Quit Whining For Gods Sake

[Chained to the counter]

Hubby and i went to Target today because they had a huge toy sale and no deposit lay-by until xmas eve so we went to get xmas presents and also to buy birthday presents for two of my kids.

As can be expected there was massive crowds and thats ok, i expected that, when we went to lay-by the items the line up was nearly out the door but was moving fairly quickly, it took about half an hour to get to the front of the line, i was happy to wait, but the amount of bitching from customers was phenominal.

"The line is sooooo long"
"They need more goddam staff"
"Where's the manager!"

There were people lay-buying trolly loads of toys and the staff were doing the best they could, i even had customers bitching to me as if i could do something about it, i don't even work there, i must have the retail look

If you don't want to wait in line like everyone else don't do your shopping on the first day of a sale, the sale goes all week, there are other days to shop.

One woman was giving this poor employee such a hard time i could see she was nearly in tears, i was standing behind her and said " Will you just shut up, the poor girl has probably heard this from alot of people today, do you really think yelling at her is going to help?"

Woman shut up real quick after that.

[queenbb]

it never ceases to amaze me how many people expect instant service.

as if the others in line with them do not matter, as well as the people who are there to help them, even if there are quite a few.

i have to have people wait for me all the time, ill get these long lines of people and i try to delegate the line a bit in to who can i get out the door quicker (people picking up vehicles and people who are dropping off)

when im alone at night this is hard at times, i do my best to appologize and let them know that i am by my self and i need to serve every one, answer the phone and look for parts at the same time. most of them are understanding even if they are frusterated and i am always told that im a wonderful customer service person for my attention to the customers.

and then there are those who expect instant work to be completed. a few people balk at me when i tell them that due to the fact that we have only 1-2 people working in the back shop for their particular service (always brakes and shocks ect) that the time will be all day long to wait and that i would be happier to take a reservation for a day that they can come in and wait or have some one drop them off cause until i get more techs that the wait will always be all day. but im sure you can just slap some pads on my car in 30 mins or less im going some where else.

i had one couple that was shop hopping for a quickie brake job the other day i told them they were more than welcome to keep looking but no shop will do a brake job in under an hour, because due to liablilty the whole brake system needs to be evaulated and that alone takes an hour in most places. they just grumbled at me and walked out.

[cinema guy]

One woman was giving this poor employee such a hard time i could see she was nearly in tears, i was standing behind her and said " Will you just shut up, the poor girl has probably heard this from alot of people today, do you really think yelling at her is going to help?"

Woman shut up real quick after that.

Well done for standing up for her.

[Shabo]

as if the others in line with them do not matter, as well as the people who are there to help them, even if there are quite a few.

I'm reminded of a Barenaked Ladies song, Some Fantastic, where he talks about building a machine that eliminates the people waiting in line in front of him.

[Kogarashi]

There were people lay-buying trolly loads of toys and the staff were doing the best they could, i even had customers bitching to me as if i could do something about it, i don't even work there, i must have the retail look

I've found that some customers just like to complain to other customers in the hopes that the other customer will commiserate. It's nice to take the wind out of their sails when they try to commiserate with me on something trivial and stupid, like "they should have more staff" when every register is already manned. I just point out why their statement is wrong and comment that I don't mind the wait. Cheeses them off, but what can they gripe about other than I won't agree with them?

And good on you for sticking up for that poor girl. I agree with everyone else who's said that everyone should be forced to work a retail and/or waitstaff job for a while to see what it's like on the other side of the name badge.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I'm reminded of a Barenaked Ladies song, Some Fantastic, where he talks about building a machine that eliminates the people waiting in line in front of him.

I love that song:

I can't stand to wait in line long
So I built a new machine
It just measures up the distance
and then eliminates the folks between

[Crow The Robot]

People want instant service but they don't want to pay for it.

[aurelemsrealm]

I want instant service for free because it's all about me. Oh wait, reality just invaded my fantasy again.

[ShinyGreenApple]

One woman was giving this poor employee such a hard time i could see she was nearly in tears, i was standing behind her and said " Will you just shut up, the poor girl has probably heard this from alot of people today, do you really think yelling at her is going to help?"

Woman shut up real quick after that.

As someone who has been on the other side of the lay-a-way counter, I have to applaud you for doing that!

Wallyworld thought it was a great idea last year (as Christmas rush was hitting full blast and we were also closing the department down permanently), to have only one person staffing lay-a-way. Me. All by myself. Had to beg the CSMs to spare a cashier from up front to cover my breaks and lunches. My lobby was also filled with about a dozen or so guys and their girlfriends in camping chairs waiting for the PS3 to come out. They stayed there for three days straight, slept there and everything. Add in a never ending line of customers wanting to put things on layaway for Christmas, and pissy snobs who want balloons blown up for their child's birthday party who don't understand I have to take care of the layaway customers first, and then add lost packages and stockmen who never answer my calls for carryouts, and you have one very stressed out Lady B. I was literally ready to either cry or just quit on the spot.

Didn't have to, as it turns out, since they fired me the next week for attempting to take a leave of absence to visit my sick uncle that I hadn't seen in over 15 years.

[Shabo]

No fears, Lady B! You're better off without that crapshoot.

[Becks]

I've found that some customers just like to complain to other customers in the hopes that the other customer will commiserate. It's nice to take the wind out of their sails when they try to commiserate with me on something trivial and stupid, like "they should have more staff" when every register is already manned. I just point out why their statement is wrong and comment that I don't mind the wait. Cheeses them off, but what can they gripe about other than I won't agree with them?

Not only do some people complain to other customers in the hope of commiseration, some complain just for the sake of complaining.

Seriously, when you shop, look around. If it looks busy, either be patient or leave. It's not that difficult.

[sms001]

I've found that some customers just like to complain to other customers in the hopes that the other customer will commiserate. It's nice to take the wind out of their sails when they try to commiserate with me on something trivial and stupid, like "they should have more staff" when every register is already manned. I just point out why their statement is wrong and comment that I don't mind the wait. Cheeses them off, but what can they gripe about other than I won't agree with them?

For my last "non-commiseration" incident I told the guy that paying enough staff to get him checked out in the amount of time he expected would require charging him more than he was currently saving on the sale:

S (fellow) C, while three people back in one of three lines> "Jesus, you'd think that during a sale they'd open these other registers."

ME> "Well, (looking in his cart as I spoke) for you to be waited on right now would require three more cashiers. At seven an hour plus insurance plus benefits plus matching unemployment that comes to about thirty-three bucks. I'd guess (looking up from his cart) that you are getting about twenty-five dollars off your stuff. Where would the $33.00 come from?

Probably not the response he was looking for.

[aurelemsrealm]

I don't know how many busy Friday and Saturday nights I've spent working alone at the c-store literally chained to the register for hours on end with a steady line 4-5 customers deep. Of course, shift changes were always the worst. Even if it was completely dead the moment you started a shift change, it never failed that there would be a line by the time you got done.

[icmedia]

I am constantly in awe over the number of people who come into my restaurant unannounced with 12 of their closest friends and family in tow and get snippy when they are told there might be a wait for a table. At 8pm. On a Friday or Saturday night.

The best part is, you can see the entire restaurant from the entrance area. Which means that they can literally see for themselves that there is no possible way we could seat them.

Of course, these are the same people who then call me (a manager) over to complain about how long they have waited for their well-done burgers/chicken wings/etc. to be brought out to them, only five minutes after they ordered.

[aurelemsrealm]

I swear my brain just short circuits sometimes at human stupidity. That comment made my mind flash to the advertisement for that new movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones in which she's a New York chef, I think. Some customer is throwing a fit about wanting his steak rare. So, she brings this raw slab of meat dangling from the meat fork to his table, and stabs it down on the plate.

"Is that rare enough for you?!"