awful Training videos

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

A job I had awhile back required us to watch this training video on the basics of customer service.

The funny thing is the video was from I think 1989 and the clothing, hairstyles and such were totally out of place. I think I spent more time laughing than learning anything. I wondered why that video was never updated, but I quickly learned a lot of companies don't change training videos very often.

My main gripes with training videos are as follows:

- Employees are unrealistically enthusiastic about their jobs
- "Customers" are always pleasant, in a good mood and understanding.
- In a lot of cases, the "scenarios" presented will in no way mirror real life situations
- Managers are always super friendly, helpful people
- In a lot of videos I've noticed the employees and customers (or rather the actors playing them) are predominantly white. I'm sure this has changed to some extent now but they still don't match the diversity of today's workplace.

So to summarize, I haven't watched many training videos I found useful or that gave me information I didn't already know.

[JLRodgers]

I was told that the training videos cost thousands. I've seen a sexual harassment video set that ran like $800-1600 ---- and it was only sexual harassment, nothing else.

[KellyHabersham]

I can relate to what you're saying about training videos.....I know the cd-roms I had to view when I started at Macy's made it sound very easy to persuade customers to sign up for the Macy's credit card, and while the training portion for running the POS systems was very helpful, it still left out alot of things.

[katie kaboom]

I know the cd-roms I had to view when I started at Macy's made it sound very easy to persuade customers to sign up for the Macy's credit card, and while the training portion for running the POS systems was very helpful, it still left out alot of things.

It may be helpful but damn is it tedious. I recently started working for Macy's again as an on-call associate and i had to go through the POS training again and even when you know what you're doing it wears you out mentally.

The credit card training is bullshit. It is not anywhere near as easy as they make it look, nor are people ever that polite when you keep pushing them to open an account they do no want. And they are not as easily persuaded to open an account as that training video would like you to think

[Lace Neil Singer]

The ones at my workplace are comical at best, supremely unhelpful at worst. -.- Especially the fire one, which shows all the customers obediently walking out the store in an orderly fashion like a flock of sheep... argh! So not true!

[tropicsgoddess]

When I first worked for the dealershit, the company video they had looked like something from 1995 and when the CEO talked about the company's sexual harassment policies, he sounded and looked like he was reading straight from a prompter. Besides the fact that more than half of the company videos are cheesy, they are also boring as hell.

[Kiwi]

The worst one I have ever had to watch is a David Carr (HACK) video....

I want the two hours of my life back

picture a short, tubby, man who thinks he is REALLY funny, talking non stop for two hours. His lecture filled with personal stories while he rambles on about how he managed to sell a woman an outfit then did an add on belt that cost as much as the outfit itself

the audience sits in stunned *please kill me* silence, their expressions of bloody murder are the only funny thing

the most ironic part is that he talks about how employers should pay more the minumum wage to get the most out of the employees.... how much was I earning at the time... minimum wage.

[BarbieGirl]

My favorite training video was from the movie theater.
customer buys nacho chips with cheese, and starts to walk off.
employee says 'Hey thats NACHO Cheese'
Customer 'Why yes it is I just paid for it.'
Cue canned laughter.

after watching the Lowes training videos I wanted to kill myself. It was like a weeks worth of stupidity, all for just a cashiering Job.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The best training video at work I can remember was one about having fun at work, or at least a reasonable semblance of it.

It was shot at one of our stores in Nebraska, I think, and it featured various store employees with creepy Enzyte Bob smiles plastered on their faces, and dancing the Hokey Pokey with hand trucks used for carryouts, among other things.

Either those employees enjoyed their jobs a little too much, or they were totally faking it.

Nowadays we don't use training videos. We have training programs on CD-ROMs or something and you view them on a computer, so the laughably bad acting and shoestring production values are pretty much lost.

BTW, this is the most laughably cheese-tastic training video I've ever seen. Thankfully it is not from my store or even my company. But I must warn you, please do not eat or drink while viewing it, because when "Raven" starts to sing, you WILL lose your self-control.

So don't say I didn't warn you.

[blas]

The training video at the grocery store on "how to bag" was very cheaply made and the acting was horrific.

The shoplifting prevention video at the Deb Shop featured a middle aged woman stealing a too small halter top and bawling her eyes out in front of the manager. She didn't try to run away or do anything realistic like most shoplifters. The video SHOULD have featured a bunch of teens with big paper Hollister bags stealing $1 underwear.

The sexual harrassment video at orientation at the factory was made in the 80s, probably before I was born. Big shoulder pads, lots of pantyhose, big sideburns, and lots of low cut men's shirts.

[Bagboy]

Where do I start?

When I had the grocery job, we had to watch the WORST videos ever. They were from 1980, so you know its bad.

The Sexual harrassment Video: Since when do people still wolf whistle?
Ladders: yeah, making fake hurt noises makes you look corny.
Xsorb: more like an infomercial.
The company video: The manager of the store looked like he was crapping in his pants, and loving it. The courtesy Clerk looked a little too enthusiastic about his job.

[Maximillion]

Mine were already programmed into the computer but were probably made back in the 90's because the employees were wearing polo shirts still and we're now wearing button down shirts or promotional t-shirts. They were like crappy video tapes where you only saw multiple shots of a person's face while they were talking instead of normal motion picture or something. And they used this crappy Emeril wannabe for the hoagie training thing...I kept falling asleep during my first two days of work.

[daleduke17]

When I first worked for the dealershit, the company video they had looked like something from 1995 and when the CEO talked about the company's sexual harassment policies, he sounded and looked like he was reading straight from a prompter. Besides the fact that more than half of the company videos are cheesy, they are also boring as hell.

Was it this one by chance? :-p

SNL is great.

[simplyanother]

My favorite at the craft store was the "Be Our Guest" video. I don't remember much, except, singing.

[bainsidhe]

We had a training video for what I think was virgin mobile phones. It had cheese, insincere smiles and....lots of black leather. That's right, it was trying so hard to be hip and had black leather-clad women talking in a super sultry voices. As hard as I was laughing, that was still the best training video I ever saw