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Hey guys this derail is done, people are polarized over it and you aren't going to change their opinion let's do that in another thread I'm sure there's someplace better for that conversation. Working a 4.5 hour shift to close was great, because you didn't get a break but managers would let you go buy some booze next door and keep it in the freezer when it was slow 40 minutes before closing. You could also do a quick shopping for a few items in the store basically keep it under 10 minutes. If you had a break they'd make you do that stuff during break, so you basically got a free break.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:29
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pixaal posted:Hey guys this derail is done, people are polarized over it and you aren't going to change their opinion let's do that in another thread I'm sure there's someplace better for that conversation. When I was still a peon before I hit manager there was a dude who would have all his shifts scheduled for exactly 5 hours, since that was the minimum before you could take a paid 30-minute break. The dude would come in for a 9-1 shift and try to duck out for lunch at 12, and would come back at like 12:45, dick around for 10 minutes and leave again. That was one of the more "height of laziness" acts I'd seen until then.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:34
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Kelp Me! posted:When I was still a peon before I hit manager there was a dude who would have all his shifts scheduled for exactly 5 hours, since that was the minimum before you could take a paid 30-minute break. The dude would come in for a 9-1 shift and try to duck out for lunch at 12, and would come back at like 12:45, dick around for 10 minutes and leave again. That was one of the more "height of laziness" acts I'd seen until then. How did no one tell this guy to go gently caress himself and schedule him for four hours instead?
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Jul 26, 2017 20:04
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Fil5000 posted:How did no one tell this guy to go gently caress himself and schedule him for four hours instead? If they made "guy who blatantly disregards corporate procedure like planograms and metrics" manager you can imagine how apathetic the guy I replaced must have been
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Jul 26, 2017 20:09
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Kelp Me! posted:When I was still a peon before I hit manager if you really think that striking a superior officer with any amount of force for any reason is acceptable ever, I hope you get thrown in the brig.
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Jul 26, 2017 20:11
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Kelp Me! posted:If they made "guy who blatantly disregards corporate procedure like planograms and metrics" manager you can imagine how apathetic the guy I replaced must have been Yeah but retail stores are usually struggling for hours because corporate are pricks and keep cutting them. Someone that was burning an hour per shift would be a prime target.
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Jul 26, 2017 20:12
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Fil5000 posted:Yeah but retail stores are usually struggling for hours because corporate are pricks and keep cutting them. Someone that was burning an hour per shift would be a prime target. I guess I should mention that this was while I was working for legendary well-managed retail chain Radio Shack
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Jul 26, 2017 20:37
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Kelp Me! posted:I guess I should mention that this was while I was working for legendary well-managed retail chain Radio Shack Welp
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Jul 26, 2017 21:58
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GBS > Horrible Customers: I hope your balls get microwaved while still attached
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Jul 26, 2017 22:18
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More than once when I worked retail parents would threaten their children that if they didn't behave, that man (meaning me) is going to hit you.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:26
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canyoneer posted:More than once when I worked retail parents would threaten their children that if they didn't behave, that man (meaning me) is going to hit you. And that's when you say to the kids "Oh, don't worry, I don't mind WHAT you do!" and give the parents your best poo poo eating grin.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:36
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canyoneer posted:More than once when I worked retail parents would threaten their children that if they didn't behave, that man (meaning me) is going to hit you. quote:SEDARIS: This morning, I worked as an exit elf, telling people in a loud voice: This way out of Santaland.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:45
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PEOPLE, PEOPLE we already have a socially accepted method of behavioral correction, they're called
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Jul 26, 2017 23:20
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spacetoaster posted:So I've got a question about tipping. I always tip in cash (20%, if it's 70 dollars he/she gets 14 bucks, or so) because I heard somewhere, sometime, that places will take up all the tips and not give all of it back to the employee. You absolutely are helping them by tipping cash, IRS wise, Keep doing it
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Jul 26, 2017 23:37
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The owner thinks you're an rear end for never tipping, but for some mysterious reason the server is happy when you show up
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Jul 27, 2017 01:02
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I had an uncle who worked retail at Albertsons in a really lovely neighborhood in Tacoma while he was in high school and for a while in college. Basically they had all the problems you'd expect in a grocery store in a high crime area, such as the bum who liked to drink aftershave or the times he was robbed at gun point. However the main that annoyed him about the customers is that every time they had a sale people would attempt to fill there carts with nothing but the product on sale. Because of this they had to put a limit on the amount each person could buy so everybody could get the sale price and it would do its job of getting people into the store to buy other stuff. The price was reduced to the point where they were losing money if the sale item was all the customer purchased So he gets a new manager who is both a dick and inexperienced, he calls my uncle over "Mike we're doing a sale on coke and jiffy corn muffin mix, but I am getting rid of the limit that each customer can buy." Uncle Mike "Uh that's a terrible idea if we do that all people will do is buy a bunch of coke and jiffy corn muffin mix and the store will lose money." Store Manager "People won't do that! The most important thing is that we don't run out coke and jiffy corn muffin mix!" The manager then leaves after instructing uncle Mike to place an order for a sufficient amount. Keep in mind this happened on a Friday the sale was going to start on Saturday and go for a whole week. The manager would also not be back at the store until Monday. My uncle takes this as an opportunity so he ordered two full semi's both stuffed to ceiling one with jiffy corn muffin mix and the other with coke. So Saturday morning the store opens and immediately people just start filling there carts to overflowing with coke and jiffy corn muffin mix. Some people even have like three or four carts, its loving chaos as word of the sale spreads and more and more people descend on the store like locusts. He said it reminded him of ship wreck victims clutching wreckage as family's clumsily maneuvered there over capacity packed carts. So at this point the sale had only been going on for a few hours and already they were down to one semi's worth of coke and corn muffin mix. Uncle Mike calls his manager "Hey it looks like I underestimated the demand for the sale items, I need to make another order so I need authorization." Manager "your a loving idiot, just get it done." So mike dutifully orders two more semi's of coke and muffin mix. When it was all said and done the store lost like tens of thousands of dollars the manager was fired and Mike stayed in the same position mostly because he had been smart enough to see what was coming but vindictive enough to let it play out. He did eventually make manager though. Edit: I forgot to mention that they never ran out of coke or jiffy corn muffin mix! But the sale unfortunately only lasted two days. Festus The Fetus fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Jul 27, 2017 |
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Jul 27, 2017 06:46
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Pretty sure this is the only joy of being an elf. We need to bring back Krampus. And/or imply that Santa is actually a retired Odin. Children have powerful imaginations, which makes it all the more fun to scare the poo poo out of them.
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Jul 27, 2017 06:49
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4730724/Walmart-customer-loses-security-accuses-theft.html this is amazing. you know how during confrontations people never say what they want to say then regret it later, well this lady said it all lmao.
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Jul 27, 2017 07:24
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Pththya-lyi posted:It's also confusing - when you hit a kid for hitting his sister, the lesson he'll probably take from it is "It's okay to hit someone as long as you don't get caught." No the lesson is "the people in authority can use violence on me if I act out". this is a good lesson to learn, because it is still true as an adult
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Jul 27, 2017 07:28
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Festus The Fetus posted:I had an uncle who worked retail at Albertsons in a really lovely neighborhood in Tacoma while he was in high school and for a while in college. Basically they had all the problems you'd expect in a grocery store in a high crime area, such as the bum who liked to drink aftershave or the times he was robbed at gun point. However the main that annoyed him about the customers is that every time they had a sale people would attempt to fill there carts with nothing but the product on sale. Because of this they had to put a limit on the amount each person could buy so everybody could get the sale price and it would do its job of getting people into the store to buy other stuff. The price was reduced to the point where they were losing money if the sale item was all the customer purchased The worst possible line of thinking in any sort of retail is "people won't do that". If there's a way to game the system, even in a small way like buying a cart full of cornbread mix, then people will do it. And they'll tell other people to do it. And those other people will do it and tell yet more people to do it, and so on. Inescapable Duck posted:Pretty sure this is the only joy of being an elf. I'd take almost anything over that creepy Elf on the Shelf. Of all the creepy Christmas myths, I somehow thing Elf on the Shelf is the creepiest.
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Jul 27, 2017 14:56
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SpacePig posted:The worst possible line of thinking in any sort of retail is "people won't do that". If there's a way to game the system, even in a small way like buying a cart full of cornbread mix, then people will do it. And they'll tell other people to do it. And those other people will do it and tell yet more people to do it, and so on. This is how I have free light bulbs forever from Walmart. First, you replace all your light bulbs with their store brand Great Value light bulbs, which they will exchange for any reason, plus a box of spares. As your bulbs burn out, exchange the dead ones for the spares. When the box is full of dead bulbs exchange it for new ones. It doesn't cost you anything more than the initial investment. 
McGavin fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Jul 27, 2017 |
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Jul 27, 2017 15:17
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Festus The Fetus posted:I had an uncle who worked retail at Albertsons in a really lovely neighborhood in Tacoma while he was in high school and for a while in college. Basically they had all the problems you'd expect in a grocery store in a high crime area, such as the bum who liked to drink aftershave or the times he was robbed at gun point. However the main that annoyed him about the customers is that every time they had a sale people would attempt to fill there carts with nothing but the product on sale. Because of this they had to put a limit on the amount each person could buy so everybody could get the sale price and it would do its job of getting people into the store to buy other stuff. The price was reduced to the point where they were losing money if the sale item was all the customer purchased This is a great story and reinforces my "let things happen and let the management deal with it" mindset. Like with this thing with the passed out guy, the manager who was on as it was happening wouldn't call the cops and basically said "let the night crew guy do it" who wasn't going to either. It eventually fell to my coworker to do it. If it were me I would have just left because when the guy wakes up at 4am and steals another bottle of wine and the stabs someone at 6 when the store opens that should be the fault of the guy who's only responsibility is to call the police, had the chance to do so, and didn't.
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Jul 27, 2017 15:25
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McGavin posted:This is how I have free light bulbs forever from Walmart. First, you replace all your light bulbs with their store brand Great Value light bulbs, which they will exchange for any reason, plus a box of spares. As your bulbs burn out, exchange the dead ones for the spares. When the box is full of dead bulbs exchange it for new ones. It doesn't cost you anything more than the initial investment. A lifetime of bulbs for the low, low cost of small initial investment and your sense of self-respect as a human being.
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Jul 27, 2017 15:41
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Chomp8645 posted:A lifetime of bulbs for the low, low cost of small initial investment and your sense of self-respect as a human being. Counterpoint - becoming known as "crazy ol' lightbulb mcgee" when you shuffle in every year or so with your CASE OF DEAD LIGHTBULBS and demand replacements that kinda fame? can't buy it, mister
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Jul 27, 2017 15:45
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SpacePig posted:The worst possible line of thinking in any sort of retail is "people won't do that". If there's a way to game the system, even in a small way like buying a cart full of cornbread mix, then people will do it. And they'll tell other people to do it. And those other people will do it and tell yet more people to do it, and so on. I used to "game" the system at Radio Shack, to the benefit of basically everybody but corporate. A quick thing about clearance items: they often drop below the store's cost, AKA the store actually takes a loss selling them; it's just a smaller loss than destroying/scrapping the item altogether. There was a period of maybe a year give or take where literally any transaction gave you a $10 off next purchase coupon, and for the majority of the time, it was a minimum $10 purchase. Of course, a $9.99 item didn't qualify, but a $9.99 item with a $1.99 service plan did, for example. If you've worked retail, you know how often customers don't want their receipts, and even more common was "I need the receipt but can you just toss the coupon?" So we accumulated a good stack of these. It really helped my employees fix their idiotic metrics and get corporate off their backs. We would straight-up tell customers sometimes what was going on, like "listen, we have extras of this coupon, you're buying $10 headphones, in order to get the coupon to work it has to be above $10, so how about we add on a warranty and you pay a total of $2 for them?" I also used to use them to clear out clearance stock, since we had assloads of it (corporate was constantly depreciating products for no reason), and it was either "pile it up in the back" or "dedicate an entire section of the floor to a bunch of random poo poo nobody wants." I'd run transactions as close to $10 as possible, use the coupon, and make up the <$.50 difference from spare change. I still have a big box at home stuffed full of various cables/components/headphones/random/little RC toys/other poo poo that I got for basically free. Hell, I remember they clearanced out a line of toddler-aged soft plastic RC cars to $9.97, so I bought them all up, added a $.15 clearanced component to each one, and ended up with a stack of like 15 of them for <$1. I'd give them out when parents would come in with small children and my upstairs neighbors got 1 of each model as Christmas presents for their 2-year-old. I have to admit that aside from customer interaction, working at Radio Shack was actually kind of fun. Dodging corporate bullshit was almost a game after a while, and once I got good at it I had a ton of leeway in how I ran my store.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:05
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I have a good(bad) story for you guys. This is second-hand from an e-mail that was sent out. I work at a clothing store geared towards older women (40+). At one of our locations, a customer kept the store open until 1:30 am. The store at this location closes at 8 pm. This customer was "going away" and needed clothes. I don't know what time she came in initially, but she bought $1400 worth of merchandise (after coupons). Now this part is truly disgusting, we have a loyalty card program where every $25 spent, you get a point and when you get 10 points you get a $15 coupon printed that can be used immediately. Guess what this woman did? She split her orders so that not only can use her coupons, but also the $15 coupon that gets printed. Both types can be used together, so in the end she paid $1300 for her merchandise, kept people in the store for an extra 5 hours, and ended up costing that local store money for payroll and utilities. I have a hunch she'll probably return it all too. I didn't read the e-mail myself, so I'm sure I got some info wrong, but this kind of behavior with coupons does happen.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:08
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Chomp8645 posted:A lifetime of bulbs for the low, low cost of small initial investment and your sense of self-respect as a human being. I'm not sure how taking advantage of lifetime guarantees counts as a loss of self-respect? Cree has a 10-year warranty on their bulbs, so when one of mine burns out, I bring it back to Home Depot and they give me a new one, I don't need the packaging or the receipt. They either send the bulb back to Cree or they destroy it, whatever Cree told them to do. That's literally how the process is designed to work, so where's the scummy aspect of it?
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Jul 27, 2017 16:09
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waggles posted:I have a good(bad) story for you guys. This is second-hand from an e-mail that was sent out. I work at a clothing store geared towards older women (40+). At one of our locations, a customer kept the store open until 1:30 am. The store at this location closes at 8 pm. This customer was "going away" and needed clothes. I don't know what time she came in initially, but she bought $1400 worth of merchandise (after coupons). I'd never do something if it was clearly a massive hassle like that, but I'll admit I've taken advantage of loopholes in the past. The Gamestop PS2 thing I mentioned earlier was a notable one, but it's not like it took the guy any longer to scan cheap sports games than games with actual trade-in values.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:14
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waggles posted:I have a good(bad) story for you guys. This is second-hand from an e-mail that was sent out. I work at a clothing store geared towards older women (40+). At one of our locations, a customer kept the store open until 1:30 am. The store at this location closes at 8 pm. This customer was "going away" and needed clothes. I don't know what time she came in initially, but she bought $1400 worth of merchandise (after coupons). Was this a general "Bad customer" email for laughs, or was it a warning or new policy rollout or something? Keeping employees in the store for 5 and a half hours past closing is pretty insane, is probably activity that's pretty well frowned upon.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:17
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SpacePig posted:Was this a general "Bad customer" email for laughs, or was it a warning or new policy rollout or something? Keeping employees in the store for 5 and a half hours past closing is pretty insane, is probably activity that's pretty well frowned upon. I don't know, I didn't read the e-mail myself, I think it was just a story to share. We do have an online board for stories and questions, I think it came from there. I'll look it up when I come into work today. The current coupons for the month involve 25% off regular priced merchandise if you use the store card or 20% off if not, as well as the same coupon just for clearance that started on the 19th. I'm betting the majority of the clothes were clearance, if it was the store won't make any money. We barely turn a profit on 30% off.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:21
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waggles posted:I have a good(bad) story for you guys. This is second-hand from an e-mail that was sent out. I work at a clothing store geared towards older women (40+). At one of our locations, a customer kept the store open until 1:30 am. The store at this location closes at 8 pm. This customer was "going away" and needed clothes. I don't know what time she came in initially, but she bought $1400 worth of merchandise (after coupons). If the store closed at 8pm, I don't understand why she wasn't politely asked to leave at 8:01, instructed to leave at 8:05, and if need be, forcibly removed from the building at 8:10, because thats sure as hell what I or any of my coworkers would have done.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:24
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Yeah, that's what I don't understand either. My manager would've taken that poo poo. I'll let you guys know what the story is after I get off work tonight. I would've called the police for trespassing.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:30
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Is there a chance the employees thought they would've been reprimanded for letting a $1400 sale walk out the door?
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Jul 27, 2017 16:37
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I don't know, I know at our store that poo poo won't fly but we are the 5th largest in volume sold, while this store could be struggling to get a $2000 day.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:42
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Kelp Me! posted:I have to admit that aside from customer interaction, working at Radio Shack was actually kind of fun. insane radio shack customer stories please
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Jul 27, 2017 16:47
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At my store, corporate forbids us from doing closing announcements now. We close at 7 and our manager lets us lock the doors at 7 but we are forced to keep a register open and watch old people totter around for 40 minutes past closing because 'good customer service'.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:50
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I'm glad I had union relatives who taught me valuable lessons such as "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work" and the equally important, "When they stop paying you, you stop working". I cannot imagine a single instance ever that I would stay back for 5 loving hours after my shift was over unless I was getting paid overtime, and I'm pretty sure all those staff didn't get paid a goddamn cent for it.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:50
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ladron posted:insane radio shack customer stories please Nothing particularly insane sadly, just a lot of old people buying cordless phones and a few homeless people topping up their burner phones. I just didn't have the patience to deal with senior citizens on a constant basis, and they were like 75% of our customer base. But it was a 10-minute walk from home, I was blazed off my rear end 99.9% of the time there, and as long as I had associates covering the front, I was more than happy to handle the administrative and organizational aspects. I'm a bit OCD, so it was honestly almost a pleasure to tear down and rebuild an entire section of products, or finally get the backroom well-organized; being stoned as gently caress made the time fly and the work became almost enjoyable. It really helped with sales, too - corporate wanted us to put all the MAKE and Arduino and other robotics/programming hobby stuff hidden in the back corner of the store, but I built a fun little display on a window-facing section and my sales on that poo poo were through the roof compared to other stores in my district.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:53
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When I worked at Levi's, during Grey Thursday (Thanksgiving), I and a few others worked either an 8 or 9 hour shifts and none of us got a non paid lunch break. Everybody got two 5 minute breaks and a bunch of pizza. A normal 4 - 5 hour shift would get two 10 minute breaks. At Gap we would get two 15 breaks and an hour unpaid break for working hours minimum.
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Jul 27, 2017 16:57
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The Lord Bude posted:If the store closed at 8pm, I don't understand why she wasn't politely asked to leave at 8:01, instructed to leave at 8:05, and if need be, forcibly removed from the building at 8:10, because thats sure as hell what I or any of my coworkers would have done.  The fact that these people never buy anything that makes staying open for even a minute worth it never crosses the minds of the idiots in corporate.
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Jul 27, 2017 17:17
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