When a retail worker goes shopping...

Although most of my posts go off into tangents about the problems in retail, today I decided to mix it up and do something different. Today I decided to review my personal shopping experience in a retail store. This time I was on the other side of the counter meaning instead I was the customer rather than the one providing the service.

On my day off I decided to do a little shopping. I had some items I wanted to pick up especially since we are in the midst of a changing season and decided to visit another store which I do not work at. I decided to do this to see their customer service in comparison to how i would normally provide service. 

I am not sure if it is because I work in customer service but I am definitely more critical of bad customer service now than prior to when I first started working in retail. it is sad to say but this experience that i had in the store (which shall remain unnamed) was one of the worst shopping experiences i have had. The first problem was the service provided by the staff. No one seemed to want to be at work that day and so anyone I asked a question would seem very annoyed at the fact that they were being bothered. I am a bit understanding about this because of course everyone has things going on in their lives and sometimes work just adds to the stress. But if the majority of the staff is rude then clearly that company has a bunch of bad apples that need to be removed.

The second problem which I faced was the disorganization of the store itself. Normally department stores have clear cut sections or departments such as kids, women, men and shoes. But in this particular store there was no separation. Everything was just a big mess and if you wanted to find something you needed patience and binoculars. 

These two problems combined made the shopping experience horrible and I ended up leaving the store empty handed. I was disappointed but this experience actually served as a wake up call. this made me realize how important good customer service is in order for a business to prosper.