I spent the majority of my working life in retail and service industry jobs: I cashiered and threw freight for 2 major grocery chains; I've worked at a movie theater, retail in the mall, and a gourmet popcorn store; I've worked at a gas station, a fast food restaurant, and as a parking lot toll booth attendant. I have a lot of customer service experience under my belt and quite frankly, kicked major ass at it. I moved up or was given extra responsibilities in every position that I stuck around longer than a few months, management always loved me because I have a strong work ethic and got things done. That said, I really lost my rose colored glasses during my stint in retail and learned to dislike a great many people along the way. I am so very, very thankful that I no longer work in customer service.
When I was working for one of the grocery chains, I moved up from general merchandise clerk to nutritional foods manager. The company I worked for would advertise having a knowledgeable nutrition expert on staff, meaning me. Pfffft. I never received one iota of training. I would tell people they needed to speak to their doctor, pharmacist, or a real nutritionist when they would ask me questions - I wasn't going to pretend to know something about something I really didn't, I couldn't tell them anything other than what was printed on the packaging. I was paid to put the shit on the shelf. I think a lot of that goes on in retail - people expect expertise from someone who is paid jack and always has too much to do with not enough time to do it in.
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Originally Posted by Wes Mantooth
I've learned that I'm really nobody special in the grand scheme of the retail world and the person I'm dealing with has already dealt with a hundred people just like me and probably has little to no interest in who I am or what I need. Why would they? Ringing up another sale means nothing, you still get paid the same. As long as the person is at least polite and takes the time to help me out with reasonable questions or requests I don't really care what they do or how they act.
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This pretty much sums up my expectations of retail and service industry. When you threaten to take your business elsewhere, the clerk you're speaking with truly doesn't give a shit. Chances are, their supervisor doesn't either unless that person owns the business. Rude, demanding, obnoxious, stinky, drunk, self-absorbed people outnumber the few patrons who make it worth your while to go the extra mile.