20 October 2007

Not rude enough?

The wife and I stopped by a furniture store on our way out to run errands this afternoon. Two furniture stores, actually, but only the first is relevant. We were planning on doing a 10-15 minute walk-through, just looking for any pieces we might want to use to replace some things we're considering obsoleting. As we enter, one of the vultures pounces...

Vulture: "Can I help you?"
CoyoteSqrl: "No, we're just browsing."
V: "Is there anything I can point you to?"
CS: "No thanks, we'll just look."
V: "Let me show you this one thing."
CS: "And we're done now! I thought saying 'no' twice would suffice!"

So, the raised voice storm-off...was that enough? Afterwards, I thought I should have in fact asked for her manager and dressed her down for being an ignorant, inconsiderate little bitch in front of the manager, the other salespeople, the customers, and anyone else who happened to walk in. The desired goal, of course, being two-fold: getting her to break down and cry; and getting her fired on the spot.

I guess my mood wasn't as foul then as it is this evening, because I settled for the simpler gesture. Did I really blow that one?

Oh, and I don't care if management told the salespeople to be inconsiderate in this manner. One of a salesperson's duties is to recognize when a customer is going to become irate and work to prevent that. It should be pretty clear from the double-no (and my general misanthropic mien) that I'm going to blow on a third dunning.

2 comments:

sme said...

Wow.


I've worked in retail for almost 15 years and I hate it. I hate customers. I have a really hard time talking to people, and when I've had jobs where I've been forced to greet people at the door, or to ask them if they've found everything they wanted, it's been hell. I'm the opposite of pushy in those situations - if it's clear to me that folks aren't chatty I'm relieved. However, I've been known to try to provoke customers who are acting like assholes, and I'm REALLY good at it. It sounds like this salesperson wasn't trying to do that, she was just over-zealous about her furniture. For some reason, there ARE people like that out there, although I'll never understand. They say that furniture salesmen are just as bad, if not worse, than car salesmen. Maybe you should down a few shots before you head out to store next time; grease up your social skills :)

R.A. Porter said...

I'm never opposed to downing a few shots, so I might try that next time! :)

What really made this stand out to me was the next furniture store we went to - about five minutes later. Higher end furniture which obviously makes a difference, but no hassling. One salesperson asked how we were doing once, and said if we needed any help to just ask. Then we were left in peace. So nice.

I've definitely been accused of being an asshole many, many times, but I don't think even I had enough time to give off that vibe! But who knows, she might have just been extra-perceptive. :)