AIBU to expect Sainsburys staff to know what mincemeat is?

[trinity0097]

Hubby was directed to beef section when he asked for 'mincemeat, the sweet type for mince-pies'. Surely at this time of year grown up staff should know what this is and where it is in the store?!

maybe the person he asked didnt have a mum who baked with her, or was gluten intolerant so had never had a mince pie (apart from free from) or just was a bit deaf

Well maybe, but then not really likely. I don't understand the constant digging for excuses here.

It's one of the biggest Christmas sellers of course staff should know where it is.

How sad for them [sadface] (that they've never received an annual for Christmas or are interested in books)

I take it that you're joshing, TheMuppetsSingChristmas.

I used to look forward to the Shiver 'n' Shake annual and the Princess Tina Pony Book every Christmas, but they were hardly Dostoevsky.

It's one of the biggest Christmas sellers of course staff should know where it is.

Why? If they're not on the department where it's stocked, they wouldn't have a clue. People on here seem to be under the impression that if you work for Tesco, you work across the whole store. It's not the case. You're employed to work for a certain department - produce, grocery, chilled, frozen, bakery, etc.

If you're a bakery colleague, for example, you'd never need to go to the other departments, so you wouldn't know whereabouts (for example) te rocket or the babycorn was. Yes, you'd know it was on the produce department, but you probably wouldn't know whereabouts or whether you'd sold out or not. Why would you? It's not your department!

So much for all the minimum wage comments, my OH has just taken a job at a supermarket and earns the same as me per hour when I'm working as an office manager - plus all the additional benefits. It's not a bad do at all.

I didn't know what mincemeat was until high school when we had to make them in food, and I still wouldn't eat it until I'd triple checked with my mum it wasn't meat. The joys of the English language. Sweetbreads is another one that's there to trick you.

I imagine the worker was knackered from all the crazies and heard mince, annoying but excusable mistake I think

because the customers don't know who works where. Staff don't have badges "John, ask me about toothpaste" or "Laura - happy to sell you doggie biscuits"

we see a person in supermarket's uniform, we want to do our shopping as efficiently as possible. So we ask.

If it's one of the biggest Christmas sellers coffee then it should be easy to find without having to ask for help surely?

Or maybe OP's husband isn't the sharpest tool in the box either? Judging by this thread then, he has all the makings of an supermarket employee

Oh and not 'knowing' what Orzo is doesn't mean you have a poor work ethic. It just means that you don't know what Orzo is!!!!!!!!

I worked in Sainsbury's during 6th form & while on quite a few holidays from Oxford - you would not believe how patronising a rude a large proportion of customers are. One day I was serving a particularly rude couple - they stood out - and one of the supervisors came over and asked me when I was heading back to Oxford (think she was planning shifts). Rude couple asked why I was going back to Oxford, I explained I was at university there (& had to confirm yes I really did mean THE Oxford). Suddenly rude couple switched to become the most sickly sweet nauseatingly pleasant couple. I was open mouthed at their snobbery.

I've also waitressed - and while people could be difficult it was rare that they were as patronising as they were towards supermarket workers.

This did teach me that nfw did I want to work with the general public. And also not to be a patronising git on stepping into a supermarket.

I was asked for a doilies in sainsbury's aged 16 - had no idea what they were - didn't mean I was thick (i was 16 do may have had a spot i guess) - just not something that ever featured in our house. However I was able to help out in some detail when someone wanted to know what biological washing powder was.

I'm not talking about orzo here.

So he could not find the mincemeat and asked for help? In supermarket?
hardly the crime of the century.
That i think is not acceptable is the lack of training from the supermarkets and some people jumping to find far fetched excuses as to why someone could not passible have done their job.

Because I know I cannot afford such excuses in my job. So I would expect the same level of service from everybody else.

Have you not read the posts from supermarket workers on here, coffee?

We are not trained on all departments! We all work on one department, maybe two at a push. So the poor sod you ask about mincemeat or orzo probably works on frozen or produce and wouldn't have a clue because it's not a product their departments works with or stocks.

Do you really expect people to know the exact location of over 10,000 products on departments that they have nothing to do with?

I don't know what orzo is & I'm 43 with a degree from Oxford (see earlier post) & a PhD. If I was going to ask for something like that I'd ask & explain it was a type if specislist pasta (I googled). Actually I'd just look for PASTA on the big signs above the aisles unless I didn't know what it was myself. How hard is that? If it was absent from the pasta aisle I'd ask where the speciality/world foods aisle was.

Many shop assistants rarely work on the shop floor where everything is. If you work in the tills all the time you do not get to know where things are in the way that someone who stacks shelves does. Supermarkets do not run specialist training sessions for staff regarding the position of items such as orzo. They do usually run fruit/veg tests - bit those are items that can change quickly. I recognise an Asian pear from 50 yards after a year of working in Japan but aged 16 I'd never had a nashi & thought it was some type of large apple. As I suspect do 98% of uk adults.

Providing someone is polite there's no need to get snooty & patronising because they haven't come across a frogging doily or orzo before. And if they're spotty with it - well at least they're getting off their backside & working their way through sixth form/university rather than relying on parental handouts. It's very difficult for teenagers to even pick up supermarket work these days - they have to be pretty organised to get the job.

Oh and it's toll staff that get fruit & veg tests. If you get someone from a deli they may not recognise your specialist foreign fruit designed to show how clever you are - doesn't mean they're thick

coffeeinbed Fri 20-Dec-13 08:12:04
because the customers don't know who works where. Staff don't have badges "John, ask me about toothpaste" or "Laura - happy to sell you doggie biscuits"

yes, I have and yes, I addressed that.

You expect supermarkets to train their staff to know where every single item is? Really? Even if the only time the worker is on the shop floor is walking between the tills and warehouse?

Use the big signs - then it's easy.

I think what this thread really highlights is the lack of training provided to staff by the companies employing them.

You can't expect everyone to know all types of products from general knowledge, but you can - and should - expect them to be given training on the store's products. Ideally, they'd have received training on products that are associated with Christmas (mincemeat, stollen, marzipan, foie gras etc) and throughout the year there should be training on other areas (fruit and veg, household products, types and cuts of meat).

Look, I'm never patronising, am always polite and try to find most items without help.
I've had some bad jobs in my life.
I do think supermarkets can provide better service though, maybe by training their staff and most definitely by paying better.

I would expect supermarkets to train ALL their staff to know where every item is, yes.

And yes, I can read.
Especially the big signs

I can't read the big signs til I'm nearly on top of them :( and even then they dont actually help as their idea of classification isnt the same as mine. However, I've found the internet shopping workers (can't think of a better job title - brain mushy) to be really helpful and knowledgable.

But freckled extra training costs money which in turn would increase food prices which I'm sure none of us want.

People just need to calm down and have a bit more respect for others I think.

I worked on the till at Safeway whilst at uni and they helpfully had pictures of all the fruit and veg with the PLU numbers you had to enter to weigh them. I was very grateful for that when I came across celeriac for the first time .

I once asked for royal jelly in Boots and got taken to the bubble bath. I didn't really fancy swallowing that though!

You willing to pay the increased costs for staff training freckled? So that when someone says 'where's the doiie?' to a staff member walking from the tills to the staffroom they say 'over here' rather than 'I'll just find out for you'.

One of things I love about running my own business is that I can sack pita clients (and ihave done exactly that - once purely because the client was consistently patronising & inconsiderate)

Yes merry the sign classification can be a bit dodgy at times!

I think people still like to have that personal connection that existed in small shops from years ago (think open all hours).

I am sorry but when you shop in stores as large and busy as tesco you are not going to receive the same level of expertise that smaller retailers can provide. It's really sad, and I am not saying that people who work in large stores are bad at customer service. It's just that with the supermarkets now selling everything, we have lost that personal relationship that we used to have with the retailer. There is no way that you could expect a temp at Xmas in a supermarket to have the same amount of knowledge of a product, that for example someone who does it solely for a living does. If you want that level of expertise then shop with independent retailers and give them your support. As long as staff are friendly, polite and willing to help you (despite not knowing what the product is) then that would be sufficient for me.

I used to work in a bookshop, and got very skilled at dealing with very clueless customers.
'It's got a man and a dog and I think it might be set in France. Or Italy. Or somewhere European'
'I want this book, it was the scariest I'd ever read. No, I don't know the author or the title, but it was about a scary serial killer'
Bit of tolerance and willingness to find out go a long way towards building a civilised society.