I'm a pretty reluctant shopper. It has to happen and I try to make it pretty short. So if I can't find something immediately, I look for an employee.
I want to be treated nicely, so I have to treat the employee with respect, too. They are people with jobs, trying to take care of their families. They tend to do what they think the job entails.
The employee may not understand that when he/she isn't actively punching numbers in on a machine, it is a good idea to be walking up and down the aisles checking to see if things are where they belong. That way when a customer asks for help and is taken to the place they should be, they are actually there. Customers tend to pick things up in one place and lay them down somewhere else. Kids leave things all over the classroom. The teacher tries to train them to put things back, but is constantly noticing when something is out of place and fixing it or telling somebody else to fix it.
The employee should be totally familiar with what is in the section he is responsible for. I'm not very happy when I hear, "The computer says we have 15 of them, but I don't know where they are." Well, I certainly don't know where they are and I'm not willing to go through an entire store looking at the top shelves trying to read the writing without binoculars.
If there are two people working a small store and they need to catch up on their gossip, they could both start at one end of the store, opposite sides, and still hold a conversation while picking up, putting, up, straightening up, and cleaning up.
As a customer it is also my responsibility to count my change. I got home once and found I owed $20 more than I had paid. To be who I think I am, I have to be honest. I went back to the store and showed the mistake and paid the $20. It was my understanding that the clerk might have to put that money in to balance the cash register or whatever they do at closing time.
I don't count my change because I think they are trying to rip me off. I don't want to live being suspicious of everybody with whom I come in contact. I'm responsible for myself, and I want to shop quickly and pay for what I get. It is nice to be greeted with a smile and have someone say, "Let me know if I can help you."
I buy more at a store where I don't have to hunt things.
Here here! I won't say more than that because it'd turn into me as a manager griping about employees who do those things and make me go AEIEIEEEEEE!!! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, the good thing is it wasn't one of your stores that set me off. But stores that are chains have varying degrees of quality of service. One would think that any Lowe's, for example, would have the same training as any other so would provide the same service. That isn't actually true. The goods will be the same from one store to the next, but the quality of service will depend on the manager. That makes me think that the training of the managers isn't what it should be or the supervision of the managers is spotty. I like some Lowe's, and Walgreen's, and, and, and.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.