Rude staff at Tesco Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone and lack of changing roo

dahamsta

If you're on the floor in your uniform you represent the company, so some people probably feel that they should have a right to complain about the price of milk to you. It might not seem the most sensible approach to someone that's thought about it, but perhaps they think you might pass the information on to someone who can do something about it. Is that such a stretch? It's what you'd expect in a smaller company, isn't it?

Let's be honest, some people aren't the brightest. More and more by the day by the looks of things. But they're still customers.

adam

Nala

tvnutz wrote:

I am interested,because it is true. Customer service means doing your best for the customer but some people think customer service means you should be able to pull miracles out of your arse.

A huge amount of customers expect far too much,the idea of customer service for these people has changed into the impossible. If I am on the floor I will deal with someone in the right way but they think you are somehow responsible for store policies that are way beyond your control. I'll galdly give them a customer services number but they will still bitch at you,expecting this part timer to be able to fix their ridiculous problem.

Understand that I am not saying a problem should not be addressed. But the price change in milk the other poster mentioned is a good example for a ridiculous complaint to a person working on the floor. Pass them on to Customer Services is the best you can do but some people will still continue to have a go at you. it's a joke.

never were truer words spoken.

Nala

dahamsta wrote:

If you're on the floor, you're in charge of dealing with customers. If something is out of stock you should tell someone that can deal with that; if you already have, you should tell the customer it's been reported. Is that too difficult for you?

Was never too difficult for me to do but was far too difficult for many customers to understand.

dahamsta wrote:

If there's no baskets at the checkouts, either wait for one or go get the customer a small trolley.

I worked at the self service checkouts and was not allowed to leave them for any purpose other than calling security or if I needed something from the desk. My job was to watch over 8 checkouts at once, I could not do that properly while outside the shop getting trolleys (I don't have eyes in the back of my head and still haven't mastered being able to see through brick walls). And then there are people who were adamant they did not want a small trolley.

dahamsta wrote:

Report them up the chain. Do it anonymously if you're worried about it affecting your job. Resign if it bothers you that much. Customers don't have to shop there, and you don't have to work there.

Managers were reported, nothing changed, I quit.

dahamsta wrote:

People that do that are certainly wrong, but cards aren't just declined because of limit problems.

No, sometimes they're also out of date.

"But it only went out of date yesterday, you should still be able to put it through, it worked last week!!!!"

dahamsta wrote:

You work on the shop floor, you're customer facing, complaints are your problem to deal with. Pass the complaint or the customer along to management if you don't want to deal with it yourself. If you don't want to deal with it, get off the floor.

We were told to give an explanation for the problem, apologise, and direct the customer to the Customer Service desk if they wished to lodge a complaint. This was all done. The majority of complaints were not my problem to deal with. There is absolutely nothing I could have done for most things. Many customers wanted me to go out the back and check for certain items, I was not allowed to leave the self scan checkouts as they are the most robbed area of the shop so I had to tell the customer to ask for a member of floor staff at the Customer Service desk. I tried to explain I could not leave the self scan checkouts but some people want something and they want it NOW. Never mind that I would have got in serious trouble, if not lost my job if the self scan checkouts were robbed because I was off down the back.

tvnutz

dahamsta wrote:

If you're on the floor in your uniform you represent the company, so some people probably feel that they should have a right to complain about the price of milk to you. It might not seem the most sensible approach to someone that's thought about it, but perhaps they think you might pass the information on to someone who can do something about it. Is that such a stretch? It's what you'd expect in a smaller company, isn't it?

Let's be honest, some people aren't the brightest. More and more by the day by the looks of things. But they're still customers.

adam

Just because they are not the brightest doesn't mean I should stand there and be treated like garbage. Like I said,if they are stupid enough to think a part-timer on the floor has anything to do with price changes then I will gladly entertain them for as long as I can and then pass them off to Customer Services based in Head Office. Yet they will still bitch at me,thinking I am somehow insulting them by not providing them with the impossible answer.

dahamsta

Very reasonable responses on both your parts, I appreciate them both, and I agree that people can be infuriating at times, and infuriatingly stupid. It happens in every business though, at every level. I deal with managers in technology companies who obviously don't understand even the basics of what they're supposed to be in charge of, and I have to kowtow to them just like you have to kowtow to your customers; because they are the customers, and they pay our wages. Very occasionally I'll bow out of a contract because I just can't deal with them, but that's rare. You have the same option, in the shape of resignation and another job.

Sadly, it's just part of life. I don't really see the point in ranting about it on Boards. There are much more fun things to rant about on Boards. Read some of my posts if you want to learn more about ranting.

adam

Jack Bauer999

tvnutz wrote:

I am interested,because it is true. Customer service means doing your best for the customer but some people think customer service means you should be able to pull miracles out of your arse.

A huge amount of customers expect far too much,the idea of customer service for these people has changed into the impossible. If I am on the floor I will deal with someone in the right way but they think you are somehow responsible for store policies that are way beyond your control. I'll galdly give them a customer services number but they will still bitch at you,expecting this part timer to be able to fix their ridiculous problem.

Understand that I am not saying a problem should not be addressed. But the price change in milk the other poster mentioned is a good example for a ridiculous complaint to a person working on the floor. Pass them on to Customer Services is the best you can do but some people will still continue to have a go at you. it's a joke.

hate to burst your bubble, but thats the case im many more jobs than tesco.
i work in IT support dealing with upset clients everyday but im still polite, and
explain the suitation and if i cant fix thier problem then i will direct the issue to someone who can fix it. simply because thats what im getting paid to do, exactly the same as any other client facing job (except for bouncers ) there's no reason why someone needs to be ignorant to a customer. ive worked in tesco before while in college and dont remember ever walking away from a customer.

parsi

dahamsta wrote:

unless you figure out what customer service means and why it applies to people that work on the floor, you'll never get further than the level you're at

In Tesco I believe they get promoted to Managers and get to hide out in the back stores...

dahamsta

Ah but if you do really well at that you get to hide out in an office, behind a flipchart.

Sidney77

i neither work/have worked in a supermarket or am a regular customer of tescos, you have every right be be annoyed with the girl who called you b****

however your second complaint about the lack of changing room, its not the girls fault there is no changing room, she didnt design the store, the layout or make the decision whether or not it should have one and isnt answerable for decisions made by her employers, so asking her why there no room is pointless and unreasonable

Karl Hungus

Demonique wrote:

Tell me, Nala, have you been unbanned from the Animals and Pet Issues section yet?

Frankly, from this snide jab, I think you deserved to be called a bitch and ignored by staff.

mcaul

If only everyone had more respect for others.

There is always someone better than you at everthing. - Respect them.
There is always someone worse than you at everything. - Respect them.

or

There's always someone better off than you. Respect them.
There's always someone worse off than you. Respect them.

Keep this in mind and you'll have far less hassles!

dahamsta

Someone give mcaul a tree to hug, quick. :rolleyes:

kurisu

Demonique wrote:

I didn't walk off when she was speaking, I stopped listening to what she said, but was still aware she was speaking and she finished I thanked her and left.
s.

you where probably blatantly obvious

tvnutz

Jack Bauer999 wrote:

hate to burst your bubble, but thats the case im many more jobs than tesco.
i work in IT support dealing with upset clients everyday but im still polite, and
explain the suitation and if i cant fix thier problem then i will direct the issue to someone who can fix it. simply because thats what im getting paid to do, exactly the same as any other client facing job (except for bouncers ) there's no reason why someone needs to be ignorant to a customer. ive worked in tesco before while in college and dont remember ever walking away from a customer.

I don't work in a Tesco.

kurisu

has anyone else looked at the op's reocord of post she started? i think i should point out that she's a bit of a gossip in my opinion , and probably only answers to a man caled "duddy", need proof? check out one of her more recent threads on people called anto

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055155722&referrerid=&highlight=

also IMHO its true that working in a supermarket is easy, but thats if its all you do,but perhaps people should consider that most supermarket employee's (with the exception of our slave driving managers) are in school/college and balancing the 2!, demonique have you ever tried having jobs in 2 different places simultaneusly, or even 1 in your case? because thats what its like, and apart from some superhuman polish people i work with very few people have 2 jobs.

as a side note ive been thanked many times by some very kind customers


ok it was wrong of that girl to be talking for so long at the till,but that doesnt make you right. need any other advice read my sig