Behind the Scenes @ Work

[KSig RC]

Honestly, is there any reason (besides the small-% cut taken by a CC company, which I believe has already been addressed) why a contractor or 'small business' would take up to TWENTY PERCENT off, other than the 'advantages' afforded by untraceable cash transactions?

Interestingly, 20% would be slightly below the tax burden on that item . . . hm, odd.

"Cash flow" can't be correct, since small businesses almost always live off their credit line for day-to-day costs anyway (and the amount of time needed to make another payment, say check, 'liquid' seems negligible in the grand scheme of things) . . . anything else?

Also, why don't larger businesses do this? Why do many large companies specifically avoid dealing with cash transactions?

[SWTXBelle]

I will never understand why some people believe that if they treat you poorly you will JUMP to take care of them immediately. Yes siree, please treat me like crap! Let me drop everything to take care of YOU, since you are so much more important than everyone else.
I think everyone should have to work one Christmas season in retail. They would then be sooooo much nicer and more understanding. At least in theory . . .

[AlethiaSi]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I will never understand why some people believe that if they treat you poorly you will JUMP to take care of them immediately. Yes siree, please treat me like crap! Let me drop everything to take care of YOU, since you are so much more important than everyone else.
I think everyone should have to work one Christmas season in retail. They would then be sooooo much nicer and more understanding. At least in theory . . .

I TOTALLY AGREE! work in retail or in the service industry (at any time) .... I think people would be a hell of a lot nicer.

[ZTAngel]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I think everyone should have to work one Christmas season in retail. They would then be sooooo much nicer and more understanding. At least in theory . . .

Yes. I think some customers were rude just because they enjoyed the power trip they had over the sales associate. I am always friendly to the sales associates because I know the pain they go through!

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

Yes. I think some customers were rude just because they enjoyed the power trip they had over the sales associate. I am always friendly to the sales associates because I know the pain they go through!

Or even more so they just plain think they're better than the sales associate. The number of times I've heard people say "at least I got a college education" is disturbing. (And completely ignores the fact that most salespeople I know have or are getting a college education. Or even a Masters! OMG they're smarter than you! /sarcasm)

[jubilance1922]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Or even more so they just plain think they're better than the sales associate. The number of times I've heard people say "at least I got a college education" is disturbing. (And completely ignores the fact that most salespeople I know have or are getting a college education. Or even a Masters! OMG they're smarter than you! /sarcasm)

I will agree with this. I worked PT at Bath and Body Works just for the discount, and it was hilarious to see all these people (including management) who thought they were "better" or "smarter" than me. That was until I told them that I have 2 degrees and I'm a chemist at my real job.

[OneTimeSBX]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Or even more so they just plain think they're better than the sales associate. The number of times I've heard people say "at least I got a college education" is disturbing. (And completely ignores the fact that most salespeople I know have or are getting a college education. Or even a Masters! OMG they're smarter than you! /sarcasm)

the sheer rudeness of "adults" has astounded me for years. especially in fast food. when i was 19 i worked at Arbys. i was also pregnant at the time, and fortunate for me, women in my family look 13 until they hit their 20's.

while fixing peoples food, i would actually get criticized for being pregnant at "such a young age". i'd hear things like "you should be ashamed, pregnant at your age, how old are you, 14?" i would always smile sweetly and reply "no, im almost 20 and engaged. next time, you should at least ask if im 16, they dont hire any younger than that here!"

the golden rule applies 110% to customer service. treat me like a d***, and trust me, you will get it back

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

At my house, we celebrate 50% off Chocolate Day on Feb. 15th!

Originally Posted by cuteASAbug

50% off candy corn on November 1st!

And whenever Easter is, after Christmas too

Originally Posted by jubilance1922

I will agree with this. I worked PT at Bath and Body Works just for the discount, and it was hilarious to see all these people (including management) who thought they were "better" or "smarter" than me. That was until I told them that I have 2 degrees and I'm a chemist at my real job.

I worked part time at Kohl's 2 years ago and used to laugh at the way this one woman I worked with talked to me. I was just there to catch up on some bills and add spending money for some trips. I wanted to tap her one day and tell her about my book but I just kept putting up the sales signs.

Then there was working at a hotel in college and fellow students' parents would try to talk down to me until I told them I was also matriculating at the school that their son/daughter went to.

[sageofages]

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

I worked part time at Kohl's 2 years ago and used to laugh at the way this one woman I worked with talked to me. I was just there to catch up on some bills and add spending money for some trips. I wanted to tap her one day and tell her about my book but I just kept putting up the sales signs.

too funny....last summer Mr. Sageofages worked parttime at a Walmart (in the electronics dept) mostly to prove to Sageofages daughter #1, that YES, anyone can get a job anywhere. The managers were really condescending to him...treated him like some pathetic old guy (he has a really gray beard) who was stuck at walmart etc (he worked evenings and weekends). I mean really talked down to him (and Mr Sageofages is the nicest guy, he just smiled and took it) I dont think the Wallyworld floor managers ever looked at his application or resume.

AT least UNTIL he asked for a couple days off to do a training for his Wells Fargo job. The manager didn't really want to give it off. Mr. Sageofages said "well I have to go for my day job." The Wallyworld manager asked him "Ohhhh, you work somewhere else to make ends meet?" Mr Sageofages replied "WellsFargo as a DBA/Unix SysAdmin and I make $XX per hour, so it is adequate." The Wallyword manager said "Wow I wish I made that". Mr Sageofages said after that he got a whole new level of respect and was treated way nicer.

[Glitter650]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Or even more so they just plain think they're better than the sales associate. The number of times I've heard people say "at least I got a college education" is disturbing. (And completely ignores the fact that most salespeople I know have or are getting a college education. Or even a Masters! OMG they're smarter than you! /sarcasm)

I am friendly UNLESS they tell me they tell me that they cant' do something that I KNOW I could go behind the counter and do myself. PISSES ME OFF when I've worked in a store and KNOW the drill and the associate tells me that they "can't do that"

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Glitter650

I am friendly UNLESS they tell me they tell me that they cant' do something that I KNOW I could go behind the counter and do myself. PISSES ME OFF when I've worked in a store and KNOW the drill and the associate tells me that they "can't do that"

I'm not saying there aren't stupid/jerk customer service people. It's the people with the attitude that they're automatically better than people who work in retail. There are plenty of sucky workers, it's just usually easier to complain about them to their management than to get pissed off at them.

[aggieAXO]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I will never understand why some people believe that if they treat you poorly you will JUMP to take care of them immediately. Yes siree, please treat me like crap! Let me drop everything to take care of YOU, since you are so much more important than everyone else.
I think everyone should have to work one Christmas season in retail. They would then be sooooo much nicer and more understanding. At least in theory . . .

I also think people should go and hang out in a human ER on a holiday so they realize that waiting 3 hours at an animal ER is not so bad.

[minDyG]

One thing I wished all people knew/kept in mind back when I worked in inbound telemarketing was that, when you request to be removed from a mailing list, you do actually have to give the TSR your address. Just because we have caller ID doesn't mean we can find your address in some database which may contain millions of phone numbers. If you ask to be removed from a calling list or mailing list, it is the law that your wish has to be carried out, so by refusing to provide the operator with your address you're just hindering the process. And on the flip side, if you do ever ask a telemarketer to remove your number from their calling list, make sure they actually have your number and ask multiple times to ensure they really do it. Oftentimes outbound telemarketing calls are preprogrammed into a call list so the TSR's don't necessarily have the phone number in front of them either.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by aggieAXO

I also think people should go and hang out in a human ER on a holiday so they realize that waiting 3 hours at an animal ER is not so bad.

Oddly enough, I worked the 4th one year (I'm English, what do I care? It's holiday pay!) and we got three calls in 24 hours. The ER was deserted.

Here's a tip: when the ambulance comes, please have a list of medications and medical history ready and if you treat us like crap, remember that we're the ones with the needles and you do not want a 14 gauge needle. It's okay to give us your social security number, we just need it for paperwork and records. That's it.
We know you're panicking over your loved one, but we cannot work well if you hover around and try to be 'helpful'. We need you to back off. We do this everyday, we can do our job better than you can. It's why you called us.

Oh, and we're not a taxi service. I am not going to kill my back at 23 because you're too fat to take a bus to the ER or your doctor appointment.

We're not cops either. Do not lie. We need all the details to treat you properly. If someone ODs on a street drug, you need to tell us, not pretend everything's okay so you don't get into trouble.

We eat meals when we can, so if I get a call in the middle of dinner, I'm not going to be very nice. Sorry about that. Oh, and we may laugh about you afterwards. It's a form of release though.

[mystikchick]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I will never understand why some people believe that if they treat you poorly you will JUMP to take care of them immediately. Yes siree, please treat me like crap! Let me drop everything to take care of YOU, since you are so much more important than everyone else.
I think everyone should have to work one Christmas season in retail. They would then be sooooo much nicer and more understanding. At least in theory . . .

So very, very true. I've worked at dining services at college for the last three years because it's one of the few jobs I can get on campus as a non-work study person (but that's another rant for another day). The spoilt attitude of my peers never ceases to astound me. It's made me so much more conscious of smiling and being understanding even if the cashier/sales person takes awhile to get things done or messes up, because I know how panicked you get in that situation, making a mistake and trying to fix it asap so you can get them out of there. I cringe inside when my dad (who can be truly awful to salespeople/waitstaff by being really cranky and irritable) treats service staff rudely, and I make it a point to smile and thank them profusely.

Or people should have to go deal with French waiters Either be polite or the extra bread you asked for will not appear for the next half hour (true story).