KARL'S KOMMENTARY: Unreasonable stupidity: 1001
By Karl Ribas
I took back the gun, replaced it into its display slot, and continued to lock the case as I then turned around and witnessed one of the stupidest questions I have ever heard “Do you work here?”
I thought to myself, ok did he not just see me handle a gun with a customer? Does he not see the keys I am currently holding which unlocks every case in the department? And is it even possible that he overlooked me wearing this big, blue smock with a nice, shiny name tag which says, “Hi, my name is Karl. How may I help you?” I mean, was this guy trying to be funny or was he just that incompetent?...
Oh, and it just doesn’t end there. I have people calling me questioning, and looking for things that they themselves are unsure about.
“Do you have those brown things? Oh, you know, those long, skinny things.”
I swear with these kinds of descriptions I am going to start referring them to this little adult store outside of Ottawa. I once got yelled at over the phone because apparently this lady had seen an advertisement for this fishing pole she wanted while watching channel 4. So she calls up and asks me, “Do you have the fishing pole that was just on TV right now?”
I simply asked if she had anymore information about the pole, and she continued to tell me that she saw it when her program had gone to a commercial break, and it was a gift for her husband. Now I still have no clue about which pole she is describing. And, to top it off, when I tell her this I have to listen to her complain about how my store should put people who know about the products they’re selling on the phones, and in the departments.
In this day and age customers are a no- win situation. God forbid, if I don’t know what long, brown things you are trying to describe, or that I didn’t catch the same TV advertisement that you did!
My problem, I guess, isn’t so much with incompetent customers-- and let me tell you I have seen my fair share. It's with those who are unreasonable and irresponsible.
Often, cashiers are accused of being the sole reason for every bad shopping experience. I mean, they constantly have to hear customers complain about things that they themselves have no control over. Just think about it for a minute. You, the customer, will complain about never having the right price on an item, or for not having clothes in certain sizes or colors that fit your needs. But in actuality is it doing any good? Not at all. A cashiers job is just as it says: A person who takes your money (but day after day they receive these complaints which could easily be settled if you would just walk back to the place where you got it, and took your problem up with a person who works in that area. A person who does know how to fix it).
Granted, nobody likes shopping when you have to wait 10 minutes to get checked out. But step into his or her shoes for a day. The average cashier stands at a register for about 2 to 3 hour periods-- a total of 8 hours a day. So you, the customer, may only have to deal with your cashier for 10 minutes, but your cashier is required to deal with you and every other person who walks through his or her line that day.
Now on to floor personnel, (who in my opinion have the hardest job of all, dealing with the unreasonable, and irresponsible people, face to face). What happens when you decide that you do not want a particular item anymore? That’s right, you take it all the way back to the department you got it from, and carefully (without messing up the objects around it) place it back on the shelf where it belongs. We wish this were the case because customers will try and be some sort of secret agent man, and when no one is looking discard it down some aisle. I mean they really do away with the object by taking the time to bury it using merchandise in the area. It’s actually quite funny on how much time they put into hiding their rejected items when, in the same amount of time, it could be placed back where it belongs.
Children, too! I can’t understand how parents will allow their children to go off by themselves (mostly to the toy portions of the store) while they shop. It’s not like we are offering a daycare service, or free babysitting. I know this may seem pretty dumb to the average reader, but try cleaning up the toy department before 10 p.m.; its damn near impossible. As soon as one set of unsupervised children finishes destroying the place, another group waits to continue right where they left off. What a great way to repay your local retail store for bringing the best in products, prices, and customer service by allowing yourselves and your children to create more unnecessary work for someone.
My plea is simple. Try and understand that the rest of the population on this planet is human, and will make mistakes. Become responsible for your actions( as well as those of your children). And if by chance your shopping experience still doesn’t meet your standards--hey, shop else where.