Proper etiquette while being a customer in Retail (1 Viewer)

[DJackson10]

Wow. When I lived in NJ, I thought it was silly how Shop Rite had a little separate store right next door to the main grocery store where they had to sell their wine and beer.  Why not just let them have it all in one space?

I now think that was a brilliant setup compared to your messy situation. 

The Beer/WIne has to be near our deli section (I forget the logistics why). My store was a A&P/SuperFresh before ACME bought us. Other ACMEs around me and including GIANT won't let you purchase any food items including a candy bar or gum or a soda over there. The Giant has like a counter desk where you purchase the beer/wine only. Most of the regular ACME's their beer/wine checkout is a distance off from the regular checkouts so it just makes more sense for customers to do it separately. My Beer/Wine registers are exactly up front near the other registers and only blocked by a small wall separator. Other then that it looks like a regular lane.

The worst thing my SD could've done was say we would allow food purchases of 10 or 15 or less items in the lane. My SD tries to play hero constantly in our district despite being buddy with all the higher ups including my DM and VP (Both of them he hired for their first jobs.) so I never understood the hero ball he tries to play. When some people complain about the limit items I tell them be grateful about it as other acmes and stores around here only let you just purchase the wine. 

I do have a select few customers who buy small items plus wine/beer often and said the only reason they aren't at Giant is because we allow them to purchase a few food items. This is despite the customer living closer to that store. I just don't think its enough business wise to defend having it for both food and alcohol. 

 

[DJackson10]

Retail is definitely not for everyone.  I spent over 30 years working for Publix down in Florida.  The thing about retail is it can provide career opportunities for people who don't have a college education or a trade to fall back on.  The thing is the opportunities are better with some companies than others Publix, Kroger and Cosco are some of the best.

Any manager worth his salt will try instill great customer service from day one from his associates.  The rule is the customer is always right without them you have no job.  I have to say I really enjoyed my job all the interactions with people.  Yes sometimes you will run into a disgruntled shopper or just a miserable human being but the majority of people are really nice.

One of the weirdest things I ever heard in retail was early on in my career I was working seafood and I was standing behind the live lobster tank and a lady asked me how fresh the lobsters were swimming around the tank.

I live in a neighborhood I wouldn't call it high upper class but it's filled with a lot of people who also think they are entitled. Many of the older crowd went to the prep schools or catholic schools so they thick they are better then you. Not to get too political with this but I also have a ton of Republican's in my area mostly Irish and Roman Catholic who think exactly what they see on Fox and those channels weekly. A few have no filter on what they say. We don't get into politics a lot if at all at work. If people are talking I just keep away or listen not saying much. I think half my store voted for Trump. Add all of it together and you get a lot of people customer wise who think they are flat out better then you because you work retail and they don't. 

Some of the employees aren't much better though. My Assistant Meat Manager is a real arrogant jackass. One of my front end people who runs the show at night is an absolute control freak and everyone thinks she's a #####. Instead of calling for extra employees up front to bag or check she'll throw a 30 item person in my beer and wine line which doesn't go over with my customers. A lot of this comes down to my SD hates confrontation so he never takes care of any issues and lets them become bigger. I had a guy who did carts older guy with some mental health issues. He has the mind of a 10 year old. His Niece works there and she's a crazy loon (I could spend an hr just telling you about her crazy #### and how she wrecked a friend of mine marriage a month before the wedding) and I'm sure some of his behavior is from her and her husband plus his sister who he lived with. We had a racial incident involving him and a customer. Should've been fired on the spot but my SD never kept any records or wrote him up for past incidents probably because of his niece. He himself though decided to transfer. I had been telling him about the complaints for the beer and wine lines for over a year. It took one of our nicer customers to ##### out on him and my ASD for him to do something about it. Like dude if you solved this issue sooner you wouldn't have had that customer yelling at you. It's never a problem for him until it actually effects him. 

Don't get me wrong. I have some customers I've developed a friendship with really well over the years. We send each other Christmas cards and at least 2 of them bring me a gift for my birthday. Small things like a book or small amount on a gift card. There's customers I've known for 15 yrs or so knew their kids when they were younger who now work with me. My store just seems to have just as many idiots as it does nice people. I'm just glad I don't work for the company in the ritzy parts because those stores are even worse with Customer entitlement. 

 

[Bossman]

#9 Drives me crazy.

Bad / Lazy parenting ... they bring their kid (or kids) into the store, turn them lose and shop like they're all alone.

Meanwhile the kid is running up and down isles, handling stuff, and or making a racket yelling and playing grab arz with each other.

It's a nuisance to employees and other customers.

Also, my store isn't "child proof". I had a 4 year old put his hand on a hot radiator style space heater. Parents were oblivious to where and what the kid was doing util the kid is crying at the top of his lungs.  It's not the stores fault that your kid got hurt. 

Please keep your kid on a leash ... or better yet, leave them home if you can't (or chose not to) control them.

 

[Bossman]

One of the weirdest things I ever heard in retail was early on in my career I was working seafood and I was standing behind the live lobster tank and a lady asked me how fresh the lobsters were swimming around the tank.

actually not weird.

Lobsters loose flavor when they don't eat.

Lobster that came out of the ocean yesterday will have more flavor than a lobster thats been swimming in a tank for 3 weeks.

 

[rustycolts]

actually not weird.

Lobsters loose flavor when they don't eat.

Lobster that came out of the ocean yesterday will have more flavor than a lobster thats been swimming in a tank for 3 weeks.

Yes that does make sense.  I was pretty young and not been in retail long so I equated fresh with is the bread fresh or is your produce fresh.  So to me they were alive so they were about as fresh as they could be.  

 

[Leroy Hoard]

#9 Drives me crazy.

Bad / Lazy parenting ... 

Please keep your kid on a leash ... or better yet, leave them home if you can't (or chose not to) control them.

Ditto.

 

[DJackson10]

#9 Drives me crazy.

Bad / Lazy parenting ... they bring their kid (or kids) into the store, turn them lose and shop like they're all alone.

Meanwhile the kid is running up and down isles, handling stuff, and or making a racket yelling and playing grab arz with each other.

It's a nuisance to employees and other customers.

Also, my store isn't "child proof". I had a 4 year old put his hand on a hot radiator style space heater. Parents were oblivious to where and what the kid was doing util the kid is crying at the top of his lungs.  It's not the stores fault that your kid got hurt. 

Please keep your kid on a leash ... or better yet, leave them home if you can't (or chose not to) control them.

Kid 2 days ago in my aisles. Touching everything in sight hitting the little signs on the shelf you see with little advertising. Almost hits one of my more expensive wine bottles and knocks it over. Dad is almost paying zero attention to the kid. Meanwhile at the same time I have a delivery I'm putting up and he's running in and around me and my manager holding bottles of wine. Seriously if the dudes kid got hurt from bumping one of us or knocking over a bottle don't complain to us since you obviously can't control your dam kid. 

Today I had a kid no more then 13-14 in my aisle looking at stuff. I asked if he had a parent in there with him. He said no. SO I told him sorry but you need to leave right now. Surprisingly he didn't give me a hard time and I was really itching to get into it with one of these punk kids flying around my store the last few weeks. They are riding the electric scooters and even stole fire crackers. I have no idea where the parents are and they cause issues in the shopping center everywhere. My ASD next time said if she's there and they come in or if she's not there for me to call the cops if I see them, grab my nearest department manager and herd them into the office until the cops come. We're taking their info and calling their parents telling them their kid is banned from the store unless with a parent. If the parent still can't control them then the parent is being banned as well. If your kid is causing issues and knocking product over where we are losing business and you can't control them why do we want your service anymore if its just gonna cause issues? The best part is the one fat kid acts like he's so ghetto and white as can be. I really want to take him and throw him in Temple's campus area and then let him act like that and see what happens. Dude will be lucky if he gets through the day without 2 in the head. 

 

[DJackson10]

Yes that does make sense.  I was pretty young and not been in retail long so I equated fresh with is the bread fresh or is your produce fresh.  So to me they were alive so they were about as fresh as they could be.  

Not as bad as my produce guy yesterday. Customer (I'll agree the dude was a bit arrogant and really loud and not nice) asked my guy in produce where the Scalloped potatoes are. He looks at the dude funny. He said in a box and my co worker says all we have here is ones in the bag. Customer gets frustrated and says obviously people don't know what I'm talking about around here. My Co worker yells back well yeah I didn't know. I then went over to my co worker and asked him if he knew what scalloped potatoes were. He said no and I had to literally explain to the dude what they are. Dude is in his mid 20s mind you. Come on seriously you work at a grocery store and don't know what they are? Our hot food section has them almost every day too where you get your chicken from. 

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I'm definitely going to diddle on my phone when I wait in line and, while being/feeling apologetic, I'm not necessarily going to avoid a place because you've determined it's "too close" to closing.  If you don't want to work at 8:55pm then ##### at your boss for closing the store at 9pm instead of 8:55.

 

[Doug B]

Having that separate beer/wine lane setup would definitely confuse the eff out of anyone from New Orleans. I can tell you that for sure.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I'm definitely going to diddle on my phone when I wait in line and, while being/feeling apologetic, I'm not necessarily going to avoid a place because you've determined it's "too close" to closing.  If you don't want to work at 8:55pm then ##### at your boss for closing the store at 9pm instead of 8:55.

Agreed. I used to tend bar, and it sucks when someone comes in a few minutes before close, but it's one of the drawbacks in working in that industry.  Fortunately, those people rarely came to the bar, as it would be when I was tending bar at a restaurant, and the last minute peeps were always those who wanted a table, so some poor server got stuck.  I'd occasionally have to make a last minute drink, but then I could bail. 

 

[Gally]

3 customers in the last few days

Older gentleman brings a cart with maybe 50-60 items. I tell him I'm express 10 or less. Guy says he has wine. so I told him ok I can only ring up the wine. He asks me why. Sir I'm an express lane 10 items or less you have about a $200 order in your cart I don't have room for all your stuff. Well what am I suppose to do. Sir get your wine here and then that young man who's standing in register 10 looking bored as heck waiting for something to do can ring up the rest of your stuff. Dude mumbles something puts the wine back and goes to check out his groceries elsewhere

I'm working another department last Wednesday had to do go outside to help with a display. Comeback in near my department there's 2 cashiers in my department now ringing up people Asked my co worker over there if everything was fine. Older lady comes in with 40 items plus wine puts her stuff up my co worker tells her she can't ring all her stuff up. She maybe had 4 things plus the wine up at this point and acts like its a hassle to put it all back up. She keeps putting her stuff up. My Co worker gives in and says then yells to the rest of the customers "Just so everyone knows this lady doesn't want to check out her other 40 items at a regular check out and she'd like to apologize for holding you all up." Lady doesn't say a thing for the rest of the transaction. Lucky myself and another coworker were there to help the customers. No one was pleased with the lady 

Today I had a lady with almost 20 items plus wine. I tell her I can only ring up the wine she can go into one of the other 3 lanes to ring her other stuff up. But why? Mam my line is an express is 10 or less and I was told by management really strict on how many items we can ring up as we've had customer complaints. Well how about I ring up my wine and 10 other items now and then my next transaction we can do another 10. No you aren't understand it's 10 items PER CUSTOMER. Seeing as it wasn't busy in my department I give in. I tell her I'll ring it all up now but next time you need to pay for the wine then go elsewhere for the other groceries. 

Sounds like your store needs to add a regular line that allows more than 10 items and alcohol.  This keeps happening over and over again it seems like your store should be more accommodating to the customer by adding a regular lane that allows alcohol purchases.  Seems like it would make a lot of these situations go away.

 

[Osaurus]

Larger size booze will help quite a bit imo.

 

[wikkidpissah]

havent followed the thread so dont know if its been covered, but my biggest store problem these days is shelfstockers. where do these people - esp outside delivery folk - get the idea that their needs are more important than the customer's. cant count the number of li'l ol' ladies they brush past, race to traffic openings or jusplain run into without so much as a howdydo?! never mind deferring in any way - no longer an option, i guess. when i 1st had dealings at my local store, i was in the middle of my etiquette-police mania and actually left a Pepperidge Farm guy 40 yrs my jr in a puddle of snotblood out by the dumpsters for his miscreance, so the locals know i dont play, but i'm still squaring up against brusque outside bozos and dressing them down on their precise place in the food chain, grocerywise AND humanitywise, even tho i got a handicap sticker now. yeesh -

 

[Dr. Octopus]

 and I was really itching to get into it with one of these punk kids flying around my store the last few weeks.

This seems like a poor strategy on your part.

 

[DJackson10]

Sounds like your store needs to add a regular line that allows more than 10 items and alcohol.  This keeps happening over and over again it seems like your store should be more accommodating to the customer by adding a regular lane that allows alcohol purchases.  Seems like it would make a lot of these situations go away.

Not my store's fault blame the LCB. We only have 2 designated registers for beer and wine. Only thing I can Fault my SD for is he allows customers to purchase other items do while other stores in the area don't. 

 

[DJackson10]

havent followed the thread so dont know if its been covered, but my biggest store problem these days is shelfstockers. where do these people - esp outside delivery folk - get the idea that their needs are more important than the customer's. cant count the number of li'l ol' ladies they brush past, race to traffic openings or jusplain run into without so much as a howdydo?! never mind deferring in any way - no longer an option, i guess. when i 1st had dealings at my local store, i was in the middle of my etiquette-police mania and actually left a Pepperidge Farm guy 40 yrs my jr in a puddle of snotblood out by the dumpsters for his miscreance, so the locals know i dont play, but i'm still squaring up against brusque outside bozos and dressing them down on their precise place in the food chain, grocerywise AND humanitywise, even tho i got a handicap sticker now. yeesh -

Some of the venders are absolutely ignorant and aren't nice. I have an outside vendor who does as he pleases and it's gotten out of hand. We've had to tell him to stop over ordering. The best thing to do here is either get a manager on duty and file a complaint or call or write to the company itself about the issue. They will then address it with the vending company. The vending company will either address it with a talking too, suspension or if this isn't a first or second offense termination. 

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Not my store's fault blame the LCB. We only have 2 designated registers for beer and wine. Only thing I can Fault my SD for is he allows customers to purchase other items do while other stores in the area don't. 

You’re right about the state rules, but why is it that you can buy other items at the register.  And how was that number decided?  I’ve seen some where they say nothing but alchohol and others that are a bit looser, but doesn’t seem like a specific number, just more don’t be an ####### and if you have a couple other things, you can pay for them there too.

 

[DJackson10]

Agreed. I used to tend bar, and it sucks when someone comes in a few minutes before close, but it's one of the drawbacks in working in that industry.  Fortunately, those people rarely came to the bar, as it would be when I was tending bar at a restaurant, and the last minute peeps were always those who wanted a table, so some poor server got stuck.  I'd occasionally have to make a last minute drink, but then I could bail. 

Most of the places I've been too they won't seat someone before closing as they've "already turned off the stoves" and the cook has left. The old corner bar I use to go to after 11PM the bartender on a slow night and maybe a group of my friends and I there would be able to wipe up an order of wings for us all but that was literally it if you wanted anything. 

 

[DJackson10]

You’re right about the state rules, but why is it that you can buy other items at the register.  And how was that number decided?  I’ve seen some where they say nothing but alchohol and others that are a bit looser, but doesn’t seem like a specific number, just more don’t be an ####### and if you have a couple other things, you can pay for them there too.

My registers they took were EXPRESS REGISTERS and really CANNOT take up a full cart of items on the belt or off the belt. Someone when we first started came in our line to pay for a $300 order with their beer. There was a huge altercation with the cashier and the manager on duty with a big line as the other Beer/Wine Cashier was done at 8 given between 8-10 it's never busy unless a holiday. The customer argued nothing said it was only express. Given we had the express signs still from when the register was one of the 4 (now theres two at the other end of the store) we put those up so people know yes if you have alcohol you can pay for items here as long as it's no more then this #. My Registers look no more then a little toll booth for the department and common sense would show I can't do a whole order there. 

 I've like I said have had numerous complaints by my Beer/Wine purchasing customers. one of the reasons many come in to my store is they know if they need to get stuff to make a salad or a few items to cook dinner and grab beer or wine they can come in my line quickly and get out. I've had quite a few customers who just don't give a #### about other customers and are a complete #######. It was determined number of items based on what the register was express wise before. I don't know how the 10 or 15 was decided. I think it was something they kept from our old Super Fresh days so customers didn't have to adapt to a new rule or regulation on express items. To be honest I think 10 is plenty if you want to grab a bottle of wine and a few dinner items or such. I think 15 is pushing it and my 15 register a lot more people try to get away with putting up more items. 

 

[DJackson10]

You’re right about the state rules, but why is it that you can buy other items at the register.  And how was that number decided?  I’ve seen some where they say nothing but alchohol and others that are a bit looser, but doesn’t seem like a specific number, just more don’t be an ####### and if you have a couple other things, you can pay for them there too.

And honestly I think letting people buy other items with their beer/wine in a register that can't take more then express items opened up a huge can of worms and no one really wants to address the actual issue. Giant is way strict on no food purchases. Can't even buy a pack or gum or soda in the line. Some ACME's same way where others are lenient on it a bit more

 

[DJackson10]

Last night I'm doing something in the Isle look up and see a line form for my co worker so I take the next person with Alcohol in line. My co worker finishes her one customer a group of older gentleman I believe they are originally from South American are next. They are regulars. Very nice guys. They have 2 12 pack bottles of Corona and a 6 pack of beer. We are only allowed to sell 192OZ of beer at a time so she needs to do 3 separate transactions (Thank the LCB for this one). So she rings one at a time and leaves the area for each transaction to make it complete. I'm finishing up my last customers when the guy standing behind these gentleman comes up. All he has is flowers. He starts asking my co worker a bunch of questions of why she had to do this and that with them. After he was rung up and left I asked her what all of that was about. She seemed frustrated with him questioning her. We figured out that he was just annoyed he had to wait in line. Dude you had flowers no alcohol if we were much busier you'd have been kicked out of line. Theres 3 other registers opened with barely anyone in them plus the express and self checkouts. Instead of hopping in our line because its the closes registers to the floral section you could've walked your ### down 2 registers to the kid and been out of here already. Don't get annoyed with us. 

 

[DJackson10]

Here's one about the customer complaining about employees. My newer ASD came over pulled me aside last night. Says there was a customer complaint about me (I'm one of the last people complain about, been there 15 yrs and people know I'm autistic or have some type of disability regulars at least) which he said he doesn't believe. Said he was coming over here as the customer was still in the store to just make it look like he came over to "address the issue". His name is Joe and we call him serious Joe because he always tries to be super serious about everything. He said it was an older lady who said I threw her bags at her. I told him there was really no where I can throw her bags from where I was. He said he knew that and that some older people take things the wrong way. What probably happened was I maybe put the bags down a little to aggressive and the bag fell over making it look like I threw them. He then said when I asked for ID and handed it back to her I didn't thank her. I told him I may have forgotten but I always say a thank you or something to acknowledge the customer. He went through the whole BS routine of competing with other stores and not losing customers. Said I wasn't in trouble but asked if I understood why he came over. I told him I did. meanwhile he knows the whole thing was BS and trying not to laugh. 

Before he leaves a regular says hi to me and jokes oh I finally got in trouble after 15 yrs here. My ASD said no I told her what happened. She has no filter on her mouth and is one of the funniest customers I always have. You know what on her mind always as she isn't afraid to say it. After I told her what happened she tells us "Excuse my French but some people need to getting a ####### life around here and stop feeling so ####### entitled all the time. You are one of the nicest employees here and you've dealt with a lot of bull#### over the yrs here. She's like don't worry about it as that women's life must be so pathetic it only makes her feel happy when people are as grumpy as her." My manager then tells her yeah he's a good worker and I've only known him for over a month. She walks away. At this point now I can tell he's really holding back not just a smile but from bursting out laughing. I told him she's a real character I've known for yrs. She once went after my Old SD picking on me and called him out in front of the whole store. She's not afraid to speak up if needed. He then walks away.