While this topic primarily applies to retail, we can all glean a takeaway.
Do you recall back in the day when your family was expecting company at home, your classroom was going to welcome a visitor, or a big wig was stopping by the office, and you were told to be on your best behavior? That usually entailed cleaning up, and being polite and accommodating. What in the world has happened to common sense?!
When I go grocery shopping, I often find rotten or moldy produce and badly dented cans (does Botulism come to mind?) – whether I’m at discount chains or high-end stores. It brings out a quirk in me where I move the products front and center in the hope employees will see them and remove them from display. Surely, they have standards to uphold when it comes to the merchandise.
At big box and other chain stores, I often run into (thankfully, not literally) boxes and pallets on the floor. And this is in the middle of the day or early morning, not late at night when stocking shelves is to be expected. Lucky for me, I’ve been alert enough to spot it in time (knock on wood). And here’s a close call you probably can relate to. When shopping for new running (okay, walking) shoes at a sporting goods store, I was alarmed to see a pile of a dozen or so shoe boxes strewn across the aisle of my section. The worker returned to the area on a few occasions, but never bothered to set aside the heap, he just stepped over it as I did. First impression fail – impress me by maintaining safety.
Have you had the displeasure of a store employee cutting you off mid-stride? It’s happened to me a lot. I’m strolling through with my buggy (hey, I’m from the south) and someone in uniform hurriedly speeds in front of me and crosses my path. I believe employees should be courteous and treat customers as welcomed guests, people worth pausing for…like you actually want them there and for them to return. And please don’t allow staff to park up front. It’s not a good look.
My final consumer misadventure is on the opposite end of the spectrum. While at a home décor store, 20+ employees accosted me with greetings and offers to assist me before I made it 200 feet inside the store. Amused and overwhelmed, I asked a worker what was going on. “Our president is visiting today,” he informed me. That prepared me for the next 20+ salutations I encountered. Now that’s what you call best behavior overload. As my kids say, “You’re doing too much.”
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