topic Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business! in Community Chat

My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

gazelle77 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:30:36 GMT

I am retired from my retail job. I only go out shopping usually one a week, twice a week tops. I now notice how bad many stores are run from a customer viewpoint. Dirty, understocked, employees not helpful or friendly. No wonder so many businesses go out of business! Do not blame it on the economy, it is how you run your store and customers do not return!

I am not too picky, always friendly to those that work in a store, and, I give leeway as I know how hard working retail is and how much work running a store efficiently is. But, just yesterday in the three stores I visited, I found one store where one isle I was on was destroyed probably by a child not being supervised, everything all over the floor. I could not even push my cart through the isle.... I told some one who worked there about the mess and they just said back to me " oh well". The next store I was looking for yard plants. Half of them were dead... or dying...( gosh, a little water once a day can do wonders!) NONE of them had prices on them... Went to another hardware store hoping to do better and the same thing... dead sick plants, with no prices. When I asked a person who worked there how much the flowers were... they just looked at me like I had asked a question out of their network........ "HUH?"

I guess a letter to the head of the company would be the best way to let a business know that they need to clean things up and work on customer service. I do most of my shopping on line now as I find I get what I need quick, no hassle and I by pass the store experience which is usually bad. I still will go grocery shopping and buy plants and yard needs at a box store, guess I just have to deal with incompetencey and such.

Local stores and businesses complain that the internet takes away from their business... than they need to up the ante and make the shopping experience a great one, and not so bad, that customers do not want to return.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

missy1 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:33:29 GMT

My issue is poor customer service.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

ahoymate — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:39:06 GMT

Customer service is not great on the phone either. Lowest common denominator are hired. They know practically nothing. Even on line chat is poor. Including QVC.

Tip: Try going to stores in better neighborhoods as in upscale.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

gazelle77 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:41:41 GMT

On 6/1/2014 Skylands said:
Customer service is not great on the phone either. Lowest common denominator are hired. They know practically nothing. Even on line chat is poor. Including QVC.

Tip: Try going to stores in better neighborhoods as in upscale.

That reminds me of the Pretty Woman incident where julia Roberts goes into the fancy clothes store in Beverly Hills and gets the boot! I do not think it should matter where you go. Customer service can be better at a Good Will store than a fancy store. Trust ME!

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

151949 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:42:48 GMT

I agree with everything the OP said. I was at wally world the other day looking for a lighted makeup mirror. I couldn't find one so I went to the customer service desk to ask if they carry them. Not one of the clerks would look in a computer to see - they just pointed and said they used to be in hair dept by the dryers. They did not even tell me what aisle that would be in. I left and went to Target, where they had tons of them right next to the makeup. What a huge difference between those two stores!!!! Every time i go to Walmart for any reason, I am always sorry i did.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

151949 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:44:40 GMT

Note to the OP - I find that plants at big box stores are awful after Memorial Day. I always buy at a nursery.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

gazelle77 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:46:46 GMT

On 6/1/2014 happy housewife said:
I agree with everything the OP said. I was at wally world the other day looking for a lighted makeup mirror. I couldn't find one so I went to the customer service desk to ask if they carry them. Not one of the clerks would look in a computer to see - they just pointed and said they used to be in hair dept by the dryers. They did not even tell me what aisle that would be in. I left and went to Target, where they had tons of them right next to the makeup. What a huge difference between those two stores!!!! Every time i go to Walmart for any reason, I am always sorry i did.

YES! I just do not think the CEOs know what is going on in their stores. I think they need to disguise themselves like on that show on TV and spend a week seeing what REALLY goes on..... They could triple their income if they would open their eyes to how poorly stores are run.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

physicsnut — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:47:39 GMT

Don't know how long you have been retired from your retail job, but the economy the past 6 years has done a lot of damage to the retail world. Hours have been cut to everyone I speak with in that profession. When hours are cut, less people there to keep the store looking pristine. Also, most retail companies only hire part timers now thanks to o care. One person in a dept. now is expected to do the job of 3 people. Not going to happen when you have messy customers. I went into a dressing room at a local store yesterday and on the floor were at least 20 pairs of jeans, shirts, etc. The CUSTOMER left these, not the store employee. The store employee was overwhelmed at the amount of clothes left in the fitting room by disrespectful customers and I agreed with her. Once I was finished trying on clothes, I put them back on the hanger and took them out of the dressing room and put them back where they belong. Not hard to do, but respectful to the store.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

Happy Elizabeth — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:48:12 GMT

I agree with Gazelle on this one! It's why I shop online so much. I really don't understand how half the B&M places I go to stay in business. The shelves are a mess, yet there are clumps of staff chatting amongst themselves. People just don't care anymore. I feel badly for business owners - it's very difficult to find people who care and have a sense of personal pride and responsibility. I live in one of the most upscale towns in the US, and it doesn't make a difference - just that the bad staff are better dressed and probably college educated.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

gazelle77 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 17:49:08 GMT

On 6/1/2014 physicsnut said:
Don't know how long you have been retired from your retail job, but the economy the past 6 years has done a lot of damage to the retail world. Hours have been cut to everyone I speak with in that profession. When hours are cut, less people there to keep the store looking pristine. Also, most retail companies only hire part timers now thanks to o care. One person in a dept. now is expected to do the job of 3 people. Not going to happen when you have messy customers. I went into a dressing room at a local store yesterday and on the floor were at least 20 pairs of jeans, shirts, etc. The CUSTOMER left these, not the store employee. The store employee was overwhelmed at the amount of clothes left in the fitting room by disrespectful customers and I agreed with her. Once I was finished trying on clothes, I put them back on the hanger and took them out of the dressing room and put them back where they belong. Not hard to do, but respectful to the store.

retired just one year this month. And Yes, understaffing is a higher up problem.... that needs to be addressed....

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

deepwaterdotter — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:01:38 GMT

Even the nurseries in my area are having trouble getting hearty plants this year. While waiting in line at the grocery store I was chatting with a lady who works at a local greenhouse. She said that the quality of the flowers available from the growers this year is very poor. I have decided to save my money for next year and just hang my baskets of silk flowers.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

ahoymate — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:05:16 GMT

On 6/1/2014 gazelle77 said:
On 6/1/2014 Skylands said:
Customer service is not great on the phone either. Lowest common denominator are hired. They know practically nothing. Even on line chat is poor. Including QVC.

Tip: Try going to stores in better neighborhoods as in upscale.

That reminds me of the Pretty Woman incident where julia Roberts goes into the fancy clothes store in Beverly Hills and gets the boot! I do not think it should matter where you go. Customer service can be better at a Good Will store than a fancy store. Trust ME!

Perhaps I wasn't entirely clear. I meant better neighborhoods generally have clean, well stocked stores. Customer service is not always good here either. No need to shout at me Grizzle bear!

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

ahoymate — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:13:08 GMT

On 6/1/2014 Happy Elizabeth said:
I agree with Gazelle on this one! It's why I shop online so much. I really don't understand how half the B&M places I go to stay in business. The shelves are a mess, yet there are clumps of staff chatting amongst themselves. People just don't care anymore. I feel badly for business owners - it's very difficult to find people who care and have a sense of personal pride and responsibility. I live in one of the most upscale towns in the US, and it doesn't make a difference - just that the bad staff are better dressed and probably college educated.

Save your tears for business owners. Minimum wage and under appreciation by management doesn't create a happy work experience for employees.

Again, good/bad neighborhoods, customer service is not great. I'm implying better neighborhoods usually have stores that clean, better stocked.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

Suhse — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:14:29 GMT

On 6/1/2014 physicsnut said:
Don't know how long you have been retired from your retail job, but the economy the past 6 years has done a lot of damage to the retail world. Hours have been cut to everyone I speak with in that profession. When hours are cut, less people there to keep the store looking pristine. Also, most retail companies only hire part timers now thanks to o care. One person in a dept. now is expected to do the job of 3 people. Not going to happen when you have messy customers. I went into a dressing room at a local store yesterday and on the floor were at least 20 pairs of jeans, shirts, etc. The CUSTOMER left these, not the store employee. The store employee was overwhelmed at the amount of clothes left in the fitting room by disrespectful customers and I agreed with her. Once I was finished trying on clothes, I put them back on the hanger and took them out of the dressing room and put them back where they belong. Not hard to do, but respectful to the store.

O Care has Nothing to do with retail stores hiring postly parttime employees. I worked my way thru College, starting when I was 18, working in a high end retail store. I'm 41 now.

We had a core of full time employees, but, I don't think anyone was ever hired full time and when a FT employee left, the postiion was almost never filled with FT hrs. We had lots of PT staff.

Retail stores have Always heavily used PT employees. They avoid paying benefits, they avoid paying the best salaries, and they have a pool of staff that they can use with flexibility.

What Was different, when I worked retail, better training for all employees and back then, it seemed most stores had employees that were "dedicated" to certain departments or areas, so, even PT employees, who didn't work that many hours, had much better product knowledge.

IMO, the proliferation of central checkout, in so many low to middle range stores, was a major blow to customer service.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

hennypenny — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:22:33 GMT

I go crazy when the salespeople are chewing gum and chatting either on their cell phones or with one another. I will walk out of the store when this happens.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

adelle38 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:36:43 GMT

I think it's just another example of declining social skills.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

ilovedaisies — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:56:45 GMT

I can't remember seeing staff standing around chatting... I hardly ever see staff. If you have a question and you aren't in electronics, good luck finding someone to help you. The big stores are trying to get by with an absolutely bare bones staff.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

Group 5 minus 1 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:58:28 GMT

DH always says that there is no such thing as service. Most workers are part time w/no benefits so who cares? As for the aisles they are always cluttered and in an effort to have more product the aisles are smaller and smaller. Kids are not told to behave. The truth is (I am ashamed to say) if I misbehaved I was slapped right there in the store. And no one knows anything. We were asked if we found what we were looking for and laughed at by the cashier when we told her. There is no such thing as service, only poorly trained, under paid help.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

Blahblahvampemer — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 22:45:21 GMT

On 6/1/2014 gazelle77 said:
On 6/1/2014 happy housewife said:
I agree with everything the OP said. I was at wally world the other day looking for a lighted makeup mirror. I couldn't find one so I went to the customer service desk to ask if they carry them. Not one of the clerks would look in a computer to see - they just pointed and said they used to be in hair dept by the dryers. They did not even tell me what aisle that would be in. I left and went to Target, where they had tons of them right next to the makeup. What a huge difference between those two stores!!!! Every time i go to Walmart for any reason, I am always sorry i did.

YES! I just do not think the CEOs know what is going on in their stores. I think they need to disguise themselves like on that show on TV and spend a week seeing what REALLY goes on..... They could triple their income if they would open their eyes to how poorly stores are run.

I think customers ought to find out what the CEO is dealing with first. The average person is beyond clueless about what it costs to run even the tiniest of businesses.

Re: My shopping experience not too good. I just do not understand how places stay in business!

serenity4ever — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 22:49:17 GMT

I must be the odd one out because my supermarkets around where we live are clean, well stocked and the check out people are really nice and friendly too. I was looking for tomatoes on the vine yesterday and the gentleman working there brought me to them, he didn't just tell me where they were.

The department stores I frequent are staffed by really hard workers who know their merchandise. I have yet to meet anyone who isn't eager to help if I need it.