Yesterday, I was shopping at an establishment I don't really frequent, but visited because I had a coupon. I don't really like shopping there unless I can get something cheaper there than somewhere else. And the reason can be summed up in four little words.
"You finding everything alright?"
I spent about 10 minutes in the store, and I was asked this four times. I don't know if I looked particularly confused, or if the employees were particularly bored, or if they're just supposed to ask every customer they come across if they need help. But after the third time, I had the urge to stand up on a chair and yell, "I'm finding everything just fine! No need to ask me again!"
But it wasn't the over-helpfulness of the employees that turned me off yesterday. (And I grant you, I'd rather over-helpfulness than employees who are nowhere to be found when I actually do need help.) Nor was it the fact that the store's server went down, making it impossible for them to verify credit card transactions till they rebooted and forcing a long line of people to stand there for 10 minutes. These things happen; they're annoying, but they happen. No, what turned me off was the conduct of one particular employee during that wait.
This girl, talking to another girl behind the register, told the story of Wendy, who had requested the day off and not gotten it. She had called a couple of her work friends, including the storyteller, the day before to say she planned to call in sick. The girl told Wendy she'd better not; it was going to be really busy, and they needed her. Well, whaddayaknow, Wendy had a friend of her dad's call in for her, saying she was very ill, then had the audacity to text a friend at work and ask how things were going. (And obviously, with the server down and all, things were not going well.)
I know all workplaces have their gossip, and the story of Wendy is probably one repeated in every retail establishment across the country. But that doesn't mean the place to tell it is in front of a long line of customers.
What I don't think the girl realized is that telling that story made the whole store look bad. There was a sign in the window asking for holiday help, but if I'd been considering applying, I would have changed my mind right there. Who wants to work at a place where you know you could be talked about in front of customers? And who wants to work at a place where employees feel it is OK to call in sick when they are not sick, and brag about it to coworkers? Not to mention how bad the telling of the story looked to customers, who I think I can safely say were all wishing the girl would call her manager for help rebooting the system instead of talking to her neighbor. (And now that I've blogged the story, I have an urge to go back to that store on a day this week when Wendy is working and ask her if she's feeling better.)
The experience wasn't quite as bad as my Labor Day excursion to Hobby Lobby, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I can't appreciate either situation because I have never worked retail (unless you count six months in a grocery store that hardly ever got customers other than the moms of the part-time employees). And maybe I am expecting too much. But I do sort of hope that the next time I go shopping, I won't have any reason to remember the store employees.
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