Give (us/them) a break! Please!

[jimmyneyugn]

After reading thread after thread after endless thread about how poor customer service/sales associates are to some customers, on some days, in some cities, in some stores.. i'm frankly getting a little sick and tired of people getting 'treated' like this! Please.. for the love of god, give the sales associates/shop girls/etc a break.

a lot of people on here bash on service/snooty/attitudes, but really.. SA's ARE NOT PERFECT PEOPLE.. and NEITHER IS ANYONE ELSE ON THIS BOARD. give them a break, honestly. we all screw up and we all get on each other's nerves and we all take it out on someone, whether that someone deserved it or not, and whether that someone was just at the wrong time or wrong day or wrong place.

if continual service/attitude is consistent with the same associate in the same location, in the same city, in the same year/month/week/day/lifetime, then yes, then it's a problem. then it's complainable.. then they deserve to be fired.

BUT, if one store has a majority of good customers (that are also on here), but one or two get some lousy service, is it the customer's fault or the associates?

well it's the associates! they're supposed to represent the brand, they're supposed to represent the company, and they're supposed to represent the image. but the keywords in all three components are: SUPPOSED TO.

We are supposed to be good citizens in our own cities/towns/countries/etc. We are all supposed to be good drivers, or good clients, or good customers. I promise you, there are VERY FEW GOOD CUSTOMERS. There are a LOT of BAD customers! LOTS!! A ton of shoppers really have NO CLUE about what's going on/etc and expect the world to be handed to you on a platinum platter..

moral/point of this thread/vent: please.. just give us a break. we work hard and we work long hours and we have to stand for long hours, and we have to listen and work with some really whiny, complaining, hard-headed customers, and we have to work with some really snooty, idiotic customers, and have to deal with some PITA, irritating customers.. and we get burned out!

my suggestions if you want the best service, hit the stores early mornings (about 1-2 hours into opening hours), and tues/wednesdays. we've got our coffee/caffiene in our systems, it's still early.. it's not a monday, and it's not the weekends. remember, that retail associates DONT KNOW WHAT A WEEKEND IS! We work weekends! We work holidays! We work when you're sleeping! We work when you're in traffic for morning rush! We work when you're lunching! We work when you don't even realize it, and we work our asses off, and most of the time, we overexert ourselves, and we will get burned out! Retail isn't for everybody, and you know if you were that shop girl/associate, that you'd probably get irritated/tired/snooty if a customer like yourself walked in there also! so please, put yourself in their shoes when you get a chance! some of them are new and don't really know how to act.

k, off my soapbox now. thanks for letting me vent. feel free to post your opinions/etc. i really don't care now.

 

[lmpsola]

wow!!!!!!!!!! What can I say! I totally see your point though! But I also understand that if you are paying a lot of money, service does supposed to be good. But I totally understand you, and I agree. That's why when I go to LV I go in the morning. I am usually the first one, and believe me it is sooo good. You get all the attention!

 

[Blair Waldorf]

I hate bad customer service, but I know some people can be real douchebags sometimes, so try not to get too down.

 

[lilsweetmellie]

Wow I feel you Frozen! That is exactly how I feel. Are you a SA yourself?

BTW you have a bunny? I have 5 buns of my own and I foster 2 buns as well.

 

[jimmyneyugn]

hi lilsweetmellie, i'm not an SA anymore. i still work in retail, but i do very little selling on my part. however, i feel for all the SA's that have been bashed on this board for whatever they did 'wrong' to the customers, and i just feel that every story has two sides, and we're only hearing from the customer's POV.. and no one is defending for the SA's! I mean, if it wasn't for SA's, customer's wouldn't exist to begin with, and i really think one party should give the other a break sometimes!

and yes i have a bun! shes my baby. i see yours in your avatar! SO CUTE! aww i miss them when they were just babies.. hehe.. so cute.

 

[lilsweetmellie]

haha no thats not my bun, i wish he/she is a cute little thing. My buns are all grown up now haha I've had one of them for 9 years now. What kind of buns do you have?

Yeah you are right, about being a SA. Most of them time I love helping out the customers and trying to do whatever I can for them. Although if I am real busy (Like the day after Thanksgiving) and I have lines going on forever and someone asks me to hold up the line and call other stores it kind of makes me upset. I try to do as much as I can (I multi-task a lot) but I can only do so much at one time. haha Other then that I love customers!!!

 

[siworae]

I hear ya... I, too, have worked in retail for a few years when i was in high school/college.

as a customer, i've experienced bad customer a few times... but i usually give the SA the benefit of the doubt. and as an SA, i've dealt with some nasty customers as well, when all i've done is try to be nice and do my best to help them. but we all have bad days, i try not to be too bothered so much by it.

 

[mello_yello_jen]

yea i agree. I hate when people complain about stuff that is out of the SA's hands too...

 

[Danica]

I worked in retail for a long time and what it comes down to is this... if the customer is really sweet and nice, then the SA should be too. If the customer is a complete ass, then they do not deserve the best treatment you can give them. But you should never take your bad mood out on the sweet ones! I worked with a girl who would be such a b*tch to customers, it was embarassing for me, i would go into the back room and do something because I couldn't look them in the eye, she was the manager also! Needless to say I never followed her example. But again, it's never okay to be rude to nice people.

 

[Beach Bum]

I think there will always be difficult cusomers wherever you go...and the only way to handle it is to kill them with kindness!I once worked in retail and Ive seen it all!There are always some idiot customers that will NEVER be pleased by ANYONE..but I never let them get to me!
There is good and bad everywhere we go....I always try to remember the great SA experiences Ive had first..before the bads ones!!LOL!..BUT when youve had a horrid SA experience..its usually the first thing you talk about.Its a shame!We should really discuss GREAT sa's more!

 

[kate79]

I have to disagree with you on this. SAs are in the customer service profession and therefore, their top priority should be CUSTOMER SERVICE. Yes, I understand everyone has a bad day, but that is not really the customer's problem, is it?

I personally would never work in the customer service field because I know I'm not cut out for it. I think if you make the decision to persue that line of work, you should have the helpful, pleasant personality that it requires. Just my opinion...

 

[Tura**Satana]

I have to disagree with you on this. SAs are in the customer service profession and therefore, their top priority should be CUSTOMER SERVICE. Yes, I understand everyone has a bad day, but that is not really the customer's problem, is it?

I personally would never work in the customer service field because I know I'm not cut out for it. I think if you make the decision to persue that line of work, you should have the helpful, pleasant personality that it requires. Just my opinion...

^^ agree with you. Customer service is key to a company doing well. If you walk into a store, you are not meeting up with the President of the company. You are meeting with someone who they hired to best represent them. If a SA cannot handle biting their tongue with something they are not comfortable with or do not agree with, then they are in the wrong business.

 

[luckycharm06]

Oh boy, I totally feel you on this one. I am super nice to all SA's until they treat me like trash...actually, I've still been nice to SA's who've treated me like trash!!! After a 6 month stint at Express my senior year in HS, I look at SAs in a different light...they usually are OVERworked, UNDERpaid, and NOT respected. I know way too many ppl who waltz in a store and think they are hot to trot and that they are "better than the SA who will never amount to anything bc they work at ____" So yeah, give SAs a break....especially during the holiday season bc ya'll KNOW it gets crazy in every store!!!!

 

[jimmyneyugn]

I have to disagree with you on this. SAs are in the customer service profession and therefore, their top priority should be CUSTOMER SERVICE. Yes, I understand everyone has a bad day, but that is not really the customer's problem, is it?

I personally would never work in the customer service field because I know I'm not cut out for it. I think if you make the decision to persue that line of work, you should have the helpful, pleasant personality that it requires. Just my opinion...

wrong. there is a customer service department, and there is the sales associate department. the sales associate just SELL YOU THE DAMNED ITEM. if you have complaint, there is a customer service department that you go to, to complain your ass off to. associate's top priority is not customer service, their top priority is to sell as much $$ volume as possible -- especially in a commission based environment, or where their name gets credit. selling as much money as possible doesn't require everyone to be nice. look at car salesharks.. they're actually pretty nice and all that until they get you to sit down and sign paperwork! they even offer you beverages, snacks and magazines while you browse the lot! but everyone knows they're sharks for a reason, but that's the thing. some sharks sell hundreds of cars a year/whatever, and they are complete *******s. how does it work then? the charisma? the charm? the talk? maybe all of the above, and maybe not, but they still get the job done!

I personally would never work in the customer service field because I know I'm not cut out for it.

you said it right there... people like you (and i know there are more out there) that say that, and then say that CS & SAs should be nice/etc are just the kind that bother me. you can't say you appreciate one's line of work until you've been in their shoes. and you can't say you can do any better because you know you're not cut out for it either!

some kids don't make it a decision to be in the retail field.. some are forced into it because they don't get job offers anywhere else. nordstroms for example will hire as young as 16! macy*s won't even hire 16 year olds.. their minimum is 18! employers hire young kids to stand there, greet, say hi.. and sell the item. they're not required to make chit chat, place nice or even show you the product in a nice way (some companies do, it varies).

and if you read the entire rant.. you would've seen me write that it's not the customer's fault for the associate having a bad day, or a bad month, or a bad year! it's the associate's fault, but they are SUPPOSED to do all the things you mentioned. and the words: SUPPOSED TO, and SHOULD are all words we like to throw around especially when we're upset. CS & SA's SHOULD blah blah.. but they don't.

 

[kate79]

^ I'm as entited to my opinion, as you are to yours. If you don't want to hear other people's opinions then don't ask. That's what makes life interesting, that we are not all carbon copies of each other.

Oh, and btw, I was an SA for about 6 months and realized I was not cut out for that line of work and found another job.