Retail Rant

September 17, 2006

Most listened: AlrightÂ - Jamiroquai and assortments from Collected – Massive Attack

There are so many things that I haven’t talked about in my blog as of yet and one of those in my casual job @ Harris Scarfe’s. It has its good points and its bad points. I enjoy working in a department that interests me and advising customers on what choices they should make when purchasing a digital camera, phone, deep fryer, tent or whatever. I like learning more about the products and providing quality customer service. The pay is quite good as well and I get enough hours to keep me satisfied. I also work with fairly friendly people, mostly.

There are quite a number of downsides though. Angry customers is one of them. They can be so rude and inconsiderate, especially to a non-threatening person like myself. Most of the time they are angry due to stock selling out or want to buy catalogue lines before the catalogue starts. Sorry folks but I can’t help this! They also get angry because I need to send their faulty product away for repair and am not able to pull a new one from under the counter and swap it over with a smile and a wink. Well I’m sorry again folks, thats how a repair warranty works, you are welcome to send it to the manufacturer yourself but I am sure that it would take much much longer.

Selling out of stock is also something I also cannot help. I don’t run the store and order in the set amount of units. So its not my fault. But what really annoys me is when people from the country come in. Man they are a hassle if they don’t get what they want. Anyways, they come all the way down from some place that I have never heard of and want to buy an item that goes on sale the following day. I can’t do that. It clearly states on the catalogue that the sales starts tomorrow!! Read the damn catalogue! Ugh common sense prevails again.

Customers also seem to show a certain negative attitude towards the store. Or maybe its just the gloomy society that we live in? Customers just drop something on the counter and say I want!. Gee, how about, “could you please put this item through for me?”.

I often enjoy talking to customers despite often babbling off and waffling on a bit. I dislike doing most other tedious, dull tasks like setting up catalogue, putting up signs. It just makes me feel like a real shmuck. It seems so pointless. There is a point but its just monkey work.

The thing that really bugs me about working is just the way some people talk to me. I’m thinking of 2 people in particular here. You see I sometimes am unsure of basic procedure because I didn’t get much training. And also because I always forget this kinda stuff, it just goes thru one ear and out the other sometimes. I dunno, I just don’t grasp somethings. Anyways I make a few errors and one of the aforementioned people just in general seems to patronize me and also expresses a disapproving sort of attitude towards me. And because the work is just so pathetic it makes me feel even worse. Like a real idiot. But this person doesn’t know as much as they probably should(imo) and they are also heading towards retirement. Seriously, how pathetic is that, you would think that someone at the prime of their career would actually be a somebody. But they command a bunch of kids like myself to do some trivial monkey labor for them. The other aforementioned person just carries on when I don’t know some of the basic stuff that I’ve overlooked. I tell ya. The guy is so irritating.

I just hate how these people seem to have some kind of power of me. Not in a positionary sense but in terms of how they place themselves around me. A lot of people do that. It really is somewhat of a continual battle for me..I think. I know that they are kidding themselves and just need to be ‘above’ someone else. They need the leverage. And I am glad that I know that I don’t need that kind of leverage.

People just need to be love and acceptence. Can’t they just be accepting of themselves first? Isn’t that the true path to acceptance? Aren’t we all equal in anycase?

Good questions there. Anyways, got a Physics oral tomorrow better tally ho. Damn now it is tomorrow.

BTW I really like the other 5 songs that I don’t normally listen to off the latest Richard Ashcroft CD. Cry til the morning is gorgeous and simple song is cute, the open chords are just uplifting. Richard’s sometimes sloppy lyrics kinda ruin it a bit. Actually thats prolly his biggest fault, just senseless, off the mark lyrics.

Protection

www.danielprimed.com