Sunday, 05 July 2009
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The Do's and Don'ts of Department Store Shopping
If you're like me, you like to shop. Or at least, you DO shop. Either way, you must spend some amount of time in a department store.
Now I'll admit, before I took this job at my local TJMaxx, I was just an everyday, normal shopper. I have been guilty of several of these transgressions during the 19 years I've been shopping. (Yes, I've been shopping since infancy. I loved grabbing shoes off the shelves when I was in stores with my mother.) But in the almost month I've been a sales associate, I've realized just how many things any shopper does can further complicate the job a sales associate has to do. Thus, I've compiled a list of the do's and don'ts of department store shopping.
DO try and find an item with a price tag attached. If it isn't the right color you are looking for, bring both items to the register with you, and we can check you out with the item you want. If you can't find another item of the same, ask an associate on the floor to help you out. We can do price check runs from the register, but just know that it will take time; 5-10 minutes at least, so don't get upset with the cashier because you have to wait. We are going as fast as we can, and doing the best we can with the resources we have.
DON'T ditch half your cart at the cash register. Know exactly what you plan on purchasing before you get to the register and before we have completely rung you out. Now, I don't mean if you have gone over-budget and you need to remove one or two items. That's not a big deal. I mean coming up with a cart load of things and then deciding as you are being rung out that you don't want every other item you have with you. That causes unnecessary items behind the counter and takes away valuable time from the sales team that could be used to help serve you and our store better and more efficiently.
DO put things back where you got them. So you think that top is cute but want to take a better look? Go ahead, take it off the rack and look. But if you decide it's not for you, for goodness sake PUT IT BACK where you found it. That goes for anything, anywhere in the store. And please, don't carry a million things around the store and then drop them all in a pile in an unrelated department. There is nothing more annoying to a sales associate than having to spend two hours doing recovery, picking up juniors clothes strewn all throughout the home department. Just please, have some respect for our store and for us. We want your shopping experience to be easy and enjoyable, but it can't be if your associates are spending all their time cleaning up after you and your fellow shoppers.
DON'T use the kids/toys department as a daycare for your children. By all means, bring your children to the store with you. But please, keep an eye on them. Don't send them to wreak havoc throughout the toy section while you shop for shoes across the store. Sales associates are not babysitters, and cannot be blamed for any trouble your children get into. We want your children to be safe, but accidents do happen, and if you aren't watching them, it is more likely your child could get hurt. No one wants to see that happen. Just use common sense when you take your children shopping with you.
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Now these guidelines are good for use in any store, whether it be a Wal-Mart, a Macy's, or even just your local grocery store. Not only is it just good practice, and respectful of the store you are visiting, but following these simple tips will help all of us sales associates help you, the customer, have a more pleasant shopping experience.
Are any of you guilty of these shopping transgressions? Have any of you experienced a change in the way you shop because you have worked retail? What else would you add to this list?
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- From: Allyson_Singsxo@xanga
- Name: Allyson
- Location: Jamestown, New York, United States
- About Me: allyson rae. 19. freshman music major. I'm a daughter. I'm a sister. I'm a friend. Give me a pillow, a blanket, some junk food & a House marathon, & I'm happy. Give me your heart, & I'll love you forever.
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Comments (82)
Guilty is charged. ;)
@Allyson_Singsxo@xanga - LOL there should be a law passed on people like that disallowing them to breed and take up space. These will be the same folk who will blame society or the government when their kids grown up to be coke addicts or serial murderers...go figure!
I worked in retail for ages, and this list definitely has a lot of things that retail clerks appreciate. I'm afraid, however, that these will always be things that thoughtless people don't pay any attention to, and still others who will argue the case that "it is the worker's job!" :-\
Ah, I'm guilty of some shopping faux pas myself. There's a McDonalds inside of the local WalMart, and I often stop there before shopping to grab something to drink. Trash cans are few and far between in the store, so when I finish my drink, I occasionally leave it on a shelf.
Good do's and don'ts :)
<3
I agree with the kids thing. Most of the time they don't stay there and tear up the store.
I worked at both Macy's and Target and this list is why I hated it. Also, i don't know if anyone mentioned it, but I hated when I would be ringing a customer up with a bunch of items and just when I thought they were done their fellow buddy shopper would show up with even more items.
OH...I got another one. Last minute shoppers that can't make up their mind. The store would be closing in about 2 minutes and they would still be looking around, still be trying stuff on. Even after the annoucement was made that the store was closed they STILL would not hurry up and leave. I'd have to wait to close my register and the lights would be shutting off all over the store. That was the worst after an 8 hour day that just dragged on.
And as someone commented...people using the fitting room as a bathroom. The store had closed and there was a MESS in the fitting room because it was just one of those days. There was no way to keep up, just hold your breath and pray for the end of the day to come. A family with a group of kids finally left the fitting room a few minutes after the store closed. So we go in the fitting room to pick up the clothes off the floor so the janitors can sweep the floor in the morning, and there was a giant puddle of pee in the middle of one of the rooms. We had to call security because all the managers were signing out. Luckily we didn't have to clean it up but I did feel kinda bad when I went to drop my cash register money off and saw my manager in her skirt and heels pushing the sloppy mop bucket down the aisle to the fititng room.
Admittedly, I sorta miss it. I got good at what I did, I just couldn't deal with the politics. I loved most of the people I worked with, just hated the rude people, store policies, and being a maid to strangers.