Customers expect us to know if other shops in the area sell certain items

Oh I don’t expect you to know what other ships stock but so many people struggle to shop without help and I think not taking someone who’s asked to be taken a biscuit aisle is, sorry, a bit mean.

What I mean @YaMuvva, is that it's difficult enough keeping live track of items in our own shop, bar knowing what another shop is likely to stock.

Like today - two shoppers asked for wooden scewers, I explained with confidence exactly where to find them. Alas, it turns out we have a new "Summer BBQ" isle and they have been relocated to that one. I basically sent the customers on a wild goose chase...

Yes, but if you work in B&Q, would you know whether the requested item can be found in Homebase?

The above still applies. Universally.

And I don't know who is the unhelpful one cause it ain't me... 🤷

But if you know a custard cream is a biscuit it must be in the biscuit aisle, some people struggle to see and helping them makes a significant difference, why wouldn’t you?

The posters saying: you should know exactly where everything is in your shop... I work in a large superstore and there is no way of knowing that. The locations of items, prices and stock levels change daily or even by the minute.
I might send someone to isle 16 to get their custard creams but they don't find any because:
a) shelf stocker has misplaced them
b) they have been relocated the previous night
c) they sold out in the last hour
d) we have been short staffed and no one has had a chance to restock for the last 24h
e) even if I might locate some out the back - they are under 200 boxes of Easter eggs and I can't reshuffle the whole warehouse to dig out a packet of custard creams.

Most customers are lovely and polite and I do try to help but it's really not that straight-forward with the locations of things.

Yeah this used to annoy me. I worked in a shop in a different town to where I lived so I didn’t really know much about the other shops. And people seemed offended by that. Sorry I guess?

Or at least tell us where you work so we can avoid it lest we have a moany thread made about us

I’ve worked in retail/food service as a student and I do remember awful customers but I feel that so many service staff are super unhelpful and I’m experiencing more and more getting huffy over simple requests. I’m polite and a kind and just wanna be shown where the peanut sauce is there’s no need to treat me like I’ve kicked their dog.

Us customers are just never happy. 😛

You post endless threads moaning about your customers, @Auburngal. Maybe it really is time to get a different job.

I know imagine being asked to do your job 🙄 I hate it when I ask for help and I’m given an aisle number rather than shown, I do insist they take me and point it out (and I do say thank you, always!)

It is just easier to remember the dickhead customers for obvious reasons.

That is so true. It has been 25 years since I worked in retail, yet I can still remember the biggest three or four dickish customers. The worst thing was when the browsing half hour came in on a Sunday, people got very annoyed that we wouldn't serve them (I think we weren't even allowed to help them find something etc)

I love helping random people I’m like a LN excited puppy when they ask 😂 I also get asked a lot as apparently I have an approachable face, DH dreads days out with me as inevitably I’ll end up taking a quarter mile walk to a jewellery shop just to show someone where it is 🤣 doesn’t help we live in a very touristy area

I worked for a while shelf filling in Wilkinsons. It was a large store and I filled the toiletries shelves right by the door. Two evenings a week the store was open until late so I would be working while it was still open. So many customers would walk through the door and immediately ask "where are the saucepans/tights/aspiring/dog food et etc etc. I would take them to the relevant aisle, often with no thanks for doing so, and then quite often be expected to help them look for a specific item or choose between items.

Retail bosses do seem to insist their staff accompany people to where they asked about even if they don't want that. I have at times told staff to not stop what they are doing, I just need to know.

It is not unreasonable for customers to ask a member of staff where something is.

I went to Oxford Street today. I had several friendly interactions with shopkeepers and one café owner. They are too dull to detail here but it was little comments about the weather or the ordering system in the café or the different price of the same products in different parts of the country. All friendly chat appreciated by both parties I think.

I do believe that there are horrible and rude customers around. But as a proportion of the number of people going to shops, I imagine it is not huge. It is just easier to remember the dickhead customers for obvious reasons.

Petty and selfish

Exactly. I also find that many people even enjoy being helpful. I certainly like it if someone asks me directions and I can show them the way or if I can help someone I see in my work at the NHS on an unconnected matter. People are not all petty and selfish.

The thing is, with retail, people in general are annoyed as so many stores have closed, stores lots of us used a lot and had loyalty too. Debenhams, BHS, Watt Bros, M&S have all closed near where i work. And specialist sports shops, wool shops, and hardware shops that sold everything. They are all shut. So people come into my shop asking where they can buy things they previously found easy to get. But they don't realise i can't buy it either and i miss them too. So getting angry and short with me is pointless and getting more annoying as time goes on.

I quite often suggest other shops that people can try, for the item they're looking for. I might end up being wrong, my guess is as good as their's sometimes, but its a bit better than mumbling "I don't know" which is what some of my younger colleagues tend to do 😬

Some people just don't know how to conduct themselves socially though. Like when getting my attention whilst I'm up a ladder with my back to them. They could start with a "Hi" or "excuse me" so I know they're addressing me. Instead they just start muttering about what they need, so I don't realise they're even talking to me because I don't have eyes in the back of my head and I'm 7ft off the ground.

Oh yes I had completely forgotten about all the customers asking for directions to somewhere, what number bus goes to wherever and what stop they can get it from, where x bank is, the opening and closing times of other shops etc etc

Well, that sounds quite unusual as it's certainly never been my experience in over a decade of retail work.

I can talk for England and love chatting to people but day after day after day of customers with really stupid questions and/or being rude really gets tiring especially if you, for whatever reason, are not feeling 100%.

I could fill a book with the stupid questions and rude comments. I once had a customer ask me for "the book that was in your store last week with a green cover"! She was serious and got annoyed when every book with a green cover that I showed her wasn't the right one. No idea what the book was about, who the author was.