On another note, Lost Odyssey at our store has been flying off the shelves. Depending on who you talk to, the discs might literally be flying out of the cases. Is it just that our store seems to be very RPG happy or does anyone else see this where they are? It would be nice to see an RPG sell for a change in the 360. I remember when Eternal Sonata came out, I felt heartbroken everytime I passed the case on the shelf.
We're having a hell of a time keeping Lost Odyssey in stock; same with Mass Effect.
Right now I'm at a point of calm. There are things coming up in a few hours that will make me busy, and I just finished up something I was busy with. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the materials I need in order to do what's coming up... So, I'm temporarily in a brief lull.
It's like being in the eye of a tornado. I'm nervous and edgy. I should be doing something, and I know what I have to do, but I just can't do it yet. I can't even enjoy it!
Bursar on
GNU Terry Pratchett
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
On another note, Lost Odyssey at our store has been flying off the shelves. Depending on who you talk to, the discs might literally be flying out of the cases. Is it just that our store seems to be very RPG happy or does anyone else see this where they are? It would be nice to see an RPG sell for a change in the 360. I remember when Eternal Sonata came out, I felt heartbroken everytime I passed the case on the shelf.
We're having a hell of a time keeping Lost Odyssey in stock; same with Mass Effect.
I went around to numerous stores today trying to find it, OOS everywhereD: so i bought DMC4 instead:|
back to employee lounge related-ness we have these really old, ancient servers here, that are used for development and often need new OS's installed on them. Due to how broken and old the hardware is (downright now working and incompatibility) it usually takes around 5 hours to do an install that should take 40 minutes on average. We've been trying to explain to our managers that buying some cheap new servers to replace them (they don't need high specs) would ultimately save money due to the wasted man hours we're losing here. They seem to be unable to understand it... *sigh*
You see they're built so that when one breaks, instead of having to go through all the shit you'd normally have to do with another companies product, getting it repaired, having it work, etc., instead you can just send apple another $5,000,000,000 to get a completely new apple device!
Sorry, I'm calling bullshit on your post. I've got a few friends that work in Apple stores and I own many an Apple product. If you have a legitimate problem, they will help you fix it. I've never had a problem with Apple fixing any of my products or putting anything in writing. If anything, they do it in triplicate.
If you dropped your iPhone on the ground/in water/you jog with your iPod and sweat on it/did any other matter of stupid shit with your electronics, you deserve to be stared at like an idiot.
Now why would anyone buy an iPod to exercise? :roll:
Warning: This product is to be used only by quadriplegics. Do not move while product is in use.
Shens on
0
GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular
edited February 2008
Has anyone done time in Radio Shack? If so, how is it?
Gosling on
I have a new soccer blog The Minnow Tank. Reading it psychically kicks Sepp Blatter in the bean bag.
Come on, guys. Everyone knows only idiots ever drop stuff... :roll:
Funny thing about that Dilbert strip above... Apparently some guy really got fired for putting up a (different) Dilbert comic, so that whole little "arc" is based on real life. Dude's probably better off not working for such a petty, humorless company.
CyberJackal on
0
VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
Has anyone done time in Radio Shack? If so, how is it?
The manager of the Radio Shack across the street from my old Gamestop store left the company lately. He said salaries had been cut to ridiculous degrees, and decided that his 70+ hour per week schedule isn't worth the money anymore. He's working at a bank as an assistant branch manager now, making the same as his (newly lowered) salary at Radio Shack, but working bank hours. In other words, 40 hours a week, all federal holidays..
Has anyone done time in Radio Shack? If so, how is it?
I worked there for a year or so. It wasn't terrible, but well..you better like asking everybody who spends even a little money to buy a cell phone.
Once when my DM was in the store, this old regular came in. He had a motorla star-tac that you couldnt pry out of his hands with a crowbar. So we knew this guy and had seen him on a weekly basis, so we (my manager and I) knew that there was no point offering him a new phone.
So he comes in, buys his usuals week worth of solder, wiring harnesses etc and walked out. My DM looked at both of us and was like what, why didnt you offer him a new cell phone? He has such an old one.
Before either of us could say anything else the DM....ran out of the store (literally ran) down the hall chasing after the guy shouting out. Sir! Sir! Hold on a minute!. The guy took one look back and just kept going.
It was a complete O_o moment.
Oh, then we got yelled at for not chasing the guy down ourselves.
[Paragon] on
0
GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular
You see they're built so that when one breaks, instead of having to go through all the shit you'd normally have to do with another companies product, getting it repaired, having it work, etc., instead you can just send apple another $5,000,000,000 to get a completely new apple device!
Sorry, I'm calling bullshit on your post. I've got a few friends that work in Apple stores and I own many an Apple product. If you have a legitimate problem, they will help you fix it. I've never had a problem with Apple fixing any of my products or putting anything in writing. If anything, they do it in triplicate.
If you dropped your iPhone on the ground/in water/you jog with your iPod and sweat on it/did any other matter of stupid shit with your electronics, you deserve to be stared at like an idiot.
Now why would anyone buy an iPod to exercise? :roll:
Warning: This product is to be used only by quadriplegics. Do not move while product is in use.
I was going to say this, but I didn't want to show my ignorance of Apple product etiquette. I walk with mine in my pocket, should I avoid that?
Has anyone done time in Radio Shack? If so, how is it?
I work there right now. what do you want to know?
Because the local one has an opening up for sales jockey.
what do you want to know?
it's really not a hard job, end up making about 10.00 an hour without really trying. anything you need to know you're trained on or can pick up quickly. difficult connectors and stuff people either know themselves or we don't sell anymore (they've apparently changed their line up quite a bit in the last few years)
You see they're built so that when one breaks, instead of having to go through all the shit you'd normally have to do with another companies product, getting it repaired, having it work, etc., instead you can just send apple another $5,000,000,000 to get a completely new apple device!
Sorry, I'm calling bullshit on your post. I've got a few friends that work in Apple stores and I own many an Apple product. If you have a legitimate problem, they will help you fix it. I've never had a problem with Apple fixing any of my products or putting anything in writing. If anything, they do it in triplicate.
If you dropped your iPhone on the ground/in water/you jog with your iPod and sweat on it/did any other matter of stupid shit with your electronics, you deserve to be stared at like an idiot.
Now why would anyone buy an iPod to exercise? :roll:
Warning: This product is to be used only by quadriplegics. Do not move while product is in use.
... a hard disk drive like those found in larger iPods has moving parts inside, much like a HDD found inside a PC. The introduction of any moving parts introduces the possibility of mechanical failure, that can be exacerbated by sudden, jarring movement, like running. Smaller iPods are made with a solid state drive, which is more like RAM and does not have moving parts. This is why the smaller iPod Nanos/Shuffles are marketed for exercise, and the Classic and others are general use. You should be fine with just walking, but yeah, if you jog with your iPod Classic, you're asking for trouble.
Any time I even look at the goods in those departments a sales associate asks me if I need help. I'm not sure how a customer can get away with abusing their toys for long periods of time without being spoken to in a polite manner.
It's company policy that employees have to "contact" a customer when s/he gets within 10 feet of them or within 30 seconds of seeing them. It's part of the "CARE Plus" (Contact, Ask Questions, Recommend, Encourage) policy that gets crammed down their gullets at every store meeting. That's why you get mobbed.
It also doesn't help that every morning and night there's a mini-meeting where managers go over numbers and hint at which departments aren't pulling their weight. They make a huge deal over not paying employees commission, but they sure do love tracking those numbers and yelling at departments that don't meet them.
Is there a Best Buy policy about NOT telling the customers to turn stuff down?
It's all part of the "CARE Plus" thing to get people to buy stuff.
On the subject of death and daemons disappearing: arrows sure are effective in Lyra's universe. Seems like if you get shot once, you're dead - no lingering deaths with your daemon huddling pitifully in your arms, just *thunk* *argh* *whoosh*. A battlefield full of the dying would just be so much more depressing when you add in wailing gerbils and dogs.
On another note, Lost Odyssey at our store has been flying off the shelves. Depending on who you talk to, the discs might literally be flying out of the cases. Is it just that our store seems to be very RPG happy or does anyone else see this where they are? It would be nice to see an RPG sell for a change in the 360. I remember when Eternal Sonata came out, I felt heartbroken everytime I passed the case on the shelf.
We're having a hell of a time keeping Lost Odyssey in stock; same with Mass Effect.
I went around to numerous stores today trying to find it, OOS everywhereD: so i bought DMC4 instead:|
back to employee lounge related-ness we have these really old, ancient servers here, that are used for development and often need new OS's installed on them. Due to how broken and old the hardware is (downright now working and incompatibility) it usually takes around 5 hours to do an install that should take 40 minutes on average. We've been trying to explain to our managers that buying some cheap new servers to replace them (they don't need high specs) would ultimately save money due to the wasted man hours we're losing here. They seem to be unable to understand it... *sigh*
This is actually hilarious to me, because I actually did post that prior comic about drunken lemurs on the wall at work.
They make a huge deal over not paying employees commission, but they sure do love tracking those numbers and yelling at departments that don't meet them.
Redded for BS yet truth (as in, the statement is true but it's bullshit that they're doing it). I sure love having as much (if not more) pressure than commission-based stores when it comes extended war- sorry, extended service plans without making one more cent in the end.
Wait, did I say love? I meant "fucking hate".
It's stupid, too, from a managerial standpoint. When I had no pressure, I proposed the ESP to every customer. Some would take it, some wouldn't. But I always did my job well for both the customers and my bosses: I helped the customers finding the right products, and I offered him the extended warranty and explained to him why it's a good thing to buy. But now, we have to meet arbitrary quotas and we really feel the pressure to meet them.
You know what happens when I sell enough warranties to exceed my quota? I just stop bothering with it. If there are no managers around to look over my shoulder, I merely propose the ESP, I don't insist at all, and sometimes I just don't bother if I don't feel the customer's going to buy it right away.
Managers, take note: If you encourage your salesmen to do their best at any given time, and you check once in a while if they *try* to upsell, they will perform well and will try to upsell. If you give them a defined goal and pressure them to meet that goal, the second they meet it they'll laze about.
Don't forcefeed us a number to beat. Inspire us an attitude to have.
It could be worse. It could be like Staples and having to set off a fucking molotov to get an associate there to give you the time of day.
*Note: The following applies either to my own store, my region, or Québec. I dunno about Staples outside of this area*
That highly varies from store to store. We used to be awesome at customer service and you wouldn't walk more than 2 minutes around our aisles before someone would ask you if you need help. However, in the last months, perhaps the last year, Staples has gone down the shitter. They used to pride themselves in being better at customer service than Best Buy or Future Shop (the two major competitors in our region), but, probably as a cost-saving measure, they recently lowered the hours and staff on the floor. Combine this with incredibly growing business around here, and we've become a bad store.
Oh, we still make a shitload of money, but I can tell, even as an employee, that it's not as fun to shop here as it was back then. We get more and more people waiting 15+ mins to even have someone notice them. It's not my fault, I'm already helping someone and I've got 2 other guys in my back that asked for help before you came into the store.
Seriously, PAers, if any of you are Staples customers and are annoyed with the service in your area, write about it. Complain! They won't listen to us employees, maybe they'll listen to you. We need more people on the floor!
One of the few benefits of working in Electronics at Wal-Mart. I don't have to meet quotas and don't get any upper managers on me about upselling or selling extended warranties.
Come on, guys. Everyone knows only idiots ever drop stuff... :roll:
Funny thing about that Dilbert strip above... Apparently some guy really got fired for putting up a (different) Dilbert comic, so that whole little "arc" is based on real life. Dude's probably better off not working for such a petty, humorless company.
Fortunately, either no one has seen my walls, or cares, because I have Dilbert strips that will eventually cover the whole of it and a Despair Inc. calendar up and I work in IT. My boss is a real "help customers with everything we can" (customers are what he calls employees of our company) and January's Despair Inc was "Customer Service: We're not satisfied until you're not satisfied"
Seems to be a thing with Staples stores in the Southeast; but they're veritable ghost towns, with the least helpful staff I've ever encountered in a retail store. I guess, as someone who takes pride in being as helpful to my customers as possible, that it offends me on some base level when people offer poor customer service and seem perfectly fine with it.
Again, it's probably different from store to store, but in ours, none of us is "fine" with giving customers sub-par service, it's just that there's no way around it. When there are 2 of us to help 10 of you guys, and 3 of you want a new computer and can't tell a PC from your own asshole (don't forget I'm talking about my particular store, and it happens to be that the only people who know shit about computers in this 50K people town are the ones working at Staples), and the 7 others have a billion questions to ask and want to small-talk afterwards, we just can't do it.
The man "showing me the ropes" was obviously retarded, as in, he was sporting a down mohawk and couldn't think about anything without stopping in his tracks.
and everyone else was either just as new as me or fat and lazy.
It was not an environment I wanted to be in. at all.
Alright, so I work as a lifeguard at a community pool.
It's a great job, and I love it. I choose days and hours, but the pay is crap; can't win them all.
Anyway, one story particularly sticks out in my mind.
I'm sitting on my little stand, doing what lifeguards do best. Ponder. Suddenly I see a fat, overprotective (most of you guys work in retail, you can see what I'm talking about) mother walk in with an obnoxious kid. This kid is screaming and actually fucking cursing. So naturally I have to go and mentally cockpunch this little bastard. I walk up and ask "Ma'am, can you please tell your child to stop cursing?"
"YOU CAN'T TELL MY KID WHAT TO DO! HE'S ONLY THREE, HE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, but your child really needs to stop cussing or I will have to ask you to leave."
So after much bitching and complaining, she quiets the kid down. Now I go over the rules, because you know, there isn't a five fucking foot long, four foot wide rule-sheet right be-fucking-hind me.
As he's so little, he can't go in the deep end. Guess what this little bastard wants to do with his little water-wings? Deep-end...
As such, I have to actually do something (as a lifeguard, this is madness) when somebody's life isn't in danger. I have to watch this kid like a god damn mother eagle. I knew, knew this kid was going to suck in some chlorine "water". End up having to resuscitate him because he sucks in a lot. Kid's ok, mother still bitchy even though I saved her god damn kid.
I love the responsibility of menial pay and saving lives, I don't expect thanks, but I don't expect to get bitched at AFTER the kid goes in the deep-end against my wishes.
You have no idea how much I wanted a leviathan to snatch that kid down to the depths. Most obnoxious little shit, ever.
Ah, lifeguarding. The second best part of my lifeguarding job (at a local YMCA) was that our manager was awesome and we had the authority to kick people out and she'd back us up on it ever time. They don't want to leave? That's okay, we had some big guys who would be more than willing to see you out.
I got to exercise that right a few times. There were the teenage punks who wouldn't quit being rowdy, and who threatened to beat me up when I got off work, oh noes. There was the guy who was making out with his girlfriend over in the corner (we're pretty sure he was fingering her at one point, that was the point at which we kicked them out).
Also, two of my coworkers got fired one day because they had gotten in the habit of going outside for "smoke breaks" which instead involved oral sex. Outside. In an area visible from one of the parking lots.
I love the responsibility of menial pay and saving lives, I don't expect thanks, but I don't expect to get bitched at AFTER the kid goes in the deep-end against my wishes.
Maybe her mother was actually trying to get rid of him?
Djiem on
0
INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
edited February 2008
How important is it to give two weeks notice?
I might be looking at a much better job, here, with more hours and a staggering 4 dollar hourly increase, and I think if I could start immediately I'd just quit my present job (it's at a biggish grocery store for what that's worth so they have people)
But really, if it's that much of a pay raise, then you need to do what you have to do. When I was put into that situation I was able to talk my manager into a 1 week since he was doing new hires, but only after I made sure the new job would wait.
Your current boss may take it a little badly or personal at first, but they know it's all about money.
I might be looking at a much better job, here, with more hours and a staggering 4 dollar hourly increase, and I think if I could start immediately I'd just quit my present job (it's at a biggish grocery store for what that's worth so they have people)
If you feel that you are getting even nominal respect from where you are now -- or at least from your immediate supervisors -- give them at least a few days' notice. If they go out of their way to make you feel like a number, a day or two will probably suffice.
Note that, unless you are in a situation which is completely intolerable, "just not showing up one day" would probably not be a suggested course of action. If it is intolerable, then by all means...heck, the classic "turning in your name tag in the middle of the evening rush" might even work there, if they deserve it.
EricKei on
"Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them, the rest of us could hardly succeed." ~ Mark Twain
Goozex referral pimp sig, click Spoiler to see it.
0
INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
edited February 2008
Well no my goal here isn't to be a dick, it's just to stop working a lame job in favor of a good one without delay.
I've been there for three months now and my boss still doesn't know my name; I wouldn't really feel bad about ditching them outright, but I don't think that's what I want to do.
Well, if all fails, you could always try to get yourself fired. Generally, it depends on the work environment, and what kind of person your boss is, and what kind of reputation you want to leave for yourself. Generally, I would always prefer to leave jobs on a good note, but if it's some place you don't care about, then you could probably do whatever you want. I'd suggest talking to your boss about it and try to work something out.
I'd also suggest making sure you can actually get the higher paying job before doing anything too rash.
Hey, quick question for any fellow retail monkeys here, don't derail the thread over it. What do you do when a customer wants help from you while you're in the middle of something else? Not in an asshole-ish way, this is Canada after all. What I'm talking about is if, for example, I'm called to head to a particular aisle to help someone (I'm usually the guy with the lockup keys), that involves me crossing the store, or I need to go into the back to get an item, once again involving me crossing the store, and during this trip, another customer asks me for help. See, sometimes I help them, and in the worst of times, this starts a chain going where I have like 5 tasks to do, and the original person just leaves, other times I try and tell them I'm busy, but I end up feeling like a jerk. So, no debating, just an opinion. What's the polite thing?
Hey, quick question for any fellow retail monkeys here, don't derail the thread over it. What do you do when a customer wants help from you while you're in the middle of something else? Not in an asshole-ish way, this is Canada after all. What I'm talking about is if, for example, I'm called to head to a particular aisle to help someone (I'm usually the guy with the lockup keys), that involves me crossing the store, or I need to go into the back to get an item, once again involving me crossing the store, and during this trip, another customer asks me for help. See, sometimes I help them, and in the worst of times, this starts a chain going where I have like 5 tasks to do, and the original person just leaves, other times I try and tell them I'm busy, but I end up feeling like a jerk. So, no debating, just an opinion. What's the polite thing?
My take? "I'll be with you in a minute, just let me do this one thing first".
Of course, I've never worked in a place where you have to set a date with the second customer in terms of aisles and sections, so your guy might feel a bit more abandoned if after that line you disappear into a maze of corn flakes and microwaveable meals.
Well, if all fails, you could always try to get yourself fired. Generally, it depends on the work environment, and what kind of person your boss is, and what kind of reputation you want to leave for yourself. Generally, I would always prefer to leave jobs on a good note, but if it's some place you don't care about, then you could probably do whatever you want. I'd suggest talking to your boss about it and try to work something out.
I'd also suggest making sure you can actually get the higher paying job before doing anything too rash.
Always, always just quit instead of getting yourself fired to avoid two weeks notice. People can understand leaving suddenly for a great opportunity but they are always going to question if you go out like an ass.
Thomamelas on
0
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Hey, quick question for any fellow retail monkeys here, don't derail the thread over it. What do you do when a customer wants help from you while you're in the middle of something else? Not in an asshole-ish way, this is Canada after all. What I'm talking about is if, for example, I'm called to head to a particular aisle to help someone (I'm usually the guy with the lockup keys), that involves me crossing the store, or I need to go into the back to get an item, once again involving me crossing the store, and during this trip, another customer asks me for help. See, sometimes I help them, and in the worst of times, this starts a chain going where I have like 5 tasks to do, and the original person just leaves, other times I try and tell them I'm busy, but I end up feeling like a jerk. So, no debating, just an opinion. What's the polite thing?
My take? "I'll be with you in a minute, just let me do this one thing first".
Of course, I've never worked in a place where you have to set a date with the second customer in terms of aisles and sections, so your guy might feel a bit more abandoned if after that line you disappear into a maze of corn flakes and microwaveable meals.
This. "I'll be right with you, I'm already waiting on a customer" is usually enough. If the customer gets offended, they are a cock.
Posts
We're having a hell of a time keeping Lost Odyssey in stock; same with Mass Effect.
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
It's like being in the eye of a tornado. I'm nervous and edgy. I should be doing something, and I know what I have to do, but I just can't do it yet. I can't even enjoy it!
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
back to employee lounge related-ness we have these really old, ancient servers here, that are used for development and often need new OS's installed on them. Due to how broken and old the hardware is (downright now working and incompatibility) it usually takes around 5 hours to do an install that should take 40 minutes on average. We've been trying to explain to our managers that buying some cheap new servers to replace them (they don't need high specs) would ultimately save money due to the wasted man hours we're losing here. They seem to be unable to understand it... *sigh*
Now why would anyone buy an iPod to exercise? :roll:
Warning: This product is to be used only by quadriplegics. Do not move while product is in use.
Is our jail system that overcrowded?
Drawing from the only times when I've actually had to buy something from Radio Shack... you'd better know your wires and connectors.:P
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Funny thing about that Dilbert strip above... Apparently some guy really got fired for putting up a (different) Dilbert comic, so that whole little "arc" is based on real life. Dude's probably better off not working for such a petty, humorless company.
I work there right now. what do you want to know?
The manager of the Radio Shack across the street from my old Gamestop store left the company lately. He said salaries had been cut to ridiculous degrees, and decided that his 70+ hour per week schedule isn't worth the money anymore. He's working at a bank as an assistant branch manager now, making the same as his (newly lowered) salary at Radio Shack, but working bank hours. In other words, 40 hours a week, all federal holidays..
He couldn't be happier to be out of Radio Shack.
I worked there for a year or so. It wasn't terrible, but well..you better like asking everybody who spends even a little money to buy a cell phone.
Once when my DM was in the store, this old regular came in. He had a motorla star-tac that you couldnt pry out of his hands with a crowbar. So we knew this guy and had seen him on a weekly basis, so we (my manager and I) knew that there was no point offering him a new phone.
So he comes in, buys his usuals week worth of solder, wiring harnesses etc and walked out. My DM looked at both of us and was like what, why didnt you offer him a new cell phone? He has such an old one.
Before either of us could say anything else the DM....ran out of the store (literally ran) down the hall chasing after the guy shouting out. Sir! Sir! Hold on a minute!. The guy took one look back and just kept going.
It was a complete O_o moment.
Oh, then we got yelled at for not chasing the guy down ourselves.
PSN = Wicker86 ________ Gamertag = Wicker86
what do you want to know?
it's really not a hard job, end up making about 10.00 an hour without really trying. anything you need to know you're trained on or can pick up quickly. difficult connectors and stuff people either know themselves or we don't sell anymore (they've apparently changed their line up quite a bit in the last few years)
It's company policy that employees have to "contact" a customer when s/he gets within 10 feet of them or within 30 seconds of seeing them. It's part of the "CARE Plus" (Contact, Ask Questions, Recommend, Encourage) policy that gets crammed down their gullets at every store meeting. That's why you get mobbed.
It also doesn't help that every morning and night there's a mini-meeting where managers go over numbers and hint at which departments aren't pulling their weight. They make a huge deal over not paying employees commission, but they sure do love tracking those numbers and yelling at departments that don't meet them.
It's all part of the "CARE Plus" thing to get people to buy stuff.
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
This is actually hilarious to me, because I actually did post that prior comic about drunken lemurs on the wall at work.
Redded for BS yet truth (as in, the statement is true but it's bullshit that they're doing it). I sure love having as much (if not more) pressure than commission-based stores when it comes extended war- sorry, extended service plans without making one more cent in the end.
Wait, did I say love? I meant "fucking hate".
It's stupid, too, from a managerial standpoint. When I had no pressure, I proposed the ESP to every customer. Some would take it, some wouldn't. But I always did my job well for both the customers and my bosses: I helped the customers finding the right products, and I offered him the extended warranty and explained to him why it's a good thing to buy. But now, we have to meet arbitrary quotas and we really feel the pressure to meet them.
You know what happens when I sell enough warranties to exceed my quota? I just stop bothering with it. If there are no managers around to look over my shoulder, I merely propose the ESP, I don't insist at all, and sometimes I just don't bother if I don't feel the customer's going to buy it right away.
Managers, take note: If you encourage your salesmen to do their best at any given time, and you check once in a while if they *try* to upsell, they will perform well and will try to upsell. If you give them a defined goal and pressure them to meet that goal, the second they meet it they'll laze about.
Don't forcefeed us a number to beat. Inspire us an attitude to have.
*Note: The following applies either to my own store, my region, or Québec. I dunno about Staples outside of this area*
That highly varies from store to store. We used to be awesome at customer service and you wouldn't walk more than 2 minutes around our aisles before someone would ask you if you need help. However, in the last months, perhaps the last year, Staples has gone down the shitter. They used to pride themselves in being better at customer service than Best Buy or Future Shop (the two major competitors in our region), but, probably as a cost-saving measure, they recently lowered the hours and staff on the floor. Combine this with incredibly growing business around here, and we've become a bad store.
Oh, we still make a shitload of money, but I can tell, even as an employee, that it's not as fun to shop here as it was back then. We get more and more people waiting 15+ mins to even have someone notice them. It's not my fault, I'm already helping someone and I've got 2 other guys in my back that asked for help before you came into the store.
Seriously, PAers, if any of you are Staples customers and are annoyed with the service in your area, write about it. Complain! They won't listen to us employees, maybe they'll listen to you. We need more people on the floor!
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
Fortunately, either no one has seen my walls, or cares, because I have Dilbert strips that will eventually cover the whole of it and a Despair Inc. calendar up and I work in IT.
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
The manager looked like a retard.
The man "showing me the ropes" was obviously retarded, as in, he was sporting a down mohawk and couldn't think about anything without stopping in his tracks.
and everyone else was either just as new as me or fat and lazy.
It was not an environment I wanted to be in. at all.
It's a great job, and I love it. I choose days and hours, but the pay is crap; can't win them all.
Anyway, one story particularly sticks out in my mind.
I'm sitting on my little stand, doing what lifeguards do best. Ponder. Suddenly I see a fat, overprotective (most of you guys work in retail, you can see what I'm talking about) mother walk in with an obnoxious kid. This kid is screaming and actually fucking cursing. So naturally I have to go and mentally cockpunch this little bastard. I walk up and ask "Ma'am, can you please tell your child to stop cursing?"
"YOU CAN'T TELL MY KID WHAT TO DO! HE'S ONLY THREE, HE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, but your child really needs to stop cussing or I will have to ask you to leave."
So after much bitching and complaining, she quiets the kid down. Now I go over the rules, because you know, there isn't a five fucking foot long, four foot wide rule-sheet right be-fucking-hind me.
As he's so little, he can't go in the deep end. Guess what this little bastard wants to do with his little water-wings? Deep-end...
As such, I have to actually do something (as a lifeguard, this is madness) when somebody's life isn't in danger. I have to watch this kid like a god damn mother eagle. I knew, knew this kid was going to suck in some chlorine "water". End up having to resuscitate him because he sucks in a lot. Kid's ok, mother still bitchy even though I saved her god damn kid.
I love the responsibility of menial pay and saving lives, I don't expect thanks, but I don't expect to get bitched at AFTER the kid goes in the deep-end against my wishes.
You have no idea how much I wanted a leviathan to snatch that kid down to the depths. Most obnoxious little shit, ever.
I got to exercise that right a few times. There were the teenage punks who wouldn't quit being rowdy, and who threatened to beat me up when I got off work, oh noes. There was the guy who was making out with his girlfriend over in the corner (we're pretty sure he was fingering her at one point, that was the point at which we kicked them out).
Also, two of my coworkers got fired one day because they had gotten in the habit of going outside for "smoke breaks" which instead involved oral sex. Outside. In an area visible from one of the parking lots.
The old "smoke break" in the parking lot.
Who hasn't been there?
Maybe her mother was actually trying to get rid of him?
I might be looking at a much better job, here, with more hours and a staggering 4 dollar hourly increase, and I think if I could start immediately I'd just quit my present job (it's at a biggish grocery store for what that's worth so they have people)
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
fixed
But really, if it's that much of a pay raise, then you need to do what you have to do. When I was put into that situation I was able to talk my manager into a 1 week since he was doing new hires, but only after I made sure the new job would wait.
Your current boss may take it a little badly or personal at first, but they know it's all about money.
If you feel that you are getting even nominal respect from where you are now -- or at least from your immediate supervisors -- give them at least a few days' notice. If they go out of their way to make you feel like a number, a day or two will probably suffice.
Note that, unless you are in a situation which is completely intolerable, "just not showing up one day" would probably not be a suggested course of action. If it is intolerable, then by all means...heck, the classic "turning in your name tag in the middle of the evening rush" might even work there, if they deserve it.
Goozex referral pimp sig, click Spoiler to see it.
I've been there for three months now and my boss still doesn't know my name; I wouldn't really feel bad about ditching them outright, but I don't think that's what I want to do.
I'd also suggest making sure you can actually get the higher paying job before doing anything too rash.
My take? "I'll be with you in a minute, just let me do this one thing first".
Of course, I've never worked in a place where you have to set a date with the second customer in terms of aisles and sections, so your guy might feel a bit more abandoned if after that line you disappear into a maze of corn flakes and microwaveable meals.
Always, always just quit instead of getting yourself fired to avoid two weeks notice. People can understand leaving suddenly for a great opportunity but they are always going to question if you go out like an ass.
This. "I'll be right with you, I'm already waiting on a customer" is usually enough. If the customer gets offended, they are a cock.