Customer Service

Good Guru, I misread you post not gonna go back to prove anything I just thought it said she got it, glad I was wrong

the rest of you
you're right I am the worst assistant manager there ever was and my customer service skills shouldn't be forced on prisoners at gitmo
I should be grateful that I am allowed to shop indoors with the attitude I have
thanks I will strive for improvement

 

It has been brought to my attention that i have gone too far in my discussion here and I have need to appologize to one (perhaps more) of the community. In what I thought was acceptable casual conversation I sad to some one 'fuck you' this I have since learned,is not acceptable and for this failing I ask your forgivness and humbly offer my appology

Jazz
I'm sorry

 

'I'm te one who has to tell you not to bring your little rat dog into the store​

difference is that I am old school​

I'm not going to tell you that if I let you bring in your little precious that I have no argument when Bob wants to bring in his great dane I'm going to tell you to get that little fucker out of here' ​

I suspect you dont work and good old Marks and Sparks. Old dogs last Christmas I telephoned them, and although they have a no dogs policy, they were kind enough to allow the old girl in either in my arms or in her pushchair - not a food store - I wouldnt have asked if they were. She didnt shed, she was just a little old naked lady with failing heart, liver and kidneys. Isnt it the worst, not being there for them that instant they kick the bucket. They were very understanding. (Borla - so long as he acts like an ambassadore for his species., if yours ends up in a chair, it does get the sympathy vote, and it doesnt hurt to ask.)
Its sad if you feel faceless. I know a couple of the ladies on checkout supervisory roles at a local supermarket. I know one was heartbroken when she lost her red setter, and another volunteered for a local dog rescue for some years. If theres dog stuff in the news, or on the grapevine, we do pass the time of day. I hope they dont secretly feel the way you do op. I would hate to think they groan silently at the sight of me.

 

I do sell food most it packaged so it is probably safe to have an animal in the store and your animal is contained and as such probably pose no threatc to my product or customer. You and your animal are not the problem, if you call me and for what ever reason want/need to be at your dogs side I will find a way to accomidate you, perhaps we find a place in the store where you and your dog can be and not be upsetting to other customers. Maybe you can stay in the car with him or her while I or someone I assign shops for you. But as long as you recognize and can adhere to policy I will probably bend that policy to serve you, not because you will be spending money with me instead of my compitition, but because you asked.
The one who gets the "treatment" is the one who saunters into the store with their dog tucked under their arm or even on a leash and makes the assumption that I should violate company policy, I should violate the law by allowing it, that my customers should have to put up with it because FiFi is special. We all should be patting the dog on the head and feeding him treats and making him feel welcome because you are going to spend a huge amount of money or only going to be ten minutes.

What about that customer that's allergic, doesn't like dogs, the one poised to call the town because we have an animal in the store at all. What about the fact that it set a president that we allow dogs?

Here comes Borla with his dog, what can I tell him his baby might be better behaved that your's
--- merged: Aug 16, 2011 at 12:14 PM ---
by the way I like dogs

 

I never got the "let's share work horror stories" angle. That's a whole different animal and could be both entertaining and cathartic. We should try that some time.

I did, however, read a lot of unflattering comments about customers in general, and about how satisfying it feels to treat them like shit... or so it seemed to me. Now that I understand that only 5% of the customer base is being ridiculed and abused, I'd still fire you. My employees do not have the latitude to be rude, or even merely impolite, to our customers or anyone else, short of physically defending themselves from attack. That extends to my delivery crew's road manners, the stock room crew's treatment of deliverymen, and both the wholesale and retail sides of our sales floor.

The customer is writing your paycheck. The HR department just handles the distribution. So, when a customer pisses you off, or frustrates you, or seems to waste your time, you suck it up and move on. If you feel yourself losing it, kick it up the ladder and excuse yourself. Take a break and smile at the next customer.

 

Issssm,
I understood the aim of your OP to be a bit of a “let’s rant about the nature of retail.”
I also see how it became sidetracked, kinda jumping from one idea to the next.
Their customers-my customers-customers in general, got tossed in the mix.

Perhaps I picked up on that because I’m not the most effective communicator at times either, I dunno. Maybe it’s because I recognize the scattered brain thoughts that need to slow down a bit.
I’m writing this in a word doc. because it takes me awhile to clearly convey my intended meaning.
Sometimes when I have to slow down like this,
I’m afraid the original idea will be lost….okay, give me a sec to reference my two-word notes here on the back of an envelope.

Retail. Years ago I worked in retail when it wasn’t considered a job for ‘losers.’
Back then I was a member of the Retail Clerks Union - San Francisco.

The last retail job I had was selling custom-window-coverings.
I was also the manager of the home-furnishings dept. in the same major department store chain.
I had to kick & scream to get paid more than 75 cents over minimum wage.
(A mid-west city – population 15,000 type of wage)

Yay, capitalism.
See, I think this thread could do well in the politics/economics/ philosophy-forum, also.
But I digress. ;-)
Let me check my notes….

Perhaps all this miscommunication is Mercury's fault. I hear it's all retrograde & shit, right?
--- merged: Aug 16, 2011 at 6:34 PM ---
When I took the time to listen,
I found that the most difficult customers, turned out to be the loneliest most dis-empowered people.

 

I have never thought it was acceptable to say "fuck you" in casual conversation. I save that phrase for arguments.

 

"This is my service animal"
Think fast.

 

You don't like? That doctor's customer is happy. Happy customers are the goal, yes?

 

So it's more of a "I resent these people who found a way to get a dog in the building via a legal but kinda sneaky insincere way?"
I can understand why pet owners would be tempted to try this avenue.
Pet-friendly housing has become scarcer & scarcer. Big cities, small towns, ....

What's your opinion about 'dogs for emotional distress?' Do you consider them a valid service animal?

I'm thinking about how to turn this thread back towards the customer service retail arena...

 

Here's the deal. Even the 5% who are problem customers need to be handled properly. How you feel about them is inconsequential. They may be Wrong. They may be rude. They may be self-important. They might also just be having a shitty day and aren't realizing they are acting the way they are.

It doesn't matter.

The difference between good and great customer service is the ability to deal with these sorts of people. It doesn't mean that you are going to give them what they want. In BG's example the customer didn't get what she wanted. It was illegal. In other cases, it's really just a matter of keeping your cool and helping the customer understand the store's position as best as possible. Communication and service with a smile.

Some people can't be helped but how you communicate to them that you can't help them, makes all the difference.

 

I'm sorry
I am really sorry
I have in the way I know, tried and tried to to explain that this whole thing was started as a light hearted farce
I have back tracked and given a well deserved and sincere apploogy
I've repeated again and again that i love my job, my environment, etc
this has not been a rant
While I may disagree about the agression perseived in the initial post and in apparent following posts, i have conceeded it may have been my communication style that gave you reason to think something other than what I offered

people, i don't want to fight
some of you have began to understand that, and I am grateful and appreciative
some of you haven't, and I am dissappointed and tired
for those of you who offer advise on how to do the job I've been doing for 30+ years, thank you for introducing me to ideas like tact, patcience, and the finer points of holding my tounge. I am grateful and will endeavor to employ the lessons you've given me

as for this thread, I give up
I wanna say I won't post here again, but I know me well enough that I know that's not true. I'll try but somebody is gonna say something that's gonna put my nipples in a vise and twist.....and twist..............and twist

I'll look at it now and again, I won't be able to help myself
In the meantime, Issmmm is the wad who hates people/customers

here's a laugh for some of you........I got a trophy for being a contributing member during the 'debate' in these two threads

go TFP

 

ring - yes, because emotional stress can actualy be a killer. Crippling and debilitating. I used to take my dog into the office working evenings - I think it should be a case of 'unless it causes a problem'.
Issmmm - If Borla walks into your shop - you please tell him he must tuck his dog under his arm like fifi - then we can all watch it on one of those video clip shows - think it may be fun to watch. His dog also causes flooding you know - does it oraly. Just put my hand in massive spit because someone big wanted to get up on my bed this morning and be a lap dog. No it wasnt the vicar, it was the dog.
Now uncontrolled children in shops - thats very irritating.
If I want to buy cheese from a small deli - I call excuse me from the door, and they serve me in the doorway - a compromise when I have my mate with me.
Issmmm - I sometimes used to smile nicely and say 'what can I get you curr?' Do your rude pushy customers not respond to a smile and a 'I will be with you as soon as I have finished helping this lady'.?
Its true customers can be very rude, and so can some staff.
Now Issmmm - do you have a funny or touching tale to tell of your experiences at work? I would find small obnoxious brats being buried under a display of beans and crushed to death to be quite funny myself.
Cynthetiq - I can understand someone otherwise homeless might lie about having no pets, but I suspect they would be in the minority, and mostly these liars who merrily endanger the lives of their four legged friends could have other options than fibbing to con people into giving them what they want. Sure most of us have seen the extremely different ways in which people treat animals and other humans.

 

Given all that's been said here, I found this article by the GQ restaurant critic rather appropriate. In it he talks about a number of things, not the least of which is the lamentable decline in customer service in many of today's restaurants.

http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-...lls-restaurant-scandal-review?currentPage=all