I love customers who come shopping around this time of year, on a Saturday afternoon, and then moan and cry about it being busy, as if it's my fault. Especially as the problem is exacerbated by us being short-staffed at the moment. We do the best we can, we really do, but if you don't want to deal with crowded shops and queues...just dont go shopping.
Why do some customers think they can **** you off?
- Thread starter Bengaboy
- Start date
Yep, Priest v Last nicely shows that. Although I would argue the purpose of a computer game is to put it in the computer and play the game... the level of enjoyment is not something I think which is obvious.
If something has gone faulty within the first six months then the presumption is that it was faulty from purchase anyway....
That part of the act covers items you buy for a purpose for which the item is not normally used, so in this case it does not apply and the purpose of the item can be assumed.
Like I said it’s a grey area, I've got away with taking back 2 games based on them not being fit for purpose and got my money back both times. It's also a grey area because being fit for purpose in the instances is subjective.
It covers any situation where you buy something where it isn't blatently obvious what it's purpose is and you make known to the seller that you wish to buy the goods for a particular purpose. I don't think a computer game's level of enjoyment can be assumed. Sure it's purpose is to put it in the computer and play the game. But that is fine, and in any case, if the game was faulty it would be much easier to claim the goods were of unsatisfactory quality as per S.14(2). It's the level of enjoyment which I don't think it can be assumed.
I think we have differing views on this, I'm going to leave it at that otherwise this could turn into a very long thread
I remember being at work about a month ago and I was serving this customer, one of the good ones. There are 6 working tills in the shop and there was 6 of us working that day, all of us busy serving the queue of about 10 people.
One blonde woman comes out of the queue, over to me and says, pretty angrily "There are other people here waiting to be served too you know!"
what did she want me to do? pull someone else out of my ****?
An interesting thread this as it exposes people’s lack of understanding of customer service and the realities of running a retail business with tight margins. If you are employed to do a job you should do that job to the best of your abilities and the money you are paid should not determine how professional you are. It’s this mindset that seems to infiltrate British culture and business and is very evident in the retail world by the usually poor level of service you get in many shops. A business needs to accept responsibility for this and needs to invest in its own employees development but at the same time it takes commitment from the individual to put the effort in and show the drive necessary to be successful. If you feel you are not paid enough for the job you do, feel your business doesn’t value you or doesn’t give you the training you feel you deserve and doesn’t offer you the opportunity to develop within the right environment then FIND ANTOHER JOB! We have all felt that and most people who are working today will feel that to some extent. The problem is of course that this is business in today’s climate and world; it’s never perfect it’s always flawed and the grass is usually greener on the other side or in that new job “your mate” has just got.
Shop workers in the main are paid a low wage because they do a job that anyone can do with a little training and those who excel don’t stay working in a shop very long and tend to be the ones who don’t put in 50% effort because they have a bee in their bonnet about their own self worth. Sorry, its a fact and no matter how skilled you believe your job is in the main it simply isn’t. You stand on the floor of a building surrounded by products that people walk in off the street to buy. You moan that they cause you pain which we all acknowledge they do because people are a pain, and then when they ask you to go the extra mile you make it obvious you are doing them a favour rather than simply doing your job (as a general point not specific to our OP).
Again business makes systems and builds process that simply makes it difficult for its employees. Phones that aren’t manned, people who don’t have responsibility to deliver yet are customer facing, systems than don’t allow you to allocate stock to a customer from another branch are just a few but a customer, annoying and rude as they may be are king. They are not always right but they are king and painful though it is its not unreasonable for a customer to expect their shop staff to be competent, efficient and polite at all times and just because they only get £11K per year should have nothing to do with this fact. Pay peanuts get monkeys is a truism I fully appreciate but if £11K is the going rate for your job you either except it or move on and you can’t get annoyed when a customer becomes frustrated when they feel a staff member is adding no value for at the end of the day they are assistants paid to assist not to simply check sock and take a heavy box to the till. My knowledge of PC’s is nothing compared to many on this site but I can count on the fingers of one finger the times I have come across a member of the wearing purple brigade who have ever been able to add to my knowledge around PC’s. Not something I would say about OCUK however, most of the time the chaps on the trade counter know their stuff which I think tells you all you need to know really. Do the job right and your customers will come back, businesses need to appreciate that and most do I promise you, at the top at least, but when many staff have the "sod that" attitude it makes it difficult to deliver a consistent service and that reflects badly on the business and the individual if you ask me.
I am merely touching the surface on this one...
Shop workers in the main are paid a low wage because they do a job that anyone can do with a little training and those who excel don’t stay working in a shop very long and tend to be the ones who don’t put in 50% effort because they have a bee in their bonnet about their own self worth. Sorry, its a fact and no matter how skilled you believe your job is in the main it simply isn’t. You stand on the floor of a building surrounded by products that people walk in off the street to buy. You moan that they cause you pain which we all acknowledge they do because people are a pain, and then when they ask you to go the extra mile you make it obvious you are doing them a favour rather than simply doing your job (as a general point not specific to our OP).
Again business makes systems and builds process that simply makes it difficult for its employees. Phones that aren’t manned, people who don’t have responsibility to deliver yet are customer facing, systems than don’t allow you to allocate stock to a customer from another branch are just a few but a customer, annoying and rude as they may be are king. They are not always right but they are king and painful though it is its not unreasonable for a customer to expect their shop staff to be competent, efficient and polite at all times and just because they only get £11K per year should have nothing to do with this fact. Pay peanuts get monkeys is a truism I fully appreciate but if £11K is the going rate for your job you either except it or move on and you can’t get annoyed when a customer becomes frustrated when they feel a staff member is adding no value for at the end of the day they are assistants paid to assist not to simply check sock and take a heavy box to the till. My knowledge of PC’s is nothing compared to many on this site but I can count on the fingers of one finger the times I have come across a member of the wearing purple brigade who have ever been able to add to my knowledge around PC’s. Not something I would say about OCUK however, most of the time the chaps on the trade counter know their stuff which I think tells you all you need to know really. Do the job right and your customers will come back, businesses need to appreciate that and most do I promise you, at the top at least, but when many staff have the "sod that" attitude it makes it difficult to deliver a consistent service and that reflects badly on the business and the individual if you ask me.
I am merely touching the surface on this one...
i know how you feel i also work for purple shirt, and get that all the time from customers, and we can't do a colled@store to another store as the system knows that were in a purple shirt store. One of the bad things about working there when customers don't believe that you don't have stock when you tell them that were out
My experience as a manager has shown me that you must never take it as a direct insult, and you must always try to remain calm and positive. There are many rude people out there, and many people who will fly off the handle. You just have to try and be reasonable and show them that you are trying your best to help them.
Fact is that most retail staff feel like they dont need to go the extra mile for a customer, when the simple fact is that in retail if you upset a customer they will simply go and buy your product elsewhere.
Fact is that most retail staff feel like they dont need to go the extra mile for a customer, when the simple fact is that in retail if you upset a customer they will simply go and buy your product elsewhere.
I get it daily. People turn up and want a red DS, which are like trying to find Jesus right now, and expect us to have one, and then whine at me for not having one available. Frankly, if you come in and be nice to me, ill do whatever I can to help you get what you want, but if you come in and are a pain, my resopnse will be "no we dont have one, feel free to try x store", even though I can check other stores stock from where im stood.
Had a woman ring up a couple of weeks ago with a comment along the lines of
Me "Hi, how can I help"
Her "I bought mirrors edge last week and I just dont like it, can I return it for a refund"
Me "Erm no sorry miss, if its still sealed I can give you a refund, but since youve admitted to using it then theres nothing I can do"
Her "Well its not my fault your member of staff didnt know what it was about, and there was no blerb on the back"
Me "So you bought a £40 game that you knew nothing about and expected to be able to return it if you didnt like it?"
Her "Yes, its not my fault your member of staff couldnt tell me what it was about"
Me "Miss, we have over 5000 items in the store, do you really think we can possiblly be expected to know about everything we sell?"
Her "Yes"
I was in a bit of a bitchy mood myself, so the second she started on me she got it back
my local game store allows you to return games within 10 days if you dont like it(atleast it did....havent been in there for over a year tho). it used to be advertised on the front window too.
also 1 more thing....if someone doesnt agree to the terms and conditions which they only see when installing the game....where does that leave them ?
Caporegime
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I handle a ridiculous amount of **** from customers but I've come to distinguish it between personal and frustration at the company.
First few weeks were very hard and depressing but now I take the urine in a subtle way for a laugh when it comes to my call monitoring.
First few weeks were very hard and depressing but now I take the urine in a subtle way for a laugh when it comes to my call monitoring.
Caporegime
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I had a women complain to my manager cause I told her we wouldnt be getting more cake. She lied about what I said though.
Which is why I'm happy our calls are recorded.
I did tell someone in a store to **** off the other day though so it will probably come back and bite me.
lol thats quite funny that
Soldato
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- UK
I really feel for you.
I refuse to go back into retail now after working for a proper company. I went from B&Q sales advisor to a software developer at BMW for my placement, I have just over 6 months remaining and it's blissful working for a real company without facing customers. Granted you can treat internal directors/colleagues as customers for Software requirements but it really is worlds apart from retail.
If it's a temporary job for whatever reason just continue and work away like a zombie, without much recognition. Aspire higher and do your best to get out of chain retail stores, they really are **** places to be working at.
I refuse to go back into retail now after working for a proper company. I went from B&Q sales advisor to a software developer at BMW for my placement, I have just over 6 months remaining and it's blissful working for a real company without facing customers. Granted you can treat internal directors/colleagues as customers for Software requirements but it really is worlds apart from retail.
If it's a temporary job for whatever reason just continue and work away like a zombie, without much recognition. Aspire higher and do your best to get out of chain retail stores, they really are **** places to be working at.
I enjoy my job in retail, and I always try to do the best I can for my customers, no matter how rude they are.
For some customers, this just isn't good enough though
In all honesty, its probably the industry's fault for making customers like this, but I am constantly asked if I can give them something for free or If I can give them a discount.
I've even had a customer complain to my manager that I was being rude and agressive to him when I told him I can't "negotiate a deal" with him on a headset for a phone that cost half as much. Luckily, my manager is a decent bloke and knows I am the person least likely to be rude and agressive.
The majority of customers are great. You can have a chat with them, a joke and genuinely be happy to serve them. Even most of the less happy customers, people with faults or complaints are generally pretty understanding/understandable and can see that you are trying to help.
Most of us aren't complaining that our jobs are **** and that we only get 11k, we're complaining about the people who purposely make things harder for people in retail, the people who expect unreasonable amounts from us and get in a huff when they don't get it exactly their way.
apart from those people, there's nothing much wrong with working in retail
For some customers, this just isn't good enough though
In all honesty, its probably the industry's fault for making customers like this, but I am constantly asked if I can give them something for free or If I can give them a discount.
I've even had a customer complain to my manager that I was being rude and agressive to him when I told him I can't "negotiate a deal" with him on a headset for a phone that cost half as much. Luckily, my manager is a decent bloke and knows I am the person least likely to be rude and agressive.
The majority of customers are great. You can have a chat with them, a joke and genuinely be happy to serve them. Even most of the less happy customers, people with faults or complaints are generally pretty understanding/understandable and can see that you are trying to help.
Most of us aren't complaining that our jobs are **** and that we only get 11k, we're complaining about the people who purposely make things harder for people in retail, the people who expect unreasonable amounts from us and get in a huff when they don't get it exactly their way.
apart from those people, there's nothing much wrong with working in retail
Very well put. Just because a job is menial or low paid does not mean you should cease to put in any effort.
I busted my arse to be helpful when I worked in a petrol station, did the same when I worked in a chip shop, did the same when I worked in a garage, did the same when I worked in the travel industry and now do the same in the courier business.
And if I switch roles to be a driver as I have been considering recently, I'll bust my arse to be good at that too. I would want to be known as "Oh that's Leon, he's one of our best drivers so you can guarantee he'll be on time if he says he will"
I couldn't care less if I'm being paid 12k or 120k, as I see it my company are paying me to fulfil a role and make a difference. So my colleagues might not be trying half as hard as I do, but I don't worry about that - I get satisfaction from knowing that I am good at what I do and I make a positive impact on people's lives - however small it may be!
You will always get the odd soul who cannot or will not be helped or pleased even if you go to the ends of the earth for them. Unfortunately that's life and you can't win 'em all. Just try and use the experience as a learning process and next time you might win one of these types over.
Soldato
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Bengaboy, honestly you need to get out mate, I took customer satisfaction seriously, doing the best I could whenever I could (which some customers commented on), but I honestly feel so much better since escaping! We used to get s**ts like that all the time, especially in MK (although we did have some reasonable regulars), your store seemed relatively pleasant (and busy) in comparison I'm still customer facing, but not in retail, and the average customer is A) Smarter (or acts it) and B) is more pleasant. (although some of our Irish customers :/) Not to mention the extra cash elsewhere, its why they raised the minumum store wage because they realised employees were getting poached by other retailers...
I think a lot of people forget its not about not putting effort into your job, or expecting to get a little aggro now and then, it's the sheer bloodyminded attitudes of some people who come into certain shops, a reasonable percentage of whom come in with an unpleasant assumed atmosphere because of where you're working.
Stock wise yes it is a pain, but generally on highly demanded products it is often a case stock is limited to the store it is sent to, to ensure various areas have a fair amount of stock, especially in demand! We did not have interlinked stock systems as this would be an absolute horror to maintain! I mean for example how would you feel if you went on the first day to a shop xxx and was told that you couldn't have the laptop as a shop in john o groats had requested all the items in the UK? Many shops operate a similar stocking policy; you want to ensure YOUR customers can get thier goods.
On the other side of the coin how is everyone up in Leics store?
I'm still customer facing, but not in retail, and the average customer is A) Smarter (or acts it) and B) is more pleasant. (although some of our Irish customers :/) Not to mention the extra cash elsewhere, its why they raised the minumum store wage because they realised employees were getting poached by other retailers...I think a lot of people forget its not about not putting effort into your job, or expecting to get a little aggro now and then, it's the sheer bloodyminded attitudes of some people who come into certain shops, a reasonable percentage of whom come in with an unpleasant assumed atmosphere because of where you're working.
Stock wise yes it is a pain, but generally on highly demanded products it is often a case stock is limited to the store it is sent to, to ensure various areas have a fair amount of stock, especially in demand! We did not have interlinked stock systems as this would be an absolute horror to maintain! I mean for example how would you feel if you went on the first day to a shop xxx and was told that you couldn't have the laptop as a shop in john o groats had requested all the items in the UK? Many shops operate a similar stocking policy; you want to ensure YOUR customers can get thier goods.
On the other side of the coin how is everyone up in Leics store?
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I agree totally, I've come from a Life long Catering background; Pubs Restaurants; takeaways; Hotels.
I've always tried to be the best that I can in what ever role/job I've been given
its worked for me, people using excuses of low pay or bad customers are still for the most part going to complaining when retire.
Customer is always right even if they are Wrong
Saying that When I was in IT I'm responsible for getting 6 IT managers Sacked Due to Incompetence
