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.

Retail Problem #3

Although my posts may seem like rants sometimes , this one had to be made. One of the most FRUSTRATING things which i experienced was the question "Excuse me where is the bathroom?"  Although this is such an innocent question it can become a trigger after awhile.
Forget about retail for a hot second. Wherever you go in a public place with a restroom there is normally a bunch of SIGNS indicating where the closest restroom is. So why is retail any different.

When walking into a store normally there are signs posted saying RESTROOMS with an arrow pointing in the direction. These signs are normally CLEAR and BOLD with BRIGHT colors like red. This means that they CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be missed. Despite the effort of the store to alert the customers of where the bathrooms are, there are always those straggler customers who are maybe somewhat confused by the signs and need further help.

Of course this is not the hugest problem in the world and it could be a simple mistake when someone can't find the bathroom but this post serves to shed light on the fact that people need to observe their surrounding in a better manner. And one of the ways to do that is if you need to use the bathroom in a public place please first look for the signs because that is what they are there for.