Dex Lives - the Rants

The Customer Is (Not) Always Right

I did not end up working in retail until the age of 23. I consider myself lucky that I managed to get a number of jobs that avoided this fate, because I would have really developed a distaste for work in general if retail had been my first experience.

What bothers me the most is the complete lack of courtesy some store patrons show for the employees who work there. The phrase "The customer is always right" was a private store's philosophy that somehow got accepted into the national consciousness as an automatic right, rather than a customer service goal. The poor saps who work in the store are often working for minimum wage and their jobs are hard enough without being harangued by a customer who wants someone to cater to his or her every whim.

When I was working at Ross, I was often in the fitting room, "tied down." Customers would yell at me for not running to get clothing for them, for not showing them precisely where something was, or for doing my job instead of ringing them out (which I had no register for.) I would be handed a pile of clothes without hangers and then customers would complain about the "unsightly" pile of unhung clothes. Likewise, those customers who complained about the mess in the store were those who would drop things and not pick them up, or who would open the boxes of merchandise and not replace the items.

One time, a lady came to the fitting room with a shopping cart literally piled with clothing, and asked me to start putting the clothes in a fitting room for her. As I said, I was "tied" to the desk, and could not do as she asked. She complained about that, and she later complained when I would not fetch dresses in different sizes so that she could try them on. I wanted to say to her, "Ma'am, I'm afraid there are a few realities you are overlooking. Ross is a discount store, and part of where that savings comes from is the staffing. There is inadequate staffing to complete the tasks necessary to the basic store operation, let alone for premium customer service. If you do not like the service, I suggest that you go to a department store known for its service. The prices will be higher, but that's what you pay for convenience." I didn't, of course. She left a cart full of tangled and unhung clothes.

I would like to lay out a few basic realities for rude shoppers. If you know one (I assume that my readers aren't rude shoppers, of course), feel free to pass them along.

You get what you pay for. A discount store will, of necessity, have fewer staff than a Neiman-Marcus. Unless it's Walmart, in which case they're all paid minimum wage.
If a staff member informs you of a store policy, assume that the policy is there for a reason. For example, some stores are not designed for shopping carts, and by bringing one from another store in, you may be violating a fire code. If there were an emergency, the cart would impede an evacuation.
Some items are non-returnable for a reason. Opened software can never be returned because it is far too easy to copy that copyrighted material. (Which, BTW, is known as "stealing.") Likewise, CDs, DVDs, and videos are far too easy to copy and cannot be returned if opened. The exception is damaged material, in which case the merchant is generally glad to exchange the damaged copy for one that is not damaged.
Merchants are not required to accept returns for any reason. Period. The fact that many do is as a favor to the shopper. The upshot is, if you're not sure you want it, don't buy it.
Being an American is not automatic permission to do what you want, wherever you want. Neither is it permission to say anything you want. Stores are not public forums or even public property. The merchant has a right to ask you to desist any behavior, and has the right to remove you from the store. (Merchants will ask you to leave the store, but if you do not, you can be arrested for criminal trespass.)
You know that little bit on your credit card that says "Not valid unless signed"? That's a legal statement, and "See ID" doesn't substitute for it. Many stores will not accept anything but the signature, and it is their right. Moreover, such a statement doesn't do you any good if your wallet is stolen; in fact, the criminal can then sign that space instead of you.

Any other ideas? Talk to me.