"Sure!"
(mentally: please die)
http://news.distractify.com/culture/...estaurant/?v=1
What's the most irritating thing anyone asks during your day-to-day grind?
"Sure!"
(mentally: please die)
http://news.distractify.com/culture/...estaurant/?v=1
What's the most irritating thing anyone asks during your day-to-day grind?
"Can you help me with ________" when I am obviously off the clock
Asking questions at a ridiculous time?
Eg "how's the food?"
Eixnehatvejtoxenws (speaking with mouthful)
Waiters always seem to wait until you have your mouth full to ask you this. So irritiating!
"Sorry, I get reprimanded if I work off the clock." [point customer in direction to help]
Most major companies actually do have rules against working off the clock. It's to prevent employees trying to stir up problems with an employer. "I should get paid for working then! It doesn't matter if I was off the clock BRB GETTING LAWYER!!"
Sound ridiculous, but I have worked for companies were supervisors freaked out if they saw me casually picking trash off the floor to throw it away off the clock. They were seriously worried I would try to fight for unpaid time since I "worked."
So that's another long winded advice-rant I threw at you two days in a row now. Sorry about that!
My company confuses me with their grounds on that because on the one hand they freak out about working off the clock, but on the other hand they're like "NEVER SAY NO TO THE CUSTOMER!" and "If a customer stops you while you're on lunch you can take a few minutes extra lunch to make up for it" and stuff like that and it's just like WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO
In general I'm more irritated by how if I'm, say, holding my coat in one hand, have a phone in the other, and am heading towards the door, people will still stop me. Really guys?
Ask your supervisor if it is legal for you to work off the clock.
Okay, yes, I know that the situation isn't as black and white as that. And I know that would probably just land you in hot water. I guess I am trying to show you that I feel your pain. It's a constant mixed message employees get, especially in retail. They throw the book at your for stepping out of line selectively, but god forbid if you do that. All of a sudden they write you up or even get rid of you for something they have ignored many times because you dared to use the same strategy that they did to guide yourself out of a situation that you were in the right about.
*bear hug Pike and Sephex* :hug:
I don't really mind the camera thing, it's one of those "friendly experiences" and it's nice when they like the resultPeople sometimes offer the same for us. Though I'm sure one of these days the one offering will nick off with it!
+1 for requests while off the clock. Bonus hate if someone does it while I'm actually putting a sandwich in my mouth at the time, and so they don't even have the "oh sorry I didn't realise you were on your lunch" excuse.
"Can you please answer a few questions, it'll only take 4 minutes of your time" (massive lie, ends up taking an hour) is quite an irritating one as well. Exevo Market Research, I am looking at you.
Waiters repeatedly checking in is annoying in general. I had a waiter check in and interrupt the conversation several times it was so annoying. I gave him a very bad tip because he needs to learn that it doesn't help his tip if he keeps doing that.
When you're wearing a proper uniform, name badge, carrying equipment, etc. and a person walks up to you and says "Do you work here?"
Oh that always annoyed the hell out of me.
Retail is horrible for double standards like that. So here's my story, since every one has a story.
I go to a new store that is infamous for customers stealing, complaining, scamming, and trying all those things in particular against the "new guy". Usually store theft is largely employee based, but this was one of those rare stores where it was indeed the customers who were really difficult to work with. They stole regularly in many different ways. I'm the new manager, so of course I'm getting tons of situations like this. I observe that when people have a complaint, they come to me specifically, and act very aggressive. I check our documented complaint log, and it is overwhelmingly obvious that most of the complaints come to me during my shift. The customers know better than to try stuff like this with the other employees.
90% of them I can easily prove that the person is lying, cheating, stealing, etc. So I refuse to refund them and move on with my life. The other 10% or so, I do take care of the refund.
My supervisor comes in a month or two later complaining to me that they've had a spike of customer complaints about me since I've come to the store. I remind him that they are the ones that warned me I would be targeted for this sort of thing because I'm the new manager so all the regular bad customers would be "testing the waters". Just trying to see what they can get away with.
I'm reminded that I have a certain cash limit that I can use with every customer complaint situation I experience, to help diffuse the situation. I'm told that if it's a complaint below that amount (20-25 dollars, by the way, which adds up fast) that I shouldn't attempt to prove or disprove anything. I should just refund the money. I mention that this seems like an easy way for people to learn they can take advantage of the new guy and get some easy money, but my concerns are dismissed.
So I adopt that as my new policy. If it's under that limit, unless it's incredibly obvious they are lying, I refund the money and wish them a good day. It's easier for me, and takes less time. Done and done.
Until a month or two later when the supervisor returns and complains to me that my refunded cash amount is way higher than anyone else in the store. I'm hemorrhaging money! Well duh, you smurfing moron. You just told me to basically refund everyone who has a complaint below a certain cash value with no questions asked. You also said they would be trying to test me because I'm new.
At this point I had to have a heart to heart with the guy. I said he could either accept losing cash, accept that he was going to get some customer complaints, or bring in another new manager that would have the exact same issues. Only they would be starting from scratch. He can't have no complaints and no cash loss. Customer behavior is out of our hands.
He knew the complaints were simply BS attempts to get me removed from the store so that customers could get another new guy in who wouldn't question their refunds. Surprise, surprise he chose to let me go back to checking scammers and deal with the complaints.
Basically, I was dealing with a stressful situation that they knew about and yet still decided to harass me over because my performance numbers weren't up to the expected level they have for stores in general. They knew this store had special issues, they knew what those issues were, and yet still acted surprised when my numbers reflected that.![]()
Last edited by sharkythesharkdogg; 07-15-2014 at 05:57 PM.
Often supervisors/corporate like to come to you with some numbers for no other reason than to demonstrate that they are in a position of power.
When I was working in retail, we'd have corporate visitors come by every now and again to pretty much check off that things were set up as head office said they should be. I knew that even if I got everything perfect, they'd still find something wrong in the littlest way and I'd be stuck fixing something that didn't need fixing in the first place. Once I had to make a Caution: Stairs Ahead sign for two steps in the stock room that were already clearly identifiable with black + yellow tape on the ground. So after learning my lesson, I'd always just leave something deliberately out of place so they'd pick up on that straight away, have a little go at me, and then go back to the office feeling good about themselves.
He's not gonna know that checking on you so often annoyed you just based off of a crap tip. Should've left a note at least. Plus management could've been telling him to do so. I had a boss that did that. If we were slow and all the side work and stuff was done, he'd yell at us to go check our tables even though we'd just been by there 5 minutes before.