"They" said....

[ArenaBoy]

There is one other line I've noticed that SCs use so much that we get annoyed, aside from "It must be free" and Everyplace Else there is a 3rd line that makes me go bonkers. This line is called "They ______ me *insert action*" After hearing that line for what seemed to be the 50th time tonight I thought that I should post it. The meaning of They is simple you tell a SC something they don't like and they use that line. An example

Clerk: Sir, I have to see ID.
SC: What? Oh come on they never ask for ID when I shop here.

They is apprantly the mysterious coworker, supervisor, or the little elves that we have hidden in our business. They is liked by every SC because SCs can get away with murder because They let them. That is one line that I think is another painful phrase we have to hear.

So what I have to ask is: How long has They been working?

[lordlundar]

With me? never.

SC: But they said I could do it!
Me: Who told you this?
SC: Well, I don't know their name, but they work here!
Me: without a name, the judgment falls onto me, and I say no.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Yes, the best response to the 'they' conundrum is to ask for specifics.

'They' who? You will very rarely get a straight answer.

But sometimes you'll get a smarter than the average bear SC, who will say 'Steve/Sally/Mr. Johnson/Ms. Smith' (some coworker of yours). Say "Okay, I'll ask them.' Or if they're not there, tell them the decision consequently falls on you.

Or they'll reply a competitor store of yours. Then all you gotta do it say 'well sir I work for ______, NOT ________. And this is how we do things here!'

But if they're not bright enough to give you specifics, then you've got the cat in the bag. Usually when confronted with a request to specify who 'they' is, they will just peter out.

[friendofjimmyk]

One thing I hated about being a "customer advocate" (answering the calls when they first come in for roadside assistance)...

If I did not provide service for someone because the situation was against policy and documented the call as to why service was not provided, that did not guarantee that they wouldn't call back and get someone who was less detail oriented about their job who would not read the previous call and the comments and just set up service. We had SCs that knew this fact - if they kept calling, sooner or later, they will get someone who will give them the service.

On the rare occasion - a slow Sunday morning, when there were not many of us working - I would get the same caller EVERY time they called back in. I became "they".

SC: Well, I just called a second ago and they said this would be okay.
ME: Oh, really? I just spoke to you a second ago and I said nothing of the sort.

This happened more than once. The SC would hang up and call back and get me again...thinking I was someone different even though I said my name at the beginning of the call.

OT - the funniest thing that ever happened with this type of call once, the caller tried to use the membership belonging to a man named "Forrest". The first time she called, she got me and told me her name - Phyllis, then she gave me the membership number and it came up for "Forrest". I informed her that she could not use his membership unless I was able to speak to him to okay it. I could not reach him, therefore, no service for her.

She called back, numerous times, we were slow, I kept getting her - in the subsequent calls - she tried to say she was Forrest. I kept telling her, "Ma'am, I just spoke to you, you said your name was Phyllis!" She would answer, "No, this is Forrest."

Run, friendofjimmyk, run!

Anyway, I would document this each and every time she called. I also informed my supervisor on duty of the situation. Glad I did, she managed to call back and not get me again and got someone who did not open the previous calls to see the notes - and set up service for her. I caught it because I kept watching the membership for new calls.

She still did not recieve service!

Sorry for the hijack!

[Becks]

"They said that you had some {fill in item here} left in the back."

Yeah, it's a conspiracy so we can fulfill the dreams of procrastinators.

[M_Sinistrari]

There were two that absolutely cracked me up back in my video retail days.

On the first, I wasn't long back to work after having given birth to my son and as the pregnancy was a high risk one, one of the issues I had was with High Blood Pressure so I essentially swelled up to what looked like a 5' 2" apple on toothpick legs. After the birth I 'deflated' pretty quick and on the particular day I had a guy trying to pull a fast one on movies he'd lost and didn't want to pay anything on. I was even giving him the option of just paying the used price to call it even.

According to him, the 'fat female manager' had told him before it was okay, and the look on his face was priceless when I informed him I was the only female manager and it was amazing how pregnancy can change a person.

On the second, I'd noticed my grey was coming in pretty much like a skunk stripe, and in a moment of vanity (along with wanting to be able to go into a comic store without being reminded 'that looks just like Rogue'), I'd dyed it.

Had a customer insist that the 'lady manager with the grey stripe say it was okay on a return that wasn't anything we offered. I let him know it's amazing how well Ms. Clairol covers.

[friendofjimmyk]

*EEP* *RESISTING URGE* GAAAAHH...I can't...

Notice the theme in your two stories? They were both MEN! Proving, yet again, how unobservant members of that gender can be!

[Rapscallion]

I have to admit that I recognise women by their hair. Someone changes their hair significantly, I have to look twice.

Rapscallion

[AFpheonix]

Ah yes. I get that frequently. Of course, the answer is that "an asian girl told me that I could." There's about 5 asian girls back here. Care to elaborate?

[friendofjimmyk]

I have to admit that I recognise women by their hair. Someone changes their hair significantly, I have to look twice.

Rapscallion

Well, I am a bit off the ball on this one. It would be different situation if these guys knew her on a daily basis - like if she was a friend or family member. But in their defense - they only see her once in blue moon maybe and probably wouldn't notice any changes right away.

Just a thought. I just found it funny because just recently I changed my hair color and more women then men noticed.

[zzapp the witch]

Be thankful they recognize you by your hair, rather than becoming "that girl with the big boobs".

[Hicksey]

One thing I hated about being a "customer advocate" (answering the calls when they first come in for roadside assistance)...

Just when I was wondering how many more retarded politically correct names for jobs I would hear, you posted.

You are there to give them the minimum required amount of time and attention to keep them happy while extracting the maximum amount of money from them.

Exactly how is that being their 'advocate'?

That's almost as bad as 'sanitory engineers'.

Nothing personal, I just despise political correctness.

PC is the justification people use to tell lies so thinly veiled that were I to be wearing only that veil and be completely covered in it, you would still be able to see every glorious inch of my naked body.