I hate clerks!

[Jawz II]

Not the movie, I really love the move, incidentally recently I discovered "An evening with kevin smith" and "An evening with kevin smith 2", so if you are fans of Kevin Smith (silent Bob) you might wanna check it out.

The following was posted in Varwnos thread, but then I decided to start a thread of my own to ***** and moan in.

Youre welcome to do a bit of moaning of your own.



I was out all day "shopping" today. Actually I needed a bunch of different papers from different government authorities today, and since it was gonna take half the working day, I decided to take the whold day off, and after the papers go to 3 different stores and get a few items I needed as well.

To make a long story short, every place I went, I got really lousy service.

The people working these jobs seem rather annoyed with me when I would ask them about something or answer me like they were talking to an idiot.

My favourite one was this black gentleman working at the information desk at one of the bigger stores. I put the items I had picked up on the desk to show him something, and he yelled out: YOU CAN'T PAY HERE, YOU'LL HAVE TO DO THAT AT THE CASH REGISTER!

Really loud and slow like I'm some kind of moron. Well I kinda lost my temper and yelled back: I WASN'T GONNA PAY, I WAS GONNA ASK YOU SOMETHING, IDIOT.

This kept repeating everywhere I went, the best part was when I was coming back from the last store and saw this icecream place and thought, what the hell, haven't had any since last summer. It took the 2 girls working there a good 10 minutes to figure out how to work the ice cream machine.

Then I had to ask them 3 times how much it would cost before they answered.

Another good one is when I ask the staff in some store if they have a certain item, and they answer: "all we have is what's out there" really annoyed like, I have gotten that one a buncha times.

Like Im supposed to know exactly what they have out there on the shelves. Im supposed to go through all their goddamn shelves which seemingly have no order to them, they have just thrown the stuff up there,

Why sort things when you can sit down and drink coffee instead?


Funny thing is all the government employees in the government institutions I had to go to were all courteous, helpful and friendly and they all smiled at me when I went to talk to them. Store employees were the exact opposite.

I have to deal with the government, but I dont have to go into any store, something you all might consider if you're a store owner, and youre gonna hire people.

Now, I don't want them all to be cheerfull and all smiles when I go in there, they're people too, but man, at least they should look neutral.
This is not the face I need when I'm asking them something --->


It's been a long goddamn day.
God I hate "shopping"

 

[Masquerouge]

I'm with you on that one. What's really interesting is that I think these clerks are acting like morons because they're not tipped. Try pissing a customer off in a restaurant and see how much money you'll earn...

We went with my wife to buy watercolor painting, and in the paint aisle couldn't find it. She went to ask a clerk who told her "everything we have is out there". She said sure, but could you please show WHERE exactly it is in the aisle because we can't find it? So he grumbles, comes to the aisle, and with a wide arm movement says "everything's here!". Moron. Of course they were not here but in another aisle.

 

[JollyRoger]

All the good clerks get hired by somebody else. If I come across someone in the retail industry that comes across as reasonably intelligent and helpful, I might consider offering them a job if I have an entry level opening in my business. I can generally pay them twice what they are already making and still be paying below market for what I am hiring them for. I have yet to get burned - all such hires have turned out to be stellar employees that learned my business very quickly.

 

[Taliesin]

I enjoy the scripted "Did you find everything you were looking for?" If you say no, they become confused and, at best, mumble an apology. Why do you ask if you're not even going to write my suggestion down, let alone do something about it?

 

[Irish Caesar]

I enjoy the scripted "Did you find everything you were looking for?" If you say no, they become confused and, at best, mumble an apology. Why do you ask if you're not even going to write my suggestion down, let alone do something about it?

I was always told to ask that. I never did in three years because I never knew where stuff was in that store.

I never really understood the "be a jerk to customers" mentality. I've worked with people like that, and I always dreaded it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't have company loyalty or anything, I just didn't want to be thought of as a jerk because the other guy was one.

 

[Jawz II]

I'm with you on that one. What's really interesting is that I think these clerks are acting like morons because they're not tipped. Try pissing a customer off in a restaurant and see how much money you'll earn...

We went with my wife to buy watercolor painting, and in the paint aisle couldn't find it. She went to ask a clerk who told her "everything we have is out there". She said sure, but could you please show WHERE exactly it is in the aisle because we can't find it? So he grumbles, comes to the aisle, and with a wide arm movement says "everything's here!". Moron. Of course they were not here but in another aisle.

I swear to god, next clerk who tells me "all we have is whats out there" is gonna get it good.
I'm gonna make a big scene, like: "OH SO WHAT YOURE SAYING IS YOU DON'T HIDE CRAP AS A JOKE! NO? WHOA, WOULDVE NEVER GUESSED!!!"


I could've killed someone by the end of today.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

Well, it's not their "dream job", and we do have to deal with a lot of prick's all day long. Which, needless to say, isn't easy.

And they only talk to you like you know nothing because they don't know how much you know. Insulting the clerks will do you no favors either, that will just turn them from apathetic to you, over to pissed at you.

I've worked in the service industry for four years, and the overly friendly/courteous/helpful/outgoing nature does have it's limits. I manage to somehow keep from laying into a customer, but the outgoing nature does run out about five-six hours into the shift (but thankfully, I eat lunch with some of my co-workers, who are very good friends of mine, and it sort of replenishes these).

Finally, do you believe it's easy to be happy, pleasant, and friendly all day long (eight hour shift) to everyone, even when they are being jerks to you?

"all we have is whats out there"

That answer is given because it is assumed that people actually look for what they want instead of just walking up and asking for the item. But I do admit that is sort of a cop-out on the employees part.

 

[Masquerouge]

Finally, do you believe it's easy to be happy, pleasant, and friendly all day long (eight hour shift) to everyone, even when they are being jerks to you?

Yes, it is. I've done it. I've been a clerk.

 

[CartesianFart]

Not the movie, I really love the move, incidentally recently I discovered "An evening with kevin smith" and "An evening with kevin smith 2", so if you are fans of Kevin Smith (silent Bob) you might wanna check it out.

The people working these jobs seem rather annoyed with me when I would ask them about something or answer me like they were talking to an idiot.

I can remember many quotes from the characters in the first Clerk movie,here is one of my favorite:"This job would be great if it wasn't for the fu**ing customers. "

 

[Rhymes]

The best I heard lately was a McDonald's drive through. I ask for a double hamburger combo, and the girls answers :" Do you want a McValue combo classic, special on tuesdays at 3.99$ with that"
... What the? What kind of pig do you take me for?!
I actually started laughing and she seemed to take that for a no.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Insulting the clerks will do you no favors either, that will just turn them from apathetic to you, over to pissed at you.

Indeed.

If you were nice to me, you were going to be treated well. If you were a jerk to me, there's no way in Hell I'd do any favors for you. But most of the people I dealt with were nice anyway. And I was never an outright jerk no matter how awful some moron customer was, but I was always more pleasant to people who were nicer to begin with.

 

[Jawz II]

That answer is given because it is assumed that people actually look for what they want instead of just walking up and asking for the item. But I do admit that is sort of a cop-out on the employees part.

You know, I worked as a clerk myself for close to 2 years, before I went to university. It's not a dream job or a very easy one, but I did my best to be at least be neutral to the customers, and I could write a book just listing all the kinds of mutants I had to deal with all days long (11 hour work days, put that in your pipe and smoke it ).

And well, by the time I got the "all we have is what's out there" line, I was tired as hell and had my hand's full of bags, and I wasn't gonna go through all their shelves, the item I wanted was a small box (warhammer mini's), and there were all kinds of different boxes on that shelve. I dunno if youre familiar with warhammer, but there are probably over a 100 different boxes of mini's released in each size.

It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. When I insisted they should help me, they didn't go through the boxes, they got the catalogue they order from out, and asked me to show them what I wanted.

I did, so then he checked the inventory list in their computer to see if they had it (they didn't). Which is what they should've done the first time I asked them.

I belive every job worth doing, is worth doing well, and if they hate their jobs so much, they can always study something and take a better job (at least they can here, where going to university is free, and not only is it free, they get considerable government allowance and student loans).

I am not in the business of helping them with their problems, they are in the business of helping me with my shopping problems.

 

[warpus]

Finally, do you believe it's easy to be happy, pleasant, and friendly all day long (eight hour shift) to everyone, even when they are being jerks to you?

Easy or not, they signed up for it.

 

[Phlegmak]

To make a long story short, every place I went, I got really lousy service.

The people working these jobs seem rather annoyed with me when I would ask them about something or answer me like they were talking to an idiot.

You went shopping in New Orleans??

 

[Jawz II]

I think it's a universal thing.

 

[History_Buff]

To the OP: Don't worry, we hated you too.

When you work in a job like that, you see a LOT of idiots. People who either can't read, or choose not to. People who don't care about whether you actually have something, just that they want it.

When you start unloading all your **** at an info counter, the clerk will be justifiably upset. Because people seem to think they are too good for lines. When I worked Customer Service, it was set up so you could buy 10 items or less, and it was the only place to buy Lottery Tickets or Tobacco products. Everyday you would see someone that would come in during the big supper rushes, with about 20 things, and try to pay in the express line. When you tell em they can't do that, they get very pissed off. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: Sorry, this lane is 10 items or less, you're gonna have to go to a different till.
Them: But I need tobacco/lottery/other frivolous item/shot lines.
Me: Actually, you can just get groceries rung in over there, and then we'll move the order over here (so they only have to pay once).
Them: You want me to wait in THAT line?! And then come over here and wait in this one?
Me: Yes, Yes I do.

At which point they become very pissed off, and will often yell at you. Funny when you point out the reasoning to em though. Made my day when I got to do it.


As for the guy telling you "what we have is out there", its a very common answer. If you want to know where something is, ask where it is, not if they have it. They are two very different questions in the average grocery store.


That said, there were a lot of good customers out there, and we loved them for it. And to be fair, there are a lot of terrible employees in those places too.

 

[Jawz II]

There were no goddamn lines at all, I wasn't buying groceries, the place is more like a hardware store, a huge one.

I was putting down a set of saw blades, to ask him if they were gonna fit in the handle part (not sure what the name is in english, it's one of those saws where you buy the blade sperately, and the blade and the handle/blade holder part were made by different companies).


I can't show him what I need info about, if I have my hands full of stuff now do I?

After I called the guy an idiot, another employee took over, and checked their catalogue to see if the blade could be used or not.

First he said no, then maybe, and then yes. This guy was polite, but kinda nervous and didn't seem to know what he was talking about, I bought the things, but I still don't know if they fit or not.

Dont assume things you know nothing about.

Welcome back to CFC, I hate you already.

PS. I should ask them where something is, and not wether they have it in the first place or not? Turned out they didn't even have what I wanted (again, I wasn't buying groceries), great idea!

Thank you for proving my point.

 

[kuukkeli]

I don't really understand why people are defending clerks who are unfriendly and automatically treat customers as idiots. After all it's service industry for a reason. Back in high school I worked two summers in a local record shop, and did some weekends there as well during the school year. If somebody asked whether we had a specific album it never even crossed my mind to say "what we have is out there" (though I must admit that there was certain charm in the collectable cards seller in the basement of one local second hand bookstore - instead of a regular welcome he might throw you with something and tell you to f**k off).

 

[Phlegmak]

Welcome back to CFC, I hate you already.

Well, then this is a case where we all agree to agree!

 

[Jawz II]

I don't really understand why people are defending clerks who are unfriendly and automatically treat customers as idiots.

I think he is assuming that what I'm saying is that all clerks are bad.

I'm not saying that at all, even though the title of the thread might be misleading, I was using that title as an attention getter.

If I thought all clerks sucked, there wouldn't be anything strange about my day. All clerks I had the misfortune of coming across today were really bad.

I almost don't even have to talk to the people at my local super market, all I say to them is a hi, and then 'thanks' when they hand me my change, I dont have to, I know where everything is.

In fact the time before today I had to go into a shop and deal with someone, it was the shop owner (small shop) and he was very nice and friendly and even gave me some sheets of sand papers for free, they would cost at least 2-3 us dollars at any store.

So of course I'm not saying all clerks suck, hell I used to be one, which Ive already said once in this thread. I was actually a clerk myself when I saw that first Clerks movie.