Customer Room 101

[merryone]

Another type of customer I'd like to put into room 101 along with those who expect service whilst they speak to someone else on their mobile phone (very rude and discourteous) is the late night shopper. Our shop is open until 10pm and we open at 7.30 am. We expect to have customers in the evening, that's why we open, however there's a small contingent that think it's ok to walk through the doors between 9.50 - 9.55pm grab a big trolley and saunter round as if they've got all the time in the world. We have a small allowance after the store closes to allow people to complete their purchases. However, it's usually this small contingent who "kick off" when the fresh bread has run out, or when something has run out on the shelves, demanding to see the manager, and causing poor sods, some of who've been there for 9 hours plus to be late going home! So unthinking - even before I worked in a shop like that I was aware, and if I did pop to the supermarket late at night it was to grab something quickly and be in and out!

Fella the other night, kept coming back and forth to the deli counter , from 9pm onwards, I asked "can I help you" but he said "No, i'm just looking if that's quite alright"..He came back and forth in 10 min intervals,each time my asking if he needed any help and each time being snapped at that he was "looking". At 2 minutes before closing he came over and asked for some sliced ham, I told him that the slicer blade had just gone into the dishwasher for cleaning, he said "that's ridiculous..then he cast his eye over the counter, maybe I'm being paranoid here, but he chose to take a slice of pate from the only pot on the counter that hadn't been opened. After I finished serving him, he strode back into the store in the opposite direction to the checkouts, despite a tannoy annoucement going out to say this store is now closed please make your way to the checkouts! I figured from the amount in his trolley when he came to me at 9 he'd have been in the store for a couple of hours! Gggggrrrrr! Though to be fair he'd not come through the doors five mins before we were due to close, but he seemed hell bent on making sure he was incoveniencing the staff as much as possible!

 

[mediastar]

I wonder why they do it, unless they hoping for discounts?

 

[merryone]

The bargain hunters are a different kettle of fish, and though they can be a bit of a pain buzzing around almost like a flock of vultures ready to swoop as soon as they see some one with a reducing gun, never buy anything at full price, ask if/when something's gonna be reduced, or if the price is going down even more, despite it being dirt cheap anyway - I wouldn't put them into room 101. A lot of these people aren't well off and possibly would rather not have to go out late at night and see what bargains they can get, not only that they clear stuff that would have to go in the bin otherwise - I hate throwing good food away!
No, it's the arrogance of some people. I totally understand how people with busy lives, full on working days can't shop at conventional times, and of course many do their shopping online and have it delivered, but there are still people who like to do it the old fashioned way, fair enough I say, but I wish they'd also remember that the staff in the shops have also had a full on day, and during the last few minutes of trade, they're tired, thinking about going home, not trying to track down a packet of quinoa with wild rice, or getting them a manager to complain to if we've run out!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I can’t stand what I call “amateur shoppers” you know the type, act as if they have never seen a shop before. Read every bit of writing on the packet, discuss it with their partner, read it again and then leave it down all the time they anD their trolley/basket blocking the shelves. Then they saunter to the next shelf and do it all over again. Generally it is a relatively low priced item not a full side of gammon that might cost a fair bit.



And as for people who phone someone to discuss what are on the shelves agghh. WTF

I often say to Mr L that if he sees me with a sharp object in my hand to talk me down before I do something stupid to them.

Sorry but I have absolutely no patience with dutters treating it as a day out.

 

[merryone]

I appreciate that this is probably totally wrong of me but another customer room 101 canditate is the person who tries to be "familiar"...You'll be serving them, and they'll ask "How's your day going?, or did you have a nice Christmas?" for example. These people don't know you from Adam, and of course all they want to hear is "fine thanks, or yes, I had a wonderful Christmas = A rhetorical question. I'm happy to partake in small talk about he weather, about the food we sell, and the customers that you gradually build up a rapport with, yes it's appropriate for them to ask these things, but for some reason I really find this line of questioning intrusive and a little insensitive if I'm honest. I'd be far more happy if a customer said eg, after Christmas "I hope you had a nice Christmas", or I hope you have a good day..that's a lovely sentiment and I'll meet that with a smile and a thank you...that's all it needs! No customer wants to hear "No, I had a horrible Christmas, or actually I'm really depressed at the moment!

 

[merryone]

The ones that moan about Christmas stock in October - I agree with them wholeheartedly, but I wish they'd stop moaning to me about it, there is nothing I can do to stop it, I can get you a manager to complain to, but there's nothing they can do about it either, I can give you the address/phone number of head office, who'll no doubt make sympathetic noises, give a voucher for a pack of free mince pies but will explain that lots of people like to plan months ahead for xmas, and some of the stock does have use by dates that are well before xmas, but then some people celebrate early for whatever reason...I don't care..it's not going to go away anytime soon! Every other shop has got it's xmas stock out,and with that in mind as a struggling high street retailer we have got to try and have a bite at that cherry. If you don't want to buy christmas stuff early, don't buy it! Just please don't add to the stress of the poor supermarket worker by moaning to us about it. There is NOTHING we can do! I'd love to go back to the days when xmas started at the beginning of December and the sales started in January..but this will never happen!