Unwritten rules when in your local off-licence

grenache

1. If you are drunk, abusive or causing a danger to the welfare of customers and staff, you will not be served and may be asked to leave. Except it and go home! An establishment reserves the right of refusal, always remember that.

2. If you are paying for your drink by Laser and want cashback, always hand the card to the member of staff and say before hand that would like cashback, DO NOT wait until half way through the transaction!

3. If possible, know exactly what varietal/brand of wine you would like, do not expect staff members to automatically know what type of wine you want e.g. "It has a picture of a vineyard on the bottle" - it could be any 1 of 5,000 bottles!! If possible bring the bottle label with you.

4. If the shop is busy and you are buying a good deal of drink and you require bags, try if possible to help the till operator to bag the stuff and speed him/her up. Its good manners.

5. Do not expect to get a plastic bag for free - you wouldn't expect it in Tesco or Dunnes, why do you expect in your local offie??!! If you do not want to pay the 22c for a plastic one, you may have a paper one free of charge.

6. If you are asked for ID, do not be offended, sometimes it is hard to tell. I am 25 and still get asked. Staff members are not psychic, and we often may think that you are younger than you actually are. If you are asked for ID, and do not have it, you WILL NOT be served - end of debate. And do not expect your friend to be able to buy it for you as this is secondary purchasing or ''buddy buying'' which is also against the law. He will also be refused. The guards are very strict on this and many off-licences have been prosecuted over this type of activity.

7. Your local off-licence is essentially a convenience store, with many convenience store prices. DO NOT expect to buy drink there as cheaply as you would in Super Valu, Tesco or Dunnes. You are paying higher prices for the convenience of not having to queue and not having to walk as far. Also the bigger stores can obviously offer cheaper prices because of economies of scale, the abolishment of the groceries order and bulk buying on their part. DO NOT say to a staff member ''but i can get this for €5 cheaper in Dunnes''!! If you can, then go to Dunnes, but don't come into our place telling us you can. We don't want to know!!

8. ALL off-licences sell cigarettes. There is no such thing as one that doesn't. Just because you cannot see them, does not mean we don't have them.

9. Use baskets provided. DO NOT attempt to carry 8 bottles with your hands, guess who has to clean up the mess if you drop one?

10. Be polite, say thank you. Don't be afraid to ask a staff member for help. If you are in a queue, be patient.

11. If the off licence is closing and you are late, don't argue with the staff member manning the door, he won't let you in. Its up to you to get there in time. Yelling and roaring for us to open up from outside is pointless. Just go the pub.

12. Some off-licences will give you your money back for a product, others will not. Those who won't will instead exchange the good for another good of the same value, which under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 they are entitled to do. Businesses are NOT, by law, required to refund customers their money, but they are required to replace or exchange an item if it is faulty or not up to standard.



Now if you obey these rules, we'll all get along just dandy

BeerNut

1. Six types of eastern-European and Australian lager does not equal "World Beer".

2. For some insane reason, some breweries ship beers in green or clear glass, which harms the product. By all means display them like this, but having still-boxed bottles sitting around will save us asking you fetch it from the store.

3. For the love of Jeebus let us see the price of the stuff. Yes, there's a high turnover of stock, which is great, but we do need to know how much things cost before we make our selections. Having to ask how much it costs makes us feel cheap.

4. If it's out of date, discount it.

5. Know your product. If I bring a bottle to the counter, don't screw your nose up at it and peer at the label like it was a dehydrated exotic spider. You bought it in: tell your staff what it is and what it's like.

6. ABV labelling and Best Before Dates are mandatory on beer. If you bought something that doesn't have them on a label, find out what they are and display them somewhere. Best Before Dates do matter for beer, even though expired beer isn't poisonous.

7. Dust your bottles once in a while.

Now if you obey these rules, we'll all get along just dandy

cavedave

If a customer shows you a beer bottle and says "if you can get this beer in I will buy it", "no we do not stock it" may not be the best response.

grenache

cavedave wrote: »

If a customer shows you a beer bottle and says "if you can get this beer in I will buy it", "no we do not stock it" may not be the best response.

A response which i would never echo! I, personally, will always look into the avaliability of a beer, and an email is always despatched to head office. But 9 times out of 10, our HQ will have no dealings with the company who imports the beer, therefore explaining its unavailability in our shop.

mayordenis

common this a list of normal general manners that should be the normal for everyone in there day to day dealings with anyone in any business.

the beer revolu

grenache wrote: »

1. ''but i can get this for €5 cheaper in Dunnes''!! If you can, then go to Dunnes, but don't come into our place telling us you can. We don't want to know!!

Supermarket's are one of the main causes of off licences going out of business in this country.
You need to know!!!
I accept that you can't compete on price but you need to know what you're up against and compete on specialist ranges, staff expertise and good advise, friendly service etc etc.
I have little sympathy for off licences that go under who sold the same products as supermarkets at a higher price with grumpy service!!

mayordenis

the beer revolu wrote: »

Supermarket's are one of the main causes of off licences going out of business in this country.
You need to know!!!
I accept that you can't compete on price but you need to know what you're up against and compete on specialist ranges, staff expertise and good advise, friendly service etc etc.
I have little sympathy for off licences that go under who sold the same products as supermarkets at a higher price with grumpy service!!

bang on If I wanted (which I ****ing don't) bud, miller, heineken, guinness cans, carona, carlsberg, etc. etc. probably even including Sam Adams, Leffe, Erdinger, Paulener, Franziskaner now, there is no reason for me to give the local offie that peddles the same **** for more money any of my time.
However if the offy makes the effort to have a good range and staff who don't make lists of what the customer should do, then they get my vote.

rubadub

grenache wrote: »

8. ALL off-licences sell cigarettes. There is no such thing as one that doesn't. Just because you cannot see them, does not mean we don't have them.

Are you legally obliged to sell cigarettes? Does people asking for cigarettes really cause so much trouble?

BeerNut wrote: »

3. For the love of Jeebus let us see the price of the stuff.

Price per litre too is very helpful. I would love to see an off licence displaying the ingredients and nutirional/calorific values of their products. I could never understand how alcoholic products do not have to reveal their ingredients. The offlicence could request or research the info themselves.

corkie

Been there done that!

There is one you forgot, under no circumstance can tobacco products be exchanged! Once you have bought cigs or a friend has bought the wrong cigs on your behalf. Once you have left the store. No store is obliged to change them.

If you find a member of staff or a store that does your luckly!

Technically speaking if a store refunds or exchange them, the products need to be destroyed. (not put back on the shelves or resold)! (Same applies to medical products and cigs as a drug are covered under this legislation).

I have even refused members of the gardai this privilege, you should have seen the look on their face when I told them why.

Regards,
J.

P.S. Staff of these places or not mind readers! Please clearly state your brand (colour/type) of cigs.
Asking for packet of 20 cigs? Without stateing your brand is time wasting!

cavedave

cavedave wrote: »

If a customer shows you a beer bottle and says "if you can get this beer in I will buy it", "no we do not stock it" may not be the best response.

No point showing it to the staff member to be honest. They probably have little or no control over what beer/wine is stocked. Get onto their head office .

grenache wrote: »

A response which i would never echo! I, personally, will always look into the avaliability of a beer, and an email is always despatched to head office. But 9 times out of 10, our HQ will have no dealings with the company who imports the beer, therefore explaining its unavailability in our shop.

World beers or specialty beers as they are called where I work account for 2%(which is actually a lot of money) of drink sales so they are not too bothered about expanding the range.

grenache

the beer revolu wrote: »

I accept that you can't compete on price but you need to know what you're up against and compete on specialist ranges, staff expertise and good advise, friendly service etc etc.
I have little sympathy for off licences that go under who sold the same products as supermarkets at a higher price with grumpy service!!

Service with a smile as always, but why customers come in and try to 'haggle' the price of products with me i do not know! Why they think me, a mere sales assistant, has any control over the prices, is beyond me. If all independent off licences matched the big supermarkets for price on most items, there would a lot of offies out of business within a couple of months. Dunnes have something like 120 stores in 4 countries, offering over 4 thousand products, yeah we'll match them on price no problem madam :rolleyes:

mayordenis wrote: »

However if the offy makes the effort to have a good range and staff who don't make lists of what the customer should do, then they get my vote.

Now you've upset my feelings Denis, you're a bad bad customer! I'm gonna have to have words with you at the Bierhaus tomorrow nite

rubadub wrote: »

Are you legally obliged to sell cigarettes? Does people asking for cigarettes really cause so much trouble?

We're not legally obliged to sell anything, but a lot of people who buy drink will invaribly buy cigarettes, the two go together like bread and butter. I've never heard of ANY off-licence that doesn't sell fags, it wouldn't make sense for them not to. Cigarettes are a must have for any shop or offy.

MattKane

Ultimately the customer always comes first. True, we compete on a different level to supermarkets. We don't buy the major bulk brands. Guarantee you we'll beat any 8 euro bottle of supermarket plonk at the same price. The rules above though - a touch of venom there, lol.

regi

I'm also pretty sure you aren't supposed to hand over your laser / credit card either. I believe you are supposed to keep it in your possession at all times (ie, you put it in the card-reader and take it out again)

the beer revolu

MattKane wrote: »

Ultimately the customer always comes first. True, we compete on a different level to supermarkets. We don't buy the major bulk brands. Guarantee you we'll beat any 8 euro bottle of supermarket plonk at the same price. The rules above though - a touch of venom there, lol.

Yes, I suspect the op is maybe in the wrong job.
One where he doesn't have to deal with the public might suit him better.
Maybe he could get a job in a supermarket stocking drink on shelves after the offie he works in has closed cause the customers didn't like his attitude and the drink is cheaper in the supermarket anyway!

OP,Yes the public can be annoying, very annoying but deal with it or get another job or change your attitude cause the public won't change.

grenache

regi wrote: »

I'm also pretty sure you aren't supposed to hand over your laser / credit card either. I believe you are supposed to keep it in your possession at all times (ie, you put it in the card-reader and take it out again)

I don't know who told you this, but correct protocol with laser cards is you hand it to the sales assistant, he then asks you if you would like cash back (if yes, he/she has to press some buttons before the card goes in) then in goes the card and you type you PIN. If the customer puts in their laser card, and then asks for cash back, the sales assistant has to take it out again, which often leads to the card machine freezing.

the beer revolu wrote: »

Yes, I suspect the op is maybe in the wrong job.

I'm very good at my job thank you very much.

the beer revolu wrote: »

One where he doesn't have to deal with the public might suit him better.
Maybe he could get a job in a supermarket stocking drink on shelves after the offie he works in has closed cause the customers didn't like his attitude and the drink is cheaper in the supermarket anyway!

There's nothing wrong with my attitude in store, i may vent my spleen on here but i'm as nice as pie when at work and do not show my annoyance.

the beer revolu wrote: »

OP,Yes the public can be annoying, very annoying but deal with it or get another job or change your attitude cause the public won't change.

I hate to break it to you, and it may come as a surprise, but boards.ie is a forum where often people may want to come on and rant/bitch about a thing. You have never met me in person, have never been served by me, yet you're pretty sure i have an attitude problem, becos i like to come on boards and bitch a little??

injured365

In fairness to the OP, anyone whos worked in some kind of job in which you deal with the public regularly has undoubtedly also regularly moaned about how stupid members of the public can be. I know i have many a time. Also, if it involves drunken members of the public, you pretty much have the right to moan about them.

IronMan

Do you also require a blood and stool sample before I enter your off-licence? Such a list of dictates to buy a few drinks.
It would be much more valuable to have a customer charter such as:

1./ Don't put ale into a fridge with a temperature just above pure freezing.
2./ Stock ale in the first place. No, not Smithwicks.
3./ What beernut said.

toiletduck

grenache wrote: »

8. ALL off-licences sell cigarettes. There is no such thing as one that doesn't. Just because you cannot see them, does not mean we don't have them.

Not true. My local (which I worked in) doesn't

grenache

IronMan wrote: »

Do you also require a blood and stool sample before I enter your off-licence? Such a list of dictates to buy a few drinks.:

Manners and good etiquette will suffice. Its not a dictate, its common sense.

toiletduck wrote: »

Not true. My local (which I worked in) doesn't

Thats a first. I've never heard of it before. His sales will suffer big time.

toiletduck

grenache wrote: »

Thats a first. I've never heard of it before. His sales will suffer big time.

Not really. It's the way it's always been. Same for Buckfast aswell which is unheard of in Galway!

ShoulderChip

I have seen it all now.

mayordenis

ShoulderChip wrote: »

I have seen it all now.

this was the last thing or your "to-see" list?