No respect for Grocery store workers

[rex922]

Okay, I work at Walmart.

There alone should give you some idea of what type of customers I deal with.

Most of the time, I'm in electronics, but also in the Photo Center some of the time as well.

Anywho, just last week, I had a guy call in:
"I'm looking for a cable."
"Alright, can I ask what kind of cable?"
"Well, it goes to my TV."
(this is a VERY common occurrence.)
"Alright, and what are you hooking up?"
"A DVD player."
"Okay, so what kind of colored jacks are on your player as well as on your TV. Normally it is the red, white and yellow jacks, or the red green blue, and red and white jacks."
After some time.
"Well, I guess I need a box."
(referring to an RF modulator)
"Oh, okay. Well, we have three different price ranges of our RF modulators. I'll still need to know what kind of jacks you have on the back of your DVD player to know which box to suggest to you."
After some time.
"No, I just need a modulator. I don't need a jack."
I speak VERY clearly, after 4 years of this kind of stuff, you HAVE to.
"Okay, so is it an S-Video, Component or RCA (sometimes referred to as composite, but it's too much like component, and it confuses people easily) hookup?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
So again, I start off, "I'll need you check your DVD player and tell me what color the jacks are."
After a short pause.
"Is there anyone else there that knows what they're talking about?"
At the time, I was the only one there. "No, sir. I'm the only one here right now."
Then they hung up.

I'm sorry but I can't help you if you don't know what you need.

There is a certain ignorance to some customers, not all are complete jackholes, but there are times where weeks go by with nothing but head aches.

Another VERY common instance when working in the Photo Center.
"I'd like to make some pictures off my camera, but I don't know how."
"Okay, do you have your camera card?"
Without much hesitation, "Yes, right here."
"Alright, so I see that your card is an SD-card. Just follow me over to the Photo kiosk and we can get you started. Okay, now just put it in the slot, marked SD."
Starts putting it in the compact flash slot.
(if you don't know anything about the card sizes, An SD-card is about the size of a Cheez It/Cheese Nips cracker. And a compact flash is about the size of a saltine/soda cracker. Yes, crackers was the only thing I could think of to compare them to, leave me alone)
So inevitably, "No, just the one on the far right."
Now, I know that it shouldn't be that hard to ALL the way right... but the customer just stops on the one right next to it.
"The one at the FAR right."
... again... just one position...
Eventually we get it.... and 9 times out of 10.
"Sorry, I'm just so technologically illiterate."(or ignorant, or any number of iterations of this, my favorite one, though was when the guy said, word for word, letter for letter 'techno-loger-iterate when it comes to these sorts of things. I'm surprised I can even run the damn thing.')
It's sometimes hard to stifle a laugh.

Also, something to point out... DON'T TRY TO BE CLEVER...
Seriously... annoys the hell out of us working-class, can't stress that enough.

Another common instance, as I've seen so many people refer to is the pricing.
It's amazing how mad some people get when prices change, or sometimes when things move around.
We DON'T have ANY say in these sorts of things.
One thing to remember is that we are peons.
But one thing I have learned is this lovely golden holy thing to say:
"One of us has the power to change (problem), and it's not me. There are forms up at customer service for your concerns. Home office will listen to the customer. (seriously SO true) And if (problem) has inconvenienced you, then by all means, complain."
Seriously works every time.

Oh, and another thing while I'm on the subject of STOP TRYING TO BE CLEVER.
I bring TVs up to the front of the store quite often for customers that are still shopping.
And after 4 years, I still get some other customer stopping me on the way up there with the same freaking... stupid... trying to be witty comment of:
"Oh, just wheel that out to (vehicle X) it's parked (location X)." Smile, nod.
It is not funny.
Maybe the first... oh... two times I heard it in the first 2 weeks I worked there.
But seriously.

One more thought:
Treat your service people with respect.
We're people too.

Honestly i feel sorry for you people.
i swear i have never inconvenienced service people unless i REALLY cannot help myself.
and i mean really cannot help myself(putting serious effort into it).

I don't like the way service people are treated sometimes. but i guess not everyone can play nice

 

[BatOtaku13]

welcome to the workforce.

 

[Chechosaurus]

I'm always very polite to people in supermarkets and other shops, even if they are moody or impolite. I used to work in a theatre and the kind of crap you get off people there is ridiculous and so I try an be extra nice to people in shops because I know how shitty it can be. Sometimes I see people get so much crap off snooty middle age, upper middle class bitches. I once saw some woman "request assistance" to push her trolly around the shop. I mean, c'mon; it's bloody Morrisons!

 

[De Ronneman]

I worked in a supermarket some time ago.

There was this guy who was in a cart for cripled people, one of those electric gocart thingies.
I was working around with some boxes, and granted, the isles are pretty narrow, but he wanted me to move the box, myself and my crate(I'm short) out of his way, so he could go along in a straight line. There was space enough behind me to land a freaking F16, so I don't know what he was talking about. Also, a little later I caught him walking at a pretty fast pace.

I hated the guy. He was a regular, but smart enough to stay out of my face.

There was another woman who always commented about my long hair being unsanitary and looking scruffy, but I just plain ignored her and wished she died. I washed my hair everyday and used conditioner. My hair was silky smooth (according to the conditioner).

 

[TechNoFear]

I'm pissed off. I work at my local No Frills, and I pretty much get shit on by every fucking customer who asks me a question.



Anyone else fee the same?

I find many younger people do not understand the practice of delivering good customer service.

They act as if I have interrupted them doing heart surgery when all they are doing is stocking the shelves.

They rarely can be bothered to do their own job, let alone help if your request/requirements are outside their immediate area of responsibility and act as if I am asking them to serve me the moon on a platter.

They appear to think that being rude/sullen/unhelpful will make me go away and know never to bother them again.

They seem unable to disguise their contempt that I can not find the grapes (when they clearly know where they are and it would take a second for them to tell me).

 

[Soviet Heavy]

So, in this current economy, I was given the option of either firing a bunch of workers or lowering the overall pay [I'm VP of the place]. I go with the latter option, simply because it's better to have a lower paying job then no job at all.

So all's going fine and dandy, right? Until I come into work the next morning and find half the workforce sitting outside the place. They refuse to come inside and work until I give them a raise. So, I fire those who are "protesting", hire more workers, and it so turns out we have enough in our new budget to give each one of the remaining workers a raise.

The best part is, when I signed their severance checks, some of them had the nerve to say "What about my family?". Well, dumbass, if you'd come in and actually fucking WORKED for your paycheck, then you wouldn't have to worry about your family, now would you?

A dick move? Yes. Deserved? You bet.

Well, if they were being morons like that, they deserved to get fired. I suck it up and go to work whenever I can, but people protesting because they get to keep their jobs?

-snip-

Jesus Christ, where do you work? Thats just nasty, the worst we've ever had was some lady try to run off with over a thousand dollars worth of groceries, but nobody's ever tried to assault employees.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

There seems to be a trend of neglecting youth employees at my store. Student shifts have mostly been cut to weekends, and elderly people are taking up the week night shifts. They treat teenagers worse than anyone else in the workforce, because we are "expendable." We are considered the lowest class workers, merely by our age. Age discrimination is illegal in Canada, but that doesn't seem to stop all the shifts going to the old people who decided that they can't go without working.

I realize that pension plans are going downhill, but this is causing problems for more than just seniors. Its taking work away from young people, who are trying to make a living, but aren't getting the experience they need.

 

[GeneralDefiance]

Soviet-

Amazingly enough the store i work in is labeled by the higher ups with the fancy ties as an "up market" store. its mostly surrounded by student accomodation and a fair amount of homeless shelters (mind you ive been at a loss to pick a difference between the two sometimes). on my first day there some one drove into the front window in reverse and stole hundreds of pounds of beer that was stacked at the front window for new years.