Not so "bright" store employee

[KC2IXE]

To: GarageBoy & KC21XE -

The shop is actually a keyosck in a small mall. It's on Main Street in Flushing Queens. ...snip....

That the Mall on the East side of the street, about 1-2 blocks north of Roosvelt?

 

[Empath]

Maybe the employee should just ask, "How can I not help you today?"

Now the thread is reaching the point of simply adopting retail sales people as "lesser-beings", and giving someone toward whom we can practice snobbery.

Voicing a concern about a problem, trend or person in a particular store or trade, and voicing a concern about the value of the people in the trade is a different matter.

May we all be blessed and not exposed to lowly retail sales people, fast food workers, janitors, or any of those other low-life entry-level position type ignoramuses. That's not what you're meaning to say? It can sure go that way easily.

 

[bitslammer]

May we all be blessed and not exposed to lowly retail sales people, fast food workers, janitors, or any of those other low-life entry-level position type ignoramuses. That's not what you're meaning to say? It can sure go that way easily.

You forgot discussion board moderators.

Sorry that was just begging to be said.

Agreed though that it's not always the people who are to blame, it's the system as well in many cases or a combination of the 2. It seems these days we in the US only revere the high C-level positions or reality show dreggs.

 

[Flash Harry]

When I last had my eyes tested, the optician was a complete tosser. He turned every question into an opportunity to dazzle me with his brilliance and yet was unable to explain why I should choose one particular lens coating over another. Fortunately, the rather nice sales assistant had the answer.

One took pride in her work, the other was more interested in something else.

More a case of bad service and not quite OT but it shows things can go the other way

 

[chesterqw]

i was at a store whose specialist is in batteries.

i asked the store owner for 14500 li ion protected.

he was like "huh? i don't think they exist in li ion, maybe primary"

you can imagine the look on my face

 

[chmsam]

OTOH, anyone in any form of sales work can run into a question they cannot answer. The ones I trust are the ones who'll say, "I don't know," but the ones I'll by from or come back to will say, "I don't know, but let's find out."

Some sales people really are bad but sometimes it is the way the question is posed to them. Maybe employee really is clueless, and that's one thing, or maybe they're just having a bad day. However, I respect the sales person who'll follow up with a question for me, trying to clarify what I am really after. Sometimes a customer will ask for one thing but really mean another. A simple question by the employee leads them to find the right answer for the customer and that's a pretty sharp tactic.

I've also been on the receiving end of customers who will all too readily assume that I don't know -- no, that's not right, it's more like could not possibly know -- the answer to their question.

Once when asked about a recipe by a very snotty woman, I paused for a moment (for effect) and then said, "Oh, did you mean the one with demi-glace or the one that just uses a wine reduction? Did you prefer the one with scallions or with shallots?" Her jaw dropped and she stammered because she didn't know. I made a few extra sales from her but also won her respect. She's now a good customer, and a more polite customer.

However, the best example was while I was working at the reference desk at a library when a professor who came up to me with beau coup attitude -- "(Sniff!) YOU couldn't possibly know where I could double check my citation but can you tell me where I can go?" "Certainly I can to you where you can go." He thought about that for a second and said "Oops, I guess I deserved that," but he was really surprised when I found his source in less than 30 seconds, and he was quite apologetic. After that he sought me out over a few of the professional staff because he knew that I'd try to find his information efficiently.

So, because of people like that I try just as hard to be a good customer while shopping as I try to be a good employee while on the job.

 

[sysadmn]

Now the thread is reaching the point of simply adopting retail sales people as "lesser-beings", and giving someone toward whom we can practice snobbery.

Voicing a concern about a problem, trend or person in a particular store or trade, and voicing a concern about the value of the people in the trade is a different matter.

You have certainly lived up to your pseudonym. Thanks for the reality check.

A related phenomena is the 'competency aura' where being good at one field makes us think we're more capable than we are in another. We feel superior to someone who assumes he can fix his computer because he's a good MD, but have no problems telling the rest of the world how to do their jobs better :ironic:

 

[Illum]

Best line about RatShack I've heard so far: "Radio Shack - you've got questions, we've got cellphones."

I went back yesterday to pick up some solder [.022 silver]. When I checked out I thought to look over what inductors they have [listed under "chokes"], nope...nothing I needed thats on shelf:candle:

So I asked
me: do you have any 22uH power inductors on stock?
employee: inductor?
me: yeah
employee: what is it that you want again?
me: an inductoroo:, its basically a [SIZE=-1]coil of wire wrapped around a ferrite core and used to produce inductance in a circuit, [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]a device that stores electrical energy as a magnetic field.
employee: um okay...hold on, i think I know what your talking about
[hands me a coil of 22 gauge hookup wire]
employee: this is what you want?
me: no, its...smaller
[I pointed under the "choke" tray and pulled out a 100uH choke and said what I wanted look like maybe a quarter size of this]
employee: I'm not sure what exactly is that, mmm, didn't know we had this in inventory.
[my cell rings, I pick up and hang up shortly]
employee: hey, thats my old phone, the Samsung 497
me: how did you know? :candle:
employee: Im the specialist, you know...theres better versions available you know...
me: is there any specialist in components like this? [waving the choke in his face]
employee: not that I know of, hold on I'll ask [left to help the customer service desk about someone returning what seems to be a alarm clock and probably didn't realize I'm already out the door]

now I just try not ask for help....and check what they have in stock over the website prior to my visit
[/SIZE]

 

[Monocrom]

A related phenomena is the 'competency aura' where being good at one field makes us think we're more capable than we are in another. We feel superior to someone who assumes he can fix his computer because he's a good MD, but have no problems telling the rest of the world how to do their jobs better :ironic:

I try not to do what you've mentioned. But having worked in retail, I notice that often it is a lack of common sense and a lack of knowledge regarding the various products that a particular store sells. Common sense is, sadly, not always so common. But when I worked in retail, my boss insisted that I become familiar with the products in the store.... and not just being able to quote prices.

BTW, couldn't help noticing your Sig line about Reality being negotiable. A smarter man than I once said, "Reality is that which does not go away, when you stop believing in it."

 

[RCatR]

i was at a store whose specialist is in batteries.

i asked the store owner for 14500 li ion protected.

he was like "huh? i don't think they exist in li ion, maybe primary"

you can imagine the look on my face

I was almost offered a job by a battery manufacturer because I knew the difference between lithium and li-ion; and what a protection circuit was.
Me: You guys use protection circuits right?
Them: How do you know what that even is ahhhh!!!! Heads exploded

 

[FlashCrazy]

I'm dying to see what would happen at AutoZonedOut if the local electric car club brought in one of their cars.

This could get to be fun. Picture this -- A guy walks into a parts shop and asks for parts for his old Mazda RX4 rotary sedan. They ask how many cylinders. He says none. They ask if it was a single or double overhead cam engine. He says none. They ask how many valves it had. None. You must be wrong -- how's it supposed to work without cylinders or valves? He says it doesn't even have any pistons either. They think he's pulling their leg. He asks for two coils and four plugs for the twin rotors. What? He says it's a rotary. They ask what time the meetings were. No, no, no, not rotary like Elk or Moose, it's a Wankel engine. Hey, ya perv, watch the language!

That's funny!! Before I got to your post, I was thinking I should post about my RX-7 experiences and trying to get plugs, etc. at the auto stores. After owning seven of them over the years, I've heard it all. "It's a four cylinder right? It's got four plugs." Or "Whatta ya mean, a leading and trailing plug...you're saying they're not the same?" "Is it turbo or non-turbo...they're a different plug." Me: umm....ok....lol. Just give me this part # and that part # and let me get out of here!! Oh, the joys... :lolsign:

 

[3rd_shift]

My Dad worked for Radio Shack in 1977 for one day.
He didn't and still does not know much about electronics of that type.
Sensing imminent failure, he quit at the end of the day and got a job somewhere else.

I also had a few High school classmates in 1986-1987 take jobs at a few local Radio Shacks who I knew didn't know a resistor from a hole in the ground. :laughing:

This problem is not a new one for Radio Shack.
Still, there are some stores with good help available.
Just look around and they will be found.

 

[Manzerick]

I know the AZ idiots you speak of!! WHen I worked there, I was 19 and had been promoted to a service counted guy at Auto Palace. Once Auto Palace (ADAP) was sold to AZ, I was sent to the cash registers!!! Now, to add insult to injury, the people running the counter did not have much car knowlege and would ask me when the harder questions came up like "here's a lawn mower belt, can you measure it and get the right car belt to fit?" Ok, this is so easy i can train an ape to do it but, there "managers" who wore the white captian shirts had no clue. I had to quit and worked for a "mom and pop" auto place. More knowlegable staff at the mom and pop joint led to more mechanice, moders and "real" car guys. Here's the problem... due to the mass AZ's... Auto Parts Plus went out of business

Dam profit margins!!!

 

[Bravo25]

Which is exactly why I refuse to go to WalMart.

 

[3rd_shift]

Actually, I like Walmart.
Anyone who knows what they want before they go in, can just drop-in and grab it and....
Then, self checkout and....
...be on thier way.

Again, if one knows what they want to buy before buying it, it makes life easy for everyone.

Happy shopping!

 

[chmsam]

YMMV, but MallWart is certainly not one of my favorite stores.

They've placed many US companies on slippery footing by buying more and more foreign goods or forcing companies in the US to drive their prices artificially low. That costs people their jobs.

I have yet to go into a MallWart that had consistant pricing -- the shelf tags are missing or misplaced a lot of the time at virtually every store in my area.

The employee treatment and benefits at some stores can be really poor. Yes, they might create a lot of jobs when they take over an area but the jobs are often low wage, part time, or both. I know some people who love working there but that is largely based on the people with whom they work, not on how they are treated.

Buyer beware. For example, cereal packages of the same dimensions are not always the same weight, so what looks like a good buy from the size of the box isn't actually if you examine the price based the actual weight of the contents. Look at what's called a "unit price," a price per pound or per quart, to see if you're really getting a good deal.

The company has changed a whole bunch since Sam Walton died and it shows.

 

[gadget_lover]

My oldest son worked for Rad Shack for a while. They really pushed the cell phone training and the sales training. They did not put much emphasis on the product knowledge aspect of the job. It's not all the employee's fault.

I've heard (and corrected) so much bad advice in rat shack through the years.... Sigh.

Anyone remember the joys of the old Heathkit stores? Actual engineers available to help, and lots of everything in stock?

Daniel

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Yeah... the good old days of Heathkit, Lafayette and Olson's. Where you could go in and buy ONE resistor without being pressured to buy an extended warranty plan for it as well as a cell phone and a poodle with a radio in it's belly.

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Little bump. Had this happen at BatteriesPlus yesterday and thought of this thread. I had just approached the counter with some rechargeable AA batteries.

BatteriesPlus Employee: You know those are rechargeable, right?
Me: Yep, I do.
BP E: Are you sure you don't want normal batteries, the ones you throw away when they go dead?
Me: No, I use far too many batteries to make normal batteries practical; the pollution from throwing away that many batteries would be ridiculous.
BP E: You need a charger for rechargeable batteries.
Me: Yes, I know. I've been using rechargeable batteries for years.
BP E: Let me show you the chargers, you'll need one if you're going to use rechargeable batteries.
Me: Don't bother, I have two chargers at home and one in my truck. I don't have time to discuss this, please ring up my purchase.
BP E: Are you sure it's the right kind of charger? Would you bring it in?

I won't relay what I said next. I didn't raise my voice or swear but I was extremely blunt in explaining what needed to happen. I got my batteries without another word and left.

:buddies:

 

[KingGlamis]

I won't relay what I said next.
:buddies:

So how is that new charger you bought from them? :duh2:

Just kidding of course.