I am the face of what you're supposed to be fighting for

I work in retail.

This automatically means I'm underpaid, underinsured, under-vacationed...and, as retail outfits go, the one I work for is pretty good. I've worked for a lot worse. But no retail employee below management level (and at management level in some places) is anything but working class.

We're Democrats. Me, and people like me, should be the face of this party. And in some cases, we are. But it's not all about politics.

Yes, I got set off by a comment in teacherken's diary about playing math parlor tricks to retail employees. But it's not just that. It seems my place of employment has been asshole magnet this week. So, I'm going to rant. And, no, I'm not generally this fed up at the job in front of customers. I put on what an old boss used to call the Happy Smiling Retail Face when I go out on the sales floor. But, here, I'm going to rant.

How do you treat retail employees?

Here's a few observations about my long long career in retail.

First of all, no retail employee is out to screw you. OK? If we make a mistake, it's a mistake. And if it's a genuine mistake, we're going to do all we can to fix it. Within our power (and that's a crucial part). Yes, we get irritated. Sometimes we're ruder than we should be. But it doesn't do me a damn bit of good to overcharge you. I'm not perfect, but I'm not trying to screw you.

That having been said, here's a few truths about retail.

First: if I scan something at 2.99 and you say "But the flyer/sign/my mother-in-law said that it was supposed to be 1.99!" I am required to check it. I can not take your word for it. You know why? Because the odds are better than 75% that YOU are wrong. Yes, sometimes the computers get misprogrammed--and if I check it, and that's the case, then it gets corrected. But, like I said, that's less than 25% of the time. More likely is that you can't read the freakin' signs properly. We have 'comparison' signs: "Store brand ibuprofen 5.99, compare to Advil at 7.99." It does NOT say that the Advil is 5.99, OK? I get one of these a DAY. Learn how to read. Oh, and at least once every week or two I get someone ranting about 'the flyer said this!' and they shove a flyer in my face--and it's our competitor's flyer. Or ours but from a month and a half ago. Yelling at me is not going to change that.

Second: I am a lowly peon. I do not set prices. Don't complain to me about them. I can't do a damn thing about the prices and whining to me about them only makes me want to throttle you.

Third: I can not give change for a hundred dollar bill for a ten dollar sale at three o'clock in the morning. It does not say BANK on the front of my store. We're not allowed to keep that kind of money in the registers in the middle of the night. You want me to have a gun put to my head? It's happened twice, that was enough, thankyouverymuch.

Fourth: when you are standing at a register and your ranting and raving causes the 18-year-old girl on the other side of the counter to start crying, you are a complete asshole and should have your ass kicked. And if it wouldn't have cost me my job when it happened last Sunday, I would have. And, as usual, when management intervened, it turned out the customer was wrong. The sale was rung up correctly. Big surprise (not!). And my young co-worker didn't even get an apology.

Fifth: when I open an additional register and say "I'll take the next customer in line" it means NEXT customer. Not fourteenth. And "Oh, I just have one thing" doesn't make a freakin' bit of difference. You're lucky I wasn't the 'next customer' that you cut in front of because I would've elbowed you.

Sixth: if you do your Christmas shopping (and substitute any holiday here) at 10 pm on Christmas eve, we're going to be out of a whole hell of a lot of stuff. Common sense, isn't it? Apparently not, not from all the whining I hear. Right now it's two weeks and a day until Easter. Right now we've got everything--I don't think there's a thing we're out of stock on. Two weeks from today, Easter Eve? We're gonna be out of a whole lot. And, sorry, I can't go magically produce more Cadbury Freakin' Eggs in the back room. You want them, buy them now. My daughters' Easter baskets are done already.

That's a little sampling off the top of my head. I could come up with more, believe me.

We're Democrats, right? We're supposed to be for the little guy. Well, us retail peons standing in front of you are the very definition of the little guy.

So, I ask you, how did you treat a retail employee today?

If you don't like the answer you get, here's what you do about it--to build up the good karma, so to speak. The next time you're in a store and you like the service you get, get the cashier's name. Then get the store manager's name. Then drop a little note in the mail, addressed to the manager, saying "I was in your store Friday night and ChurchofBruce really helped me out." That's it. You would not believe how far something like that goes. Mangement unerringly gets all the complaints. They get sick of it, too. When they get a compliment, it makes everybody's day.  

Think about all this, please, the next time you're shopping.

•  Tip Jar

  or flame jar, whichever :-)

  by ChurchofBruce on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 01:51:57 PM PDT

•  You are the face.

  Now fight for yourself. Organize the other retail workers.

  by Lucian on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 01:56:00 PM PDT

•  thanks!

  thanks for posting this.  It really bugs me when friends, purportedly progressive, etc., blame retail/service workers for things that aren't their fault, or expect them to have complete control over every aspect of the retail experience.

  I usually respond to the friend/stranger in the next seat on the airplane/person behind me in line by saying something like "I sure wouldn't want to have to be nice to people all day" or "I bet her boss makes her do that," etc.

  Any other suggestions for responses?  I generally think "you're being a classist asshole" while true, is ineffective.  

  by Bec H on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 01:58:14 PM PDT

  •  also

    I really appreciate it when retail workers are nice to me (especially since often folks don't know what to make of my age/gender and so either talk down to me like I'm a 12-year-old boy - which I'm not - or act weird and awkward).  But I try to remember that everyone has crappy days, and not assume that because someone is grumpy one day, they're generally a bad person or not doing their job right.

    come to think of it, that's probably a good approach to everyone, not just retail workers.  

    by Bec H on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:11:39 PM PDT

•  I am unerringly nice

  to retail workers as well as wait staff in restaurants because I have a daughter who has worked in both, and when she came home with stories about assholes who were mean to her or didn't tip, I wanted to chase them down and strangle them.

  ONe other thing I would add is this: it's nice to actually make eye contact with the person who is helping you out instead of treating them like they are part of the woodwork.  I am always amazed at how genuinely nice the workers are when you actually look at them when you talk.

  by getmeoutofdixie on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:05:29 PM PDT

  •  Great diary, but

    I can't be the only person who says please and thank you for everything to every service person I interact with and get nothing but a grunt, if that. And I spend quite a bit of time thinking kindly thoughts like "I think she's only been in the country a week and she's nervous" or "perhaps its polite where he comes from not to look anyone in the eyes."  But when a definite, no holds barred, born in boston accent doesn't bother to smile, say thank you, or look at me during a transaction I do get pissed off. Its not new england manners, I'm born in boston and I don't have em.

    aimai

    by aimai on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:20:13 PM PDT

    •  I agree, it shouldn't happen...

      ..but those of us on the other side of the counter get that ALL day long. If I had a dollar every time I got a grunt in response to 'have a good night', I'd be a very rich man.

      Oh, and that reminds me of something else, and I can't believe I forgot this one: when you are at the counter face-to-face with the cashier who's ringing you up, HANG UP THE BLEEPIN' CELL PHONE!!! NOW!!! YOU RUDE PIECE OF CRAP!!!!!

      Oh, man, that gets me going.

      So, yeah, the employee should be more pleasant, but he probably just dealt with three grunters and two cell-phones-attatched-to-head morons.

      BTW--I'm also in the Boston area. :-)

      by ChurchofBruce on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:43:35 PM PDT

      •  Hey church of bruce

        love your name!

        Yeah, I know, I agree with everything you've written. I spend a lot of time just reminding myself to be less judgemental of everybody.  There are a lot of jerks out there--people who make risky turns in high snow while talking on cel phones are among my pet peeves--but there are a lot of people who just have some other emergency going on.  I try to remind myself that I just don't know what their problem is but if I did, I'd be more sympathetic. my husband cursed out another driver for bad parking behavior on our narrow street today (quietly, under his breath) and then of course it turned out the poor woman was just trying to maneuver into position so someone on crutches could get out safely in all the melted snow.

        And I also remind myself that when I was in atlanta people were uniformly friendly and inquisitive and overly polite but so incompetent that a five second transaction could stretch to fifteen minutes.

        aimai

        by aimai on Sun Mar 13, 2005 at 11:31:39 AM PDT

•  I've never understood

  Why are people so mean to service workers like you. It's such an asshole thing to do. Being mean as hell to waitresses and waiters, people in retail, even telemarketers, is not going to accomplish anything. As you said, service workers are all just lowly peons and you guys can't change anything.

  I've never understood why people are so mean to telemarketers especially. I know it's intrusive, I know it sucks to get a call with no one on hte other end, but being mean to the person who probably doesn't even want this job will not solve anything. How hard is this to understand?

  I try to make up for all the mean people out there by being nice as I can. I smile and say thank you, leave big tips when I can, and if I think there's something wrong, I point it out as politely as possible and apologize if I'm wrong. I like the compliment idea, and will try to use that in the future.

  Just be nice. Thanks for the great diary.

  by Diego on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:16:09 PM PDT

  •  Telemarketers are intruding in your home

    There is a big difference between retail sales and telemarketers.  I am always nice to retail workers and waitstaff in part because they are doing me a service - as well as their being human beings and worthy of respect for that alone.  But telemarketers invade my home to try to sell me things I have no desire to buy, and while I don't yell at them, I refuse to listen to their sales pitches.  I normally just say "I'm not interested" and hang up.

    by snakelass on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 04:05:02 PM PDT

    •  Those Are Too Often

      the only jobs some people - especially those with phsyical deformities - can get. Telemarketing may be annoying, but I still let them go through their pitch. Also, I think they are less likely to get fired if enough people let them give out the, "If you're ever interested, call" number at the end of an unsucessful call. (Means they can log the call as a, "Maybe" I guess.)

      I usually have to say, "No" to the sales-pitch, but I'll try to close the conversation with a word of encouragement.

      by jabney on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 07:23:59 PM PDT

•  Having worked in Retail

  I feel your pain.  As a result of having worked in retail, I am always as polite and pleasant as possible, even if I am really irritated by the jerk who held up the line for freaking 15 minutes over a bloody dollar.  I can't tell you how many times I would have liked to offer them the damn dollar just so I could get out of the store in a seemingly reasonable amount of time.  But I have had many a good moment with the sales clerk afterwards expressing sympathy over what was obviously a mean person.

  How hard is it to say "have a great day" and "thank you very much"?
  

  by Kamakhya on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:16:58 PM PDT

•  I try to be very nice...

  but I will admit that I'm guilty of this sometimes.

  A recent situation that happened to me:

  I called my finance company for my car to arrange payment for that month, and was told that my name was no longer my current name, but instead the name I had formerly, and that I didn't live at my current address, but instead they told me they had an address in Mississippi where I've never lived. I wasn't even allowed to be told the address of where they said I lived, although my ex-husband is from Mississippi (same last name by the way that they say I had changed my name to).

  So now, here I am stuck with the representative of the finance company on the phone, she is for all intents and purpose (insert name here) finance company for the moment that I'm talking to her. She IS that company when I'm calling. I only wanted to arrange my current payment and was not allowed to do so simply because I wasn't who she said I was and didn't live at the address she said I did. Was I not supposed to scream at her?

  I realize workers are also subject to the actions of their employers and it's not their fault that these sorts of things happen, but I did scream at her simply because I couldn't make my payment. I was about to tell her to try to get payment out of  (insert my former name) living in (God only knows what town) Mississippi; but I decided against that. Instead my husband came home in the middle of our conversation and he got on the phone and tried to calmly explain the situation and he ended up getting a bit irate towards the end too. They finally allowed him to make the car payment (he is also named on the car) and now I'm getting bills listed in my name only at my current address possibly suggesting that my current husband and I have separated - which we haven't). Will I be able to make the payment next time? Who knows.

  by 2care4others on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:26:02 PM PDT

  •  Were you not supposed to yell at her?

    No, you weren't. Ask for a supervisor.

    Here's something to think about: when you're irate and about to yell at a service employee, think of being that irate (in a business sense) at someone with a higher professional standing than you. Would you yell at your doctor? Lawyer? Even if you were pissed at them? When you're looking at some retail employee behind the counter wearing the stupid company-issued shirt--pretend that the same person is behind a desk wearing a suit and tie. Would you yell at them?

    Now, some people will say 'yeah, I would still yell' but most people wouldn't. You don't yell, generally, at people you perceive to be 'above' you. You'd be amazed at how many people blink their eyes in realization when I ask them to think about that.

    However, one other thing--yelling gets you nowhere. You start yelling, and I start tuning you out. And yelling with profanity? An old boss of mine used to have a rule--the minute you dropped an f-bomb on his head, he turned around and walked away. He'd head into his office and close the door in your face. If it was on the phone, he hung up on you. Swear at him, and you got ignored. I agreed with him.

    by ChurchofBruce on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:38:20 PM PDT

    •  I should have mentioned

      that I did ask for a supervisor (although it was after I was already in shock and screaming), and was never transferred. She insisted she could help me instead and kept trying to keep the call in her own hands, yet she was not able to help me.

      The strangest thing about this is that I've been making payments on that car for almost four years now in my current name, and have lived at my current address for more than three years.

      Somehow this company changed my information (name and address) despite the fact that I never notified them of any change.

      by 2care4others on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:49:14 PM PDT

    •  The definition of "lower class"

      
      Those who treat the Queen of England and the garbage man differently.

      by DuctapeFatwa on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 03:14:27 PM PDT

•  Will do

  I've on a few occassions made a phone call to management and said "[name] really went out of his/her way to help me today and I really appreciated it".  A bit of kindness has a way of being passed around, most of the time.  I'll have to remember to do it a bit more often.  Thanks for your diary.

  by rangemaster on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:38:24 PM PDT

•  I've worked retail

  and as a telephone operator and a waiter. I'm always friendly and polite - and I always tip big. I sometimes grab a "feedback form" to write something nice on it if someone has been especially helpful. Be sure to get the name of the helpful employee.

  When frustrated with a completely idiotic company policy, try to take a deep breath and say, "I know you're not the one that sets this policy, but if you have an opportunity to share feedback with someone who does could you please tell them that customers have told you that this policy is insane?" Better yet, just keep repeating, "May I speak with your supervisor" until you get to someone who actually does have authority over the matter. (You have to be willing to wait to be called back, I've found.)

  But although some of the assholes would doubtless consider themselves "liberals" (every group has its assholes), I wonder if a disproportionate number of them are right-wingers. For the simple reason that they listen to Rush, O'Lielly etc all the time and those shows are designed to stir up anger. They start spewing it in every direction. My neighbors that scream at their kids, the trash guys, etc. are wingers - they seem to mad at everyone, all the time. In fairness, I have to say that some of my repub-voting neighbors are very nice - but I don't think they're the type to be ingesting a steady diet of Rush, et al.

  I might add, be nice to government workers, too. I've done that - and if you think people give retail workers a hard time, well, gov't employees have it worse. . . .

  by Janet Strange on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 02:59:33 PM PDT

  •  Yes, about asking for a supervisor

    however, one small problem I have is working in a 24-hour store. Guess what? Management doesn't work third shift. Imagine that :-). Store managment, I mean--we have a shift supervisor, of course, but her authority is limited.

    As for lib/conservative, I live in Deep Blue MA. Yes, there are rethugs here, but they're in the minority. Trust me, the Limo Liberal stereotype isn't completely a stereotype. "Yes, I'm a Democrat because I want the government to take care of the riffraff--so I don't have to" isn't an unheard of attitude.

    by ChurchofBruce on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 03:58:30 PM PDT

•  One more reason to be extra nice

  Somehow, the register errors always come out in my favor.

  by ben masel on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 03:11:59 PM PDT

  •  also works for secretaries

    i am amazed at how many people treat them like trash, only to see their paperwok magically shuffle to the bottom of the pile.

    always be nice to people.

    by wu ming on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 09:09:58 PM PDT

    •  oops.

      paperwok=paperwork.

      by wu ming on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 09:10:42 PM PDT

    •  Especially

      the booking Seargent.

      by ben masel on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 10:19:21 PM PDT

•  Thank you

  That was a real eye opener!  

  by elveta on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 03:47:12 PM PDT

•  The joys of retail...

  I worked in nothing but retail when I worked and so, having experienced all of those things, I am always courteous.  I am very patient with new employees and if the person in front of me was an impatient ass I smile and try to crack a joke, or tell them not to worry about jerks like that and tell them that they're doing fine.  My grocery store only has a few baggers so I always bag my own so that the cashier doesn't have to. It always make things go faster when it's busy.  I notice people in front of me not doing it but those that are behind me usually follow my lead.  

  Oh, one thing that used to bother me when I worked at a Lerner's, now Lerner's of New York, people used to always wander around with pieces of clothing and then decide not to buy it so they'd just cram in in whatever rack they were near.  Then, you'd inevitably have someone find that shirt, on the rack it doesn't belong on, as opposed to an entire rack full of said item, and then say, "but, it's supposed to be such and such a price.  That's what the sign said."  So you explain that that particular item was on the wrong rack and they come back with a, "well, I suggest that you keep your store straight" or some such thing.  Which, yes, it was our employee responsibility to keep the racks sorted and to put things back where they belonged but when it's busy, and so many people do that kind of thing, it's really hard to keep up and go through every rack of clothing in your store all day every day. So, when I'm out shopping for clothes I always put the clothes back on the rack I found them on if I decide not to buy.  

  On another retail related note, we had a lot of problems of shoplifting when I worked at Lerner's.  In one unbelievable instance a co-worker and I watched a man walk into the store, stop at a rack of leather jackets, grab one with the security chain thingy still on it and plop it on the counter and demand a refund.  lmao.  

  Retail tales...."retales" if you will. lol

  by abbysomething on Sat Mar 12, 2005 at 04:18:58 PM PDT

•  Oh yeah

  If you work in retail, you can always tell when someone in front of you has spent considerable time also working in retail.

  This is why, even if I won the lottery tomorrow and became unspeakably rich--my kids, once they turn 16, will spend at least a few hours a week working in a retail establishment.

  by ChurchofBruce on Sun Mar 13, 2005 at 02:21:31 AM PDT

•  I have worked

  Doing the same types of jobs and sympathize completely. We always tip in a restuarant, even if the service is bad. And try to be pleasant with the checkout people and other retail people. I figure their feet and back are proably hurting if they have been working for a while, and hardly anything is their fault. If folks are being nice that is a bonus.

  by splashy on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 12:11:20 AM PDT