Comments on: Retail Customer Service

By: really HR?

really HR? — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:18:25 +0000

I dunno about this one. My credit card number was stolen and someone made a fake card with the digits. Then they went on a shopping spree until Visa put a hold on my account.

Had one of the many cashiers ever looked at the card, they would have caught the perp. I got my money back, but some jerk has about $1200 of crap of Walmart that all of us paid for.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:40 +0000

I no longer sign my name for credit card purchases, instead I draw a smiley face!

By: Patrick Erwin

Patrick Erwin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:35:31 +0000

@ShawnPavey – I am SO with you on that.

I can understand a store asking your zip code to geo-identify you – it helps them figure out if they need to open a new store, close an existing one and/or service their customers. OK, that’s fine.

Why they need your phone number – especially when many phone numbers are cell numbers and not tied necessarily to the area it’s being used in – is beyond me.

I’ll gladly give my email address to a store I like and shop at often. But I don’t see why Bath and Body Works needs my phone number and email address every time I buy their fancy shower gel.

Radio Shack was the worst. I haven’t shopped in there in so long I have no idea if it’s changed, but I remember being asked name, address, phone number, date of birth and about everything else but an SSN to buy a pack of batteries. I just walked away. In-saaane.

(ps: obviously, talking about everyday retail here. specialty stores or places like, say, car dealers would clearly have that info.)

By: Simone

Simone — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:51:16 +0000

If you’re paying via debit, I could care less if you’re using your parakeet’s card so long as the PIN clears. I don’t need a signature.

If you’re paying via credit, I need your driver’s license. If I don’t ask, I get canned and can’t buy anymore skin breakout-inducing ramen to eat late at night between shifts of my 7.25/hr and 9/hr job(s).

A necessary evil that sucks on both sides of the register.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:41:14 +0000

Re: class factotum
I think the basic ideas is as follows -

Grabbing someone’s wallet with their credit card = easy
Making a basic imitation of the signature on the back = easy
Getting a convincing fake ID if the credit card says “Photo ID Only” = hard

Obviously this isn’t an issue if they decide to use the card online, but in that case you would hopefully be able to track down the shipping address.

By: Shawn Pavey

Shawn Pavey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:28:15 +0000

Okay, the ID thing? I’m not overly concerned about. But why the hell do the ladies at Great Clips need my goddamned address? Really, like bulk mail advertisers don’t already kill enough trees? And when I say to cashier — with a smile and a wink and in a pleasant tone of voice — “You don’t need my address,” the poor woman acts as if I just slapped her granddaughter with a bowling pin. I explain that I get plenty of mail that I throw away and don’t want any from them and get the, “I’m just doing my job. You don’t have to be ugly about it.” Ugly? Since when is a smile ugly?

Charles Bukowski said it best: “Of course Hell is other people.”

By: HR Hooligan

HR Hooligan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:54:23 +0000

I have never been asked for my ID for a credit card purchase. But it really wouldn’t bother me if they did. I, like a few of the others mentioned above, detest it when the salesperson asks for personal information and also tries to push the candy bars they have on sale. I have been told (by sales people and managers) that if they don’t try and push certain items they will get in trouble. How ridiculous is that? I used to work in a department store ages ago but I think things are much different now. We all had to be polite and helpful, not pushy. Now I find that many of the sales people act like you are supposed to bow down and kiss their asses. Not all, but a good number of them. I get attitude often and believe me, I am nice to these people…at first…depending on their actions. A few act like it’s such a tremendous bother to press a key on a register. When I went on the road trip with my husband in his semi I encountered this often with truck stop employees! C’mon now don’t be witchy to the customers just because you are working in a glorified gas station. There were a few however, that went out of their way to be helpful and friendly. All they really have to do is be civil for pete’s sake! What I also observed is that most truckers are nice, very friendly people who spend 11 hours a day in their trucks mostly on their own. Is it too much to ask to be friendly to these drivers when this is, for the most part, the only human contact they get all day?

By: Kristin Currier

Kristin Currier — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:06:51 +0000

I work in eCommerce now, happily behind a massive iMAC, designing cool stuff. But my first job was as cashier in retail. Unfortunately, they come up with all these awful sales pitches you are supposed to rehash for the customer, as well as check ID, make them write their phone numbers on their checks, etc. Ugh. I wish I could have weasled out of it, but we had “shoppers” who would pretend to be real customers that would go through your line to make sure you were doing your thing.

Have more sympathy for the poor cashiers. They’re just doing their job, and it’s a crappy one at that. Yeah, it’s a hassle, but in the big scheme of things, who really cares? I consider myself lucky if I get one that is fast and not texting or scowling at me, which is 95% of the cashiers here in SE Florida.

By: Dorian G.

Dorian G. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:03:44 +0000

Selfish and charming post))
And yes, it is really annoying when society forcing you to smile, otherwise you are out of regular, and freking out psychologists.
Nice cat..

By: Michael VanDervort

Michael VanDervort — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:16:30 +0000

I have no comment