Pet peeves

[CrankyPants]

I was in a craft store a few weeks ago (I try not to go in there because I spend waaay too much money each time).

There were a few people lined up at the counter during the lunch hour and the girl working there must have been new because she was really, really slow. Her customer was a 40-ish something guy pointing out a sale item from their current catalogue.

I wasn't paying much attention just looking around at the shiny things on the shelves. I spotted a mini iron. It looks like an electric toothbrush, but it's an actual iron and it has a tiny pointy kind of head on it that you can use to flatten out small bits of fabric like you find on a quilt.

Anyway, I tune back into the conversation and the check out chicky had no idea what the guy was talking about. I realised he wanted the exact thing I was looking at. I reached back and took one off the display. Then I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "excuse me, is this what you're looking for?"

He compared it to the catalogue and said with surprise, "yes, that's it!" The girl was relieved but a little embarrassed and said to him, "I didn't know we stocked things like that! So much merchandise comes in every day, it's hard to keep track."

They both thanked me profusely, which made my head swell to ridiculous proportions. I felt good about myself that day. But I thought what a great place it would be to work here. Then I could surround myself in nifty craft type stuff all the time.

[Kiwi]

a craft store is not always the greatest place to work, despite what people think, its hard, dirty, physical work. We dont stand around all day "playing" with products. I would come home and shower, and black grim would run down the shower, its hot, sweaty, work. oh it can be GREAT fun, and I did get to play a litte, and had some of the best memories from my time at a craft store.... heck when I joined CS I was "kiwicraftgirl"

but you get the most over entitled "im an expert and know more than you could ever think maggot" type customers, and old ladies who spend 30 minutes yakking about their grandchildren, showing your pictures and everything. You also get beligerant types who know nothing, but think they know more than you, or people who shove a list of supplies in your face and expect you to be their teacher and personal shopper......

maam I am not going to spend 20 minutes explaining how to decoupage your hat box using tissue when there are 4 other people following me around the store patiently waiting there turn to ask me equally complicated questions.... buy a book.

and yes the product knowledge is almost impossible to keep up with, I was there just over 4 years in total and there were things i had never sold or even seen in our store.... and I was the go-to person in my department. 20 types of ribbon, 24 types of glue (all doing a different job) countless paints and additives gah just thinking about it... the poor girl at the counter. If she was new I shudder for her being left alone like that!

thanks for helping her out though I know just what she was thinking, and believe me, you made her day to!

that was my pet peeve there... having over 2000 thousand products (with literally new stuff everyweek) and customers not understanding that I wasnt a walking book of knowledge for the stores ever changing layout!

I am a craft goddess so to speak. Sigh.. writing this sure brought back memories!

[Rapscallion]

No comment.

A picture paints a thousand words...

That's as far as it went, folks. No inhaling done

Rapscallion

[Imogene]

"Do you have any of those plants that are green with the red flowers?"

Pointsettias? (Spelling?)

[Seanette]

IBut I thought what a great place it would be to work here. Then I could surround myself in nifty craft type stuff all the time.

My problem there would be that I'd be taking home too large a percentage of my pay in plastic bags (ditto bookstores).

[Ringtail Z28]

My biggest pet peeve has to be getting yelled at for not speaking spanish. In retail I got this at least once a day, now I still get it but not quite as much.

[CrazedClerk]

Well I work in games so I get a lot of people who are very anal about having sealed games and won't even dare touch one that just came in the SAME DAY but the disc had to be removed to put on the shelf. I understand their concerns, but I am a gamer, I keep my hands clean and I am very careful when handling the discs, besides one little fleck of dust will not ruin your disc.

I remember a phone SC one day:

SC: "Do you have any copies of game X that are still shrinkwrapped?"

Me: "No they are all out of the shrinkwrap"

SC: (rudely) "They are ALL out of the wrap?!" *hangs up*

Oh and here is one of my favourites:

Random parent approaches me: "I'm looking for a game for my son, he's 10"

Ok so your kid's age is supposed to tell me what kind of game he wants? Does he like fighting games, football games, adventures games, shooting games, puzzle games? And some of these people get frustrated with ME when I have to probe more to find out what exactly they're after, as if they believe I should be psychic and know just what they need.

[jb17kx]

My problem there would be that I'd be taking home too large a percentage of my pay in plastic bags (ditto bookstores).

I never go near a bookstore with cash on me, I have another person carry it... The temptation isfar to great, especcially in those second hand stores that have the out-of-print treasures or early editions of whatever, all for a steal. One I went to today had all sorts of paperback fiction for $3-5, and copies of Nation Geographic going back from 2002 to 1953, for ONE DOLLAR a peice. That's 78 US cents!
Ah... I spend hours there. I have a penchant for books, both fiction and non-fiction, written in the '60s, '70s, '80s, etc...

Anyway, one of my pet peeves is people who insist apon handling cash in the most irritating mannor. From passing a $50 note for a $5 purchase or paying for a $50 purchase with low denomination coinage (we have 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, and $2 coins in Australia. Lowest note is $5) It is so irritating to count out and deal with.

[draftermatt]

and copies of Nation Geographic going back from 2002 to 1953, for ONE DOLLAR a peice. That's 78 US cents!

Sorry to go OT but people buy those things? My grandfather was a dentist and his basement is filled with those old things! Cool, maybe I can convince my grandmother to sell them.

[Jester]

A picture paints a thousand words...

Thank you for the photographic reminder of why I live on a tropical island!

[jb17kx]

Sorry to go OT but people buy those things? My grandfather was a dentist and his basement is filled with those old things! Cool, maybe I can convince my grandmother to sell them.

I wasn't alive then... Nobody in the family collected them, but I love reading them. Given enough cash, hell yes, I'd buy them...

[Dragon_Dreamer]

I'd buy them, too!

[AFpheonix]

Remembered another pet peeve today:

People who are having trouble with a script or something or another, and do the "I always have this problem with 'you people' ". For starters, we are not part of some Borg collective back here, so you may have a problem with a specific tech or pharmacist, but I can gauantee that we're not all in it together unless you are attempting to get us to do something illegal or against policy, or expecting us to read minds.

Bonus points if you are throwing around the "you people" phrase if you called in a buttload of refills that honestly you should have put in for next day service, you haven't checked to see what all changed on your insurance coverage when Jan. 1st rolled around, came in sooner than what you had keyed into the phone system and are mad that you have to wait. Super bonus points when you get all huffy that insurance won't pay entirely for something that most plans don't cover at all, like diabetic syringes, especially when you are testing and injecting a more than 10-12 times per day despite the fact that you should be well past that period when you're first starting on all this stuff and getting your diabetes under control.

[iradney]

Remembered another pet peeve today:

...do the "I always have this problem with 'you people' ". For starters, we are not part of some Borg collective back here

You read my mind! My personal favourite, doing mobile handset support, is when people call in and say "You people make horrible handsets!"

What, do they think that while we're answering calls we're also assembling the phones/writing the PC software/writing the user manuals? I'm good at multi tasking, but not THAT good! Plus, we're a 3rd party company! Most big companies outsource their call centres - so I'm not really affiliated with them anyway!

[Lace Neil Singer]

I get that too, in a way; cept here it's the "Your supermarket always has empty shelves" or "You people never have what I want." Firstly, it's not my supermarket; if it was, I'd hardly be on the till would I? Secondly, moaning to me isn't going to do a damn thing and I'm not being paid to listen to your whinging. Go to Customer Services, where they are. True, nothing will be done about it, but at least you'll be directing your moans to the correct place.