Retailers !! VENT/RANT Here.... we are human !!

[pen2670]

re Google insisting on a number cant you use 01234 567890 ? Most call centres and similar use it when a customer is ex-directory or similarly refuses to give a home phone number because it satisfies the computer and is obviously a fake.

Have to agree, hate answering the phone in the shop. There have been times when I've been very glad I did, but most of the time it's sales people or wrong numbers and of course it's always at the wrong time taking you away from a geniune customer.

 

[GelatoChef]

Great thread, have experienced people pissed off and ranting that I can't sell a quarter scoop of gelato

 

[GelatoChef]

Parents who bring their kids to the sweet shop and proceed to shout and ball at them for the entire time they're in there need a good slap.

That is all.

lol

 

[GelatoChef]

I'm staggered by those people who think it is okay to be rude/ill-mannered for no reason at all when speaking to someone younger than themselves.

Very common in my experience.

 

[Mayor]

Customer "I came in yesterday to look at an item, I can't find it today"
Us "I'm terribly sorry, we sold out yesterday"
Customer "Couldn't you have reserved one for us ?"
Us "Of Course. Did you ask us to ?"
Customer "I didn't think to do so."
Us ".........o...k...a...y.....how about this alternative item ?"
Customer "oh - that looks nice - we'll have a think and come back tomorrow.."
Us "Would you like us to put one aside for you, just in case ?"
Customer "oh no, I'm sure you'll still have them..."

hehehe. A week before Xmas. The place was heaving. We sold out this afternoon.
(We DID put one aside - just in case !!)

 

[emmylou74]

My vent today............this year I have had a big number of people come to me for advice, I sell them or give them samples of the perfect thing for them......then a little while later they come back in say great you were right thanks so much - oh by the way just getting it online, but great I can come to you for advice whenever. Now some of those customers have come back this month wanting to buy the item/s. BUT I no longer have them, having a huge clear out and will no longer be selling any other manufacturers items. And they have got so angry at me, shouting they no longer want to pay p&p.......

 

[promdressers]

Customer "I came in yesterday to look at an item, I can't find it today"
Us "I'm terribly sorry, we sold out yesterday"
Customer "Couldn't you have reserved one for us ?"
Us "Of Course. Did you ask us to ?"
Customer "I didn't think to do so."
Us ".........o...k...a...y.....how about this alternative item ?"
Customer "oh - that looks nice - we'll have a think and come back tomorrow.."
Us "Would you like us to put one aside for you, just in case ?"
Customer "oh no, I'm sure you'll still have them..."

hehehe. A week before Xmas. The place was heaving. We sold out this afternoon.
(We DID put one aside - just in case !!)

Well? Did she come back?

 

[The web design girl]

Hi my rant is an old one. When I left school I got a job in Harrods, retail is my first love! I was serving a customer who was a Lady, as in lady so and so, and when I spoke to her she was completely taken aback and asked me where did I learn to speak such good English! I just did not know what to say. I am born and bread British as well as most of my family but a bit of Welsh and South American blood has given me a darker shade. Surely this woman had come across a tanned person with a British accent before! It was so frustrating that a supposedly upper class person could be that ignorant. I put on a nice Indian accent just to make her feel better....anything to please a customer.....! I run a web design company now and always remember not to judge someone on my limited knowledge.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

[RANT]
What is it with people and phones? They keep phoning us up (damn you google for telling everyone our phone number!). We're a SHOP not a mail order business, if they want to ask about a product why can't they just walk through the damn door like everyone else? Do they think we've got nothing better to do than stand around all day talking to people on the phone?

Of course we just have the phone constantly diverted to voicemail, so we just get lots of messages consisting of people hanging up as well as the occasional grumpy message. Recently we had had a grumpy voice saying "just answer the damn phone" followed a short time later by the same person in a more grumpy voice saying "dammit, this is the 4th shop I've called and none of will answer the damn phone!" - well take a hint jackass, we're SHOPS, and clearly we don't want to talk to you so stop phoning and get off your lazy arse and visit the store!

And GRRRRRR to google for their annoying policy of insisting that every company in the known universe MUST have a phone number. Our shop doesn't even have a phone! We have to provide a virtual number that just goes to voicemail otherwise we don't appear on the internet!
[/RANT]

So you want the money of new customers but don't want to talk to them?

You'll make them trek all the way to your store to talk to you but won't speak on the phone even though the convo length won't change?

Mental.

 

[Mayor]

Well? Did she come back?

not as yet.

 

[The web design girl]

That is a little bit sad if a business finds their customer phone calls annoying. Many find it annoying when they approach their customers in a shop but the reply is 'I'm just looking'. At least when they phone you know that they are genuinely interested. The customer will then come in knowing you have what they want and that it was not a wasted journey. The type f customer that phones are the ones that like the personal touch instead of just buying online. Very important customers if you have a shop. As a web design company I'm so happy if my phones keep ringing.

 

[10032012]

[RANT]

Oh my giddy ant... Some people really make my blood boil!!!

Two weeks, TWO WEEKS!! ARGHHH!!!

I received a call from a customer wanting us to attend one of his care homes wanting new locks as his old "Weiser Locks" are causing issues where specific keys are opening doors that they shouldn't be... a simple wear and tear issue really.

I provided a quotation TWO WEEKS AGO stating new products on restricted keys to be installed, he gave us the go ahead TWO WEEKS AGO...

We were on site yesterday and again today, the one site grew into three sites to be Master Keyed under one MASTER KEY... as per HIS instructions - and that he already had a key system at another site and wanted that one to be integrated, as of which I was more than happy to build the system for him.

Turns out, he went to site yesterday evening to inspect our work, which is grand, lovely, no issue at all... HE rang my engineer kicking off that his key wouldn't work! My engineer drove down to meet him on site out of hours and without charge... only to get there to find that he'd left site and would speak to us tomorrow!

He arrived on site today, presented his old WEISER KEY!!! And said it doesn't work!!!

Of course it doesn't work you ****ing inbred! You told us you wanted it on a NEW SYSTEM!!! we've done exactly what you've asked so why the hell are you trying to get in with your old ****ing key?!!?!!?!!!?!!!!! Not only inconveniencing our engineer the night before, but NOW... NOW he wants us to change the whole suite around because HE doesn't want the OTHER key to be integrated into the system...

IT WAS YOUR SUGGESTION FFS!!!!

[/RANT]

haha, couldn't make it up!! I would charge him for the call out considering he couldn't be bothered to wait!

 

[pen2670]

That is a little bit sad if a business finds their customer phone calls annoying. Many find it annoying when they approach their customers in a shop but the reply is 'I'm just looking'. At least when they phone you know that they are genuinely interested. The customer will then come in knowing you have what they want and that it was not a wasted journey. The type f customer that phones are the ones that like the personal touch instead of just buying online. Very important customers if you have a shop. As a web design company I'm so happy if my phones keep ringing.

Unfortunately, out of 10 calls, on average 4 will be unwanted sales calls, 3 will be sales calls from companies we actually deal with most of which could more easily be dealt with by email, 2 from non-customers ringing everyone in the country to get the cheapest deal to then either get their local store to price match or ask us to ship, which we dont, and just 1 might be a genuine customer.

Meanwhile customers actually in the shop are the priority, but as mentioned upthread whilst dealing with telephone calls new customers often come in then leave rather than waiting for the call to finish.

So yes I can quite happily say I work in retail and find phone calls annoying!!!

Oh and am very happy for customers or non-customers to be "just looking" you never know what they'll see and pass on. People on the phone can't see anything... Those genuinely wanting to buy or even just considering buying am happy to talk to, but until phones get clever enough to tell me which those are answering the telephone doesnt happen if I have a customer in the shop...

 

[Mayor]

I like phone calls to my shop. It gives me the opportunity to turn a casual enquiry based upon my advertising into a serious enquiry based upon my customer communication skills, and then hopefully a sale based on my sales skills. I like to follow up the sale by thanking people for their custom, and confirming their excellent choice in shopping with me, so that they will be happy to use me as their first choice of destination for their future purchases.
I quite often phone a shop to confirm that they are open, to make it worth my while taking a huge carrier bag full of money to spend there.

 

[The web design girl]

Hi pen2670
You are very right, night night! X

 

[gingerdad]

My rant of the week - back to flaming Charity shops.

Surely someone, somewhere will start to take notice of the fact that Charity shops are now selling more and more new stuff and, as such, should not be entitled to the automatic 80% reduction in Business Rates.

and at the other end of the scale, I walked past a charity shop in Stafford yesterday who have changed their whole shop and are now calling it - "Everything's a Pound"

I just walk away shaking my head.........

But their is a limit on the amount of bought in items a charity shop can sell without loosing its 80% rate reduction. I can't remember the exact figure but it's around 10% - the sector average is around 3-5% of bought in items.