This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2008.
Clueless Shoppers
Does anyone out there realize that there is a mass of hard working people who secretly judge you on a daily basis? These people are known as retailers. Are you the person who can clearly see a top comes in black or white but asks if there is any in yell
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Shut the fuck up.
Right fucking on, OP, I can understand your angst towards people who take self-entitlement to an unreasonable level. I’ve seen it in my travels thru five plus decades and it never ceases to amaze me how fucking stupid, rude and ignorant the general public is.
Bahahaha. I especially liked the point about “do you have this out back?”. My friend works at a very trendy store off Spring Garden and has to deal constantly with people asking her if there are “other” colours out back. It’s like, yes. You’re right. There is merchandise out back that we don’t display for the simple fact that we are only willing to sell it to people who ask about and not to anyone else. Are you fucking stupid?! I mean, really?
I hate rude people and there seems to be more and more of them as christmas gets closer– sometimes I feel like asking them to lighten the fuck up. But what can you do, right? As an employee there is only so much you can do and pretty much every company’s policy is to just grin and bear it. On the other hand, I have no problem sharing my horror stories or sticking up for someone getting chewed out when I’m not on the clock.
Suck it up princesses. That’s what working retail is all about. It’s about dealing with all types of people including the assholes and bitched. While I respect your right to vent outside the workplace, maybe you should be looking for another line of work, and save the rest of us from your petty complaints.
Shut up broc.seriously: retail is one of those really hard yet underappreciated jobs, where most of the people working are doing it while they do soemthing else (school whatever). I hated doing it, mainly because you had all sorts of people who came in thinking they were better than you, and deserved undivided attention and bend-over-backwards behavior, regardless of waht they were demanding. Ask if another size is outback, sure, maybe it just hasn’t been put out. but a different colour? slightly different style? it is to laugh.and you’re right about the 10-minute-before-close people. particularly infuriating are those girls who come in, try on 1000 things, buy NOTHING, but leave the dressing room a mess, often slipping in just before closign, but staying in the store well after…..not caring apparently that I don’t get paid after my official shift is over, no matter how long it takes me to close or kick her out…grrr
For one thing I have never been rude to any retailer but maybe I should be because every time I say that I am hearing impaired and if they could please speak up instead of whispering I am either laughed at or refused service.
Nope. Not me. I go clothes shopping twice a year. I go in, get what I want, and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. I hate shopping. Not because of the staff, but because of all the obnoxious “I have to be the first one to get it” hoards of robots. When I see a customer chewing out a sales clerk or a cashier I know the clerk (associate) can’t do anything about it, so I do. I usually point out their idiocy and make them nervous enough to just want to get the hell out of the store because they’re so embarrassed. More people should do the same.
While I agree you should be polite to the retailer, I’m not sure if the whole return things is a reasonable request on the customer’s fault. That should be directed at the manager making it policy to deduct that from the salesperson. I will ask if there are any other sizes out back, but not color.
These complaints are not petty, they are insight into what people are really like now. People, almost every walk of life and definitely every age group are fucking rude, inconsiderate, and so self absorbed. I am really well on my way to Hating people (Misanthropy). A lot of people write this behavior off as normal. It may have become the norm, but it is not right.
I am not disputing any argument that says that people are rude. And hedgyhog, I know it first hand because I worked retail for 4 years. What I did do, however, was pick myself up and got a better job which suited my personality. Obviously, if these people working retail are having issues with rude customers they should do the same.
Well, all retailers can’t aspire to school or a better career, someone has to do this loathsome job at a ridiculous minimum wage. Sales clerks deserve danger pay for the abuse they take from people who are just fucking selfish and childish. This is what happened after kids stopped being afraid of their parents. We have a generation of adults who act like 10 year olds while shopping and those individuals should be escorted from the goddamn store. Plus more people should intervene when a clerk is being harrassed.
I agree with most of your bitch, except that It’s not my problem if I want to return something and it puts the store under the sales budget for the day. I understand not wanting people to do returns late in the day if it takes a while and makes you stay late, but don’t expect me to not return something I don’t want just because you don’t want to look bad.
Dear Angry RetailerI believe you have what some are calling ‘issues’ with your job. Unfortunately you’ve decided that your ‘issues’ are actually other people’s problems. While I don’t want to seem to be against or agreeing with you, I do have a suggestion. Why don’t you check out the possibility of working in an abattoir . You will have access to immediate satisfaction,Just think when any clients come before you, you can immediately kill them. It will be very bloody & you can even have fun thinking of quicker & more effective ways to kill the next one in line .The big bonus here is its perfectly legal…although it will be animals not people (oh well, you can’t have everything)Good luck in your job hunt… your obviously in the wrong job now !
I just want to make a comment about “out back”.I’ve never worked in retail, so I have no idea what happens “out back”. I do know, however, that on MANY occasions during my 15+ years as a consumer, helpful salespeople have offered to look for a size that’s not on the floor – “out back”. I think most people are under the impression that not every single item of inventory is displayed on the sales floor, that other merchandise is indeed “out back”. I was under the impression that if the store was shipped 35 pairs of size 4 jeans, they might put 10 on the rack, and keep the rest “out back”. It doesn’t make me stupid, nor does it make me some kind of asshole.Get over yourself.
What exactly is your job? To assist people or just to ring shit in?
ive been to stores many times and asked if i dont see a particular size if there may happen to be any…and on more than a few occasions the answer has been yes…there was. so fuck off with your no “out back”…maybe youre just too horrid to check. If you hate us customers so much…get a new fucking job. not like youd by leaving a huge salary behind. do you really find it that much of a big deal to keep a persons financial info confidential…doesnt say much for you if you do. while im never rude to retail workers though there have been many times where ive wanted to be…yall arent smiles and giggles. some of the rudest people ive ever met work in retail. that might be a symptom of meeting ignorant customers themselves.so please…retail workers…your job is stressful from time to time. im not diminshing the effort it takes to work in such a field. but there are so so so many really hard jobs out there, for you to complain so about yours….whiny. and OP….if you hate a good number of your patrons….two simple words….FUCKING QUIT!!!