RTC Rudeness - Just Me? (Reston, Fairfax: living, restaurants, military)

[JD984]

I've never had a bad service experience at RTC. I did have to stay in a rural town in North/Central Pennsylvania (not sure if it was historic, although it was old-looking) two weeks on business once and found the service there to be mediocre, principally because the townspeople were so wary and suspicious of "outsiders." I'm sure it was all warm and fuzzy for the locals. The business in question eventually left the state entirely.

In a way, I'm glad that, if there's bad service at a NoVa establishment, it's just as likely to affect a long-time resident as a newcomer or visitor.

[seiketsu]

I haven't experienced outright rudeness in RTC, mostly just general aloofness. Which I vastly prefer over the constant "How are you? Can I help you? My name is Blahblahblah, let me know if you need any help!!!!!" Thanks, one per store is enough...I don't need to be greeted effusively by all six of your floor attendants.

(P.S. I worked retail in a younger life. I know the drill. I also really appreciated my managers who made a point of coordinating responsibilities so customers would feel welcome but not ambushed.)

(P.P.S. I also never worked retail in an affluent area. I would probably have a bad attitude if I had to spend my days waiting on people who looked down on me.)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by seiketsu

(P.P.S. I also never worked retail in an affluent area. I would probably have a bad attitude if I had to spend my days waiting on people who looked down on me.)

I have. I worked at a Nordstrom's in a well-to-do part of California and it was a miserable experience. Although the rich customers weren't that bad. Contrary to what you might expect, I didn't have a problem with anyone looking down on me. Actually, most of the paying customers were in a hurry, knew what they wanted and did their shopping pleasantly and without asking too much from me.

What I had a horrible time with were the people who'd come in and demand immediate attention and copious amounts of service. Just my opinion, but I had the impression they were from the lower income areas and shopping at Nordie's for entertainment. God I hated them. We could usually spot them a mile away, but there was nothing we could do. We were required to give them every little bit of attention they wanted. They'd try on everything, then "buy" several nice outfits, and I'd go home thinking I'd finally earned a big commission. Of course, over the next several days the outfits would all be returned. I think a lot of people go to fancy stores and try on clothes for free entertainment.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

. . .I could really see myself putting down roots in a place like Winchester and really doing great things for that community. The problem? Who the hell wants to drive 75 minutes each way to work (and I doubt Winchester is a hotbed for white-collar employment)?

Alot of white-collar professionals have founds ways to make it work out here. The ones I know commute to jobs in Leesburg, Ashburn, Dulles, etc. and some to Reston/Herndon. You're in the federal government, right? The federal govt has offices out here and I believe there are more heading out this way. If you are searching, look at places in Winchester, Front Royal, Dulles Airport, Martinsburg and Harpers' Ferry, WV and even Frederick and Ft Dietrick (1 hr fr Winchester), MD. Actually, that's how we ended up here--my son worked as a government contractor for a fed agency out here, rented a place, and ended up loving Winchester.

I guess my options to be happy are to look to pursue purchasing a home in Winchester in 2-4 years and then power-commute 2.5 hours each day . . . .

Now way, RR. You'll be half-dead and hating life with this commute. If you're serious about moving out to a place like Winchester, get a plan and start making it happen. No use being miserable.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by ajzjmsmom

You are way to young to be as unhappy as you seem to be, however you need to make sure that it is living in Reston that is making you unhappy, if it is not then it will not matter where you go you won't be happy. Unfortunately if it is something within yourself, that will go wherever you are. I know you had alot of hopes and expecations for NOVA and all you thought it could offer you, unfortunately not all places work for all people, The best thing you can for yourself, is to accept that for now this is where you are and try to make the best of it.

Fantastic advice! How's that old saying go?: "It's not the place, it's the person." Thanks for sharing your story ajzjmsmom!

[katyusha25]

I went through RTC and the employees of the stores I went into were very pleasant. I'm sure there are various factors that contribute, though. I am always nice (unless they're awful from the get go, but I don't experience that much) to people in any kind of service industry (flight attendants, waiters, store clerks). I can only imagine the people of hell they come across in their line of work and I certainly don't want to contribute to that.

I can tell you who is awful no matter how nice you are: the angry, bitter lady who works at the Metro in one of the booths at the Vienna station. Good Lord, I've NEVER seen anyone so rude to every person that came to ask her something. So, Metro lady, I'm so sorry you hate your life.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

I doubt Winchester is a hotbed for white-collar employment.

Why don't you look instead of making assumptions? It doesn't matter whether it's a "hotbed," you only need one job.

[Alicia Bradley]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I have. I worked at a Nordstrom's in a well-to-do part of California and it was a miserable experience. Although the rich customers weren't that bad. Contrary to what you might expect, I didn't have a problem with anyone looking down on me. Actually, most of the paying customers were in a hurry, knew what they wanted and did their shopping pleasantly and without asking too much from me.

What I had a horrible time with were the people who'd come in and demand immediate attention and copious amounts of service. Just my opinion, but I had the impression they were from the lower income areas and shopping at Nordie's for entertainment. God I hated them. We could usually spot them a mile away, but there was nothing we could do. We were required to give them every little bit of attention they wanted. They'd try on everything, then "buy" several nice outfits, and I'd go home thinking I'd finally earned a big commission. Of course, over the next several days the outfits would all be returned. I think a lot of people go to fancy stores and try on clothes for free entertainment.

I don't consider RTC especially upscale, really.. if you want that, go to Friendship Heights (DC's little equivalent to North Michigan/Oak St. in Chicago or Fifth Avenue in NYC). It's just a standard 'nicer' mall in an outdoor setting (but no where near as cool as Oak Brook or Old Orchard, two outdoor malls in suburban Chicago which are both a smidge more upscale than RTC). And don't get me started on the restaurants! 4/5 of them are Chicago chains (yes, indeed). But anyway.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone, but to clear up a couple things regarding the rudeness/sub-par service I received at the Origins and Aveda locations at RTC - no, it wasn't that people weren't 'helping' me enough. I'm a very introverted person off the 'net and tend to greatly prefer it if clerks, etc. leave me alone in stores.

Here's a taste of what actually happened: at Aveda, my mother and I were the only ones in the store, and the cashier was ringing my mother up first. I noticed a little bowl of clearance makeup (not expired or anything - just products they were phasing out) on the counter and alterted my mother (we're both clearance junkies). She and I each picked out a couple items from the bowl, and when my mom offered to pay for mine, I said, "no, no, don't worry about it," at which point the clerk angrily let out a huge, huffy sigh and said, "is it going on this ticket, or NOT???" (You have to remember that not only was there no one in line behind us, we were the only people in the store. And there was another employee out amongst the products, arranging stuff on shelves, etc.) My mother, who's very extroverted and someone (most) everyone loves, found the cashier's behavior very strangely rude, too. (Of course, we didn't talk about it until we were well away from the store.)

I'll leave off the Cosi and Origins experiences for now, since this post is already getting close to book-length.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I'll leave off the Cosi and Origins experiences for now, since this post is already getting close to book-length.

But those are the most interesting kinds of threads .

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

To be fair I am very harsh on Reston, and I think it's just because I'm unhappy that after a year-and-a-half I still don't see what makes it as "magical" as everyone else sees it as.

Magical? That's an extreme thing to be expecting, so no wonder you're disappointed.

Sorry to dilute the dramatic rhetoric, but what the typical person says is more like "Reston is very appealing" or "Reston is very pretty" or "Reston has a fair number of young people, lots of stores and restaurants, and lots of things to do" or "Reston is a very pleasant community with a wide variety of amenities within walking distance." Those are all realistic reasons to love Reston, but it's still just a suburb, not something "magical".

If you want a community that feels magical, you're expecting too much and you won't be happy anywhere you go. (Except maybe Disney World. )