You know what really grinds my gears?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Maybe its the area, but I'm lucky if I have an associate even acknowledge my existence in places like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Kohls, et al big-box retailers. Sometimes there will be a gung-ho Best Buy employee who will ask if I need any help finding anything, but those instances are rare.

If I'm going out into public I expect to interact with people whether it happens or not.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I noticed it depends on the demographic. When I go to places with small populations, I don't ever get approached. But when I go to stores inside or just outside a major city with a large population, I get hounded. I worked in retail so I know the workers really have no choice, the managers make you do it. If not, you will get written up. Get written up too many times you get fired. Especially if you got one of those over the top I'm really feeling my power type of managers.

Hell I had a friend get fired from Circuit City back in the 90s because she didn't ask customers if they wanted to buy the extended store warranty. Yeah......some managers are petty like that.

[ubernoob]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Store warranties are huge for them to push. Pure profit.

Ugh, I used to hate asking people... I only asked the people I knew would buy them, which is profiling and wrong, but it worked.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Because I don't need to be badgered.

It doesn't really matter why, if the customer doesn't like it, don't ****ing do it. It's like Radio Shack used to be, how stores like HH Gregg are now, I loathed going in Radio Shack because the employees would be on you every 2 minutes asking if you needed anything. No I don't need anything, can I not just browse? If not for being one of the few local places that sells electronics components, I would have never gone into the place twice.

If I go into a store, maybe, maybe, greet me, but then just let me browse. When I decide and bring it to the register, ask if I found everything I needed, scan my stuff, take my payment, then tell me to have a nice day. That should be the limit of our interaction. I'm not a money pinata that's going to make it rain if you hit me with enough words.

In other words, don't say a ****ing word to you at all unless you speak to them, right?

[l3ulvl]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I don't know if this counts as a gear grinder but it makes me snicker when I spend time catching up on a lengthy thread, then click User CP and there is already a new post in the thread

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I don't know if this counts as a gear grinder but it makes me snicker when I spend time catching up on a lengthy thread, then click User CP and there is already a new post in the thread

why are you even clicking User CP to begin with ?

[AUChase]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Store warranties are huge for them to push. Pure profit.

Ugh, I used to hate asking people... I only asked the people I knew would buy them, which is profiling and wrong, but it worked.

I spent most of my time in a specialty department with appliances and kitchen design so most of the extended warranty I offered carried some significant value, but I was usually honest with people.

I always let people know if I had a particular dryer or washer out I preferred over another because of customer feedback and past issues.

I think my honesty is why I outsold both the 7+ year vets in the department and why I went to DH so quick.

You're right though, a lot of extended warranties are garbage, especially on a lot of the power equipment sold in retail stores.

They offered exteded warranty on water heaters, but what most people didn't know is that it has to be isntalled by a licensed plumber/electrician or the warranty is invalid and you just pissed away $100.00

I made sure to educate people as much as I could when I needed to. That's why I say a lot of people in retail are just doing what they are supposed to do.. I do get that sometimes you should just let people browse and leave 'em alone, but not before asking "Hey, you finding everything okay?" or something to that extent.

There's always a good portion of people out there who expect and want the service that so many are complaining about. For example, ODogg made a thread a few weeks ago about piss poor service at Best Buy.

[l3ulvl]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

why are you even clicking User CP to begin with ?

To bring up the subscribed threads

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

From my experiences, you don't approach a customer as soon as they walk over there, 8 times out 10 they will be the customer calling corporate complaining that nobody offered them help and they were standing there for 20 minutes. Knowing damn well they just stood there for 20 seconds.

I kid you not, this college girl did that to me once. She entered electronics, I asked if she needed anything, she snapped and say my God can I browse first. I left her alone. Soon as she seen an assistant manager walk by she yelled at the top of her lungs can I get some help here, I been standing here for 20 minutes. Bitch *** manager wrote the whole department up and the department manager got fired because he was already on D day.

Everybody was like but she was just standing there for 20 seconds, she just came over here. But as usual managers don't believe a word associates say and the customer is ALWAYS right. On top of that, that customer made me grab 4 different tvs and she didn't buy not one. I was like ain't this some ****.

But she wasn't the only customer like that though. We had our fair share of trolls who did that on a regular basis. Come back there to make a scene just see somebody get chewed out by the manager and then not buy anything because they really didn't want anything anyway. They just got enjoyment out of seeing people chewed out.

[Bellsprout]

why are you even clicking User CP to begin with ?

I go to my User CP all the time.

Slightly embarrassingly, it's my browser's homepage.

[AUChase]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I don't think I could have handled Wal Mart.

I worked in an okay place as far as retail goes.

We stayed busy, but most of our store knew what they were doing and what they were talking about. My department supervisor got promoted to ASM and he promoted me to take his spot and I had it pretty good because we were really cool when we worked together in the department and he knew what I was capable of and I never had someone on top of my at all times with commands. This one bitch tried that and we had to butt heads for a few weeks until she finally got the message I didn't need her leaving me lists of **** to do from some other department and if she had an issue with what my guys were doing to come to me.

GMSS all your storys of retail sound really harsh, but I have heard from my step sister who worked there that it really is a **** place to work as far as the supervisors go. She just got a job as a surgical tech. nurse at UAB and she says even that is less stressful to her than working at Wal Mart.

[l3ulvl]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I keep Google as my homepage but when I click a new tab I have OS User CP pinned at the top

[ubernoob]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I don't have a homepage... Normally I launch Chrome, click the TweetDeck app thing and then click OS UserCP that's my first thing pinned. Any extra windows just go from there.

I normally have 10-15 random tabs open at once (right now I have 12.)

I normally miss out on new threads (that aren't already on my userCP - every thread I respond to is auto-subscribed since I normally find new threads from the tapatalk interface.)

[AC]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I just keep my User CP in my Chrome bookmarks bar.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Watching a great talent like Johan Santana go to waste thanks to injuries, or just great players in general getting robbed thanks to the frail body.