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

[Auburngal]

When at work, when a customer asks where is x or do we sell x. If we know that we don’t sell x either from experience or looking at the shelves where you expect to find the product.

If we don’t sell the item in question, customer asks “do you know if (name of shop in the area) sells it?” When we say we don’t know, a few customers have flipped. We don’t know the inventory of each shop. Unless we buy the product or seen it in that shop, we haven’t got a clue.

So why do customers presume that we know what other shops in the area sell?

The one I had yesterday was something pet related. I don’t have pets so I don’t go down the pet aisle of section

Isn’t it interesting how everyone adored retail staff during lockdown when they worked and others stayed home? Now it’s snobbery as usual 😣!

I don’t work in retail by the way, just think there’s a lot of rude entitled folk around who are happy to speak nastily to anyone they assume to be lower paid than them. And still think they should do nothing but smile in response 🤷‍♀️

I also get customers who recognise me when I am shopping at a different shop to where I work, where things are.

Sigh

And whats the problem there?

I work in a very well known ( for the area ) restaurant in a store, before that I worked in another very well respected restaurant/bar and Im recognised everywhere. My only problem with that is putting people to where I know them from and trying to remember names/ conversations

But then Im not rude to customers so being greeted by someone who recognises me from my role as server isnt a big deal and is actually quite nice - I made a good impression on their time out

I used to work at B&Q and once was asked if I knew when Halfords closed. Told him to google it.

I have worked in retail/customer service roles for over 20 years, I always try and help customers, I take them to where the product should be, I tell them which other shops might sell what they are looking for if we don't sell the item, but there are some very rude, aggresive customers they seem to have worsened in the last few years too. I rarely lose my temper, but I did a few weeks ago when a customer called me a liar, do you know what my manager did, they asked me if I was ok, told me to take 5 if I needed it and absolutely backed me and what I said to the customer, I would leave retail if I didn't have such good managers though because it's dire.
We deal with so much every day, we get verbally and physically abused, sexually harrassed(twice in one day last Wednesday) and talked down to on a daily basis, it's hard work for shit pay too! I deal with lovely customers mostly, but you always remember the "cuntstomers" !

I think the poster was trying to say (but missed out a word) that the people ask her where things are when they're in the other shop that she doesn't work in. As if just because she's a shop assistant in one shop that should make her be a shop assistant in all!

I'm very similar in that I'm recognised as a 'face' of the business, and I will greet, chat to people who recognise me etc, and help them if I can, but sometimes I can't because I have my own stuff to do.

I'm allowed to do my shopping, walk to my car/ the bus stop after my shift, walk my dogs and generally live my life outside of work without people still expecting customer service from me just because they recognise me and know where I work, and certainly not put up with being huffed at, guilt trips or rudeness because I can't or won't help.

It's a job, not a calling from a higher purpose that means I should give every part of myself over to the customer when they demand, no matter when they demand it - that's what is expected and what happens when I'm at work, it's not going to happen outside of work if I don't want it to because I have the right to have some downtime.

I'm dedicated to my job, I go above and beyond to try and give customers a great service and generally get good feedback from those who don't have an agenda, when I'm at work , however I draw the line at it interfering with my own time, and my personal life when I'm not at work.

Thankyou. It can be hard to work out what the Op actually means when she constantly ignores any requests for clarification. Which I have to say, makes me a lot less sympathetic

At the end of the day, in my life, Ive been asked "hows such and such school? " when stood at the bus stop in work uniform, Ive been asked in numerous shops "wheres this" dressed in my normal jeans and tee shirt, numerous examples of strangers asking me for help,do I get upset? Not a mission. I accept that I have an approachable nature about me. Sure I can be as cheeky as anyone, when asked wheres this in a shop where Im shopping I will easiily turn around and say - dunno, you going to tell me or shall we guess?

Thing is, there is a way of replying. A way to make the "customer" understand that they are being a pratt without making them feel bad. So your answer will automatically not only let them know they are being the biggest pratt you have encountered that day, but it will be so jovial, so friendly and helpful, they are back footed and before you know it, they are putty, writing great TA reviews and dropping tips

Thats customer service experience. Thats knowing how to read a customer, know how to read the signals and react. Which is why I can say hand on heart, Ive never experienced the grief that the OP harps on about constantly

And seriously, if her MH is that effected, walk away from customer facing roles. Learn how to work with the public and enjoy it, or find something else

I didn't used to mind being asked when I worked in a shop. But then, nobody ever "flipped out" if I wasn't able to help. I would often volunteer the information if I felt I knew somewhere local who would have what they were searching for. I live in a touristy sort of place so we get lots of visitors from all over. It's nice to help people visiting, I think.

I may have missed some words out. Im dyslexic.

We are getting customers asking do other shops (not larger stores of my employer) in the area sell a certain product.

Unless we have purchased or seen the product in these other shops, we have no clue.

What I mean by flipped is when a customer reacts badly to an answer we give. One example was pet related. As I don't have any pets, I have no need to go down aisles and sections in shops. I said to the customer "As I don't have pets, I am unsure if (shop) sell that product". She was in disgust.

Retail workers do not know what products and layout of every single shop.

I worked in retail for years in London ( busy!! ) and in hospitality too when I was younger .
Correct thing to do would be to take the customer to the item they enquired about , check stock , suggest alternatives .
if they then asked if anyone else had a particular product I directed the customer elsewhere.
I am surprised at lack of product knowledge in some shops !

I can well believe this, tbh. Never underestimate the Great British Public's lack of reading comprehension. At the school I work for, we send out messages in very plain, basic English (many of our parents don't have English as a first language) that we agonise over before hitting send, trying to make sure there's absolutely no room for any misunderstanding.

You can guarantee that for every message sent we will get at least 30 calls back from parents (over a good half of whom DO have English as a first language) who have either completely misread the message, cba to read it and want us to tell them personally, just made something up in their heads and posted it all over their class WhatsApp group (thereby increasing the confusion), say "I just want to confirm..." proceeds to read out the entire message back to us "...is that right?" (You got us! We just send messages out for shits and giggles half the time!), or, my personal favourite, they google the school because someone in the playground told them there's a message gone out, hit on a school with the same name as us that's halfway across the country, and then ring getting arsey with us when we haven’t got a clue about "Dress as a Minion for Ukraine Day" or whatever batshit nonsense the other school are advertising on their website.

I love my job but I'm also very glad I'm retiring this summer...

I was in a shop the other day, a gentleman (70’s/80’s) asked for something from a young sales assistant, something DIY related and quite specific.

Sales assistant - “sorry we don’t sell them.”
Gentleman - “well where do I get them then?”
Sales assistant - “erm…you could try XXXX”
Gentleman - stares at him “…well where’s that?
Sales assistant - “It’s just on X street, I think opposite X and Y”
Gentleman - “….How am I get there”
Sales assistant - “erm… I haven’t walked there myself as I drive but if you go left at Y road and then down that street…”
Gentleman - just stands there looking at the poor lad and fully expects him to jump in his car and go for him. Then gruffly says right and stomps off.

Young people get a tough time but there’s some really rude elderly people with no filters

Yes you should know about what stock is available in the store you work at. Basic customer service skills

That is customer service 101, we don't sell X item, but we have this instead' or 'we don't sell X item, but there is a similar shop 2 doors down'

It shows that you you are aware of other shops, are friendly to others and willing to help neighbours.

I wouldn't put this down to a sales assistant problem , more like a cantankerous old man . I wouldn't say it was representative of customers problem either
There are people out there who not nice .

This is an accurate representation of customers. We constantly get asked directions to another store, it's almost impossible to direct someone. We just say use Google maps if you can. People look at us like we are mad!

I know that’s my point, he tried his best to help the old man and he just got rude replies like it was his job to drive him to a different shop.

the general public can be rather odd at times.

I was in B&Q once and had the following encounter:

man: where can I find the XYZ?
me: I’m sorry I don’t know. I don’t work here.
man: (angrily) then you shouldn’t look like you work here!!!

I'm not sure what made me look like I work in B&Q because their uniform is black and orange and I was wearing a green fleece. I was just looking for the item I went in to buy, so it wasn’t as if I was randomly stacking shelves or something.

The rudest ones are the elder side of life.

They don’t see themselves as rude, but others.

The elderly customers don’t seem to understand that retail workers are expected to be multi skilled. They want staff to sit on a till all day.

I think it makes a difference between customer service and exemplary customer service. A while ago we were looking for a quite a niche lightbulb. Tried a local homeware store who didn't have it in stock at the time, but then volunteered the information that they knew B&Q didn't stock it (saving us the trip) but that perhaps X other local small independent store did and would we like us to give them a call to check.

We left with an amazing impression of their customer service and will go back to them first time next time.

Quite. We offer a click and collect service at my work and people regularly place an order as they walking through the door on a busy Saturday. They then get annoyed that it's not ready for them to pick up right away. It clearly says on the website that we will send them an e-mail when the order is ready to collect. It's often the same people, so I've even tried politely explaining that it physically takes us time to put orders together, but it still seems to go over their heads. Likewise the people who place orders after the store has closed and are waiting at the door the minute we re-open the next day and are surprised their order isn't ready yet!

Young people get a tough time but there’s some really rude elderly people with no filters

Sure, there are, but your example's not one of them. There's no unfiltered rudeness that should have been filtered into polite codes of conversation in the exchange as you recall it here.

I'm quite surprised people don't wait don't wait for the E-mail services because it's part of what makes your order work .You wait for the right time to collect your order . It saves you time .

I worked in Debenhams way back when. We could look up what other stores had in stock, and then phone them to check, but we couldn't transfer stock between stores which led to many complaints of 'but House of Fraser will'. If the other Debs store was up for it they could pay over the phone and have the item posted to them.

Which reminds me of when we had the Chief Exec visit the store, we were all there until 10pm the night before making the store look like no customer had ever set foot in there. We were short of one particular top that had it's own display and poster, so borrowed stock from another store and were given strict instructions to try not to sell them. Clothes on rails had to be evenly spaced as well, so we were all following customers around readjusting everything they touched. Retail is bonkers sometimes.