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

There would be zero training on what other shops sell 😂😂😂😂

Oh God, YES!!!
The barking one word at you, no wasting a whole sentence on the lowly shop folk 😂

I'd always pretend I didn't understand what they were asking until they formed a whole sentence.

Shoes? 😐
Er, sorry what? 😵‍💫
Shoes!! 🤨
Shoes? 😬
Exasperated sigh - Yes, where are your shoes? 🧐
Oh! You would like to know where our shoes are located! Certainly, follow me I'll show you 😊

Sorry didn’t see that you apparently trained your staff on what other competitors sell….

That’s made me really laugh 😂😂😂😂😂

Things that absolutely never happened 👍🏻

Slightly different but I used to be receptionist in a clinic and so many people would ring up and ask "how do I get to you?" I would say well our nearest tube station is X and buses Y and Z stop outside. So many times the person would respond with "No I mean how do I get to you from A?? What bus do I need to get from my house??" How on earth was I meant to know all routes from everywhere in London and the outskirts??? (Tubes I could actually do having lived in London my whole life. Buses I had no idea!) But people would get really irritated that they didn't know how to get there and some would just cancel their appointment.

Depends on the shop. But when i worked in retail in an independent shop, we had the direct phone numbers of the departments of stores selling similar items in the same city. They were pinned by the till and we would often phone round to help people with specific items. It was called customer service. Seems to be lacking these days.

I may not expect this as such, but i would expect someone working in a store should have a good general knowledge of the items they sell and similar items and know which stores nearby may sell them.

To be fair, I don't think it's unreasonable for a customer to ask about electricals if you work in a store that sells them! If I'm going into Curry's and I ask about an appliance, a little help would be useful. If I got a shrug and a 'dunno' I would be less than impressed.

Typical response from someone who doesn't have an argument - just accuse people of making it up instead

It was part of the interview process to know about the outdoors and outdoor retail in general, and product knowledge was a regular part of our staff training.

Of course nobody was expected to know every single detail of what was available elsewhere, but they were expected to know that A sold (for example) Regatta clothing, that B did children's clothing (as we didn't sell children's clothing) and that you could get a wider selection of footwear and sizes at C or D around the corner.

I'm old enough to have grown up in the time before smart phones and before home internet. It baffles me how incapable some people are of reaching into their pocket for their phone, going onto Google and taking a few minutes to read the results to find the answer to their question.

But that's within the shop. I wouldn't go into Superdrug and ask them if Boots stocked something.

Yes, absolutely this!

I knew the managers at the other local stores and would happily tell people "We don't sell X unfortunately, but if you go and see Bob at Y, he'll be able to help you out".

Even within our own chain of stores, we would say "We don't have any X in stock, but the Smithtown store half an hour away does, do you want me to ring and ask them to pop it on hold for you?".

Not the customer's fault that your employer put you out on the floor without the (re)training you needed to do the job fully. Obviously "unimpressed" customer shouldn't have been actively rude but a small eye roll would be forgivable.

I think you're misunderstand the situation.

It's not about going into Superdrug and straight out asking what's available in Boots, it's about Superdrug not stocking what you need and asking if the staff know if it's available elsewhere instead.

Making people to work a month in retail will be more beneficial than Rishi’s NS plan.

Everyone who hasn’t worked in retail from the ages of 25-65 will be eligible. Like with jury service, you get told what shop and hours you need to do. Same exemptions apply to JS - receiving cancer treatment etc

So why do some lovely retail staff offer suggestions for other stores without being asked? I would never ask a shop worker for recommendations but I am sometimes given them anyway.

I am front line nhs and know all about rude behaviour. Your second paragraph describes my job so I do have some idea actually. But I made a pact with myself 30y ago that I would never answer rudeness with rudeness. I have no regrets.

Why is retail so special? Should we all do a month in public services? GP surgery? Council housing office? Teaching? All at least as stressful as retail, if not more. There are rude people everywhere. Not just shop customers.

I generally find though if you treat people well, they treat you well back. There are always exceptions though.

So why do some lovely retail staff offer suggestions for other stores without being asked?

Some posters seem to think that because they have no customer service skills, nobody else does either lol.

I think it's basic customer service to send people elsewhere if you can't help them yourself. IMO it's basic human kindness as much as it is anything else.

We are allowed to carry our own mobiles- for work purposes as can download apps.

I happen to have mobile on me customer asked me for something. It had changed name and design! Showed her a photo of new product name and design of bottle (a cleaning product from what I remember) so she could look out for it in other shops

I’ve worked in retail for 30 years and in my experience the overwhelming majority of our customers are really very nice people.
our customer service is very good though so I think that helps a lot. Staff greet every customer which gives them an opportunity to ask if they need anything in particular. We will always bend over backwards to help. Often google things for people to find out answers if we don’t know eg other places to buy something. I know they could do it themselves (and majority would and do do that) it’s just going the extra mile and we are in a position to do it so why not? I think it builds a lot of loyalty and customers really appreciate it. Staff are trained to make polite conversation during transactions too. We have a lot of older customers and it is really very much appreciated.
I do often go into other shops and I’m shocked at the level of disinterest in other people and downright rudeness from both staff and customers alike. I couldn’t work with it.

What happened to the phrase “treat others as you wanted to be treated yourself”?

Dont treat others like shit

Actually I think asking is perfectly reasonable. Being rude isn’t, obviously.

They do it out of the kindness of their own heart. But they are not obliged to do this in anyway.

Sometimes people get complete burn out dealing with people day in day out - we are only human

Rudeness and entitlement have certainly increased with Covid.

Have colleagues who have worked twice as long as me (me 17 years) and have noticed that the last four years is worse and getting worse each week

Its called customer service , advising customers where they may possibly find what they are looking for, even if it is outside their own shop/chain

Trouble is, as someone has previously pointed out, some people in retail have zero interest and are just punching in the hours to pay the bills and the OP comes firmly in this category having read so many of her threads here and elsewhere bemoaning customers

Where I work, thankfully its a family owned store and the focus is Customer Service. Where I live, no matter what shop I go to - be it home bargains , tesco or the local spar - its all about customer service. Nothing is too much trouble and when you get that level of service its easy to be polite and friendly back as a customer

I have never in 45 years of working with the public , in shops,pubs, restaurants, and front facing roles in the NHS - ever had anyone "flip" at me. Im no one special, I dont have super powers , but Im friendly and approachable and helpful and I actually like working with the public and enjoy what I do

Yep. We’ve noticed this.

Tbh I think it’s partly due to the pure frustration of the whole retail/service during covid - as it was a nightmare and it’s carried on to customer facing roles now.

And the ever growing ‘the customer is always right’ mentality on social media. Too many times I see someone pulling a business to pieces on Facebook community pages.

Everyone feels entitled to immediate remedies or service

Agreed. Shame some retail staff are rude and unhelpful from the start then.