Red Shirt Lesson

[South Texan]

A little background: yesterday, May 27th, is what is known in the Christian church as Pentecost Sunday. The story itself is found in the second chapter of the book of Acts in the Bible. For most Christians, that particular Sunday is observed and celebrated as the birthday of the church. Since the story features the imagery of fire, the traditional color to wear to services on that Sunday is red.

I wore a red dress shirt and a tan suit to services that morning. Before I got in the car after services, I took off my suit coat and tie. On the way home, I had to get dish washer soap, so I stopped at the first store I came to. It happens to use a big bull’s eye for its logo.

As I walked through the parking lot to the store, a man who had just finished loading his car’s trunk pushed a shopping cart at me with, “Here. Take this back.” I said I did not need one. He told me I was lazy. I was thinking the same about him.

I no sooner had walked past the dollar bins at the front of the store when I was stopped by a woman wanting to know where the garden section was. I said I did not know, then realized what I was wearing and what it was causing people to assume about me, so I clarified that I did not work there. She did not look pleased but accepted what I said and walked away. I remembered an old thread on this board about someone who had had this very thing happen to him, and I started chuckling to myself that I was living out one of the stories.

Three more people stopped me before I got through the register and back out the door. One asked me if I really was allowed to shop while on duty.

I am glad I only wear that shirt one day out of the year.

[PepperElf]

heh. happened to me once when i wore a dark orange shirt. although in my case the customer was apologetic and somewhat embarrassed. she wasn't rude at least, unlike some of the people you ran into.

[NoMoreRetail]

You were probably the best dressed fake employee there!

[Freak]

Um, don't employees also have to wear name badges or lanyards or something? So wouldn't it be obvious on closer examination that you were not an employee? I can understand making the initial mistake, but it should be obvious that it is a mistake once you're actually having a semi-conversation with them.

Heck, my Sunday shifts often finish before the store closes, and I use the remaining time to do a bit of shopping. I take off my name badge and lanyard before doing this, and it is very rare that a customer even asks for my help in such a situation.

[Mytical]

Yes Freak, it SHOULD be obvious, but it isn't to SC's.

Wearing street clothes (we are talking tan t-shirt, blue jeans) I was mistaken for a walmart door greeter not to long ago. No vest, my shirt was way too big on me (I have lost a lot of weight and it is hard to keep up with clothing..but at least my pants fit lol), and certainly no name tag. If somebody can mistake somebody in street clothing for an employee..then they can refuse to think that somebody who is dressed even vaguely resembling a possible employee is not one.

[Lovecats]

I work at the bullseye and have been stopped while shopping AFTER WORK with no nametag on. Although one lady did stop herself and say, oh, you have your purse on your shoulder and are shopping, and then appologized. But she was the only one.

[dalesys]

Learned nothing Star Trek from, you did?

[Lovecats]

Learned nothing Star Trek from, you did?

The longer I work at the Bullseye the more true that statement is

[Dreamstalker]

This is why I never ever wear yellow outside of work (our store shirts are a bizarre dark yellow color). That doesn't seem to stop some SCs...just because I work there, even if I'm off the clock I must be thrilled to help them.

My manager was nearby once when an SC decided to complain about me not wanting to help when I wasn't working; I think SC wanted MOD to force me to clock back in and help them, MOD said that he couldn't do that.

Then SC wanted me 'disciplined', upon which SM happened by and said no way. That was fun to watch (there was nobody higher that SC could complain to). I never found out if they tried to complain to Corp, but I'm sure that if they did SM explained exactly what happened.

[Gizmo]

I work at the bullseye and have been stopped while shopping AFTER WORK with no nametag on. Although one lady did stop herself and say, oh, you have your purse on your shoulder and are shopping, and then appologized. But she was the only one.

One of the ladies at our local supermarket had this the other day. She was in uniform but has taken off her name badge and had a full trolley and a handbag & coat so it was obvious she wasn't on duty.

She was asked about a product/section and took him there and turned round and said "oh, yes that was what I was looking for... damn, which one do I usually get". She looked so stressed I instantly quipped "Don't tell me, you choose to rearrange them and now can't remember where yours is! "

I then cringed realising how bad it could be taken but luckily she took it well and we had a short chat about people blaming employees personally for stuff and also being asked numerous questions when obviously doing their own shopping off duty. She also remembered which flavour she needed to.

[raudf]

Back when the Mall-Wart had the vest and smocks, break time would find mine vanishing in a poof of "I'm off the clock and no longer caring." Didn't get too many issues then, usually just pointing people in the direction of the various departments.

It was when I turned in that self-same smock that I kept getting asked about things even though I was in my regular street clothes and not even at the store I once worked at! And I had a baby in the buggy! Baffling, to say the least. I think SCs could scent the odor of sleep deprivation and defeat... and for them that meant I MUST work there.

[DeltaSierra]

It was when I turned in that self-same smock that I kept getting asked about things even though I was in my regular street clothes and not even at the store I once worked at! And I had a baby in the buggy! Baffling, to say the least. I think SCs could scent the odor of sleep deprivation and defeat... and for them that meant I MUST work there.

This happened often when I worked at Crappy Tire - I'd be there on a day off, wearing regular street clothes, but customers who knew that I worked there would see me and start asking me to mix paint for them and whatnot and get upset when I told them I wasn't working that day. Some would even ask managers to "make me" help them, or tell me that they were going to complain about my lack of assistance. HELLO - I'm off the clock!!! This happened for several months after I quit working there too, and was just there to do my own shopping.

[Merriweather]

Learned nothing Star Trek from, you did?

Almost got iced tea on my monitor on that one.

Some would even ask managers to "make me" help them, or tell me that they were going to complain about my lack of assistance. HELLO - I'm off the clock!!!

Yep, retail worker = slave labour to the SC's.

I'm waiting to hear a story of someone being woken up in the middle of the night by a neighbor, demanding they go open up the store they work at so they can shop. "But the customer is always right, and you work there, so you have to do this"

[MoonCat]

The only time I was ever mistaken for a store employee was many, many...ahem, well a long time ago, when I was in my teens and happened to be shopping at a little neighborhood store. Some lady stopped me to ask "where are your bedroom slippers?" I was wearing a coat and looking at some merchandise I was considering buying....no idea why she thought I worked there, I wasn't even old enough to hold a job yet. I should have just made a smart-ass comment like, "They're at home in my bedroom!" but I just mumbled "I don't work here" and went back to what I was doing.

[fireheart]

I used to work for a supermarket that had shirts of a specific colour.

I wound up going into their sister "company" one day (the department store) to get some things. Now the employees in THAT store wear blue striped shirts. This is important.

Five minutes in, while browsing the clothing, I get asked "do you work here".