Why do we suffer rude and ignorant waitress and shop assistants

Selphie

Yay, ranting about customers. My FAVOURITE!
Though I'm afraid I have nothing new or original to add to this (extremely entertaining) thread. But, let me share my two cents, or allow me to rant, whichever sounds better.
Until Christmas of sixth year, I worked as a general dogsbody (waitress, cleaner, "chef" etc.) in a cafe/restaurant in a well-known chain store. I started there when it opened, and worked there for almost two years. And my God... we turned into the most cynical bunch of people ever. You complain about "rude and ignorant waitresses and shop assistants." Imagine standing at a till, the queue is ten people long. Not only are you working on the till, but you're also expected to do teas, coffees and drinks. Oh, and you're also understaffed because when people leave, management says "you're coping, you don't need more staff." Therefore, there's nobody on floor, so more customers are coming up and saying, "i want to sit at this table, but its diiiirrrrttttyyyy/clean this/where's this/do you have full-fat mayonnaise, I don't like low-fat mayonnaise."
Out of this queue of ten people, you'll get possibly two nice people, who'll see the frazzled girl behind the counter, and sympathise. The other eight will: complain because their soup is too cold, then they'll hear the price of the soup, rant because its too expensive, demand to know why its so expensive, berate you because you can't do anything about it, then turn around and walk out, leaving you close to f***ing tears with three bowls of soup on a tray. They'll ask for six cups of coffee, then they'll want to pay with card, no cash, no card, no cheque... then they'll have a fistful of coins that they want you to sort through. And each time the person behind them is sighing and complaining about the service. And another thing: why do people always want to sit at tables with plates and stuff on them, when there are a hundred other clean tables. I really don't get that. Sit somewhere else, you bloody fool!
And you wonder why we seem pissed off...
Today, I started my new job, a different kind of waitressing in a bar, near my house. Lunch and dinner very popular there. So, today I did lunch. I did my best, but wasn't used to it at all, totally different from the supermarket place. So I explained to all the customers, "I'm new, please bear with me," and what did I get? Sighs, eyes raised to heaven, demands, complaints. My first f***ing day!!!
So, the next time you're pissed off at a waitress, shop assistant, whatever, think about all the crap they have to put up with.

Nala

micmclo wrote:

If there is a self service checkout, please enforce the no trollies and maximum items rules.
I'm tired of seeing people scan trollies of goods at the express self service tills while I'm stuck behind them.

I do, and I usually get a torrent of abuse for it.

-"But I haven't got that much stuff"
-"That's ridiculous"
-"I want to see a manager"

Etc

togster

Faerie wrote:

You however shop just once in the day presumably and it's not much effort to pack your own bag. You're the lazy one.

Your the one getting paid to do it!!;)

DonkeyStyle \o/

I'd agree with the whole "everyone should work with customers at least once" thing... a few months of tech support and fast-food-joint work has turned me into a model customer.

You get a new understanding of what's reasonable to ask/expect/moan about.
I also notice bad customer service a lot more now... especially when I had to uphold such high standards myself.

I don't mind if people are grumpy or chatting away to eachother; working with the public is a shít job and you do what you can to stay sane.
As a customer, as long as I don't have to queue for too long and I get a receipt (where expected) and correct change, then we're cool.

Actually there's this really creepy soap shop at the bottom of Grafton street where all the girls there behave like they're on SUPER HAPPY DRUGS... dancing to the music, smiling and saying hello every time you pass by... it really freaked me right the fúck out. :eek:
It's beyond friendly and right into spooky fake territory.
I can almost picture their manager screaming at them to smile and dance more.
God it was like another planet altogether.

thefinalstage

Selphie wrote:

So I explained to all the customers, "I'm new, please bear with me," and what did I get? Sighs, eyes raised to heaven, demands, complaints. My first f***ing day!!!

I would have gone Bruce Lee on all of them! I have the Wootay! Thing he does when he hits down!

luckat

It doesn't take more energy to be polite, kind and professional. It actually takes less; the kind of gnawing resentment evinced by many Irish shop assistants sucks away their energy.

I used to do virtually all my shopping in the local Superquinn in Feargal Quinn's day, when the staff were encouraged to treat the customers as if they were the priority.

Now I hardly ever go there, because I feel as if the staff resent me. They slap my apples down on the packing counter without looking at me, while discussing their holidays and children with the packing clerk, and take my money and hand me my bags without greeting, and without meeting my eyes or returning my greeting or looking at anything except the money or card I hand them.

I shop in Dunne's, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, the Polish shops, a Supervalu and an Italian specialist shop.

But in most places there's a sneery grabbing of the money and lack of manners that's reminiscent of the resentful Cockneys of the 1960s who screwed up the British economy.

It's a kind of *adolescent* thing, as if the customer's their mammy.

A little professionalism would be nice; courtesy would be good, too.

Fratton Fred

I don't have a problem with checkout staff generaly. I usually shop in Dunnes in cornelscourt and I find them generally very nice, but I haven't had to change anything there. Usually when I go there (around 10pm) they are all eastern european as well.

I've shopped in Tescos in Bray a couple of times and the checkout staff have been too bloody friendly, to the point where they are chatting to each customer about their dogs/cat/kids/the weather. Nice and friendly, but damn annoying when you are in the queue waiting to get served. At least they have staff, which is more than can be said for a certain electrical retailer in Carrickmines. The few they have are nice, but the don' seem to have enough.

The rudest shop staff I have come across are in New York, most of the ones we encontered went out of their way to make you feel like dirt, even looking the other way and sucking their teeth while giving you your change:eek:

bytesize

Deleted User wrote:

One of the things that really pissed me off were the people who came into the shop looking for somethin that we didnt ever sell. When you told them that we never stocked it, they wouldnt believe you, then tell you again and then invariably tell you that their friend got whatever item it was here last week.
You know they are wrong and the customer knows they are wrong but they steadfast will not acknowledge it. Then they sometimes demand to know why we dont stock it. As if you could just snaap ypur fingers and a truck full of what they wanted would just appear!
And people wonder why shop staff can be so sullen. Its because we spent all f****** day dealing with retards. It tends to wear people down. That said. if someone came up to me and asked me something poliely I would have gone out of my way to do something for them.

Ever think its the opposite way around. that it is ye day time staff workin in supermarkets who are just lazy cnuts and dont deserve the pay ye get. i work night shift in a supermarket and trust me, only checkout staff tend to have to work. anyone working in any other position does sweet fùck all. and i know this from experience. the night staff are the ones who pack almost the whole store and have to clean up after day staff and ive been in during the day doing shopping and what not and either there are no floor staff in sight or they are all out back having a chat.

as for the whole, we never stocked it attitude or its not in stock attitude..... complete bollox most of the time. as i said i work in a supermarket on night shifts so i know pretty much everything that we stock. my parents went into a branch and couldnt find what they were looking for. they asked a staff member and he said they didnt have it, so they asked a manager they saw on the floor and he said they never stocked it. by the way, this was their own brand product. i knew 100% the store sold it so i went back down they next day and there was a whole shelf of the stuff.

also from experience there is always a stock of almost everything out in the back stores, staff just dont want to go through and break down cages to get it for you cos day staff are lazy cnuts.

rant over:mad:

The Freeman

Deleted User wrote:

Agreed. Complain, let them know you won't be coming back then stick to your word.

It is disgraceful though. Can't stand the way these franchise shops ALL stock the same crap, and they all shout "NEXT please" before they've even handed you your change.

write a letter of complaint, i recieved a meal worth a hundred quid the last day cos a waiter rang me between courses asking did i leave the premises whilst forgetting to pay in a four star hotel!

Slutmonkey57b

luckat wrote:

I shop in Dunne's, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, the Polish shops, a Supervalu and an Italian specialist shop.

But in most places there's a sneery grabbing of the money and lack of manners that's reminiscent of the resentful Cockneys of the 1960s who screwed up the British economy.

Ehhh.. have you forwarded your painstaking research on this subject to the LSE? I'm sure they'll be interested to hear how the "resentful cockney" contributed to the post-industrial decline of the British economy and the breakup of the empire.

For those about to work with the public, I salute you, and direct you all to:

http://community.livejournal.com/customers_suck/

So useful I actually started a LJ just to post in it.

Sleepy

Faerie wrote:

Actually it's not in my job description. It speeds up the whole transaction if the customer packs their own bag. I help on big shops of course as that speeds it up too. On express though I can go on to serve other customers who have just popped in for milk. You're not there for the wonderful relaxing shopping experience with servants pandering to your every whim you know! It's just picking up a few things with little hassle. If the customer is counting out their change and I'm doing nothing then of course I'm going to help too. Surely it's a logical thing rather than just standing there to make sure the 'stupid checkout girl' knows her place.

With regards the 'stock in the back' we're told to tell the customer that we don't have it. If it's in the back then it's not for sale. I don't understand why so many people are complaining about this - the shop doesn't promise to stock everything you want so if it's not on display you can't buy it. Go somewhere else.

The truth is so many customers rant about things and complain about petty bull**** but they're in the wrong 99% of the time anyway. Nobody seems capable of reading special offer signs correctly or even the prices. The thing that really makes me laugh though is all the 'rights' that people make up.

Oh and by the way I'm not bitter about my job, I'm bitter about people. I've never had a problem with people who work in retail or in restaurants and bars. Yes I'm a student but I don't think I'm any better than the full-timers. As far as I'm concerned it's just a way to make money and it's not a hard job. I don't like Irish society and the general attitude towards people. The rudeness of people is unbelievable. And before anyone says 'just move', don't worry I will once I've finished my degree.

/|\
|

And that's why we have crap service in Irish retail and restraunts. The Celtic Cubs are clearly above working in menial tasks whilst earning their degrees. During my time in college I worked in all manners of shops, bars etc and the only places I ever gave customers short shrift was in a night club where I worked as a cloakroom attendant (and even then it was when they got abusive with me or one of the girls I worked with) and in a Bank when people got ignorant because I wouldn't break the law for them.

00112984

I think it's a two-way system. I, as a customer, don't need small talk, always say "hello", "please" and "thank you" and pack my own bag. What I expect from the person at the till is some acknowledgement- a hello or nod will suffice- and the ability to wait until I have everything in my bag and my change thrown into my wallet (I do this very quickly) before shouting "next" to the person behind me.

I grew up in retail (family-run supermarket) and have seen just about every facet of humanity over the years.

"Hi, I bought this St. Bernard brand milk in Dunnes 3 weeks ago and it's gone sour sitting in my fridge. I can't bring it back to them so will you let me swap it for one from your fridge?"

People asking us to keep the Sunday paper for them until Monday and then refusing to pay for them saying we can just cutoff the barcode and give them away.

People asking to use the shop phone and not paying for it.

A few years ago, my sister was working the till and a local woman from a very strange family came in holding a single sausage from a pack of Denny's/Galtee/similar.

Sister- Hi
Weird Woman- I bought this sausage here two weeks ago and when I opened the pack today, they looked bad and smelled funny.
Sis- What did you do with the other sausages from the pack?
WW- I cooked them and ate them.
Sis- Why did you keep this one?
WW- So I could bring it back and get my money back for the pound of sausages.

At this stage, my sister picks up the sausage, flips it into the bin by her side and asks yerwan if there's anything else she wants to buy.

luckat

Yes, actually, I do think that the 'resentful Cockney' attitude contributed to Britain's industrial decline from the 1960s. There was a sense of dismal anger at the idea of working for a living, and wave after wave of strikes.

If you want your country to do well, you should hope for people who like to work hard, and do it cheerfully.

Of course people should be paid properly too, I'm not saying anyone should have to work for low wages.

Fratton Fred

luckat wrote:

Yes, actually, I do think that the 'resentful Cockney' attitude contributed to Britain's industrial decline from the 1960s. There was a sense of dismal anger at the idea of working for a living, and wave after wave of strikes.

If you want your country to do well, you should hope for people who like to work hard, and do it cheerfully.

Of course people should be paid properly too, I'm not saying anyone should have to work for low wages.

I'd agree with the attitude, I rememebr very clearly the strike etc of the 70s and 80s, but I don't see how this can be blamed on people from East London?

Slutmonkey57b

luckat wrote:

Yes, actually, I do think that the 'resentful Cockney' attitude contributed to Britain's industrial decline from the 1960s. There was a sense of dismal anger at the idea of working for a living, and wave after wave of strikes.

If you want your country to do well, you should hope for people who like to work hard, and do it cheerfully.

Of course people should be paid properly too, I'm not saying anyone should have to work for low wages.

I've forwarded your research to the Nobel committe. They'll be astonished at your insight. Clearly the industrial decline had nothing to do with increasing automation, the dawn of the electronic age, the creation of an information and service economy, and most of all the replacement of skilled machine workers with labour from poor countries and the start of globalisation.

It's all the fault of those bloody stroppy shop assistants. They should know their place!

Plissken1

Gingerspice99 wrote:

Arrrrrrrrrghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

This is driving me mad :mad:

I hate the service you receive when you go into shops like its too much trouble for the shop assistant.

The same goes for cafes or restaurants - you order your meal they take an eternity for them to bring your drinks - they never make eye contact and walk away when you are talking to them.

I am not tarring them all with the same brush but good service is not the norm and I feel it should be. Simple manners and taking time to pay attention to your customers either in a shop or restaurant should be standard.

In the USA the waitresses and shop assistant earn a very small basic wage and the majority of there salary is made up of commission or tips. If the same rules were applied here you can be damn sure the service would improve.

What do you all think

Its not as bad as it used to be, but only because Shell and Tracey's jobs are now filled by non nationals who are far more polite.

Font22

tbh i find the OP's comment appalling. i work as a shop assistant and i have had it with completely ignorant customers. it ruins my day sometimes. you do absolutely everything you can to be nice etc and they still treat you like crap. tbh i cannot wait to stop working there. i love working there etc but with the attitude of customers its time to leave. again, not every customer is rude but it only takes one snide remark to ruin a day.

PeakOutput

i was told by an american "business owner" as i was cleaning the place up for the day that "obviously your boss dosnt know what he is doing closing at dinner time like this.............he losing turnover which will cost you your job and lets face it man you probably won't get a job anywhere else"

it was 10.00pm "dinner time"??? and he was the only one person in the entire food hall of the airport.

customers are IDIOTS

DonkeyStyle \o/

PeakOutput wrote:

customers are IDIOTS

Well we're all somebodys customers aren't we?

PeakOutput

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Well we're all somebodys customers aren't we?

no denieing(sp) that but i have never;

1. told an employee that i KNOW they are wrong when i don't

2. tried to insult an employee either directly or indirectly to their face

3. told them "the customer is always right"

4. or done any of the million other stupid cliches most customers always have to feel superior to those serving them

Nala

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Actually there's this really creepy soap shop at the bottom of Grafton street where all the girls there behave like they're on SUPER HAPPY DRUGS... dancing to the music, smiling and saying hello every time you pass by... it really freaked me right the fúck out. :eek:
It's beyond friendly and right into spooky fake territory.
I can almost picture their manager screaming at them to smile and dance more.
God it was like another planet altogether.

That would be Lush, there's another one on Henry St. I think they get high from the soap fumes, I really do.

Nala

maxi-twist wrote:

Gotta mention that im on energy pills so im kinda jumping around,smiling,real chatty etc...

Whats the name of them and where do you get them?

Twinkle-star15

I think I'm really patient with shop assistants, there's just a few things that annoy me:
1. When everyone in the shop's watching my friends and I because we're teens, and therefore shoplifters;
2. When I'm treated like I'm a toddler;
3. When I'm rushed out of the shop before I can get my change into my purse.

I know you're people too and all that but seriously! I need more than 2 seconds flat to collect my change, fit it into my purse, grab my bag, get my handbag, get my receipt, and finally be ready to move away from the counter. Please don't start serving a new customer over my head!!

Binomate

If everyone in a shop is watching you they've probably had a history of having trouble with people in your age bracket or people who are like you. It's understandable.

modalcommand

I'm definitely glad we have rude and ignorant waiting staff or shop assisants rather than the american model.
In the US if a waiter/waitress is being nice to you its because they want you to give them money. In Ireland if it happens (which it does more often than not) its a genuine human thing.
In the US if a shop assistant is being nice to you its because they really need the job.
In both cases you can completely see through the smiles and its depressing.


I've worked in loads of customer service jobs (pizza, tesco, Topman) and have to say that the vast majority of customers are quite pleasant to deal with and I'd no complaints.

Twinkle-star15

Binomate wrote:

If everyone in a shop is watching you they've probably had a history of having trouble with people in your age bracket or people who are like you. It's understandable.

But what really gets me is that I'm (usually) only followed if I'm with a certain group of friends- and I know for a fact that they don't shoplift, whereas some people in the other group do :rolleyes: .

Duggy747

Meh, both sides of the counter you get horrible, ignorant people. Sometime 2 years ago me and my buddy (Back when we both had long hair *We weren't metalheads*) walked into the SuperValu in our town to buy BBQ food. As we walked down the aisles the radio was playing James Brown so me and him were discretely enough acting and walking like him. Next thing we noticed one of the senior managers tailing us, stopping right beside us and "fixing" odd things on at close shelf. To make sure if she was following us we walked all over the shop (which is pretty big) and stopped at certain spots and, lo and behold, she repeated herself. Ignorant bitch tailed us from litteraly the back exit all the way to one of the counters at the front door. What got me about that was she's been in that store for as long as I can remember so she had to at least know my face AND I pretty much served her in Lidl every second day, grrr!

I can't stand people making a big fuss over change. Naturally there's nothing wrong if you're a few quid or what-not down but for Christ's sake, 10c??? Asian people are the worst for this, especially the rich doctor-types (You know well they're doctors). During my stint in Lidl at least 5 / 6 people would come back into the shop and DEMAND that I give them their change back immediately which, litteraly, was always under 10c. I'd give it to them, they'd give me an eye and then pull off in their slick, new Mercedes or 4X4.

Twinkle-star15

PeakOutput wrote:

who gives a crap to be honest, they are not actually harming you in anyway at all

also they have no idea who is and is not going to shoplift so the fact that you know who it is is largely irrelevant

I'm not that bothered about it, I just think it's slightly ironic!

PeakOutput

Twinkle-star15 wrote:

But what really gets me is that I'm (usually) only followed if I'm with a certain group of friends- and I know for a fact that they don't shoplift, whereas some people in the other group do :rolleyes: .

who gives a crap to be honest, they are not actually harming you in anyway at all

also they have no idea who is and is not going to shoplift so the fact that you know who it is is largely irrelevant

modalcommand

I can't stand people making a big fuss over change. Naturally there's nothing wrong if you're a few quid or what-not down but for Christ's sake, 10c??? Asian people are the worst for this, especially the rich doctor-types (You know well they're doctors). During my stint in Lidl at least 5 / 6 people would come back into the shop and DEMAND that I give them their change back immediately which, litteraly, was always under 10c. I'd give it to them, they'd give me an eye and then pull off in their slick, new Mercedes or 4X4.

Of course they wanted their change back, who wouldnt?

mickoneill30

Duggy747 wrote:

I can't stand people making a big fuss over change. Naturally there's nothing wrong if you're a few quid or what-not down but for Christ's sake, 10c??? Asian people are the worst for this, especially the rich doctor-types (You know well they're doctors). During my stint in Lidl at least 5 / 6 people would come back into the shop and DEMAND that I give them their change back immediately which, litteraly, was always under 10c. I'd give it to them, they'd give me an eye and then pull off in their slick, new Mercedes or 4X4.

I don't get that. You don't give change? Is that what you're saying?

I always take my change (I'm not Asian or a doctor or a 4X4 Merc owner). Doesn't everybody? Or is it normal to tip people at cash registers now?

mickoneill30

Binomate wrote:

If everyone in a shop is watching you they've probably had a history of having trouble with people in your age bracket or people who are like you. It's understandable.

My other half is Asian and gets this a fair bit. She got so fed up with one security guard following her in a Boots a couple of weeks ago that she gave him her basket of stuff and told him he could put them back on the shelves as she wouldn't be shopping there anymore.

Binomate

Twinkle-star15 wrote:

But what really gets me is that I'm (usually) only followed if I'm with a certain group of friends- and I know for a fact that they don't shoplift, whereas some people in the other group do :rolleyes: .

That's even more reason to watch the group. Groups of 15 year olds give us, in the shop I work in more grief than anyone else.

Revelation Joe

I've read this thread with some interest, having worked in retail in the UK and Ireland.
When I started in retail in the late '80s, working for a clothes shop in England, the shop had plenty of staff and so there was time for you to take time with customers, greet them properly *and* still keep the place clean and tidy. But as people left, they didn't get replaced and so less staff had to deal with the same number of customers. Of course, this means harder work and less time to either deal with customers or look after the shop. Something has to give...
In Ireland, I worked in an independent bookshop which was pretty quiet most of the time, so I could keep the shop tidy. When customers came in, I would say 'Hello' or 'Good morning' until one day, the owner said I was being 'too friendly'! WTF? Apparently, customers thought I was pressurising them into buying something. By saying 'Hello' ???

And yes, you get rude customers. I just serve them politely, as I would any other customer and then bitch about them when they've left
But never, ever treat a customer badly. Stick your guns *if* you are right. But never be rude to them, or crack smart comments because you will lose their custom and quite often, that of their friends as well. People are six times more likely to not return to a shop where they have been treated badly, than return to one where they have been treated well.

To sum up, yes, there are bad sales assistants, which I think comes down to bad training. Yes, there are bad customers, but I think that's just the way they are. And yes, there are bad managers and all you can do there is quit and find another job, otherwis they'll drive you demented

Duggy747

mickoneill30 wrote:

I don't get that. You don't give change? Is that what you're saying?

I always take my change (I'm not Asian or a doctor or a 4X4 Merc owner). Doesn't everybody? Or is it normal to tip people at cash registers now?

Sorry, I realised I said that completely arse-ways. I meant over-charge, when you over-charge someone too much. Again, it's wrong if you're over-charged something like 40c and above but, come on, 10c? You'd go to all that trouble of coming back into the store, wait in line and then ask for your 10c back? I'd only do that if I desperately needed 10c more to buy fags or something.

modalcommand

Duggy747 wrote:

Sorry, I realised I said that completely arse-ways. I meant over-charge, when you over-charge someone too much. Again, it's wrong if you're over-charged something like 40c and above but, come on, 10c? You'd go to all that trouble of coming back into the store, wait in line and then ask for your 10c back? I'd only do that if I desperately needed 10c more to buy fags or something.

Fair dues to them for doing that. Plenty of shops are always changing prices up without telling the customers. That 10c might be a few hundred euro extra profit a week for a sneaky shop owner.

Duggy747

modalcommand wrote:

Fair dues to them for doing that. Plenty of shops are always changing prices up without telling the customers. That 10c might be a few hundred euro extra profit a week for a sneaky shop owner.

Lidl was absolutly notorious for that. People would say to me after I scan something in: "Whoa, you charged me too much for that!" I'd look at the till and notice the massive price change and feel like an idiot as the customer would presume I was in on it.

maxi-twist

Nala wrote:

Whats the name of them and where do you get them?

Venom,there actually a fat burner but this isnt the fitness forum so i wont go into specifics.

Mossy Monk

I deal with customers all day long over the phone and most of them are ****ing idiots. Some are grand but the majority are ****tards. I accept also that I too am a customer but am always polite and don't spend time harrassing the staff.

Fratton Fred

to open this up a bit, I spent 30 minutes on the phone to Eircom trying to explain that Ihad ordered one phone, been sent two and charged for three. The guy practically called me a liar because his computer didn't agree with me. (Despite me looking at the two phones and seeing a charge for two on my phone bill and one on my credit card statement) His whole attitude was awful and left me waiting around for ages until he eventually gave up and asked me to phone back on Monday.

This was after hours I spent on the phone to Eircom trying to get a phone line installed only to be told it would be six weeks, then they would do a site survey and it would be another six weeks, then they dug a hole and put a cable in it, so this added another six weeks etc etc etc:mad:

I'm with Perlico now who are great.

mikemac

Duggy747 wrote:

Sorry, I realised I said that completely arse-ways. I meant over-charge, when you over-charge someone too much. Again, it's wrong if you're over-charged something like 40c and above but, come on, 10c? You'd go to all that trouble of coming back into the store, wait in line and then ask for your 10c back? I'd only do that if I desperately needed 10c more to buy fags or something.

I'd do the same and look for the proper change. Sure the checkout person might be taking 10c from a few hundred customers a week and it all adds up.
And if it's simply mispriced, the asian doctor may be rich but the corporation you work for is even richer so of course the customer is right to come back and look for their change.

I sometimes get overcharged in Tesco and always come back and point it out to Customer Service. Tesco give the item free if you are overcharged so the customers wins.:D . And Tesco can get customers to verify prices for them so I suppose they win too.

blow69

I work in a Super Valu during summer and weekends.There are some customers that are so irritating that it makes you indifferent to other customers.Besides i'm busy enough without having to make mind-numbing small talk with people i have no intention of getting to know or don't want to know.

Same as if i'm a customer at a shop/restraunt.I don't expect a waiter/waitress to pretend to act as if they care about our lives.All i expect is that they take our order and deliver drinks/food in a reasonable amount of time.I'll still tip.I also worked as a waiter.It is a stressful job especially at busy times so i understand if they aren't Mary f@*$ing Sunshine all day long!

stepbar

The trick is when dealing with awkward / **** (is that a word??) customers is to lower the tone of your voice and act like if what they are saying has no effect on you. The worst you could do is get angry. Copious amounts of the phrase "In fairness..." usually does the trick for me.

electric69

when its on the other foot where ppl get €10.01 or .02 petrol they arent very forthcoming with coughing up the money then.and these ppl get insulted if asked for the excess few cents.The stations only make 1/2 or 1 cent profit per litre of petrol.so many hypocrites.

sam_hain

Hey,

I have only read a few of the pages here but this reminds me of about 2 other topics that were here on boards a few years back.

I have worked (no longer) in Retail/Customer Services job for over 8 years and I have had pretty much every type of customer you can get. The worst were the posh bitches in Starbucks, Dundrum. The funniest had to be customer's when I worked in Game (although the majority of the time they were annoyingly stupid as well, especially around christmas) and the most irritating were the customer's when I worked for a Bank. Thankfully I am no longer in the Retail Section.

I have to be honest, I was never rude to a customer that wasn't rude to me first. I always treated people as I would like to be treated and I never let manager's f**king me over get in the way of serving customer with respect. I admit I might not have smiled all the time, but I was always curtious and poilte even when they would demand the moon on a stick and get annoyed when I couldn't provide them with it.

There was one thing I did want to say. I noticed that someone early one in the thread mentioned that foriegn people are nicer that Irish people. Can you please tell me what stores these foriegn people work in? Becuase other than the stores where I know some of the staff, I find it very hard to find a shop staffed with forigners that aren't rude or ignornant. If I walked into 10 random stores in Dublin, 9 of them would be mainly staffed with foriegners and 8 of those stores would have, and this is my opinion, rude and ignorant staff, especially if the staff are working in a deli. (Not that hard to understand I don't want Mayo or Onions)

This could be a coincedence but my girlfriend and I were in Canada recently and EVERYONE there was extremly happy and helpfully, except one girl that was working in a store. We asked her a question ("where men's socks could be found") and she looked at us like we had 4 heads. Reluctanly she told us where it was and then I said that her accect didn't sound very Canadian and I wondered where was she from....Poland.

It could just be that I have had the misfortune of being served by the only annoied person in the shop EVERYTIME i go into one, but thats up to you guys to decide. Oh and don't get me wrong, Irish staff annoy the hell out of me too, but at least I know what they are mumbling under their breath if I point out to them that they got my order wrong...

Gingerspice99

[QUOTE=PeakOutput= by the way the customer is almost always WRONG and anyone who thinks a business can work off any other policy is an idiot[/QUOTE]

Do you know of a book called "Crowning the customer"
Written by Fergal Quinn - the CEO if SuperQuinn

Feargal Quinn opened his first store in 1960, a small premises of less than 5,000 square feet and with a total staff of eight. Today, he employs more than 4,000 people and has a sales area not far short of a million square feet. From the beginning his approach was driven by a search for excellence, a single-minded determination that his company would be the best at whatever it decided to do. Another part of Feargal Quinn’s retailing philosophy that soon emerged was his emphasis on customer service, founded on a determination to build an organization that would always try to see things from the customer’s point of view.

This man is a multimillionaire that based his company ethics around the needs of the customer so please tell me out of you and him who is the stupid one!!!!

Me thinks its you!!!

:mad:

PeakOutput

Gingerspice99 wrote:

Do you know of a book called "Crowning the customer"
Written by Fergal Quinn - the CEO if SuperQuinn

<snip>

This man is a multimillionaire that based his company ethics around the needs of the customer so please tell me out of you and him who is the stupid one!!!!

Me thinks its you!!!

:mad:

there is a difference between customer service and the customer being right.......i happen to give great customer service without taking/accepting the bull**** that alot of people here have mentioned...........im not arguing with him in fact i am positive he know a million times more about it than me after all im only 21 BUT i know for a fact that 95% of the time a customer complains(about something i have done or directly related to an area iv worked in) the actual problem is their own doing.............thats fine i will help them to the best of my ability........UNTIL......they start being dickheads its as simple as that


edit and i am far from stupid love

stepbar

Gingerspice99 wrote:

Do you know of a book called "Crowning the customer"
Written by Fergal Quinn - the CEO if SuperQuinn

Feargal Quinn opened his first store in 1960, a small premises of less than 5,000 square feet and with a total staff of eight. Today, he employs more than 4,000 people and has a sales area not far short of a million square feet. From the beginning his approach was driven by a search for excellence, a single-minded determination that his company would be the best at whatever it decided to do. Another part of Feargal Quinn’s retailing philosophy that soon emerged was his emphasis on customer service, founded on a determination to build an organization that would always try to see things from the customer’s point of view.

This man is a multimillionaire that based his company ethics around the needs of the customer so please tell me out of you and him who is the stupid one!!!!

Me thinks its you!!!

:mad:

Fergal Quinn sold Superquinn to Select Retail Holdings 2 years ago :rolleyes:

Gingerspice99

PeakOutput wrote:

edit and i am far from stupid love

By the way you would never be that lucky for me to be your "Love"

But before commenting on the way the man runs his business try reading the book so you can make educated comments on it :mad:

Gingerspice99

stepbar wrote:

Fergal Quinn sold Superquinn to Select Retail Holdings 2 years ago :rolleyes:

And if do a bit more research he is still CEO but not the owner of the business :rolleyes: