I am at a point in my life where I cannot be happier that some suit at corporate decided our stores needed to have their layout completely changed around. It means that for the first time since early '08, I have a job. However, most customers seem to feel that it has placed a heartrendingly huge inconvenience on their delicate balance of shopping experience pleasure. Comments made to me or other remodel associates, or overheard in the past two weeks:
"This place was already enough of a damn mess before you guys decided to mess around with it!"
"What. A. Mess!"
"You guys are screwing stuff up, I wish you'd stop it!"
"I really wish you guys would leave stuff ALONE!!!! Now could you pu-LEEZE tell me where (item that has not been relocated yet, and is in the same spot it always has been) is?!"
"I hated this place before, and I really hate it NOW!" (Then please, do us all a favor and GTFO. No one is making you shop here.
"Why, oh why do they have to make this look like all the other Stal-Marts? It was just fine the way it was!"
An exchange between myself and a customer:
C: "What are you people doing?!"
Me: (in my polite, customer service voice) "We're remodeling the store, ma'am."
C: *rolls eyes* "Well, I know that! I meant, what are you doing besides making a HUGE MESS?"
She then walked away. I mean WTF did she want me to say? And it's not like we have construction materials scattered willy-nilly all over the place. The guy who came in to oversee the remodel said that he toured a few other stores during his vacation last week, and that this one was the tidiest, safest one undergoing remodel that he'd been in. I mean, I know we're flipping a LOT of departments around and putting them in new locations, but is it really *that* big of a deal to have to re-learn the layout of the place you shop? Some people are actually interested to hear about why corporate is changing the layout, and like all the new fixtures we're putting in, and then laugh and say not to worry "We'll bear it with you" or "This too shall pass" (Electronics/connection center looks sharp. Seriously.) But the majority bitch and moan throughout the entire store. And the dirty looks we receive when pulling down entire shelves of merchandise and rolling them away to a new spot are priceless. We've been accused of downsizing and one woman even swore up and down that I was lying to her and that we were really shutting down the company one store at a time.
Sigh. Don't mess with people's everyday low price place, I guess. I took my Mom shopping last night and she's one of the most uptight, easily confused people I know, and even she didn't think it was all that big of a deal. I only wish she weren't in a minority
"This place was already enough of a damn mess before you guys decided to mess around with it!"
"What. A. Mess!"
"You guys are screwing stuff up, I wish you'd stop it!"
"I really wish you guys would leave stuff ALONE!!!! Now could you pu-LEEZE tell me where (item that has not been relocated yet, and is in the same spot it always has been) is?!"
"I hated this place before, and I really hate it NOW!" (Then please, do us all a favor and GTFO. No one is making you shop here.
"Why, oh why do they have to make this look like all the other Stal-Marts? It was just fine the way it was!"
An exchange between myself and a customer:
C: "What are you people doing?!"
Me: (in my polite, customer service voice) "We're remodeling the store, ma'am."
C: *rolls eyes* "Well, I know that! I meant, what are you doing besides making a HUGE MESS?"
She then walked away. I mean WTF did she want me to say? And it's not like we have construction materials scattered willy-nilly all over the place. The guy who came in to oversee the remodel said that he toured a few other stores during his vacation last week, and that this one was the tidiest, safest one undergoing remodel that he'd been in. I mean, I know we're flipping a LOT of departments around and putting them in new locations, but is it really *that* big of a deal to have to re-learn the layout of the place you shop? Some people are actually interested to hear about why corporate is changing the layout, and like all the new fixtures we're putting in, and then laugh and say not to worry "We'll bear it with you" or "This too shall pass" (Electronics/connection center looks sharp. Seriously.) But the majority bitch and moan throughout the entire store. And the dirty looks we receive when pulling down entire shelves of merchandise and rolling them away to a new spot are priceless. We've been accused of downsizing and one woman even swore up and down that I was lying to her and that we were really shutting down the company one store at a time.
Sigh. Don't mess with people's everyday low price place, I guess. I took my Mom shopping last night and she's one of the most uptight, easily confused people I know, and even she didn't think it was all that big of a deal. I only wish she weren't in a minority
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