Ok, so if a total stranger comes up to you out of the blue and asks "Where is the X DVD's at", you'll drop whatever your doing and instantly help them out? I mean, lending assistance your fellow man is the only civil thing to do, right? Even though you dont work there, have never worked there and dont even work retail. Never mind that you very well may have somewhere to go, or just want to get on with your own shopping.

That's the hard question isnt it - will you?

[soapbox]

Well I'm very sorry that I can't elevate myself to your level of professionalism while I work in retail to earn enough to at least have some sort of extra spending money after paying all the bills related to going to college in order to actually get me to a future career.

You'd understand what it was like if you've ever worked in retail.

I still think everyone that shops retail should be required to work at least one Holiday Season in retail and then we'd see how calm some people could stay.

[/soapbox]

That will be all for my comments in this thread as I, as well as other retail workers don't need to be verbally harassed.

Man, talk about civility...

This thread is getting completely out of hand. new2theplace you should ease up on your comments, they border on offensive. Keep in mind that everyone on this forum isn't in the same place in their careers as others. It is highly likely (and an absolute certainty) that there are people working their way through College or are in high school. Retail is a good opportunity for teenagers. It's not like they can be doctors, lawyers, etc at the age of 18 (unless you are Doogie Howser). Everyone should ease up on bashing retail workers.

In response to El-Kabong's comments above, the answer is yes, yes, yes and YES I would help someone if they asked for assistance regardless if I work there or not. I answer questions all the time from people. If someone asks me how to make copies I don't tell them to blow off or read the manual, I tell them or even show them how it's done. You make it sound like every person wants you to spend countless hours assisting them with something very basic.

In the end, everyone's job is their own business. We need people to work in retail just as much as we need doctors and ditch diggers. And hence, the world goes around.....

El Kabong--It's not a hard question. The answer is if I know where the DVDs are I'll say "They're over by the front of the store" or "on aisle X". How does this constitute "dropping what I'm doing"? Takes all of 10 seconds, doesn't interrupt my "shopping" or seriously interfere with anything I "have to do". And sure, if asked a question and I know the answer I'll tell the person, even if I don't work there.

I can understand not helping if the customer asks you to get out a ladder or go the back room and look for something. Then I think you are within your rights to say "I'm sorry I'm on break right now and need to pick up a few things. Joe can help you, though, just go to the DVD area and ask for him." Again, takes 10 seconds, what's the big deal?

dvd-fanman
I have worked retail. I've even worked during the holiday rush for free (I was in the marketing department of a major retailer and we were encouraged to volunteer our services on the sales floor during this time of year). In rush times or in slow times, I always found that most people appreciate a friendly response and will respond positively. The complainers are in the minority.

That's not a hard question at all. Of course I would. Even if I were a customer who *didn't* work for the store I would answer the question to the best of my ability... and I think that goes double if I *do* work for the store and I'm standing there holding my uniform.

Drop whatever I'm doing? It takes all of 5 seconds to give a proper response:

"Those DVDs are in isle 2, under 'Comedy'."
"I'm actually not working right now, but there are others who can help."
"I'm not sure, but Joe is in isle 3 and he can answer your question."

How are ANY of these responses more difficult than babbling at the woman until she walks away? Again, I wasn't there and I don't know what happened, but there is nothing in the original post to indicate that this woman was rude or was asking for anything complicated or strange. She just walked up to someone who appeared to work for the store with a question.

Have we gotten to the point in society when responding to a simple query from a stranger has become too much trouble because "you very well may have somewhere to go, or just want to get on with your own shopping."?

No kidding. While I don't work in retail, I have gotten questions from time to time while shopping in a store from people who were clearly aware that I wasn't an employee, but had a simple question and thought I could answer. "Do you know where the milk is in this store?" Usually I'll know or have at least a general idea. I'll always answer politely and go on my way. It takes just a couple seconds of my time...no harm done to me and I've just helped somebody out.

I certainly don't babble at the person and then call them an idiot behind their backs on an anonymous message board. It's called living in a society...if you don't like it go become a hermit and live in a cave. And if you don't like working in retail, find another job.

Sounds like you (Wormwood) need to consider a different line of work. A customer asking you where an item is located, while you are off work, is a very reasonable request and something I would do without hesitation. Then again, if I were you, I would have gladly told her where the item was and forgotten about it. I would not have called her an "idiot customer" behind her back.

You say that you can get in to trouble for doing work while off the clock. That doesn't mean that once your shift ends that you are not representing your company anymore. Let's say that you told this lady to "go f' yourself, I'm not working right now". Do you think that your arguement of "hey, I wasn't working, I could do whatever I wanted to" would fly with your manager?

When you are in the store, even if you are not working, you are representing the store.

Well, I did 8 years in a grocery store, everything from cashier, to stocking shelves, to customer service.

If someone asked me something and I knew the answer I'd tell them, whether I worked there or not. It's called being friendly and civil. It's not difficult to answer a question, takes a few seconds. Granted, if a person was rude about it, I'd be less inclined to help them. But I believe in doing unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Even if I don't know the answer I at least respond with, "I'm sorry, I don't know."

I think giving directions is a common courtesy, but if they ask more complex questions, you should just tell them that you're off duty and point them in the direction of an on-duty employee.

What everyone is arguing about is common courtesy.


But i feel if you are off the clock and someone is asking you to take down a TV or check the stock room to see if a product is in, then you have to pull out that "I'm not really working right now"

If you're off the clock, that's your own personal time. You're not working for free. At least the polite thing to do would be to point the customer to someone that can help.
I worked in retail once upon a time, and i can empathize with this guy. For example, once I clock out for lunch, I have to be back in 30 minutes. I'm not about to waste any of my precious lunch time helping out a customer, because nobody is going to care when I punch back in 10 minutes late.

Maybe the guy was burnt out. It happens. Dealing with people does that to the best of us. He could have been more diplomatic true. Not everyone can be polite all the time.

Speaking of which....

There is nothing wrong with working retail and I didn't say that there was.

What I wrote was that people who work in customer service positions who somhow can't expend the energy to actually serve the customer do not deserve to be elevated any higher up the food chain.
Why? All jobs have some kind of potential downside. If a surgeon kills a bunch of patients because his schedule is hectic and stressful, it doesn't mean that everybody should feel sorry for him.

If you can't handle the pressures of your job then you should either leave it or be fired.

Uh... and referring to customers as idiots because they ask the question "Are you open?" in your register line is somhow not an example of question-asking-customers being verbally harassed?

You sir, are the pot calling the kettle "black".

Yes you did.



Your comment is pompous. You came across as "I'm better than you lowlife people because i've never had to work retail" It doesnt matter what you say you meant by it but your comment was very offensive. What makes it worse it that you have never worked in a retail enviroment (or just don't claim you have).

I don't really know why you come into threads like this, obviously you dont like the subject discussed...why bother? These threads are simply a "release" for those who work retail and wish to express thier gripes with others who have has a similar experience.

I guess retail rants do seem a bit silly but what about some other retail scenarios:

What about adults who use the bathroom at the store you work at and crap all over the bathroom floor? They arent handicapped in any way they just do it because they obviously find it funny.

How about teenagers and adults throwing thier gum or trash on the floor when they are not 10 feet away from a trash can?

I'm sure these are very funny because you dont work in retail.

Please tell me and the rest of us thats its simply our job to clean up after such slobs and that we cannot vent our frustrations elsewhere. Obviously we can't vent our displeasure at work because we would then lose our "low-income" job.

And if you still don't like us "inferior" retail workers venting our frustrations then don't read the damn threads.

<small></small>This has happened to me quite a few times. Sometimes they think I am a manager there - when in fact I am out from the office buying my lunch - and sometimes it is just as one person to another.

I've even been asked for wine recommendations when the fellow-shopper had no luck with the shop assistant! As it happened I'd spent several vacation periods working in wine retail while at college some years previously so felt able to assist.<small></small>See above. And as you were off-duty, she isn't your customer any more despite the thread title; just a fellow shopper/human being.<small></small>Yep. Had that too plenty of times. Some cashiers will look down the line and tell you beforehand but others for some reason just don't bother....

* * *

[edit] Something I meant to include in this post, but forgot until now, is that in conversation with strangers (or people whose acquaintance you have newly-made) the matter of one's job/profession will sometimes arise.

Without going into specifics, in my case, this often leads people to asking me about "why such-and-such happens" or "how do you do this"? I'll go ahead and tell them if it isn't quite my field but can usually give them an answer or tell them where to look for something definitive. This is happening on my equivalent of being "out of jacket"

Colleagues sometimes tell me that I go above and beyond the call of duty. My view is that I want to demonstrate how individual people in my field are helpful, knowledgeable human beings able to operate effectively outside of the workaday office environment. By no means do I expect everyone to feel the same way and I know that friends in the same field will often give a vague generic job description/title to avoid inevitable follow-ups.

Different strokes for different folks of course.

I've had other shoppers ask me questions while I've been in a store that I had no affiliation with other than as a customer. I've always answered to the best of my ability and I've never felt put out by it. It's what civil people do.

What's so hard about saying, "Look over behind the printers" or "check aisle 13?" It takes less than 5 seconds. You don't have to drop anything, and it's definitely not a mentally tasking question.

i've worked with GAP retail store in upper Manhattan before....
it was the smallest GAP store in Manhattan that carries all line of GAP line of stuffs (excluding baby GAP) and we were the last store in upper Manhattan side... which makes us one of the busiest store....

& we don't wear uniform...
so imagine how many questions people/customers ask me during my lunch hour or even on my off-day while doing shopping in my own store just because they had saw me before in the store...

but that still give me no reason to blow people off...
like others said before, it only take less than 5 seconds to guide them into the right direction....

I work at a grocery store and I will tell you how I treat people.

When I shutdown my register, I usually try to get someone to put a rack in front of the line although not everyone understands (I once had a man start yelling at me throw the rack out of the way, just because I but it behind him to block the register aisle).

If someone cannot put a rack in front of my lane, I will serve all of those who were in my lane by the time I turned off light, afterall, when they entered my lane, I was opened.

But after that, unless you have two or three items I will tell you to go to another lane, the light is off, I would respect that you at least look at it before you enter my lane.

As for lunch breaks, I try to get out of the front as fast as possible, I serve everyone in my lane, clock out for lunch and purchase my items. If someone has a simple question, I answer it, otherwise go to the Customer Service desk.

After closing, if it is 10:10 and you heard three announcements (one at 9:45 saying 15 minutes left, another at 10:00 saying we are closed, and one more at 10:05 saying we have been closed for five minutes). DO NOT expect me to be happy when serving you. You are now cutting into my time, and as it may surprise you, I am not a one dimensional characters whose sole lot in life is to ring up your groceries. I am a human, and have a family just as you do. I suggest you spend some time with them rather than shopping at 10 o'clock at night. I only have this rant because people are illiterate, they think we are a 24 hour store, but our sign clearly says "7AM-10PM" MON-SAT "7AM-9PM" SUN.

When I did retail, after a long and painful 8 hour day I wasnt very social with ANYone, let alone yet one more customer. My time is my own - especialy during high stress times (like X-mas) or when I've only got a few moments of it - like during a break or lunch.

I wouldnt mind now - seeing that I have done retail in years, and back then when I was on the clock I was all helpful and went beyond the call - but there had to be a line at some point.

Give me a break. Did you read my last post?

Okay, let me try again and I'll try to be more precise. Perhaps you are confused about my use of the pronoun"you" in my initial post..

In my first post, the pronoun "you" (in the phrase "I hope you all enjoy...") is NOT referring to all retail employees. It is referring to those employees who:
So, the people who "deserve no better" than working in a "low-income retail job" are those who "think the phrase "customer service" means "putting up with stupid f*&%king customers until my next smoke break"

I have absolutely nothing against retail employees (or any other type of worker for that matter) who do their jobs well. What I do have a problem with are people who either (a) do their job poorly, (b) do their job poorly and bitch about their job or (c) are lazy, do their job poorly, bitch about their job and are rude to others in the process.

Trust me, I have managed many people in my life and I've got no time for the ineffeciency, laziness or rudeness that the above (a, b and c) employees demonstrate.

So where do I say that there's something "wrong with working retail"? Perhaps it's because I said "deserve no better"? That implies that there's something "better" than working in retail. Is that insulting to you? Can you not think of a single thing that would be "better than working in retail"? I can think of about a million.

[head in hands.....ughh]

This thread continues to spiral out of control....I hate idiot Cheddarmuffs....

Agreed about the spiraling of this thread in an out-of-control manner.

Thanks to new2theplace for clarifying his position, which didn't seem clear, at least to me.

Closing thread.