I Work(ed) in Retail, and Now I Understand...

[ThetaPrincess24]

I never leave clothes I try on and dont like in the dressing rooms. It annoyed me to no end when I worked at Express and would have to put back armloads of clothes.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

I never leave clothes I try on and dont like in the dressing rooms. It annoyed me to no end when I worked at Express and would have to put back armloads of clothes.

Same here. And when I take a shirt or jeans out of a stack I refold them and put them back again. Even before I worked in a clothing store my mom told me stories about working in a shoe department and how many people would leave things out, move things, etc. She always made a point when I was little to put the clothes she tried on back or on the rack by the dressing rooms and would make me help, so it's been drilled into me.

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

It's rude.

At BBV specifically, we had to scan the card and go over anything that's happening on the account. If I'm trying to tell you "you have a movie that's due on Thurday" and you're hushing me, that's a problem.

Also, if you're engaged in your conversation, there's a higher chance that 1) you're going to be slower and 2) there's going to be a mistake made/the perception of a mistake [ex. "OMG I GAVE YOU A $20! WHERE'S THE REST OF MY CHANGE?!" when the person handed over a $10].

It doesn't bother me if the person can put the call on hold for a second. There are the people that will say, "Hold on a sec" to the person on the phone when they get to the counter, finish the sale, then talk again. No problem. But I totally understand about people having full on conversations when you're trying to check them out.

I worked in a clothing store that sold girls' clothing. Their training video was 90% about shoplifting, mostly in really odd ways. We were required to wear clothing without any visible label or logo as we couldn't fit into little girls' clothing...but we had to look nice, too. This was when a lot of my clothes were left over from high school and I didn't have any polos or button downs without a label of some kind. It was such a pain. They would also put you on call constantly. I had to get up at 6, get dressed, then call in at 8 and get there in 30 minutes which was hard to do. And then they'd call me. I told them the day I was hired that I had told my second job I would work nights and I always needed to be out of the store by 4 so I could get the in time. I also made it clear I couldn't be scheduled from 4 on since I would be working somewhere else. They called me almost every day wanting me to come in, and would seem all put on when I repeated, every single time, that I had told the manager on day 1 that I could not work after 4pm. It wasn't the manager's fault...she had told me it was no problem, and told the assistant manager who was making out the schedules, but THAT girl obviously never ever listened.

The worst customers were the ones that think their children are so adorable that everyone will be delighted when they pull clothing off of racks, run around in circles screaming, or in a couple of cases, start loading the little gimmicks by the cash register into their pockets. Also the harpies with 3 inch talons and gigantic hair that would come in on tax free days. The STATE had a tax free shopping day before school started that year, but of course there were still city and county taxes. They would argue me down and some would scream at me, which would always result in my bringing the manager in to further attempt to convince these jello for brains that we weren't trying to cheat them. And these were always the women dripping in Yurman wearing actual designer brands, screeching their Hummers out of the parking lot.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

It doesn't bother me if the person can put the call on hold for a second. There are the people that will say, "Hold on a sec" to the person on the phone when they get to the counter, finish the sale, then talk again. No problem. But I totally understand about people having full on conversations when you're trying to check them out.

That didn't bother me as much, either. As long as I could say what I needed to say, I was good. I worked at a location in an upper-middle class suburb, though, so the customers rarely did this.

I haven't had any conversation that was SO important that it HAD to continue while I was checking out of a store. If I get a call while in the store, I will stay out of the line while I'm talking. If I get a call at the register, it'll wait until I get outside. If there are life and death situations going that require me to be glued to my phone, then Blockbuster is probably low on my list of priorities.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

That didn't bother me as much, either. As long as I could say what I needed to say, I was good. I worked at a location in an upper-middle class suburb, though, so the customers rarely did this.

I haven't had any conversation that was SO important that it HAD to continue while I was checking out of a store. If I get a call while in the store, I will stay out of the line while I'm talking. If I get a call at the register, it'll wait until I get outside. If there are life and death situations going that require me to be glued to my phone, then Blockbuster is probably low on my list of priorities.

As someone who talks on the phone a lot, it is not that the phone conversation is SO important, it's that the transaction is not. There's not really a reason why I couldn't stop talking, and usually I do, but I don't always.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

As someone who talks on the phone a lot, it is not that the phone conversation is SO important, it's that the transaction is not. There's not really a reason why I couldn't stop talking, and usually I do, but I don't always.

I also use my phone quite a bit, but again, it comes off as rude IMO if you can't spare a minute or two to acknowledge the person who is assisting you.

And, like I said before, a lot of the people who were "OMG I MUST FINISH THIS CONVO" were slower and thought there were problems with the transactions. Those things could have been eliminated with a simple "Hey, I'm checking out. Let me call you right back."

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I also use my phone quite a bit, but again, it comes off as rude IMO if you can't spare a minute or two to acknowledge the person who is assisting you.

And, like I said before, a lot of the people who were "OMG I MUST FINISH THIS CONVO" were slower and thought there were problems with the transactions. Those things could have been eliminated with a simple "Hey, I'm checking out. Let me call you right back."

I acknowledge and say hi, but if i'm not in the mood for a conversation with the cashier, and more interested in continuing to talk on the phone, then I'm not going to feel compelled to stop.

Usually I just toss the phone, still on, in my pocket anyway so it's not like I'm even hanging up. I'm a multitasker and it works for me. I'm never rude unless simply being on the phone is rude, in which case people can deal with it.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I also use my phone quite a bit, but again, it comes off as rude IMO if you can't spare a minute or two to acknowledge the person who is assisting you.

And, like I said before, a lot of the people who were "OMG I MUST FINISH THIS CONVO" were slower and thought there were problems with the transactions. Those things could have been eliminated with a simple "Hey, I'm checking out. Let me call you right back."

I agree with you. But then I was raised to acknowledge people. I hate it when people do things like stay on the phone or continue a conversation when the waiter/sales clerk is trying to get an order or check them out. It's basically saying "You are beneath me and I therefore do not have to acknowledge you". Definitely rude. And they do always seem to be the most confused at check out, simply because they aren't listening.

I had one lady tell me to stfu because I asked her whether her card was credit or debit (if we didn't key it in first they had to and the machine would freeze) because she was having a super important conversation on her cell phone about her hair dresser. I would've agreed with her as her horrible skunky streaks were tacky, but I'm willing to bet that wasn't the hairdresser's fault.

Re the "They probably never finished high school" attitude...I filled in for a friend recently at a mom and pop I used to work at and had some asshole pull that on me because I was trying to help him by looking online to locate an item I knew the store didn't carry and wouldn't but would be willing to order. I suppose myself and the internet weren't on his schedule for the day, so he demanded to know if I even finished high school. I informed him that yes, I did in 2005 and now have a bachelors degree and am working on my second. He just grumbled, but the store owner, who apparently went to high school with this dude, told me later THAT guy barely finished high school and only lasted a semester into college before flunking out. What a douche.

[christiangirl]

When in a book shop, particularly B&N.....

*I always put the book back in the right spot and, if I don't know where that is, I drop it off at the Info desk.
*If they say "We have one left" I understand there really aren't any because that "one" in the system is the one no one can find.
*I know to put back what I don't want BEFORE I get to the counter and to never take back a book with bent/dirty pages.
*I know to never leave my trash or empty cup on a random bookshelf (I can't BELIEVE how many Starbucks cups get left in random places).
*And most importantly, if I ever need a book, I never come with less than the full title and details of the cover art. Because I have had my fair share of "I don't know the title or the author but I know the cover is blue" or "It's a series about horses.....I think."

BTW they were "Something Blue" by Emily Griffin and the "Heartland" series. I was just that awesome.

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

*And most importantly, if I ever need a book, I never come with less than the full title and details of the cover art. Because I have had my fair share of "I don't know the title or the author but I know the cover is blue" or "It's a series about horses.....I think."

Lol! This is the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread! I've heard that SO many time! "It's something about a cat, and the cover is orange." Umm....

[pearlbubbles]

On the other side of the spectrum on being talked down to, in my experience co-workers are just as bad as customers.

I was hired on-call for Macy's back in September and on my first day in the Home section for the holiday season, a "senior" employee tried to show me how to ring up a transaction. Overlooking that I had been working in the store since September, there's an extensive training when you're first hired with a register in training mode before you ever get on the floor. She also consistently makes a point to rub my "lack of college education" in my face, when I have made my alma mater no secret (especially on black friday with the football game later that day).

I never mind if people don't put things back themselves, I generally don't mind doing it, but I always appreciated it when customers would take the time to rebutton a shirt and put clothing back on the hanger. If the items are already prepped after they're tried on, it makes it that much easier to get them back on the floor.

I actually really do like working retail for extra money because I love starting conversations with people. I love repeat customers because they always tell me about their day or how their kids are doing or whatever. That's probably the best thing I've learned about retail: a little kindness will go a long way. I had a couple repeat customers come in today and one woman even brought in her husband to meet me. It was so sweet.

I do have plenty of horror stories, but I thought I would share a more humorous one from my college retail job.

During college, I used to work at Charlotte Russe and I was on the register one day. I was doing my usual attempt at trying to start some sort of conversation while ringing out because engaged customers are happier customers in my experience (also because I just like talking to people). While I was ringing out one customer, she pulls out an entire stack of one dollar bills to pay for her purchase (which was over $40).

"Oh, do you work in one of the restaurants in The Village?" The mall I was at had one of those outdoor attachments with all the specialty shops and nice restaurants.

She sneers at me and says "I wouldn't degrade myself by working food service."

So I just kind of shrug it off and compliment the shirt she's buying.

But my customer continued the conversation and said "I probably make way more money than any of those waitresses anyway. My tips are really good and repeat customers will drop hundreds of dollars on me."

At this point, I was trying my hardest to change the subject because I honestly had no idea what to say in response (if anyone has any ideas in hindsight, I would love to hear them). I think I fumbled with "A hundred dollars in one sitting sounds great" or something of that nature.

She smiled and told me "It's because the dancing keeps me fit. Not like being around food all day. Thanks for the shirt."

I was at a loss for any sort of response, but at least she left happy and gave me a thank you.

Meanwhile, my manager had been standing near by during the conversation and after the customer left, she started laughing hysterically.

[IrishLake]

Originally Posted by pearlbubbles

She smiled and told me "It's because the dancing keeps me fit. Not like being around food all day. Thanks for the shirt."

LMAO! See, now I know quite a few.... um, thicker strippers. Not sure if their tips are the same as someone who's "fit" or not. I went and visited my brother yesterday, and he had a stack of 1's on his dresser. I said "Oh are you going to the strip club later, or did you get another side job you won't admit to? Let me know when you dance and I'll send all my friends to watch, you know they tip well." I'm a fun sister like that.

(The 1's were really tips from a valet job he did the night before.)