What Happens When You Call Something “Trashy” In A Store

AnitaBath
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 03:34 pm: [report]

I once had a customer who kept complaining that our fabric was “skanky”. It was a thick, cotton crew neck. Then she went on to rant about how all the men get the good colors like gray, tan, beige, brown, and dark orange, and how the guys shirts weren’t made out of “skanky material”. I just had to smile, nod, and apologize for our “skanky fabric” as I secretly wished she would go take a long walk off a short pier.

I Go To 11
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 03:38 pm: [report]

@ bethlynn: Several years ago I worked at a Deb store, and I was pretty appalled at a lot of the crap being sold. Not only was it trashy, but flimsy to boot. And to think, Deb was one of the “cool stores” in high school…stores like Charlotte Russe are only marginally better.

River
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 03:40 pm: [report]

@bethlynnoo- Does your sister realize that the manager in the store has just as much say about what DEB sells as you do?  Buyers do not work in stores.  If she actually wanted to do something about it, your sis should go online and find corporate numbers to write to.  However, yelling at a manager for what the store is selling is the pinnacle of rudeness and ridiculous behavior; how would you like someone to come up to you and start giving you a hard time for the yellow coffee cup your Au Bon Pain latte came in, or the ugly hubcaps that came standard on your car? Or, for that matter, the way your hair stands up due to a cowlick, or the number of freckles on your nose?  That manager has the same ability to control these factors as they do the product, so next time, tell your sis to stfu, will you?!

When I was a retail manager, we sold a shirt that had the Tootsie Pops owl on it that said “How many licks?” on the front, and the number 3 on the back.  A little suggestive, yes.  I had a mother come in screaming about how her twelve year old daughter bought it and how I, personally, was a horrible human being for being responsible (except that I wasn’t in the store on the day that it was bought).  And she didn’t have a receipt, but demanded her money back.

My response? NOT break the rules (I let her chose any of the shirts at the same price point)—and then kindly suggest that she accompany her twelve year old daughter into the store next time she went shopping… because it is the parents’ responsibility to censor their child’s purchases, not ours.  And to have a great day, of course, while cursing her out the second she left my store.  Ugh.  Got a problem with the merchandise? The best thing you can do is not buy it, and not let your children buy it—because merchandise that doesn’t sell is the best wake-up call for bad taste to buyers.

River
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 03:45 pm: [report]

*choose.

ciarabug
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 04:15 pm: [report]

aww, come on now, i love forever 21! cheap but interesting clothes are neat for when you’re looking for something specific to add to an outfit!

then again, i own a pvc catwoman type bodysuit thing…my opinion is probably not all that reliable.

Katrina
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 04:47 pm: [report]

I remember going into Buckle and asking for help finding jeans, since I’d never been there. The sales associate told me they had jeans in a variety of price ranges…starting at $130, for jeans that they wouldn’t sell at Wet Seal for $5. I told her thanks but that the jeans weren’t good enough quality for anywhere near that price and left. I think you can still let someone at the store know you’re disappointed without “trashing” (ha ha) the store entirely, and by being polite - especially if a sales associate is putting in the effort to try and make a sale but you don’t think the quality is good enough to purchase.

JDK10
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 05:19 pm: [report]

SPOT ON on the Abercrombie remark! I hate that store, but my husband insists on buying his pants there “because they are cut right in the butt.”
So there we were, buying pants, when the cashier asked “Have you experienced our new fragrance yet?” I responded “Yes, I believe we experienced it from the other end of the Mall.” I’m pretty sure that she responded under her breath with something similar to the above remark.

LiciMama
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 05:29 pm: [report]

@bethlynn00   Just because someone works in customer service doesn’t mean its ok for someone to chew them out for something that is out of their control. I have been yelled at and had things thrown at me for things that I neither caused nor could fix. No, I did not respond in kind. People are responsible for their actions. Yelling at a manager for what they sell isnt appropriate. You are NOT required to purchase it. Politely but firmly stating your displeasure fine, but being rude and obnoxious is not.

If my 12yr old came home with an article of clothing that I didn’t think was appropriate, it would go back to the store and I would write to corporate telling them what I thought. The store is not responsible for what I or my offspring purchase. I am.

Customer service personnel=/= garbage dump

Ginger
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 07:45 pm: [report]

@bethylynoo I know it was your sister, but what she did was out of line. Would you stand up for someone who walked into McDonald’s and started yelling at the cashiers about how unhealthy the food is?
Should waitresses just shrug off rude customers who complain about everything or make lewd comments to them just because ‘it’s something you have to put up with’ at that sort of job?

Maybe your sister wasn’t as horrible as I and a few other people seem to be envisioning her, but the way you described the situation makes it sound like she was two steps away from being the sort of customer who could get security called on them. The fact that the manager had to intervene on behalf of the ‘poor girl’ working sales that day should tell you something.

lea322
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 07:59 pm: [report]

@bethyloo: People in customer service only have to put up with that kind of behavior because customers feel they are entitled to treat them that way. Condoning your sister’s behavior says that you don’t care that a HUMAN BEING is made to feel powerless and demeaned.

It’s a very antiquated attitude that says it’s ok to treat people serving you like they are below you.

Taurwen
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 08:09 pm: [report]

@Bethyloo, I agree with, you say calling corporate doesn’t get you jack, but neither does yelling at the manager, that just makes someone look like a crazy person, or an inconsiderate person, or a brat.
And yes, I would have criticized the woman in River’s comment. Parenting is the parent’s job, selling stuff is the stores.

I’m sorry your sister saw a gross top, but if it was what sold did you expect the store to stop stocking it?

NaomiK
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 08:27 pm: [report]

Thank goodness other people realize that what happens in stores is NOT under the control of any of the employees. What Bethyloo’s sister did was ridiculous. It’s not OK to treat people like crap for something they can’t control.
I used to work in big music/movies/game store and it was there was always some irate parent coming in about how they bought their kid a Mature rated game and they were shocked to find swearing/violence/nudity in it. And yeah, we ID’d all the kids that were buying mature rated stuff. You have no idea how fun it is to tell a 12 year old they can’t buy Grand Theft Auto without their Mom’s consent.

tigerstripe
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 08:36 pm: [report]

@bethlynnoo, it’s fine for her to tell the manager what she thinks of their clothes, but it’s rude and not necessary for her to yell at the person.

Heatherer
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 10:57 pm: [report]

“...and then go threaten to slit their wrists.” Wow. Surprised you would think that was funny. Because it’s definitely not.

Ginger
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 10:59 pm: [report]

@Heatherer Hot Topic caters to the emo crowd. The emo crowd likes to trivialize things like this for the sake of being ‘cool’.

That was what the joke was about, not people who are genuinely suicidal.

Heatherer
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 11:40 pm: [report]

@Ginger: I hung out in the ‘emo’ crowd in high school, and none of us thought suicide was funny. No one I knew trivialized suicide “for the sake of being ‘cool’.” The only people I’ve ever heard joke about it, are people making jokes about ‘emo’ kids, not the ‘emo’ kids themselves.

Ginger
wrote on November 9 2009 @ 11:42 pm: [report]

@Heatherer If that is the case, we were around very different emo kids.

But if that is your experience, I can see why you had a problem with the joke (or very much not a joke).

Gloom
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 12:28 am: [report]

@bethlynn00: to me that kind of behaviour sounds blatantly rude.

amber
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:49 am: [report]

I currently work in customer service and maybe some Americans can be blunt but I don’t believe all of us are. I get polite people who will decline or say they don’t like the product or give me their honest opinion and for the most part they’re nice about it. If I got yelled at for the store stocking an item, like the manager in bethlynnoo’s comment, I would probably go in the backroom and break something. It’s rude to yell at sales associates, I don’t care if they are in the customer service industry, they’re still people. I’ve been yelled at and had stuff thrown at me and I have the hardest time maintaining my cool when all I want to do is jump the counter and hit a bitch( ). Luckily, most people behave and understand we have no control over what gets stocked.
At my job, calling corporate will get you a lot more than if you yell at me. They listen to the customers where as they don’t listen to the stores, no one cares what we have to say, well for the most part.

*sam*
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 05:29 am: [report]

for those complaining about how calling corporate never changes anything, here’s an example of how you’re (sometimes) wrong:

I used to work at Kohl’s and for a while when I was first hired they played that awful Ben Lee song, “We’re All In This Together” literally every 30min (we timed it). It was so bad, our store had our own little version of it that we would sing to each other on the walkie talkies (“we’re all in hell together”). Well, we would get customers that complained to us all the time about the sh*tty music and in turn, we would literally beg them to call and complain to corporate about it.

After a few months of this, they changed their entire station.—and I’m convinced it was from the influx of complaints since during those few months, our store managers got transferred to different stores and told their employees to tell their customers the same thing.

So yeah, sometimes corporate actually does listen, you just have to realize that they listen to large groups, not individuals. If one person is offended by a top in a store, they’re not going to stop selling it. They’re either just going to ignore you or politely tell you to either not by the top or consider shopping elsewhere.

oh, and for the record, yelling at store employees is NEVER acceptable. I don’t care how p*ssed you might be over something, it’s rude and childish. You wouldn’t want me coming into your office screaming at you because I’m pissed off at something you have no control over. And to assume that “customer service” is synonymous with being someone’s scape goat or punching bag is ludicrous. Like others have mentioned, we’re people to, and the idea that we’re just supposed to take whatever you feel like throwing at us with a smile and thank you for the opportunity to have you sh*t on us, is inappropriate. That sort of thinking only perpetuates rude customers. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed parents b*tch to store employees like bethlynoo’s sister in front of their children and how much I’ve wished I could not only tell the person to stfu, but to explain to their children that that is NOT how you treat people.

Sway
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 08:06 am: [report]

Well this is certainly an interesting social topic! As someone in the past has worked in customer service quite a lot (a time I also call high school and college-that Mac & Cheese won’t pay for itself!) I actually disagree with the idea that Americans are typically blunt, or even rude. For the most part, customers were very friendly and understanding. They would usually chat up a bit, make jokes and even empathize with me when there was a problem. I did meet a few screamers (and yes, this is totally and completely inappropriate for anyone over the age of eight) but they were few and far in between.
I’ve also lived in Japan where everyone is almost painfully polite and now I live in Eastern Europe where your average customer service (oxymoronic title) employee would be considered “rude” by most Americans. In my experience I have found that North Americans tend to be the most genuinely friendly people. Feel free to disagree of course

As for the screamers, I honestly think that because they know employees can’t actually retaliate when they act inappropriate or even make personal comments they believe it’s acceptable to treat workers like that. Would they really react like that if someone bumped into them on the street or stepped on their shoes? Probably not (unless they’re sociopaths). How someone treats a customer service worker says a lot about that person’s character. If you’re a screamer, i fear for your children. You can quote me on that.

powplz
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:11 am: [report]

@Ginger - just because you know people who would find it funny doesn’t make it ok to parade suicide out for use as a punchline.  THAT trivializes the issue and adds to the stigma of people who are suicidal and need help.

AnitaBath
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:18 am: [report]

Not to turn the topic of trashy clothing to wrist slitting completely, but typically when adolescents slit their wrists, it is for attention or a high. Some people actually get a high from slitting their wrists, and some people do it because they want the attention it brings them. They’re not actually trying to kill themselves (thus why they go “across the stream” rather than “down the tracks”). If they were trying to kill themselves, they’d probably be doing something more efficient.

I’m not saying this to sound callous or mean either. The guy I’m seeing is a mental health clinician and deals with it all the time, and we actually had a conversation about it the other day. It’s kind of like a disease. Some people will joke about and trivialize alcoholism, and joking and trivializing cutting is pretty much the same thing.

Ginger
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 12:42 pm: [report]

@joyy I didn’t say it was funny. I said the original joke was making fun of the people who do trivialize suicide, not suicide itself.

Lavanderism
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 01:54 pm: [report]

These are spot.
Abercrombie & Fitch (& Hollister) are just mad that they only make clothes for twigs.

kr070707
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 04:05 pm: [report]

@Sway: I too find that customer service in the U.S. is great compared to other countries. Across the board in Argentina I’ve been appalled by the lack of customer service- the worst was when I had reservations at a hotel and when I arrived the room not only wasn’t ready, it wouldn’t be ready until the next day. And the place was already completely booked (it was a small place). In the U.S. the hotel would do everything possible to find you a room, or pay for at least part of a room at a nearby hotel, or something! Here I was told that “these things happen” and to “figure it out on my own.” They made no calls to other hotels, and offered nothing for the rather large inconvinience. That’s pretty outrageous in my book.

In terms of retail, they are generally less helpful, especially if you’re buying an item on sale.

As for the “trashy” question, the response would probably be: “That’s the point. You mean you don’t like paisly-print harem pants with stirrups?”

NaomiK
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 07:01 pm: [report]

I can’t vouch for other countries, but at least in the US, I think it’s generally true that if you treat the CS person with respect and are nice you get good service. If you go into an interaction defensively or with a superior attitude you get bad service. Sure everyone has bad days, but as a general rule I think this is true. I know that when I still worked customer service, if someone was jerky to me and they needed something that wasn’t on the shelf I certainly wouldn’t try that hard to find it. Half the time I’d just stand around in the backroom for 5 minutes. I know lots of people from different stores that did the same thing.

River
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 12:48 pm: [report]

@bethlynnoo—
Oh, I could handle it; I was known in the district as the go-to person for tough customer service calls, because I would try as hard as I could to solve a problem (at the expense of the company more often than not) for a customer.  However, if a person came to me yelling, I would give them the exact same respect that they gave me; just because I worked as a retail manager to pay off some student loans did not mean I should be treated as a servant. I’ll outright break rules for people who were sincere and respectful, but would not waver when people came with an attitude.

As for giving parenting advice- can I tell you how many girls I witnessed being horrendous, spoiled, bratty, neurotic little demons? I’ve worked with children for many years and understand that it’s difficult, but there are some things that really irk me: mainly, when parents do not chaperon their own children and blame the public for the lack of supervision.  It is not my job to censor what her child was buying and in all probability, when her daughter bought the item, the associate could not tell how old she was.  Children given $25 or more and allowed to run alone around a massive mall in a major city are at risk.  And to be frank, the child was probably wearing makeup and suggestive clothing while playing the mall rat (you see them all the time).  I do not expect, nor want, hoards of little girls running into my store sans guardian because it is an extra strain on my figure eights (having to play babysitter when I’m paid to sell and manage a store) and on my loss prevention (whether the girls themselves are stealing or providing the distraction for other shoplifters in the premises).  There is no law defining what merchandise in a clothing store can or cannot be sold to specific age groups.  I’ll do my best to keep preteens from buying thongs (and have on many occasions), but the fact that they’re interested in buying said thongs at all is the fault of the parents, whether through allowing exposure to suggestive material or through the lack of supervision/awareness.  You want to keep kids from buying things that are too old for them?  Parents need to be more involved in their lives, their entertainment, and their shopping experiences.  And I’m not afraid to tell any mother to do that, because this same situation is going to happen again and again until she smartens up; but in the meantime, there’s no excuse for her to treat me or my fellow associates as if we’re the ones who turned her daughter into a tart.

River
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 12:50 pm: [report]

And by the way—
Thank you to all of you who realize that sales associates are people too!  It’s a pleasure to work with people like you.  I might not work in retail any longer, but seriously- you rock.  I may speak for an industry, but I think I can safely state that it’s appreciated from everyone in the field. Thanks for making this world a little nicer to live in. :D