Opening procedures take precedence dude!

[CaroPhoenix]

This happened yesterday:

Rawking manager (RM) was 1/2 hour late to work. (He lives in MD and works in Virginia). We were scrunched for time (I came to work with an ankle support & my crutch 'cos my ankle was still bothering me), so we were scurrying around as much as we could.

10 minutes to 10 AM (we open at 10), we get a call from a customer. According to RM the guy said: "Whew! Wanted to get to you guys before you opened. Can you find some books for me?" RM was like: "Dude, we're doing opening procedures. They take precedence." (Quick note: RM doesn't like this customer as he used to hang out at our Mother Store and was a to a lot of the employees at the Mother Store, but especially to RM, so RM doesn't go out of his way to help the guy).

Guy calls back every 2-3 minutes from between 9:50 AM and 9:58 AM. Finally at 9:58, RM said: "According to my watch it's 9:58. Again, opening procedures. We have to do them." Then hangs up.

2 minutes later - yup, phone rings, it's the guy. This time, I get it. I pretend to be out of breath as I told him that I was vacuuming & had to run to get the phone. (). I was nice and polite. The guy was nice and polite, sympathized with me & I got his books for him and put them aside. But really - what part of: We need to do our opening procedures before we open, didn't he understand? And it's not like we're busy between 10 AM and 10:30 AM. Sheesh.

[powerboy]

I hate that where I work. I work in a self storage business. We sometimes get that one customer who shows up before we open and is wanting us to help them. We open at 10am. Usually, those types of customers only wants to check the units and then "come back later". We will put your name on our reserved list for no down payment. Just come back in on your next day off. Don't just leave us hanging at times.

[Gurndigarn]

That's when you leave the phone off the hook, if you only have a single line in.

[Nashida]

I had someone live parked outside my store this morning since 8:30, when we open at 10 (we have store meetings at 9 on Sundays). And unfortunately our meetings are held on the store floor, so people see us and try to make us let them in way before opening. We'll get calls too, but we don't answer them until we are open because, well, we're closed.

[scroob]

we always have 10-15 people waiting for us to open. most of them are there even before i get there. its funny to drive by them and watch them standing there rushing to get in and get their 46736587687568 shirts (which they leave in the dressing rooms.)

[Catwoman2965]

We get that too. I only open on weekends, and there is ALWAYS someone either telling me that the store doesn't open until x time (no, really, I wasn't aware of that!) or trying to sneak in when they're letting me in. Esp. if its right around opening time. They will ask, I will say we open at 10, and they'll say, but its 10 now! um, we go by OUR clock, and if your watch is fast, then you must wait. And I don't think waiting an extra minute or two will kill yoU!

[portia911]

I love that. it's like customers have a special relationship with time and truely believe they are the centre of the universe. At least once a week I get some lady coming in I was here at 8.30 and you were closed, when I explain that would be correct as we don't open till 10am, they just get confused

[mattm04]

We have customers who will line up outside our store at 5:45 AM just to get in when we open at 6. Who needs groceries THAT bad?

[powerboy]

or trying to sneak in when they're letting me in. Esp. if its right around opening time.

I hated that, when I opened on Black Friday @ Walmart. It is funny seeing everyone standing outside waiting for the store to open.

[Kyree]

We had a line down the block of my toy store on the day after thanksgiving, by 8 am. We opened at 10 >.<; The store had the bright idea of "25% off of EVERYTHING IN THE STORE until 3:00PM" At 3 we had an employee go stand in line to mark the place of the last people that made the cut off. You wouldn't believe the offers she got for people to budge in front of her. >_>

[CaroPhoenix]

Thank goodness our store doesn't have a Black Friday Sale (or any other sale for that matter - all games are priced at regular retail price, even if they are several years old and are now defunct - but that's for a separate post).

We do answer the phone during opening procedures as it might be the Mother Store telling us they're having problems with their server, could we check ours? Or they want to let us know that they're faxing something to us so we can take care of it. And if it is a customer/potential customer, they're normally calling to see if we sell computer/console games or the console themselves (the most popular being asked is for the Wii).

I only work on Saturdays. We open at 10 AM Sunday to Saturday, no change in the hours since the Mother Store was opened 16 years ago. (The only day we're closed is Christmas). We still have people lining up. I can understand the miniatures players 'cos they have the tons of boxes with their landscape and armies, but everyone else? Do you really nee to get on the computers (at $5/hour) to play WOW that badly? Oi.

[PepperElf]

black friday scares me. i've been able to avoid it for 3 years in a row now... being stuck at work or out of the country. i'm back in the US now and am NOT looking forward to it. i think i'll stay at home that day.

[Geek King]

Thank goodness our store doesn't have a Black Friday Sale (or any other sale for that matter - all games are priced at regular retail price, even if they are several years old and are now defunct - but that's for a separate post).

Wow, really? Do your store have anything so cool as a website with some sort of in-stock list? I collect some games that are out of print, and I might be interested in what you have. PM me, if you like.

[walking with scissors]

We have customers who will line up outside our store at 5:45 AM just to get in when we open at 6. Who needs groceries THAT bad?

I LOVE to shop really early, so I can avoid most of the idiot CSs. But I'm not going to stand outside anybody's grocery store waiting for them to open, no.

[Mordecai]

Oh, God, I get these people all the time. I hate it when some idiot decides to stand right in front of the Box Office and watch us get everything ready for more than a half hour. It's sooo creepy....