Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Tales of the retail warsBy LINDSAY BIANCHI Over the past 35 years, Ive experienced the counter-culture from both sides, as a customer and as a cashier. Its a situation that can be touch and go from either perspective. The customer may always be right, but it still doesnt detract from the fact that he or she can be a big, fat jerk. Yes, Ive had my share of run-ins trying to please Joe Public, but I have also been the victim of rude and surly employees out to ruin my day. Your viewpoint is largely determined by your vantage point. Let me illustrate. Recently I stopped into a local grocery store for a pizza or something and was waited on by a young girl more interested in the giant wad of gum she was chewing than attending to her job. Sure, she rang up my few items without much of a problem, but she did not once make eye contact with me, did not say, Hello, or, Hi, or even, Go away. Basically she made me feel like I was not worthy to be in the store. Maybe Im just getting old, but when I waited on customers, no matter how poorly dressed or badly behaved they were, I smiled and was pleasant. The idea was to get repeat business. I dont blame the inept cashier as much as the management. You see, the parents should be responsible when the kids misbehave. This isnt the first time the employees of this store have demonstrated their lack of manners. On another occasion, I was waited on as the bagger and cashier gabbed openly about their love lives. I was glad they were dating, but again, I was generally ignored. I should have just walked out. Ive had slack service in drive-throughs as well. I know its not the best job in the world, but if you applied for it and accepted the position, dont take it out on the general public. Again, I was thrust my purchase without much ado. I turned to the young girl once and said, Smile. I think I shocked her into recognition. She perked up mostly because I think she suspected me of being a secret shopper. This is what it has come to, hiring people to shop so we can keep employees on their toes. The other side of the equation has its own arguments. The pay is not that great for work much more strenuous emotionally and physically than higher paying positions. Management often takes advantage of the situation by hiding out in the office. Shoppers can be very demanding and unbending as they make their way towards the checkout line. At the end of the day, you usually feel like quitting. Its a tough way to make a living, thats true. People tend to assume if you are working a cash register, you must have some sort of defect in your personality or no other abilities. They forget how many college grads out there and other schooled individuals have yet to find their niche. There are only so many primo positions in the world and somebody has to give change back to the customer. Cashiers always appreciate a kindly customer and shoppers always feel better after being waited on by a smiling face. Unfortunately, in this difficult age that we live in, too many incidental factors can come between work and home. Leaving your problems at home is very good advice. Still, if you are to the point where they follow you to work like a rabid puppy, its time to find a new path. I finally reached my zenith of tolerance after mumbling something unkind under my breath at a customer who felt it necessary to comment on my service to a friend on her cellphone. Maybe it was that the man I had waited on before her had also talked on his cell throughout the transaction. Maybe the general rudeness had gotten to be too much for me. All I know is that I was very good at my job and one tense moment ended my stint in the cutthroat world of retail. Theres not much you can do about rude customers except consider it a rite of passage. Its something you can share with fellow employees after the day is over. We used to pass off such troublesome customers to each other like a gasoline covered basketball. Just get through it seems to be the work-a-day world mantra. That goes for both sides of the counter. |
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