By Heather
Okay, this was something I never thought would happen in a paint store. So I'm waiting on a customer and as I finish ringing her out I look to my left in the open part of the floor and a man (a paint contractor) is doing yoga.
Not just a few small poses, nope he is full on committed to doing his entire routine. I froze there and just stared at him bewildered as to why he would feel that he must do this at nine in the morning in the middle of the store as he waited for his paint to be tinted and mixed. There were honestly no words. I wasn't angry about it but it was just really out of place.
Imagine doing your shopping and just running into a guy in downward facing dog pose. At this point I'm really questioning the chemicals they put in paint and if this proves anything its a good thing that they are making low/no voc rated paints now because if this is the result I'm glad I haven't inhaled a large amount of the fumes that may cause this side of crazy. I'm weird enough on my own, I don't need any help.
By Heather
Alright, I've had this weekend off and I took a day to rest my brain and bury myself in Dragon Age Origins. And I believe I have regained a small amount of mental stability, at least as much as there was before...yeah I know, there isn't much of it.
So anyway the past two weeks were filled with much to write about. Firstly, I don't know what frame of mind is behind this particular tactic, but I can't see where it would bare much fruit.
This man, after I tried to explain to him since he didn't know the colors he wanted and since he wanted so much paint, we could put it on custom order for him so it would hold it at the sale price and he wouldn't have to take all of the paint with him and drag it all the way back to get it tinted. Also since he wanted so much paint and it was the third day into the sale we would probably be out of the last of our supply on that particular paint. He agreed to this and as I tried to get his information down he yelled at me and told me he already did this last week with the other guy that worked there. He proceeded to throw his credit card at me.
Now having been working eight days straight at this point I was really impressed being able to keep my composure. I looked him up in the system and it didn't have his phone number, I asked for it. He yelled at me asking why I needed it. I told him that when his order was ready I'd call him and when he had his colors ready we would tint it. Now, we don't have people pay for paint till they actually have their order with them and they take it home so I gave his card back to him while I took his number down. He again chucked his card at me.
At this point there was no hiding the look on my face. I explained the payment process and it was as if a wave of realization washed over him but of course he didn't apologize.
To those of you who have never worked retail a day in your life there is a valuable piece of information I will impart on to you. Just like in your job, there are processes. We in retail are often limited to what we can do by these processes. Especially when a computer/cash register is involved. Those processes/systems only allow us to do so much. Please understand this, nine times out of ten when we say we are unable to do something, we really are unable to do it. We are not just out to ruin some random person's day.
Along with this, we are providing you a service, it is wise not to treat these people like dirt or like they are stupid. Because we do have the power and authority to royally screw you over. In the end we are all trying to make ends meet and pay the bills. There is no shame in what job you do because you have a job and you are lucky for it.
So Monday, last day of the sale, Patty walks in and I didn't see her in time enough to run away. Patty, sweetest old woman in the world. Also, most indecisive woman on the face of the entire planet. I just want to grab her by the shoulders and tell her just to pick a f***ing color to paint your stupid table of which this table's only function is to hold your phone from the nineteen twenties. She seriously has been in the store for two months trying to decide on a flippin color. And when she comes in she is there for two hours at a time.
I really don't mind but when I have a store full of customers I can't have my time monopolized by one customer for that amount of time. So I got her out of there as quickly as possible while answering all of her questions. So apparently she called while I was out at lunch and she talked to my boss. My boss told her she could have bought that day at the sale price and then brought it back to have it tinted when she decided on a color. So when I came back from lunch she called back and proceeded to yell at me for not telling her that...I did tell her that, but she was to involved in her story that the doctor did not want her playing tennis anymore because of her muscle problems in her right arm. I just sat there and took it, I wasn't about to get stuck talking to her for an hour.
By Heather
So as soon as I clocked in today this guy came in and sometimes you can just tell by how someone presents themselves to you that they think you're an idiot. So he asked for All Surface Primer. Asked him if he needed a quart or a gallon. He only needed a quart so while it was in the shaker I rang him out. It took me a little while to find his account because the university he worked for had several different accounts and I was looking for the one that was active and tax exempt. So since it took longer than two minutes his attitude did not improve and he actually started speaking to me slower. So it gets done shaking, I give it to him, offer him stirs and openers. He declines and is almost out the door when he turns back and walks towards me, yelling at me. "Didn't you hear what I said! I asked for All Surface Primer!!!"
I looked at the can and then pointed it at him and pointed at the word "Primer" under the logo
. He didn't even apologize for yelling he just ran took his quart and walked out the door.
...I love it when that happens. Very little does it happen where I get to throw it back in a customers face but when it does...justice.
By Heather
People never cease to shock me...and I don't mean that in a good way. I'm about an hour into my work day when this customer comes in and asks me if I can match a color she has.
I tell her it depends on what the sample is of. She then whips out a thong and I don't mean a thong sandal. Nope I mean as in thong underwear.
At that point I was very proud of myself because without missing a beat I said we can't color match fabrics but she was welcome to compare her sample to what we had on the color wall and we could just walk in the color from there. She tried to talk me into just trying it out and I explained to her that the texture just casts to much of a shadow for the color eye to match it, it would turn out way to dark and its near impossible to tint it back to a light color that would match the sample, its easier to start out light and add from there. After picking out a few colors close to it she still tried to talk me into it. At that point I did kind of give her a look that screamed "I am not touching your underwear! How are you not getting this?!"
I don't care if they've never been worn, I have no way of knowing that. Seriously what if you were the one behind the counter and I handed you a pair of my underwear and demanded a color match? Wouldn't want to do it would ya!
By Heather
So you know the post I made a few days ago, the one about dealing with the public over the phone? That contractor that kept calling?
Yeah, that guy. So he calls back today and asked me if my boss had the paint that he wanted mixed. I look in the tint room and there is nothing in there for him. I apologize and say that we do not have his paint. "Well I'm not very happy about this." I take down his number and tell him that I'll tell my boss he called and as soon as he finishes with his current customer he would call him back. Now, right when I got to work today my boss told me that if this guy came in to come and get him. He didn't even want me talking to this guy. My boss finishes with his customer and I tell him about this guy calling. Now I can't help but overhear what transpires over the brief phone call. So I continue with the long and tedious task of changing the shelf tags when he calls again. He starts yelling at me about how unhappy he is. My boss is on the other line so you can imagine how thrilled he was to be put on hold. Now, the reason why he is so pissed is because we won't make him any more paint because why....wait for it...he hasn't paid his bill. Yep, that's it everyone, all that hassle he gave me over the phone the other day, saying I didn't know how to do my job and accusing me of being very poor at customer service. So it took a while for my boss and so me, being terrible at my job and everything, gets back on the phone with this asshole and kept him updated that we are still taking care of him and will be with him as soon as we can. "This is unacceptable, this is not how you do good business."
Do you know how hard it was not to say "You know what else is bad business? Not paying your bill and still expecting us to mix you thousands of dollars worth of paint Asshole McDouche!!!" but...again, apologized for the inconvenience. After all that this guy put me through the other day, finding out he owed an astronomical amount of money to the store and he still had the balls to give me attitude, telling me I was terrible at my job, and yelling at me over the phone constantly. Taking time and energy away from waiting on people that actually work hard and pay their bill. I know what this guy looks like now too because he was in the store yesterday. Hopefully the corporate office nails him.
By Heather
Okay this was beyond ridiculous. I was waiting on this one older woman today and she had quite a few questions. So I had already mixed her samples and I had a hard time finding the account she was putting it under. So as I was looking for it I was answering her questions.
This painter came into the store only minutes before I was able to ring her out and I was finishing with the last of her questions when he slammed a stack of painters tape on the desk. Loud enough to startle both me and the elderly woman. He gives me this look and I collect myself enough to say. "I'm sorry can I help you?" He stands up straight and motions to the woman. "Please continue," very condescendingly.
I turn back to the woman who clearly is now scared either of the man or for me since she knows that he is obviously displeased. She opted to then leave. I turn to the man and give him a look that would be very hard to not understand as "Shame on you". He obviously did not care that I was giving him the equivalent attitude that a mother would give her five year old for throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of K-mart.
He wanted me to quote him prices on the different tapes that he brought up. He wasn't waiting for paint, he wasn't in there for a long time he simply did not want to take his turn. So I do as he asks and since there is only one register I have to wait for my other co-worker to finish ringing out the other customer first. He then made the comment as to only having one register of which I ignored. This was the first time I have seen this guy in there and hopefully he is not a painter I'll see very often this summer because if that's the case, every time we see each other its going to be like two gunslingers each and every time. I normally wouldn't have this mentality accept for the fact that he picked me to do this to because he thinks I'm an easy target compared to my male counterpart. I will not be bullied.
By Heather
I'll start with the personal call I had to make at work today. I have a medical condition and I ran out of medicine over a month ago. But since I changed jobs, gas prices keep on increasing, and many other random occurrences that have happened, its been very difficult to schedule an appointment. I live in PA but my specialist is in WV where I used to live and since its been over a year since I last saw him he can't just write me up a prescription. So I have to make an appointment. I have had to cancel several that I've made over the past year just because its been to hard to get from PA to WV to have the blood work done and the doctor's visit. So today I try to schedule one up here. So I take a 10 min. break and this is the awesomeness I had to put with.
This is me and Margret, we went on a journey today. I called, what I thought was the doctors office. But apparently there's not just one and Margret was my navigator. She asked me who I'd liked to see. I say, Dr. Bob (not going to say actual doctors names). "For what reason are you making an appointment?" I tell her why and that because of being unable to keep up with my appointments because of the move and change in jobs thus the changes in insurance I have been unable to keep up with it. This is the reason why I have to change doctors and I'll also have to get a script for blood work prior to the appointment. (as you can tell I've done this before so I know what I need to have done) I was referred to Dr. Bob's office by one of his patients. "Alright well we'll need your paperwork from your where your transferring faxed to us." Okay, what's your fax so I can call them and have them send it. "Okay let me put you on hold to get you the number." So she puts me on hold, I found this strange since it was going to be faxed to her office there. Wouldn't it just be on a business card at least? She took five minutes to get back to me and give me the number.
"Alright, what office would you like to see him in?" There are many branches all over the city. I tell her anywhere near where I work would be fabulous that way I wouldn't have spend an hour in traffic getting to inner city or trying to find it because I'm still unfamiliar with this city. So she puts me on hold for about 8min. at this point the assistant manager is looking at me as if to say I need to be getting back and just as I'm about to give up on Margret she gets back to me. "Alright I got you an appointment with Dr. Fred".
....wait what? I said I needed an appointment with Dr. Bob. I've been through hell finding a good specialist and I got his name from a very trusted source. "I'm sorry, I'll try his office." To late, I have to get back to work.
Now onto the idiot contractor that would not stop calling. So after this you can imagine how great of a mood I was in. I ended up calling my mom and asked her if she could do me a favor and just make me another appointment at the one back home in WV and I'll just have to make the time and keep to it. We had a good flow of customers today and we had to get receiving cleared out because we get trucks on Tuesday and we barely had last weeks packed away. So needless to say I and my boss were very busy. My boss was dealing with other issues which included other employees (delivery men) not doing their job and him having to deal with very angry customers, customers that were very large accounts. So I tried my best to take care of the customers coming in the store, getting things put away, and answering the phone. I'm waiting on a few customers (painters) and this contractor keeps calling asking if we could give him a price on our five gallon drums. Now I've only been there two months and I've been told not to price accounts I'm not familiar with. So I tell him the my boss is with another customer, took his name and number and said he'd call him as soon as he was able. At this point I feel that vein in my head begin to swell and it feels like a tumor at this point.
Again, waiting on four customers, mixing paint and additional questions from everyone in the store, the contractor calls again. Again I take his message and any additional information he had to add. Of which I can barely hear him because he's talking to multiple people over the phone not just me, there is a ton of echo and he's giving me lip because he's not being waited on that second. I apologize for the inconvenience and explain to him that we've a high volume of calls and customers in the store that day. So I get off the phone and finish with my current line of customers. My boss finishes his current phone call briefly and I tell him about the contractor that kept calling and his reaction was just about the same as mine. He informs me that this contractor never buys from our store and is not in our system. But him and his workers consistently come into our store for free shirts, and with coupons for free roller covers and brushes. We lose money on them. And now they want us to lower our prices on our paint to the point were we'd see little to no profit on it. He said that they can wait and that he has some emergency calls to take care of first of which if he says I can do it and won't get in trouble for it I have no problem telling this contractor that they have to wait. So the store fills up again while I'm trying to get the truck on the shelves. Again he calls while I'm working on custom matching someones paint, asking them the necessary questions. He calls and is very ticked off and again I play it off apologizing trying to balance between him, my current customer and the ones behind him.
Finish that customer, he calls back and asks me a few questions about another paint and then said that the price was to much and complained about that and that he wanted to talk to my boss, I told him he was still dealing with an emergency and that he knows about him and his pricing questions and would get to him as soon as he could. He begrudgingly hangs up and I continue with my customer.
I'm still with this customer and he calls back not five minutes later and said that this was unacceptable and that I am terrible at my job. I tell him that I am currently waiting on customers and doing as much for him as I can. I am not authorized to do pricing since I am only a DIY Specialist and have only been there for two months. He is content with that answer and hangs up. I finish with that customer and finish out with the rest of my customers. I start with changing out the shelf tags because it has to be done by the end of the month and he calls back again and while dealing with him another rush comes in. I look at the clock to discover my shift ended fifteen minutes ago.
By Heather
I love helping people out with their paint choices and I really do mean that. However I can't make it any clearer that I can not make your decision for you. Firstly, because I am strictly not allowed. Because if you buy that color, take it home and hate it, bring it back and say that I told you to buy that color we have to eat that and give a another can of paint for free, therefore, I cannot make this choice for you. On average I get at least one of these customers once every other day...today...I had three. And I really wouldn't have minded accept that I'm sick, can hardly breath let alone talk, there was a truck to unload, the tint room needed cleaned, and all the regular stock needed put on the shelves. There was a lot to do in that eight hours that I was there and I had already lost the first hour due to making a delivery and running to the bank for change and the stores receipt slips from the past few deposits.
At first its kind of fun to watch them grab up at least 12-15 color chips staying around the same color or shades of that color then moving onto a completely different color option. I ask them the normal questions, what room are you painting? What is the price range you'd like to stick to? Are you looking for a subtle or drastic change? How large is this room? What is the main source of light in this room? What color are the walls now? What sheen are they currently?
Now to me this is fairly standard for me to figure out the kind of paint you need, what primer you need, what base you need, if you need to wash down your walls first, whether or not you need a paint with anti-microbials in it, if you have kids so that you'd need a paint with a low/no VOC or odor options, the durability that you may need depending on the room (kitchen, bathrooms, and kids rooms/play areas). I in no way mean for this to overwhelm you. I am simply narrowing down what you need for your project and getting you the best price for what you need.
I know that when people come in for a can of paint they are coming thinking "just a can of paint" and I know that all the questions I ask are things that most DIY (Do it Yourself) customers don't even think of. Most people don't think that paint performs to different rooms and expectations.
Me explaining this process of elimination only takes maybe five to ten minutes. But today I got these individuals that came in that were the most indecisive individuals I have ever met. They asked me every question in the book, questions that didn't even pertain to painting their wall and then got confused by almost everything I told them. Whereas if they just slowed down to listen to me they would have had answer enough for that one singular project that they came in for. Not the twelve different projects they were pondering on doing. They couldn't figure out all surface enamels for specialty surfaces apparently. "Will this work on wood?" ...does the phrase
ALL surface enamel not get through somehow? "Does that mean I can use it on my porch railing?" I spent my lunch beating my forehead off the side of the building today.
By Heather
I know that I've only been working for this store for a month and there has been extensive training so even though I don't know everything I at least know the basics. So this customer comes into the store and its one of those moments where your eyes meet one another and you just know that this person is not going to listen to anything you say, even though everything you tell this person is helpful to what they came in for. I work in a paint store, we sell a variety of different paints for many different projects and purposes. So when this woman came in I introduced myself and asked her what I could help her with. She said she needed a can of paint, I asked what kind of paint. She said Satin. That's a sheen not a paint, what room are you looking to paint. Already, she is irritated with me. She said it was the bathroom so I recommended the paint with the anti-microbials in it because of the moister that is in a bathroom it would prevent mold and mildew on your walls. She said that it was way to expensive and that she just wanted what she got before and she was not budging. I tried to explain to her what she got before was the same price and she be getting the added benifit of the anti-microbials, no VOC's and no odor. Nope she didn't care. She actually ended up paying more for a product that wasn't going to perform to the space she was putting it in. A few months from now I expect we'll be getting a call cause this idiot wouldn't listen to just a sales person that was doing their job and trying to HELP her, but you know what, don't blame me when you start getting sick because of the mold on your walls.
What I don't get is why someone would come into a store with that kind of an additude. What do you think being an outright bitch to a complete stranger that is just doing their job is going to get a few bucks knocked off for you? Because if you don't want a quality paint that is going to last you then don't come to this store. Buy a cheap paint at another random store that will last two years before you have to another repaint if you are that worried about the price.
By Heather
I know I have not made any recent posts and I'm sorry. I've currently been under a lot of stress for things unrelated to work. But I promise this post will make up for the time lost because I have a multiple amount of topics to talk about.
Alright, for starters my work has implemented this new scheduling system called FAST. Basically it schedules people more efficiently around where we seem to have the most sales. It also screws the part timers out of their hours half the time. I'm full time but it still bothers me that friends of mine, good hard working people are having to look for work and or second jobs elsewhere. But I digress. This also schedules me hours as a normal cashier, of which I don't mind. But it always schedules me on self check out which is the most boring job ever. I stand there in the same fricken spot for eight hours with little to no interaction with people. I hate coming to work and not really doing anything. On top of this, it is as you know, the Christmas season. So of course they are playing Christmas music. Let me ask you a question. How many versions of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer does one have to sing for them to realize, there is no other way to sing this damn song. Today, I counted twenty-seven different versions.
To you the person putting together the play list for my and so many other retail stores please very it up a bit. I know its slim pickens when it comes to framing a playlist around the holiday season but please put more songs in between each version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I think I'm developing a tumor.
This endless spiral of corny Christmas songs is beginning to drive me mad which is not good. It makes my numerous ticks about customers that much more obvious. I have three out of four self-checkout machines open, the other is out of order. What do people do, out of all the machines that are open and unused, they walk up to the one that is out of order, try desperately to scan their items before looking at me saying "It's broken!" No shit Sherlok, it says it there right on the flippin screen.
"Since you are not doing anything go around getting my numerous shopping list." No, I have to stand here because people are jerks and will run out without paying. Don't get me wrong, I will help all the people I can on self-check out but I can't leave. Or this one, all of my machines are in use and you have the one butt puppet that comes up to you with a cart full of stuff and wants you to ring them out. Try as you will to explain to them that you have no open register and that your little computer stand is not a register, it can't make it through the layers of stupid for them to understand it.
Tonight I was doing the closing paperwork and of course there is a register open down the line and self check is also open. And still, people come up to me, lean over my CLOSED gate and ask. "Are you open?" I try to hide look on my face that screams "ARE YOU FRICKEN RETARDED?" My light is off, my gate is closed, what about this looks like I am open?
I am trying to ring this woman out and she gets all the way to the tender screen and the entire time she is screaming on her cell phone. I am trying to politely tell her what to do as she goes from screen to screen and she looks at me as if to say "How dare you interrupt me!" when you are obviously having trouble getting from screen to screen because you're to busy screaming on your phone to read what the screen that is telling you to do.
PARENT YOUR FRICKEN CHILDREN PEOPLE! For the love of God and all that his holy, please just say "no" or "don't touch that" or "don't do that you will hurt yourself." I have had it with parents letting their snot nosed kids get away with murder. Seriously, what would your mom or dad do if they were going through the checkout line and you were ripping open half the candy, taking a bite and putting it back? I'd of been spanked and grounded for two weeks till I did enough chores to pay them back for all the candy they had to buy.
And here comes the twenty-seven versions of Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer! I can literally feel my brains leaking out my ears. You want to test someones mental capacity for solitude, you put them on self-check for an entire eight hour shift and watch them slip slowly into madness.
Rudolph is not the only song they play to death. They also have 16 different versions of Santa Baby playing. Including one Sung by a man that has a completely different connotation than when it is sung by a woman. The one sung by a man sounds like a creepy stalker.
Seriously person that does the playlist, please put more then 3 or 4 songs between the many versions of Rudolph. What kind of sick bastard are you? This is the reason people bring shotguns to work!
I am at your mercy here, I like the older stuff that you've been playing but change it up a bit. I'm sure people can tolerate a little more Tran Siberian Orchestra in their day. I know I'd love it if you put some Carol of the Bells in, its my favorite Christmas song.
The worst part is, its only Dec. 3rd, I still have 22 days left of this playlist to endure. All of you reading this, please wish me luck.
