologise even after shouting at another customer !

Having such a chip on a shoulder tends to hinder people from seeing both sides and causes them to lean to one side all the time.

If "sometimes the wrong people slip through the net," the customer can hardly be blamed for taking umbrage when those people are rude to them, can they. Seeing as the customers are the ones who are paying hard earned money to contribute to the profits of the company and ultimately the continued employment of the retail worker, the onus is on them to be the first to show respect and courtesy. If they don't, the situation will never change.

rustyboy21

So you don't see that customers can be in the wrong too.

i rest my case ! I was apologising if anyone thought I was being an a***h*le , but giving you the chance to see if what I was saying, if you agreed, partially agreed or disagreed with the points raised.

You seem to want to disagree with anyone else, who brings up fair points, for the sake of it.

I gave the benefit of doubt, to see if you were actually a troll, which was confirmed by another poster, but now see that they were correct. That you are purposely confrontational and tend to disagree with certain people's posts in the most abrupt manner.

I wish to leave it there, so will be ignoring posts from you in future. I do not go around here giving flippant remarks, like some do. I give my honest opinion on matters and advice where needed. It shows by the amount of thankyou's I have had, over the amount of posts I have placed, in the year I have been a member. Compared to you , who seems flit in and out, making dispariging remarks , over 35 posts, in which you have been thanked 8 times.

Lastly your comment

Having such a chip on a shoulder tends to hinder people from seeing both sides and causes them to lean to one side all the time.

Definately, pot calling kettle black !

DCFC79

Flyboy152 wrote: »

That sounds like an excellent way to reward good service.



I was dumbfounded by his attitude as well as saddened. The assistant deserved to be recognised for efforts to promote the business to customers, increasing turnover and profits.

yes it was a way of increasing the level of customer service and it did actually work but it wasnt present in the other store i worked in so it must have been an inititative by the then store manager,

meritaten

Ive only read the first page and this one.
I can only comment as a customer and my forty years (part time and temp) as a retail assistant.
first off - I would never answer a customer with 'I dunno'. I would look in the logical place and if it wasnt there would ask the customer to wait while I went and found the answer for her/him. even if the customer asked in a rude way - I was trained to be polite and helpful!
second - customer services COULD have called for an assistant from that section before calling the manager. if its big enough for customer services then they would have a section leader or senior staff.
the manager SHOULD have given an apology! this is usually enough for most customers! and I agree with the original poster - the stores I worked in would have GIVEN the customer the vol u vents!
but saying that - I have found that some customers will confuse you with shop staff (not surprising with me as I cant help 'facing up' when I have taken an item off the shelf! I automatically pull forward another item and make it look nice. Its even worse in a certain shop in town when I wear my red Tshirt and black trousers! but even then I try to be polite and If i know where the item is will direct them or tell them I dont work there!

MCGONIS

I am only commenting on the original post and my experience of Wm Morrisons Supermarkets this Christmas.

I did my main shop at ASDA at christmas. My mum and dad shop at WM. We had this £25 christmas voucher to use. Now we had done our "main" shop at ASDA and had to call in to WM for a turkey and ham, more or less to use up the £25 voucher.

The checkout assistant was as slow as a weekend in the jail,chatting to a produce supervisor about new year eve. It took about 10 minutes to get 4 items through the till and pay.

I HATE the place. That Morrison is an ex Safeway Superstore. I never went near it when it was Safeway. Now three years later, it's still the same.

Some Morrisons stores may be good. But in my experience, the ones that were ex-Safeway are staffed by toe-rags with no customer serice training. I don't know why anyone would go near the place.