Larissa said:
Lucky for me I'm a stay-at-home mommy so I don't have to deal with stupid people all day long. I do have a husband that comes home occassionally though...
I'm a stay-at-home-dad... I guess I have to deal with myself all day? The only idiots I deal with now are telemarketers.
Now, in the past, i have dealt with some stupid people. Anyone ever worked retail? I did for 7 years. In general, the public-at-large are brain dead. I worked at an Eckerd Drug Store (those of you in the southeast are likely failiar with them). I wore an ugly, royal blue zippered "smock" with a vertical patch of pinstriping with a big name badge that had the Eckerd logo and my name in big capital letters across it, "BRIAN". Why does this matter? Because EVERY DAY some moron would come up to me and say, "Do you work here?" ARGH! I could be behind the counter working a register or actually be halfway in a box stocknig shelves and get the same question. Are people so afraid to just get to the **** point that they have to open up the conversation with, "Do you work here?' Whatever happened to, "Excuse me, where do you keep the hearing aid batteries?"
That's just one small example of the idiocy you eal with when working retail. There are loads more examples. Little things get to you the most.
"Band-aids are cheaper at Walmart." So, go to Walmart.
"Hi, welcome to Eckerd, can I help you with anything today?" 'No, thanks.' Five minutes later... 'Where do you keep your Magic Shaving Powder?' "Aren't you the guy that didn't need help?" Really, if people learned how to be more direct in life and learned how to just ask for what they want and need, life would be so much the better. I know, even I am guilty of this one, but seriously, try asking for what you need soemtime instead of browsing.
And folks, I buy prescriptions too, but believe me, when they say it's going to be 30-45 minutes, just come back in 45 minutes to an hour. Griping that they said it
might take 30 minutes to fill your prescription, when there are literally 20 other prescriptions ahead of yours doesn't get your script filled faster, it actually slows the pharmacy down more because you're wasting an associate's time. And no, it doesn't take that long to count pills. You really want to know why it takes so long to get a script? It's YOUR **** insurance tying up the modem lines hemming and hawing over wether or not they should approve it when you still have a day or two left.
"You're sold out of the generic Benadryl 500 count bottle that was on sale. Can I get 50 ten packs of regular Benadryl for the same price?" 'Sorry, we can give you a rain check for the generic and we'll have it in on Tuesday's truck. We'll call you when it gets in and hold them for you in the back room so you are guaranteed to get them.' "But I need them now!' "All 500?" Really. This happens. All the friggin time. No, you can't get the name brand at the generic price because those tiny ten packs cost so much because they are a name brand and they are packaged in tiny portions. If someone offers you a rain check, be thankful. Stores don't even
have to do that. those that do are actually being very kind.
"Oh, hey, I wasn't sure you guys would be open on Thanksgiving Day. The parking lot was empty!" 'Yeah, we're here.' "It's a shame you have to work on the Holiday. No family in town or anything?" 'Yes, actually, they're all over at my parents having turkey and dressing.' "Oh, it's a shame you have to be open, then." 'Well, we don't have to be, but corporate would rather us be here and help the 20 people that actually bother to get out.' Folks, if you really feel bad about someone having to work on a certain day, here's a clue, DON'T SHOP THAT DAY! By doing so you are feeding the ieda that a store should be open. And, if you don't care, then don't you dare tell someone they shouldn't have to work that day while you purchase something. That's like waving flake food in front of your mollies and then deciding today is the fast day for them.
"You ran out of the 150 count Christmas Light Strands that are on sale for $1.99. Can I get a rain check?" 'No, sorry, that's a seasonal item and our warehouse only ships those once a year. We won't get anymore in until next July and by then it's not likely to be the same brand, style or make. How many did you need?" 'I needed 4 strands.' "Well, I'd be glad to let you have 3 of the 200 light strands for $7.96." 'That's false advertsising. You can't advertise something and not have it! I want to talk to your manager!" 'Actually, if you look on the front page of the add, it sayd we may not have all items in stock and that we cannot ofer rain checks on all items. What we have done is given you the exact same deal, just through a different means. I understand your frustration at not being able to get exactly what you want, but please understand, there is no way for us to fulfill your wish and the nearest we can get is 3 strands of 200 lights each." 'Well, Jack Eckerd is a close personal friend of mine (staring at name tag menacingly) BRIAN! I intend to let him know about this!' "Close personal friend? Then you'll be sorry to hear Mr. Eckerd passed away 3 years ago and the company was sold to JC Penney." Customer turns red, leaves store, then is spotted in another cashier's line not 10 minutes later buying 3 strands of 200 Christmas lights.
Yes, retail is the worst, I think. I used to hate the holidays. We literally started getting Christmas shipments in June (imagine hot Texas summers in a backroom with no AC, a bay door open and weekly truck orders 3-4 times bigger than what you get any other time of year). As soon as Halloween was over, out came the Christmas stuff. Lots and lots of stocking, trying to make things look great, setting up displays, decorating the 8-12 demo trees (you never weanted to set up your own after this). That was always fun too. "I can't believe you put up your christmas stuff so early! It's a **** shame we can't even have Thanksgiving first!" 'Well, truly, we don't have any demand for Thanksgiving ornaments." Customer wanders off muttering things like "**** shame" and "over-commercialization" then returns to register 30 minutes later with a shopping cart full of Christmas crap. "Oh, I found a whole set of Coca Cola ornaments!" 'This is why we sell them right after haloween, sir, because people buy them. Ah, and nothing says Christams like Coke (R)!'
So, anyway, between whiny customers, longer hours with no real net increase in pay and never having a Christmas Eve off for 7 years straight along with working more than a few Thanksgiving Days, the Holidays are not nearly as festive. My first Holiday out of retail was sort of mixed. I still had some latent hostility. After that though, I began to enjoy Christmas again. I had time to spend with my family and I didnt have to hear the same old complaints, Christmas Muzak, or Ho Ho Ho-ing Santa doorhangers for hours on end, 4-7 days a week for 8 weeks. I have nearly fully recovered from retail. What I got most out of it was a deep appreciation of how hard it is to deal with the public because they make the littlest things into, well, life or death issues in their own minds.
Also, I don't really know any of you, so if you see yourself in any of the above examples, don't yell at me... but maybe, take a moment to reflect on how that poor teenager struggling his way through college with a dead end job waiting on your too-important-butt feels when you tear him a new one because the store ran out of Ivory soap. He didn't not order it. He didn't make the warehouse short. He didn't make the produciton plant in Ohio burn down and cause the shortage. He just smiles, tries to help you find what you need and apologizes when it's not there. Also, regular customers and friendly folks are a LOT more likely to be accomadated when problems do arise than are red-faced, yelling, fit-pitching morons that like to abuse minimum wage employees because they are beneath them.
