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You could have said "No, this is my first time here. How do I sign up?" if you were actually interested. By giving such a short answer when asked about the rewards card, the employee figured you weren't interested.
Other customers complain about the rewards card spiel, they've probably found this way to be a happy medium. They mention it for those who are interested to ask more questions, but those who aren't can just say no and move on with their purchase.
Oh, I didn't type out everything. EVERY time I'm at any store in which they ask if I'm a rewards member, if I'm not, I say NO AND I also always ask, "Can I sign up online?" In this case at the art store, he didn't really know, so I was holding back to see if he'd offer/ask to sign me up, which he didn't. If I really wanted to, I would have then brought it up in which he probably would have sighed & done it because he would have had no choice then.
Yes, the customer can ask questions too & take the initiative, I know, but they're the employees. They're the one's working there, not us, so it's more up to them to give the good service, speak first, offer things, etc. That's their job that they get paid to do.
That's contrary to what the previous poster claimed. He said 65 year olds worked in these places, had fat bank accounts and comfortable retirements.
I know plenty of teens who can't get hired at fast food restaurants but would love the opportunity. Everyone knows that H1-B visas are cheaper to hire than American citizens. That is why employers prefer them. It's not that Americans don't want these jobs. (This is claimed about all jobs, from the lower level fast food places to high tech jobs - the claim is that Americans "can't" or "don't "want" to do these jobs.) That's why I'm glad a lot of these fast food jobs are becoming automated and using self-serve kiosks. Fewer jobs for lazy adults to fall back on.
I can tell you with absolute certainty you're wrong in the H1B argument. I lived on that boardwalk for 18 years, and the store owners were my neighbors. The H1B students are NOT cheaper. This was seasonal work, it was low pay, not a career. These store owners in resort towns cannot get enough teens who want to work anymore, I don't care if you believe it or not. If not for H1B, half the stores on the boardwalk wouldn't have any help. If you come down in the summer you might think you're in Eastern Europe. Its actually harder for the employers to use H1B's because they have to find housing for them. But they also don't get the problems they have with American teens, ie. call outs, quitting with no notice, etc.
I also don't care what that poster said about fat bank accounts. Older people with fat bank accounts are not mopping floors at Popeye's, they just are not.
Everyone should have the job of cashier and/or restaurant server. It will give a perspective on the human race and work. Servers are often stiffed on tips. Cashiers get coughed on and abused for some policy they have nothing to do with especially coupons. It only takes one customer to ruin a day and they are far too common. When you do not get paid a living wage, best not to expect great service.
I don't expect or even WANT to be around Stepford workers. If someone is outright rude, that's one thing - but if they just don't smile big and talk in happy-happy-joy tones, i don't care. I won't even notice.
And if someone is slow, maybe he's just slow, or maybe he's new, or maybe he's had horrible news recently. Again, my life is not so much more important than everyone else's that I have to have split-second service.
Oh, I didn't type out everything. EVERY time I'm at any store in which they ask if I'm a rewards member, if I'm not, I say NO AND I also always ask, "Can I sign up online?" In this case at the art store, he didn't really know, so I was holding back to see if he'd offer/ask to sign me up, which he didn't.
If you wanted the rewards card, then say you want the rewards card. Don't be coy. The workers aren't mind readers. If you ask about signing up online, to me that sounds like you aren't interested at the moment. It is an excuse many people use when they aren't interested, but can't be direct. The cashier was being nice by not wasting your time on something he didn't think you were interested in. How is that considered bad customer service?
All I can say is, be glad you don't live in the 3rd world, where customer service is sometimes just non-existent!
You go in a mattress store and ask what kind of springs or foam they use and they look at you like you're from another planet!
You go into a foam store and ask if they have latex foam and they look at you like you're speaking Greek.
You ask a supermarket clerk if they can order a case of wine they used to have all the time and they say "No, we can't do that."
... On and on...
In the USA at least most people have some idea about the products they sell, and can usually place an order for you if you want something.
Also usually in the USA you can return an item within 30 days and expect an exchange or refund that day. In the 3rd world they tell you that they'll have to get approval to make the return under warranty and that can take 30 days! (with a kitchen faucet, for example...Kind of a problem!)
My pet peeve re customer service in the USA is the phone menu hell and then getting someone with such a thick Indian or Filipino, etc. accent that you can barely understand them. Ask for someone you can understand - a native English speaker - and they say "Well yes we can do that but you might have to wait 15-30 minutes..."
As to supermarkets there is a fine line between being friendly and spending too much time talking to the customer.
I've had checkout clerks who spend maybe an extra 2 min. talking to someone they "know" while I'm 4th back in line and that annoys me. On the other hand, I used to go to the same clerk almost all the time at the local supermarket and she never would even smile or say hello, she acted as if she'd never seen us before. I found that kind of disturbing, as if she and I were robots.
I think due to the low standard of living people at a lot of stores have to live due to low wages, they are bitter and just don't give a s___. I think that's the main problem. Used to be if you got a job somewhere, no matter if it were minimum wage or not, you'd be trained to do the job right and the "customer is king". Now, no one, not the clerk, not the assistant manager, and not the manager give a dang because they're working for such little money as compared to the work they have to do.
Part of this is the trend starting maybe 10 years or more ago, of paying workers the same money for more work.
My wife was working in a discount store and they basically told them they had to do so much work before lunch and so the workers would have to (illegally) work through part or all of their lunch or get yelled at. Even in higher end jobs, like in the communications industry, the trend has been to hire fewer people and make them do more work.
It's an atmosphere that does not lend itself to happy friendly employees.
On the other hand, I used to go to the same clerk almost all the time at the local supermarket and she never would even smile or say hello, she acted as if she'd never seen us before. I found that kind of disturbing, as if she and I were robots..
I don't see what is disturbing about that. You remember her because she is the one cashier you see each week. However, she interacts with hundreds of people each week. Its doubtful she is going to remember everyone she sees for a few seconds/minutes each week.
I agree - some posts on here w/the attitude of "you work for me".... they are there to do their job - especially cashiers who aren't going to hold your hand, offer to find things for you, etc. (I'm not a cashier btw)
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