Was the assistant rude?

LondonDiva

Pennywise wrote:

I just wish that shop assistants and telephone customer services assistants would actually listen. It is an art that seems to have been lost. I wonder if it is because they're taught using scripts and have to actually ask a specific question before they can "accept" the answer. Giving them too much information in one go seems to "overload" them. It's not just cs staff though, I had the same with a doctor when my baby wasn't well - I gave a full run-down of the symptoms etc., and then the doctor started asking questions that I'd already answered - it was clear he hadn't actually been listening!

Working in complaints, for the NHS, this thread realy struck a chord.

Howver, if a highly irate/emotional person blurts information out in one go, the person on the other end is either listening hard or scrambling to make legible & logical notes. It has nothing to do with listening, more to do with recapping, checking that you both have the same version of events and confirmimg the next steps.

Remember, just because you know the ins and outs of every detail, the other person is coming to this cold & has picked up the phone to deal with you & doesn't have any preparation

You should actually be happy that the person on the other end of the phone is taking the time to work out what you want.

Gingham_Ribbon

It's a pretty bad state of affairs when signs go up all over the place warning customers that action will be taken if members of staff are abused, yelled at or spat on.

I got on a bus the other day and a woman was yelling at the driver because he'd almost driven past her. I saw what happened. He'd been sitting for ages (while I was legging it to the stop, buggy in tow) letting people on, but because he was a few feet away from the stop this woman had not walked the few steps to get on so it looked like she was waiting for another bus. As he began to drive past, she started running and yelling and waving her arms and she launched into a tirade of abuse at the poor driver. I waited on the kerb, trying to keep my son out of it but that poor driver was so cheery and helpful when we got on. I don't know how he does it.

At least when I was teaching I could put someone like that in detention or isolation. Maybe there should be a detention room for ignorant, unpleasant customers.

Smiley_Mum

Was recently going through CDG airport and my little boy was walking a little behind me and this ignorant bumhole practically mowed my son down with his luggage trolley. He got sandwiched between me and the trolley as the guy was walking behind us. My son was on the ground in front of the trolley and the guy just stood there looking and when I glared at him, asked him if he spoke English, (he was American) and said to him, aren't you going to apologise, he just laughed and walked on his way. I would have glady put my foot in his face. Didn't even ask if he was OK. :mad: :mad: Fuming !!!!!! mad I was, arrogant old [email="w@nker"]w@nker[/email]. I saw his wife later struggling to manouevre the same trolley around a gift shop in a hurry and not doing a good job, she was in a state and she was looking at me as if to say, help me out here - did I, did I heck. Mean I know, but what goes round comes around. She was as arrogant as her turd husband.

weatherwax_2

Hmmmm, interesting thread. Having totally agreed with Poppy9 and Pennywise's posts, both from the customer's point of view, I thought that the points they made were given due emphasis by LondonDiva's remark;

You should actually be happy that the person on the other end of the phone is taking the time to work out what you want.

Is'nt that what 'the person on the other end of the phone' is supposed to do? Are we expected to be grateful to someone for doing what they've been employed to do?

On the other hand, I would tend to sympathise with any CS agent who tangled with Smiley_Mum......... :rolleyes:

Cerbera_2

stripeyfox wrote:

There's no way I'd go back an work in retail; rubbish money, rubbish hours (no time off at bank holidays, christmas etc) and verbal abuse.

Slightly off topic but I would just like to agree with stripeyfox, :beer:
I spent five years in retail; from worker through to manager, from Lidl to Safeway. I am now a sales rep for a large soft drinks company and there is no way I'll go back to retail; what with working weekends, staff who didn't give a 'flip' and managers who knew all but did nothing!!

So here's to a week+ off at Christmas, no weekends, no working before 9am or after 5pm, bonuses, company car, work computer with internet access, sales meetings in posh hotels and most importantly job satisfaction! :beer:

mah_jong

Oh the joys of retail....

Yes I too have been shouted at, sworn at etc. Lying customers, shop lifters, the list is endless and yes ..... got paid a pittance for it.

The cutomer is always right???? How about this one ........ the garment is returned as it went horrid after being cleaned. The instructions say hand wash/ dry flat or dry clean. It looks like its been put through the boil cycle of the washing machine and peg marks are still visible at the edge!!! Never seen excrement...thank goodness...but food stains, smoke smells and once a small burn etc on clothes returned after the weekend!!!!

Oh ...just remembered the ..... pull the button off and ask for discount bunch ....
Must have been mad to work there.

jen_jen_2

i have got to confess.....

at work we ordered broadband and received a better quote so boss called to cancel, she was on hold for a while and had to go out so gave the phone to me to cancel it.

when the company (ill call them X) came back on the phone they said we couldnt cancel because we had a contract, i said we cancelled a week ago with BT if they didnt pass the message to you not my problem, continued dicussion for some time and eventually got broadband cancelled with no cancellation fee.

boss returned told her about it taking ages and they were a bit awkward she said - we never ordered it with BT.

the guy from X must have thought i was the biggest crank in the world and has given in because i was speaking absolute nonsense. :rotfl:

so yes sometimes we abuse assistants - sorry

before_hollywood

i work in retail and i see 2 extremes.
we have regular customers who are happy, friendly and are a pleasure to be around, and then there are the miserable so and so's who get on everyones nerves.
i go out of my way to help people, and some people are so ungrateful.
it really winds me up when people are rude to staff or even other customers, shouting at them to get out of their way when they could easily just walk round, hurling abuse at someone they have never met accross the car park, whats the point.

i keep in mind what a regular customer says
"You are on the earth for a good time, not a long time"
and he seems the happiest person in the place.
i think some people could do with taking some notice of that

chillipepper_3

weatherwax wrote:

Is'nt that what 'the person on the other end of the phone' is supposed to do? Are we expected to be grateful to someone for doing what they've been employed to do?

Yes & yes. why shouldn't we be grateful?

Great thread.

I worked in retail/management for 10 years and have seen all sorts. I have been verbally abused, once physically assaulted with a hand round my throat by a gypsy(now I'm no push over but the guy was huge) because i wouldn't give him a refund for an item that wasn't even purchased from the company. I was threatened to be followed and burgled, my family assaulted as well.
I have had colleagues who have been assaulted too, one incident went in the papers, one punched full on in the face. We have even had to go to the police to get them to visit customers before.
There are terrible customers who lie and thieve and abuse companies and there are the same as staff too.

I used to love retail, I got out of it because I got sick of working weekends/bank holidays and really felt that the company got the better deal from my employment contract.(although it did pay well) The minor mugging was off putting as well.
I always try to be as nice as possible with retailers/staff having had the insight from that line of work.
We have some great staff in our local Sainsbury's(tesco's always seem a bit dull), people at M&S, debenhams, Frasers etc are mostly good too. Always helpful and very polite. It all makes a massive difference to your shopping experience and certainly get's you returning back for more. I do try to pass on a good word if I get outstanding service, people need to do this more, we are all very keen on complaining but thanking is another matter. It helps them get good recognition at work and really does make a difference and encourages good service.

But what annoys me is the lack of decent manners by many often coming from bad management and training.
My local TKMaxx is terrible, say hello to some staff and they don't even reply, i couldn't get a word out of one even when asking him a Q, completely baffled me and really got my back up. Didn't even establish eye contact, snatched my card from me and jammed it into the PDQ and pointed at the thing implying to tap in my chip&pin. Goods thrown in a bag and not a single word uttered. I was so annoyed to the point where I wasn't even calm enough to complain in a decent fashion, i just left very Quickly.

PCWorld is another horrible area where you can find unpleasant staff. I was in there the other day, approached by a staff member I asked where i could find a small tool kit to open a computer up. As soon as I said that, he knew I wasn't buying a big sale and just pointed to an area. I asked if he would get me one and actually show me. He said NO and that I had to find it myself!
The worst incident happened many moons ago in there when a member of staff who I went to see for a refund told me to have a look round the shop for an hour as they were going on their lunch break and would deal with me when he was finished.(at least that is what he thought).
My local B&Q is not too hot either with customer friendly staff, nor is the local Waitrose.
Many of the big electrical retailers have staff who switch off if you are not buying big items or are just wanting a little after sales advice. One time going in for an exchange the woman who was so eager to serve us simply walked away and started talking to another customer.

Commission hunger is a good attribute when employing staff but lack of manners is a disgrace and should not be tolerated.

Sales people who can't take 'No' for an answer are also an annoyance. I know they are doing their job but I hate having to say No more than three times when getting asked about warranties etc.

People who throw my debit cards back at me tend to get them thrown back with "you can now hand me the card if you wish". An people who don't hand you your cash drives me up the wall, our local corner shop who we often use slams your coins on the counter every time. I now do the same on every opportunity. (I know its not right but if you can't beat them join them)
Another annoyance is when the person serving is having a full on conversion with someone else whilst serving you. I don't mind it if it is brief or if it somewhat involves the customer but it's rude not to acknowledge the presence of your customer and not to communicate in some way.
I have noticed too that 'up north' shops and staff seem to be some much more helpful and pleasant than down here in the South. Or is that just me being biased as a northerner?

weatherwax_2

Excellent post, chillipepper. You've made a lot of comments on things that I was just too lazy to post. I will say that wherever I encounter someone (whether by phone or in person) who has been genuinely helpful, I always make a point of thanking them and/or speaking to their supervisor to gain them further kudos.

However, when I'm treated rudely I equally make a point of bringing it to the attention of the manager/supervisor. I think that customers are often too apathetic or lazy (or simply resigned) to complain about rotten service. That also applies to praising good service.