To think that most shop assistants do a great job and and have to take alot of cr@p from the public...

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and yet are looked down upon on the whole because some people think they must be stupid because they work in a shop as an assistant.

I work in a food shop where we serve what feels like hundreds of customers everyday. Most are students or office workers. All the staff there work their ass off, running around doing 101 jobs at the same time, remembering orders etc.

Last week i was serving a customer and could hear these two women behind my customer talking loudly. They both worked in offices and one was talking about how she was leaving her job and that she wasn't sure what she was going to do next. The other woman said "Well you could always work in here!" and they both starting laughing hard. I thought what stuck up, patronising idiots they were. Like it is somehow beneath them to work in the place that does their lunch for them.

Anyway, i have noticed on MN in recent times that customers have been complaining about shop assistants. Well there are two side to every story and shop assistants have to put up with alot of crap from awkward customers, as well as being looked down upon by some, like they have failed their career or something and god forbid, have had to resort to working in a shop.

Now i know there are bad shop assistants out there, although i know from experience that you can't expect a Saturday girl/boy to have the same customer service skills as someone older with experience. But on the whole, they do a really good job and working directly with the public is strain on anyones patience.

a jobs a job. i worked in boots the chemist when i was younger, i was shit, customers are horrible in general, managers are pompous power happy meglamaniac arse wanks.

however, its not exactly a career of choice is it - its more of a thing one has to do to bring money in. so in most cases we are talking about students or those not educated enough to get a better job - becuase lets face it - it is the shit end of the stick along with facory work and other minimum wage jobs.

there is no question its hard work, on your feet all the time - but then aren;t most 'grunt' jobs - the poor work hard for shit all - it's always been teh way

"so in most cases we are talking about students or those not educated enough to get a better job"

What an ignorant statement. People work in shops for many reasons, one being because they OWN the shop so one would think that purhaps they are educated enough to run a business eh? Or there are those who have young families and don't have the capitol to go into any form of training at that moment in time but may do so later on.

There are loads of reasons why. Then there is the assumption that we all want to be perfessionals, well believe it or not, some people don't!

its not an ignorant statement, howver yours was at the least rude and most certainly mean spirited and personal. the course of the thread was clearly not about business owners and neither was my post. a person who owns a business and the people i am refering to are different - obviously.

there will be exceptions to the rule, however i haven't heard of lots of well educated people working in shops becuase they have childcare issues.

lets face it, the majority of well educated are middle class, and i can't say i have come across many mc's in maccy d's becuase 'they can pick the kids up from school'

usually working class who do that

oh and i didn't say thick or unitelligent - i said not educated enough - which..you refer to in your statement when talking about - not enough capitol to take further training becuae they have a young family

so we are both saying poor people - not educated enough

are we not arguing the same point

custardo your statement was rude and ignorant and you have insulted shop workers by calling them uneducated. Enough said.

And not all shop assistants see their job as the "shit end of the stick"

Some shop assistants actually ENJOY their jobs alot.

they may not see it as the shit end of the stick and enjoy their work very much.

however in the job market, i consider it to be the shit end of the stick. its my opinion.

its hardly a career of choice for the educated

Okay
I work in boots pt i have a degree.

I work there because sunday work pays well for retail just six hours rest of week free to be there for my kids.

Have to say I am the only mum I know there who works there and has a degree. custardo is right - i am a rarity!!
My degree is for museum work - not a lot of that about. In retrospect a VERY BAD CAREER CHOICE made when 18 which has affected my life in a negative way [years of paying of debts etc ].

It does get me sometimes when people are rude having said that I used to be treated like sh@te when in junior position in profession I have my degree in. In fact I feel far more valued by my bosses who treat me kindly and not like some oik who is so so lucky to be allowed to do their rubbish jobs polishing some old dusty crap and being paid buttons for the honour on a crappy short term
contract. This was my personal exp of stuck up museum world.

when children older I plan to do some training as I do voluntary work - retrain in early years teaching perhaps. But I do not feel bad or less of a person for being in retail- I like my job and it brings in ok money.

Also I think if you are in a more provincial area or find yourself there due to, for example, dp job like myself you tend to take anything on offer. So look and you may find many people working in retail as a means to an end - even - educated people!!

Not that much of a rarity freckly ...I also have a degree and work pt in retail. It fits around ds1 who has sn.

I am now starting to question if I should feel bad!

I must admit that I purposely antagonise one shopkeeper. She seems to have a great disliking for me over an understanding she had about my charge (thought she was my daughter). The woman made a comment about young mothers to me (quite a rude one) and I did nothing, I now go to her till whenever I can and chat happily to her as she scans my wweekly shop and gives me the evils.

Bit of an idiot though, seriously, I don't even look 20 (I'm 19) and my charge looks about 10 (though she is 8). I don't think this woman can do maths.

However, I generally agree that being nice to shop assistants is key, I was a waitress and have had my fair share of arses!

A friend of mine used to work in Safeway during every holiday from university. One day, something completely beyond her control went wrong, and the snotty middle-aged man she was in the middle of serving said: "Well, if you'd stayed on at school past 16, maybe you'd be be able to sort it out."

Oh yes, I worked in Asda part time when I was doing A Levels and used to get sick of being looked down on. The only time I lost it was when I heard one guy say to his children 'and this is where you'll end up working, like her, if you don't work hard at school.'

I'd heard people say it before but this time I flipped, no idea why, and told him in no uncertain terms that my part time job, that I fitted around doing 4 A Levels, was giving me extra money to put away for when I went to medical school. He looked suitably embarrassed and did apologise and his kids actually looked quite pleased It obviously hadn't occurred to him that students worked! I thought afterwards that he could have complained and I could have lost my job but I didn't care. I was sooooo angry!

I never actually made it to medical school in the end though - long story - the intention was there, but who cares?? You shouldn't judge, ever!

I worked in Safeway when I was at college and afterwards until I was pregnant with DD1. I enjoyed most of it, but 'the customer is always right' was taken far too far by some customers. In my first few months I would burst into tears when the customers were rude and nasty to me, until I learnt how to handle it, though why I had to I don't know, as they would scream at me for something that was beyond my control.

One day I spotted that the customer has signed the wrong name on the card he did a runner (leaving the card with me) and the manager had a go at me for letting him go... I am 4ft 11 and a size 10, yes I am going to rugbytackle the card thief... Never did get my £50 for finding a stolen card... apparently because he got away I wasn't allowed it..

SGK, thats crap. As long as you've kept the card the bank will pay out. Bet your manager kept the reward.

Half of shitty shop assistant attitude is down to managers I think. I don't blame anyone for being a bit miserable when I think about some of the complete tossers I had to answer to. Whats the point in even trying to do your job properly (say refusing a refund if the item had been worn) if a manager is going to come out of his cushy office, over rule you and make you look like a jobsworth anyway.

"its hardly a career of choice for the educated"

Custardo you are coming across as a complete snob!

While i agree there are many shop assistants are going to be rude no matter what, but i think the customers attitude in the first place has a lot to do with it. If your going to go into a shop and talk down to the assistant and be damanding and rude, do you really expect her to want to go out of their way to help you with open arms?

My dp owns a shop. I work in it sometimes, i don't a wage pur se but the money that comes in from the shop goes to our household. I get customers sometimes talk to me like dirt and have even had them ask for the manager. When i say to them they can speak to me because i am his wife, they looked suprised and shut up. It's like it's fine to speak to you like dirt when think your just a shop assistant but when they find out your not, their attitude changes.

I would actually say that the majority of shop assistants are there to tide them over whilst looking after their children or whilst studying, I decided to volunteer in a charity shop a few hours a week and have ended up managing the place on Sunday's I may not get paid but it gets me valuable experience and I quite like doing it.

I am 22 but look about 17 so the way some people speak to me is rediculous but I get a bloody fantastic feeling when the ignorant buggers ask to see the manager and I can say well you are looking at her. One day I was told I was too young to be responsible when I told him how old I was and that I had a child and a house that I was fully resposible for and neither have been destroyed so far, he started laughing and joking about it being all nice, why should it make a difference?

As I say I do enjoy it for now but my main concern at the moment is that it fits in with my life and my son not the other way around, I also work for a cleaning company cleaning shops and offices at the end of the day. May sound 'crappy' to some but no one thinks that I have an SVQ in childcare and am currently looking into getting onto a Childhood and youth studies course.

people see what they want to see, people look down on others to make themselves feel better if thats how you get your kicks fab but next time you go into a shop think where you'd be without that person serving your food, ordering in clothes for you or just answering your questions then think how valued they actually are and stop dissing them for doing something with their lives!

I worked in fast food restaurant one summer when I was a student and people spoke to you as though you were one phylum up from an cabbage. It was an eye-opener.

ps, I have a degree and made very poor choices and backed myself into a specialised corner which isn't transferable (outside of UK) and now have no relevant experience really.

Loads of people who left school at 16 made better choices than I did.

We do food deliveries to offices from our shop.

I remember a while back, someone had placed an order by writing out a list (which was all typed up in colums on the computer how do they have the time to waste doing this?) Anyway, the order went out and shortly after we had a phone call, not from the guy who had placed the order but by some snotty bitch one else in the office.

Phone call:

Her: Hello, i would like to speak to the manager about my order that's just been delivered (in a stern, aggressive voice.)

Me: Ok, you can speak to me. What is the problem.

Her: There are items missing.

Me: Oh ok, i am very sorry about that. Could you please tell me what the said items are and i can find out what's happened for you.

Her: We are miss X, X, X and X.

Me: Ok, i will call you back in 5 minutes and i will find out whats happened. Sometimes items get left on the delivery van.

Her: Fine. Puts phone down.

I then ask the staff who did up the order, we check the order slip (orders are written in the order book, even if they have been brought in already written down by the customer.) The said items weren't on the order they had typed out. I call the woman back.

Me: Hello, this is X calling you back. I have checked the order and the said items you listed weren't on the order.

Her: Yes they were, i suggest you check again.

Me: I look through the list and still no missing items.

Her: Well i want the items delivered to me anyway.

Me: Ok, that's fine. It won't be until X time because our driver is on another delivery.

Her: That's not good enough. Is huffing and puffing by now.

Me: I am sorry, but the delivery will be with you as soon as possible.

I don't think the woman has grasped that this is their fault no ours?

Her: Fine, i want our original order back too to make sure your not lying and i hope we will not be paying for the items?

Me: Yes you are. They will come to X amount.

She puts the phone down.

Her attitude cost her money, she thought she was being assertive and officiant, thinking that was the only way you will get things sorted. She was so wrong. By being like that, it instantly makes you NOT want to help her at all. If she was polite and nice and accepted mistakes are made by everyone (even them!) we would have said not to worry about the money. I think the way to deal with something is to be polite and nice, then if they are messing you around etc, THEN get firm. But don't go in all guns blazing and expect to be helped.

Custy Really?

I have ALevels, I went to University, I work in retail because the hours fit in with the DCs. I'm not stupid or uneducated, I'm doing what works for me and my family. I don't think that means I deserve to get looked down on (or called a minimum wage, thick bitch which is what one twunty woman called me after I asked her son to stop poking things with a sharp pair of scissors)

I used to love retail. I was a manager in Woolies before I had the DCs and I loved it, everyday was different and it never got boring, but after years of the same old miserable British general public it gets you down. It's a vicious circle tbh, 4 or 5 twunts treating you like dirt makes you brace for the next one being the same - it takes a couple of seconds to move from being automatically defensive to realising this customer's actually OK.

More than half of the mums at DDs school work in supermarkets and garden centres as they fit around the children well.

This is a 'good' school in a middle-class area (not that it makes a difference, just making a point).

I would happliy work in a shop as long as I could avoid snobby, ignorant customers who assume they are better than me.

Imo, there two kinds of education;

The one you learn from a text book,

The one you learn through experience.

The smartest, most wise people i know have never been to Uni in their lives. You get these graduates who leave Uni, can't find/get a job in their field so go and works in shops only to have no common sense whats so ever and even after weeks of training in the job, are still useless.

In the restaurant I used to work in was a woman who was high up in banking. She did a fri night shift and a sun lunch shift. She had tons of money and was very well educated.

She worked there because it was fun and she liked the company and atmosphere!

She also had a gorgeous car but that's beside the point!