Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd say it's perfectly normal to hate on customers. It really depends on the customer mix you have but most of the general public is quite honestly, dumber than a box of rocks and nasty to deal with. From my experience the retail chains and Big Box places and Malls have the worst customers. Your independent and mom+pop stores usually won't have this kind of customer mainly because people go to the Big Box and chain stores mostly because they're cheaper (or thought to be) and you get the goofier people because of it. Also, a local owner won't tolerate someone coming in the store and acting like an ******* or trashing the place because scaring away other customers will hurt an independent a lot more vs. Wallyworld. It's a trashy crowd that usually shops at Big Box and the chains and most people in the retail world know it.
This type of attitude which is showing up in this thread, is what makes those customers you hate, treat you like they do. With your attitude and others posting here with the same attitude that are hurting the good people in retail. They make the customers hate everything about the clerks and the business.
I am in my mid 80s, and have always worked on commission, not salary since getting out of the Navy in 1954 till I finally retired.
I spent 15 years in furniture/carpet/major appliance sales and managed stores and departments. Was in the corporate world, and worked my way up to division sales manager over half the nation. In 1972 after spending a year learning the business at a major university, I entered Real Estate Brokerage till I finally retired specializing in investment real estate/farms and ranches/1031 tax deferred exchanges. I can tell you from personal experience and from working with other salespeople a few facts.
I like my customers, and in turn they liked me. If you do not like your customers, and are not letting them know you are happy to see them, they will give you a bad time. Customers can feel your attitude towards them, and return what they are getting. If you are having such a terrible time working with customers, it is your fault. You are sending them signals you don't like them so in turn they are giving you back what they are receiving, and if it is bad vibes, they can win every time. On the other hand if they like you, they spend more money, return for future business, and send in their friends. That is why I made sure my customers liked me. When in Retail selling furniture, in today's dollars I was earning over $125,000 per year. I was doing this in a major department store where the clerks were making 50 to 85 cents per hour during the time I was there.
Over all my years working with the public, I only had half a dozen unfavorable experiences with the public, and I got along well with the public. I liked them, and they liked me.
I and other professional people I know that were involved with the public, all came to the conclusion a long time ago that if you are having problems working with the public in a public contact job, it is your fault, and it is up to you to change and allow people to like you. If they feel you truly like them, they will in turn will like you and treat you a lot different than you are being treated now. The customers will react with you, exactly the way you react with them.
As a cashier you may ring up thousands, but you don't sell it.
Don't forget that every product that passes your register has to support many costs, including:
Other employees salaries
The wholesale cost of the product itself
Rent
Central office administration
Utilities
Markdowns on products that don't sell
Advertising
Insurance, accounting
Freight in
Credit card fees to the bank
Plus many more
Yes, I realized this after I posted and was too lazy to fix it.
However, through my actions, revenue is brought into the store. Without me (and the other cashiers), the store would not be able to make money. So our job is very important, even if people think we're worthless.
It does take a certain kind of person to put up with standing on your feet and taking crap from strangers all. Day. Long. Very few people can do it.
I'm not sure who this mystical "suited to help customers" person is that so many people who have little to no understanding of retail imagine exists, but let me clue you in. None of us really like the customers, none of us really like our jobs, we are all just there for a paycheck, and all of us would leave if we could get something that paid better.
Perhaps I'm not quite as good at hiding my contempt for the customers. But make no mistake, NONE of us enjoy dealing with them. Yes, a few rare customers are lovely, and I really enjoyed the little time I got to spend with them. But most are indifferent or awful, and that's just how it is.
This is why I'd be terrible in a job dealing with the public all the time. It would consume me.
The first time I had a real interaction with the public I was dealing with a very sensitive topic for the person. She had to fill out paperwork that she insisted she already filled out. The bad part was that she couldn't write because her wrist was broken and I was asked to write her information down for her (with rolling eyes from the service reps). Walked into the room and the woman was in tears saying she'd already done this and why did she have to come in again and the wait was so long that she is going to be late for an appointment that she desperately needed to make and she didn't have time to sit there and dictate to me when she'd already done it all before.
The staff simply didn't believe her because the paperwork wasn't on file. I looked for it and discovered that we lost it, but saved a digital copy so I know she did fill it out. So I let her go. It was our fault, not hers, and no one believed her because she seemed hysterical.
I would never want to end up so callous and unbelieving because of these bad experiences that you ignore people in distress and don't treat them with respect anymore. I don't think that would ever happen to me, I would just internalize everything and get ulcers.
Even now, I don't interact with the public much but I did answer phones and will get calls from people that want help and it's stupid how many of them say, "no one else would listen to me. Thank you." I don't answer phones anymore, but the person who does at my job told me about someone calling her asking for help on something they didn't know anything about and she laughed at their stupidity and told them it's not her problem. I had to bite my tongue.
Jobs where you deal with the public all the time are not good for anyone, from what I can tell.
Customers who whine to me about their broken back/wrist/insert body part here are the worst. I can't stand them.
Customers who insist that I lift large 12 packs of water (we're not supposed to) because they just had surgery. I'm not heartless, but if you don't care about me, why would I care about you? Maybe my back hurts too, and I stand on my feet all day, but do you give a rat's tuchus? No.
They aren't my customers. They are the store's customers.
If I was running my own business and making good money from my own sales, I would probably like customers more. Since I receive no benefit from being nice to customers, and since most are rude to me (and unable to be adults themselves) there is no point. But I reasonably polite to 99% percent of the customers I deal with. So what people are coming up with in this thread about how I am with customers is unfounded nonsense.
Why does it fall to me to be the bigger person? If I'm tired and don't feel good, why can't customers just treat me decently anyway because it's the right thing to do? Why am I required to be miss effing sunshine all the time? I have never been overtly rude to any customer, but less than chipper? Sure. Who wouldn't be in a job like that?
I'm just wondering when customers got absolved of, ya know, their responsibility to act like adults and be polite because it's what adults are supposed to do, not throw tantrums like horrid little children.
OldTrader, if you project you like customers say eight or nine times out of 10, you will have no problems and will connect. The other two times are where the trouble is, even if you do your job right. There are times when you have you do have bad customers that even by being helpful and cheerful, it wont help the situation because they are their way whether it is something you have total control over or something you have no control over or something outside of the entire sale. I normally remind customers of policy which is typically the key issue I deal with, it usually works but some people no matter if you do it with a smile, want to punch you because they want it THEIR way. I'm sure some people at your furniture store wanted to get 35% off and no down payment until 2018 rather than the 30% off for Presidents Day and 2017 like your managers are telling you is the lowest you can go and then walk off in huff because you couldn't break policy while most may say that they are fine and take the deal. It's these people that are the problem and make it hard to rebound from and remember and groan about at the end of the shift with friends, family and co-workers, not the other eight or nine out of 10. These one to two people are the problem for retail workers. It's sad but true.
Customers who whine to me about their broken back/wrist/insert body part here are the worst. I can't stand them.
Customers who insist that I lift large 12 packs of water (we're not supposed to) because they just had surgery. I'm not heartless, but if you don't care about me, why would I care about you? Maybe my back hurts too, and I stand on my feet all day, but do you give a rat's tuchus? No.
THIS is a case of situational awareness that the one or two bad customers out of ten I mentioned in my above post, lack. Say I recently had surgery, I wont goto the store and get packs of water because who will lift it for me when I get home? It's alright at the store with maybe a bagger helping me pack the car or something but when I get home, no one maybe able to help me so it's all on me and with most surgery you can only lift 10-15 pounds TOPS.
Yes, I realized this after I posted and was too lazy to fix it.
However, through my actions, revenue is brought into the store. Without me (and the other cashiers), the store would not be able to make money. So our job is very important, even if people think we're worthless.
It does take a certain kind of person to put up with standing on your feet and taking crap from strangers all. Day. Long. Very few people can do it.
I'm not sure who this mystical "suited to help customers" person is that so many people who have little to no understanding of retail imagine exists, but let me clue you in. None of us really like the customers, none of us really like our jobs, we are all just there for a paycheck, and all of us would leave if we could get something that paid better.
Perhaps I'm not quite as good at hiding my contempt for the customers. But make no mistake, NONE of us enjoy dealing with them. Yes, a few rare customers are lovely, and I really enjoyed the little time I got to spend with them. But most are indifferent or awful, and that's just how it is.
I know all that. I have many years of retail experience. Among other things, I was the general manager of a big box retail store for years.
Your problem us that cashiers are dead easy to replace. On any given day I would receive at least a dozen applications for cashier positions. That was when I wasn't hiring. If I so much as thought out loud that I might need to hire a few cashiers I would receive several dozen applications. With that much competition you are never going to be paid well.
Your second, larger problem is your attitude. I promoted several people up from cashier ranks. Every single one of them was promoted on the basis of their attitude. If they smiled and helped customers, if they brought a bit of cheerfulness into the lunch room, if they weren't a pain in my ass, they got a promotion. I never cared if they were completely faking it, as long as they could sell me and others on a positive attitude I would be willing to promote.
Those cashiers who grunted, griped and grumbled through their shifts, who sighed deeply whenever I asked them to restock the cash wrap area, who were curt with customers never got promoted. They would receive a minimal number of hours and that was it.
Yes, I realized this after I posted and was too lazy to fix it.
However, through my actions, revenue is brought into the store. Without me (and the other cashiers), the store would not be able to make money. So our job is very important, even if people think we're worthless.
Have you seen the self-checkout counters at Wal-Mart, et al??
Quote:
Originally Posted by masmartbottom
I'm not sure who this mystical "suited to help customers" person is that so many people who have little to no understanding of retail imagine exists, but let me clue you in. None of us really like the customers, none of us really like our jobs, we are all just there for a paycheck, and all of us would leave if we could get something that paid better.
Perhaps I'm not quite as good at hiding my contempt for the customers. But make no mistake, NONE of us enjoy dealing with them. Yes, a few rare customers are lovely, and I really enjoyed the little time I got to spend with them. But most are indifferent or awful, and that's just how it is.
Just because YOU have never met someone like this does not mean they don't exist.
You think your job sucks, and it may very well suck, but your attitude also sucks. You can change that, but you won't. So you reap what you sow.
Customers who whine to me about their broken back/wrist/insert body part here are the worst. I can't stand them.
You sound like a real people person.
Customers who insist that I lift large 12 packs of water (we're not supposed to) because they just had surgery. I'm not heartless, but if you don't care about me, why would I care about you? Maybe my back hurts too, and I stand on my feet all day, but do you give a rat's tuchus? No.
Customers aren't there to serve you. If they're trying to make small talk with you and you cannot stand them because you don't want to hear it, that is heartless.But I suspect you know this and just don't care.
To everyone who asked what is meant when someone says you're not a good fit for a specific job - this is a perfect example.
I've worked in just about every industry out there. From cashier to store manager. Unless you plan on being behind closed doors, in a production environment, or as a librarian, consumers and customers will be the reason you have a job.
I do not like people in general. Over many years, I have learned not to automatically dislike anyone - unless they show me I have reason to. Often, I can put a smile on a grumpy persons face, just by saying something nice. Put out the GOOD vibes - most the time, it works in your favor.
You, are actually bringing negative vibes to you by having such negative thoughts. Fact, not opinion. I'm not saying love everyone - I'm saying, you get what you're giving. You will hate the other jobs I mentioned someone like you should have - so knock off the negative vibes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
