i'm the ops manager at a fairly big retail company. i know everybody is looking for the most bang for their buck, but here's a few pointers on how NOT to get a discount/good service.

1. don't act like you're entitled to get something reduced. you're not..get over it. it's a judgment call. that's what i get paid to do--make a qualified decision. if it goes in your favor..great! if it doesn't...take it like an adult.

2. don't get snitty or bitchy. not a good look on you and it gets you tuned out quick fast and in a hurry.

3. threaten to take your business somewhere else. i think the company will survive in spite of you making your $14.99 purchase elsewhere. times are hard, i really can't afford to make you stay.

4. start out in PMS mode (male or female) right out the gate. nope, don't do it.

5. attempt do a return, with no receipt, no identifying tags and want money put back on your credit card. yeah okay.


things you can do:

1. be pleasant. how you start out goes a long way in determining how your transaction is gonna play out.

2. tell me why you think something needs to be price adjusted. snags, missing buttons, dirt mark. sure no problem. 10% off. you can't have something half price because 1 button came off..sorry.

3. if you're a regular customer, you're more likely to get the hometown discount than somebody who we've never seen.

just a few things..nothing scientific about it.

see ya at at the store.

i need to write one of these called how NOT to get a modification on your mortgage

evenstar3 said:

you feel my pain?

Fury said:

This should be taught in school... once or twice a year before you graduate High School there seems to be a need for this kind of information to be taught... Like Common Sense 101 or something...

Love your approach, I totally feel you!

THANK YOU!

So many people bitch about customer service, they never stop to think that they may be the problem and not the employee.



Can anyone answer this question for me? Why, at movie theatres, do people feel entitled to ask for a refund on the film if they didn't like it? Not that there was a problem with sound, or projection, or their popcorn was stale or anything. I've had so many people ask, after sitting through the entire movie, if they can have their money back. WTF?

Fury said:

THANK YOU.

Man, it sounds almost like we work at the same damn store.

My rant about banking customers!!

http://prince.org/msg/100/251652?pr

I can't stand when customers feel they are entitled to and demand a discount because you were 1 minute late.
They just use that as an excuse and are the same type of people to eat the entire meal, then say there was something wrong with it,
then they also want their money back.

Once when a customer began to verbally abuse me, I told him that I wasn't going to serve him and gave him his money back.
I thought I was going to get into trouble because he called the main office,
but the office agreed with me because the way he was explaining about me was awful, cursing and using derogatory names.

The customer think they are always right, I say not always.

I 100% disagree with this list. Yes it makes perfect sense and is what we would all want to see happen. However every retail chain I have worked for in whatever capacity subscribes to the exact opposit. It is the bitchy customers that act entitled that are given a discount, or better service or whatever. It is the modern take on customer service by retail chains.

ThirdandFinal said:

And businesses wonder why they have such high employee turnover rates...

"Gee, we pay our staff shit wages and allow customers to walk all over them. And we make them wear ugly shirt. I wonder why people keep quitting?"

ThirdandFinal said:

Exactly. When I worked at Best and Less the slogan was 'The customers always right'. It was a policy that we had to check bags. And so I did and when the occasion would come up that there was no tag on certain items and they had no recipt we're meant to do something about it right? Or else whats the point of checking bags. Everytime I did, the customer would get angry, and when they'd have to wait they would crack the shits and demand their money back on whatever they just bought and my fucking idiot boss would yell at me in front of everyone and act as if I was in the wrong. From then on whenever I checked bags I just glossed over it without even caring. As far as I'm concerned with that attitude they deserved to get robbed. I'm so fucking glad I don't work in retail anymore.

I worked at Macy's for many years, and I am GLAD to be the HELL outta retail!

Yeah, it's amazing how some people haven't realized that you get more bees with honey.

I got pretty jaded to the yelling, so when someone came to me that was pleasant & polite, I would tend to bend the rules if needed.

All the assholes with the big mouths & attitudes would spend quite a bit of time arguing and then (inevitably) waiting around for me to go in the back and "look for my manager".

PurpleJedi said:

I do that all the time, and to be honest, I don't know anyone in retail or customer service that doesn't. So many people act like dickholes when they go into a place of business, that those few that are nice and polite end up getting treated very well by the staff.

One usher where I work lets those rare nice customers come in to their movie for free. He directs them to a side door and shuffles them in when management isn't looking.

wait how can u not give me the discount??? i can see if i was shitty to you and u didnt like it.but alotta times these heffas workin retail got attitudes and i dont do to well with that with im trying to shop for item to purchase.

Christopher said:

Like I said, a lot of people LOVE to complain about retail staff and never stop to consider that it might be them that's the real problem.

Just as long as none of us are Customer Service oriented like these knuckleheads... FUNNIEST story I've heard in a while!!

http://jalopnik.com/51914...es-on-hold

Christopher said:

There's no way an employee can NOT give you an advertised discount (against the law) but say the sale starts in a day or 2...or maybe your blender stopped working 1 week after the warranty expired...things like that.

RenHoek said:

IT'S ME, FUCKER !

x 10,000

As much as I believe there's good people working in retail, I also firmly believe that 95% of customers do not set out on an hour, a day, a weekend of shopping to diss retail workers.

Starting out with an attitude like the one you're portraying there is plain wrong.

Maybe it's time to consider another career ?

PurpleJedi said:

I've had all kinds of people try to get things on sale before the actual sale starts when I worked retail.

Right now my theatre has trouble with customers trying to sue coupons and passes for other companies. People seem to genuinely have no idea there's more than one theatre cahin.

BlueZebra said:

Have you ever worked retail? Some people really do come into the store for no other purpose than to shit on another human being. The very nature of the retail staff's job allows customers to do this.

meow85 said:

I've worked in restaurants when I was younger. I've defended my (female) boss against drunken gropers and shit. I've seen notes with racist messages being slipped in with the credit card, etc ... etc ... I work in a customer facing job now. Sure there are SOME people that set out to be bitchy, but that doesn't stop me from starting out to be friendly and provide the best service possible to each and every following customer.

In fact, that is what makes the difference. Every customer is another case that deserves the exact same level of service no matter how he/she behaves. It's nothing personal.

Oh yeah ... I'd especially expect a different attitude from an Ops Manager.

BlueZebra said:

Oh, I know. But people who start off as cunts aren't going to get the same service as nice customers, no matter how hard the staff might try otherwise. Most people will go above and beyond for a decent customer, but will only do what they're obligated to for an asshole.

meow85 said:

that's a judgement call. That customer might have his ass taken by a skank retail worker in the store across the street and have his defenses up ("Are they gonna treat me the same way here???"), there's no way you can say that.

What's the greatest reward for anybody working with customers ? (for real)

At a typical retail setting , most of their items for sale are 100% garbage.
Thats why, when you walk out the store with an item it loses 2 3rds of its value.
Most people have to be told to do their damn job and wont offer any extra effort because they don't want to do their damn job anyway.
I hate when it takes five people to cater to one customer, the other people are just standing around so they dont have to do anything. Its like a minnie break for them while one of them explains or answers questions while the rest just stand around and gawk.

Cuddles said:

or

or
calls on their cellphone way to long
or
chews chewing gum
or
rolls their eyes when someone asks whether that red piece is also available in blue
...

...

they better go work in reFAIL !

BlueZebra said:

I don't think anyone here was generalizing that ALL customers are bastards. The point of this thread is to highlight the fact that if you expect something from a salesperson, you need to treat that person with some courtesy and respect.

Yeah, there are assholes behind the registers too, but that's a topic for another thread.

BlueZebra said:

The paycheque.

I'm not sure there's anybody who daydreams about this sort of work. Those of us that do it are only in it for lack of options.

PurpleJedi said: