Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda
try working the graveyard shift at a 7-11 when the grocery and non-food item deliveries decide to drop off at the same time of the night. then it becomes a game of telling people to wait at the door while i climb over boxes to get what they want
god i don't miss customer service in the slightest
It would have been worse at Safeway. Between the stock on the floor and carts full of cardboard some isles would have been impossible for customers to navigate. Then there's the very loud music blasting from the stereos located through out the store.
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
When I lived in Grade Prairie the IGAs were open 24 hours. It just was a fact of life for the customers that there were boxes and palates in the way. I was chatting with the night manager one time and he said it was working great for them; the only extra cost was one cashier so the extra sales that would have gone to people shopping elsewhere paid her salary; and if it ever got really busy he would jump on a till himself.
Just curious, was IGA the only grocery store open 24 hors?
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireFly
Because if they paid the wait staff $15/hour, they have no incentive to care. You'd get crappier service that way. This way, you as the customer decide what value their work was to you. Not a lot of industries have the ability to do that.
Have to disagree with that. I've had jobs that paid minimum wage and my work performance didn't change due the wage i was paid, and i'm quite sure there are others like me out there. It's a persons attitude not thier wage that determines how they are going to perform thier job duties.
There were some days when I wanted to beat every customer that came through the door to death with a roll of fax paper. When they promoted me to manage one of the stores, I was willing to quit within two days of taking the job because the customers favorite line, no matter the issue is "I wanna talk to the manager"
Its hard to give two craps when they want to return a computer monitor that is three years old and has a spider web break on the screen
I hear ya. My experience as a customer service type person are a big reason why I am extremely polite to people in the industry. I've seen the idiots up close and don't want to be associated with them.
I worked Greyhound Package Express for years. Anyone who's been in there during December knows how crazy it can be. Try being behind the counter. I would work 12-16 hour days for about 4 weeks straight with no days off. I got to deal with all the angry ones as I was the supervisor. Somehow, customers thought it was my fault that their package, sent Dec 23 from Toronto, somehow didn't arrive here in Alberta on time. Greyhound ships parcels by bus and tractor trailer, morons, not by air. You don't want lineups people? Ship in November.
And your story about Dec 24 is spot on. I would lock the doors at 5pm, let the customers who were already in the shop get their parcels, and try to keep the other ones from getting in. The explanation that my staff needed to get home for their Christmas dinners wasn't good enough. If I let everyone in, we'd never get home ourselves.
The Westhills Wal Mart does that, I have to move in and around the people stocking shelves, but it still seems more pleasant than dodging a million other customers..
Lakeview is now only open 8am-10pm.... worse than Safeway.
I had a winner customer last week:
Customer: I want to return this suitcase. It's faulty.
Me: What seems to be the problem with it?
Customer: When I went to Seattle for the weekend, the airline charged me for being overweight. (Keep in mind you are allowed 50 lbs a suitcase)
Me:Hmmm If you don't mind me asking, what did you pack in it? Anything out of the ordinary?
Customer: I just packed what anyone would bring... my clothes, a couple of jackets and a few books?
Me:How many books?
Customer: Only four.
Me: Hard cover or soft cover.
Customer: Hard. Why does that matter?
Me: Well... books are pretty dense and weigh quite a bit... maybe only bringing one or buying books at your destination might work better for your situation.
Customer:That doesn't work well for my situation. I'd like to return the suitcase.
Me: I'm sorry, but not only is it used... there's nothing "damaged" on the suitcase. We wouldn't be able to do an RTV to the vendor (The customer is NOT always right!) The only thing I can suggest is www.onebag.com to learn a few tricks on how to pack lighter.
(Customer storms off saying she will never return...)
Does that really make sense? Let me give you an example- and let's use you for this example. In your life you have worked in customer service. Would you say that you gave good customer service or just mediocre service? Well, I know the one time you helped me out in your professional capacity your level of service was higher than what my expectations were. I have also gone into other places where employees are not on comission or receive tips and received good service.
And perhaps it would change the kinds of people who apply for serving jobs if tipping was eliminated and the establishment paid them a normal wage; with menu prices to reflect that. What I mean is let's say I wanted to get a second job. One of the jobs I liked doing in the past was bartending. But bars and pubs tend to hire young attractive women, and those women tend to apply because its easy money when you get all those tips. And as much as I like to have an attractive waitress, most of the time I just want my stuff in a reasonable time, and the order to be correct. So once you get rid of the people who are there for the money, maybe more people who want to do that job will apply. And if it's a person who wants that job working as opposed to somebody who just wants cash, maybe the service level would reflect the fact that the person cares.
Oh, and I agree. But I can find fun in just about any job I work, so to me, money is right up there. But the problem is this: When there's a staff shortage everywhere, what other incentives can you give to people for minimum wage work? Are you going to give your waitstaff full benefits? Or your retail staff? It just doesn't happen.
The bigger problem, IMO, is management that is unwilling to fire bad staff for fear they won't find good staff.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimbl420
I can wash my penis without taking my pants off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moneyhands23
If edmonton wins the cup in the next decade I will buy everyone on CP a bottle of vodka.
Have to disagree with that. I've had jobs that paid minimum wage and my work performance didn't change due the wage i was paid, and i'm quite sure there are others like me out there. It's a persons attitude not thier wage that determines how they are going to perform thier job duties.
Granted, and I agree. However when you have lazy people who would not work regardless, which gives them at least some incentive to perform? Bonus structures are meant to encourage people to over-acheive, or for those who don't like to acheive at all, to do so. Tips are another form of bonus structure.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimbl420
I can wash my penis without taking my pants off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moneyhands23
If edmonton wins the cup in the next decade I will buy everyone on CP a bottle of vodka.
The bigger problem, IMO, is management that is unwilling to fire bad staff for fear they won't find good staff.
its kind of hard to fire people during a labor shortage, no matter how bad a worker, is it really going to help your situation to be yet another employee down. The kicker is going to be once the labor shortage ends, hopefully?, all these kids that just got their first jobs now will have a sense of entitlement, i deserve more money for doing less work, and they will be promptly booted out the door.
Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion
Just curious, was IGA the only grocery store open 24 hors?
Yes. There were 2 IGAs in the city, and once a week one of them would close for the night for maintenance or cleaning. But at the time I was a pretty dedicated Safeway customer, but working evenings I liked to buy some groceries after work.
Bad customer service doesn't bug me too much - it's just a minor annoyance.
What pisses me off more is dumb customers. The guy who has been in line for 10 minutes but when he gets to the front - still has to stare at the menu for 30 seconds before ordering a double double.
Customers that get angry at the poor shlubs working piss me off too.
One friday afternoon, four of us went to lunch at Cravings. Three of us got our lunches fairly quick, but the guy who ordered a portobello mushroom ended up waiting maybe 45 mins. No big deal to us. It was friday, we were on a patio and could care less.
The waitress comes by and apologizes for the wait, saying the mushroom was on the house. We thought "well that was nice of them." And then when we were about to get and leave, the waitress came by again and said "I just spoke with the manager. He said don't worry about it and enjoy the meal." So we all got a free meal out of it!
I've been ranting and raving about how awesome Cravings is ever since!
What pisses me off more is dumb customers. The guy who has been in line for 10 minutes but when he gets to the front - still has to stare at the menu for 30 seconds before ordering a double double.
__________________
There's always two sides to an argument, and it's always a tie.
CPer: Certainly, Mr. locke or Mr. Crunch will be right with you. I'll be observing this conversation, in a process we refer to as "Traintertainment"
Me: Certainly, happy to oblige, what seems to be the problem?
Customer: I want a discount and this guy wont give it to me.
Me: I see, well I can do better than that. Not only will I not give you a discount I'm going to stand here and drink beer while our enthusiastic staff bludgeon you to death with toilet tank lids. *enter 30 toilet tank lid wielding maniacs*
Customer: Where did they even get all those? You dont sell those....
Me: Dont worry about it, its not important, just sit back, relax and enjoy the last few excruciatingly painful seconds of your life.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
