Overdue rant
My local grocery is usually ok but recently they've been hiring these punk ass kids to run the checkout lanes. These unshaven multi facial pierced greasy ass fucks are usually too busy playing grab-ass to even recognize that I'm standing there with all my groceries loaded onto the belt. Last week I was standing there waiting while the cashier was yelling past my face to the kid at the next register about lending him beer money. The bagger seemed to do his job ok but then as I'm about to leave he says "Later dude man"
Maybe I'm getting old and crotchety but I've had about enough of these punks calling me "bro" "Chief" "Dude" "Sport" etc...
I went home and called the store manager and let him have it. I told him I didn't appreciate him putting a bunch of drunk monkeys in positions where they can piss me off. He apologized profusely and said he would take care of it. That remains to be seen.
I went to take out the trash this morning and right in front of my driveway some little bastards smashed about a dozen glass bottles and jars all over the ground. They also took a partial can of paint out of my neighbors trash and painted shit all over their driveway and sidewalk. So I'm out there at 5am sweeping up about 5 pounds of glass planning on what I'm going to do when I catch those little sons of bitches.
I've been taking my girls to their ballet class on Saturdays because the wife has been too busy or tired to do it lately. The girls really enjoy the class and take their lessons very seriously. It costs quite a bit of money to send them but I think it's good exercise and important for their self esteem. Saturday morning, I took them in and ended up having to wait 15 minutes while the teacher finished up with another class. I asked if they were going to make up the lost fifteen minutes at the end. The teacher said "No, today is just a play day I'm going to let them color and watch videos"
I said "nuh uh" and put the girls back in the car. I don't fucking write a check to them for $200 bucks a month so they can color and watch goddamn cartoons. I wonder if the other parents let them get away with that shit.
My wife lost her phone charger Friday night and her work cell was about dead so I rushed out to the Sprint store to get her a new one. There were three people working the counter and three people waiting in front of me. The fucked up thing about the Sprint store is that you can't just walk in and grab what you need, check out and leave.
Maybe I'm getting old and crotchety but I've had about enough of these punks calling me "bro" "Chief" "Dude" "Sport" etc...
I went home and called the store manager and let him have it. I told him I didn't appreciate him putting a bunch of drunk monkeys in positions where they can piss me off. He apologized profusely and said he would take care of it. That remains to be seen.
I went to take out the trash this morning and right in front of my driveway some little bastards smashed about a dozen glass bottles and jars all over the ground. They also took a partial can of paint out of my neighbors trash and painted shit all over their driveway and sidewalk. So I'm out there at 5am sweeping up about 5 pounds of glass planning on what I'm going to do when I catch those little sons of bitches.
I've been taking my girls to their ballet class on Saturdays because the wife has been too busy or tired to do it lately. The girls really enjoy the class and take their lessons very seriously. It costs quite a bit of money to send them but I think it's good exercise and important for their self esteem. Saturday morning, I took them in and ended up having to wait 15 minutes while the teacher finished up with another class. I asked if they were going to make up the lost fifteen minutes at the end. The teacher said "No, today is just a play day I'm going to let them color and watch videos"
I said "nuh uh" and put the girls back in the car. I don't fucking write a check to them for $200 bucks a month so they can color and watch goddamn cartoons. I wonder if the other parents let them get away with that shit.
My wife lost her phone charger Friday night and her work cell was about dead so I rushed out to the Sprint store to get her a new one. There were three people working the counter and three people waiting in front of me. The fucked up thing about the Sprint store is that you can't just walk in and grab what you need, check out and leave.
.
You have to wait for a customer service representative to assist you. Needless to say, all the employees were selling cell phones, plans, fixing numbers for lost phones and other bull shit. So I end up standing there for 45 minutes to buy a fucking plug for the goddamn phone. Once I walked up to he counter the girl looked embarassed that I had to wait so long for 30 second transaction.
Turns out they didn't have what I needed. So I paid $37 for a car charger so the wife wouldn't miss her work calls that night. Luckily Sprint called the next morning to ask us about our shopping experience...
posted by Bill Rowland @ February 04, 2008
53 Comments
53 Comments:
oh, boy, what sucky experiences. I'd find another ballet class if possible. That is just unacceptable.
I often wish I could have a closed-circuit TV camera pointed at the front of the house so I could see who keeps dropping trash on the sidewalk in front of my house. I mean, if they're walking home, can't they hold onto it for 30 seconds and put it in the garbage at home?
I, too, am sick to the teeth of dirtbag cashiers with no concept of customer service. Or any kind of service. They want to raise minimum wage for these wastrels? No fucking way!
The Sprint store people SHOULD be embarrassed. that's a screwed-up system they have there.
I get all my phone accessories at retail stores now.... Saves time AND money... just make sure to take the phone with!
I would return the car charer and tell them they owe you big time!
oh - and that's infuriating about the ballet thing.
Hmmm...$200 for ballet lessons a month and they color on Saturday. No fucking way. Sorry...
I even get called "dude." It's insane out there!
The only good employees I run into regularly at the local grocery store are the developmentally disabled guys they have bagging groceries. Granted, they're slower at their job than if I did it myself, but they're polite and work hard. Give me that over the typical shmuck anyday.
that sounds like everyday of my life
Ok, I'm going to have to watch who I call dude now. Thanks for pointing it out.
I purposely avoid going to the grocery store that's 5 minutes away and drive to the one that's 15 minutes away just so I won't have to deal with the incompetent employees.
I've had the same experience in the Verizon store. You can never accomplish anything there in less than a half hour. I'm really glad you got a chance to tell Sprint about the poor customer service you received.
And the ballet lessons? No way. Your kids can color and watch cartoons at home for free. If you're paying $200 a month for ballet lessons, the girls should be getting ballet lessons, EVERY class time.
Niiice. I love the timing of the Sprint call. That couldn't have been better, eh?
I don't think you're old and crotchety. I mean, if you are, then that means I am too. We just expect the services we are paying for.
Great rant Hammer.
You should speak with your girls & the ballet school about cartoons & coloring. I, too, find that absolutely unacceptable & wonder how often this happens.
Customer service, across the board, has gone down hill. Maybe it all began with self-service gas stations?
As a retail manager, I hire folks. One peeve I have is are the kids who don't speak clearly. If I can't hear you or understand you clearly when you are asking for an application, you won't get a job. 80% of my staff is over 60 for reasons that have NOT to do with age and experience, but because of their communication skills & work ethics.
OK, As a teacher, I get it all. Hey dude (I am female) Yo hommey (UMMM yeah?) and MISS (MISS WHO???? Hello kid)
But, what are our expectations as adults when we pay them min wage at a whopping $5.85 an hour??? I hate to say it, but they are only working to pay taxes and make their drug deals in the parking lot. It's sad and true.
That doesn't change OUR adult expectations...Take my rant about the N word today...kids are not taught to RESPECT themselves, let alone their community, school or PEOPLE. I think honest to gawd, kids today think that adults are robots.
Holy bats, I don't even know where to start. Two hundred bucks a month and they'll just let them color and play during periodic sessions? That's just ridiculous. I'd have left, too.
And I don't know how many times I found myself grumbling while leaving the grocery store because of the punks they hire to work checkout. Losers.
Janet: Yeah I agree I'm calling the owner of the school for a WTF session. I agree about the trash people are gross.
phlegmy: when I was making $3.35 an hour I took pride in my work and tried to get promotions and raises. I guess these little creeps never thought of that.
cheesy: I wish I had done that now but I was afraid of geting the wrong one.
h2o: I agree, and they're not getting away with it.
scarlet: not even dudette? ;)
muskego: I miss those guys. I think they all work at pistol petes pizza now.
snowmanpoop: Damn that's pretty rough!
ee: informally it's no big deal but as a customer it irks me :)
terri: I wasn't sure if all the stores are the same. it really bites! I would hate to change stores because of the convenience, but the chain has a damn monopoly.
marianne: Yeah I let sprint have a ration of shit.
skinnyblond: I intend to raise the subject with the school for sure. I used to hire punks then straighten them out. Oldsters were always my very best employees.
superstar: Sad thing is they aren't even worth 5.85. I noticed that the fast food places are starting at 8.75 but demanding dedicated hard workers and sending the losers packing. Kids don't seem to have much ambition these days.
dorky dad: yeah I caught the school doing it last year and I ended up getting some money back. I plan on gigging them again.
Poor Poor Sprint rep! Boy I hate to fight things that should be done and done right & with a work ethic that shows pride in the places I patronize!
J
Hammer I think you could probably start a whole web site dedicated just to poor customer service in America! I agree that there are many examples of this "disease" but not sure where the blame lies for it's wide spread. It's all in what we allow... and unless more people are willing to make that phone call, write that letter of complaint, can the apathy, it won't change. Glad to see you were willing to take that step...
I sometimes get talked over my head. Literally. I'm 5 feet tall. Any HS Sophmore is usually taller than I am.
I had to talk to a manager once about it. I can take them talking to a friend now and again. But these morons were cussing at each other and YELLING "Yo M'F'ER"...
And that was the last straw.
The good thing is, I never saw any of the four kids working at that store again.
Oh i do love a good rant!!
I have nothing but hostility for just about every social setting these days. People have all turned into intolerable pains in my ass everywhere I go. Even people I thought were my friends have come up with the most ridiculous opinions and stupid ideas I have ever heard. I try to help them with my experiences and they totally ignore me, do the wrong thing, then want to come to me with their sob stories. I am almost to the point where real life contact with people might have to cease for everyones own good. I can't stand it!
I quit Sprint sometime back over a similar experience..all I wanted was a new phone and the saleman tried a hard sell on me to buy the insurance..I canceled Sprint and walked out..sometimes the kids just don't understand it when I say NO.
Last year at Best Buy I had the same experience..found the laptop I wanted and was ready to purchase it when the sales pitch came on the extended warranty..I said no and he kept at me and I just turned and walked with him begging me to come back..went to Circuit City and bought..
Even tho I have one, the whole cell phone industry is disgusting.
The grocery store I go to is decent, overpriced, but great customer service! My daughter, who was sweet and friendly and liked by most of her customers worked for a big drugstore chain a few years ago developing film. She was fired because her drawer was about 10 bucks short after the manager had his greasy fingers in there making change. Hope they got a real thief on the next hire who took them for a bunch!!!
I am quite disgusted with "customer service" - or complete lack of service - these days. What's really unfortunate is that this seems to be the rule rather than the exception.
The Sprint store reminds me of experiences I've had in Best Buy. I won't wait more than a few minutes for them to help especially if some of them don't appear to be doing work at the moment. Do they want my business or not? Shit.
Coloring and TV? WTF. I'm going to tell my mom about this she used to be a dancer, and they were damn serious!
i love that picture. it's perfect.
wow, of course i have boys and haven't had experience with ballet, but dang. what are they thinking? tutu daycare? wtf?
loved the rant!
The still whisper about it and have actually named the particular reaction I perfected when talking to the local phone company about the physical lines outside our place of business. They'd keep telling me that, "yeah, those lines are about 65 years old, we only have two patches left." I clued them in on the idea of physically, y'know, replacing the lines.
Needless to say, nobody in the office ever wanted to see that side of me directed at themselves. It surpasses the idea of "postal."
Me too, Hammer. When I was in high school, I did an excellent job as a grocery cashier, and I won the region's secret shopper award several times. I ty to do my best at all times-- that's what I'm being paid for, however humble the position.
Respect, especially for a customer, is so rare these days. Hell I'm 43 and even if it's some teeny bopper waiting on me at a store I still say Thank you ma'am or sir. Rude Fucktards. Cheers!!
Not that I take pleasure in your misery but damn I love your rants.
Our grocery store is getitng out of hand also. The other day I walked up to a Uscan aisle to scan my own groceries. There was a bag of cough drops on the scanner but nobody in sight so I moved the cough drops. Just then a clerk on break came dashing up and said "I was using this scanner" and damn near pushed me out of the way. He then proceeded to stand there and chat with another clerk while I was clearly waiting to use the scanner.
Are these kids being raised by wolves?
Love the pic Hammer! Your rants were all great ones, and I can relate to several of them.
Oh, I do so love it when you go on a rant, Hammer! But I agree on all accounts. Customer Service is horrendous all the way around. My favorite is when they act like you're not even there. No "Hi", no "Thanks, have a nice day", not even any eye contact. What the hell? And when they're talking to all their friends over you, and not paying attention to what they're doing...and half the time they looked stoned. I get so frustrated!!! And to think that before kids I used to be so patient...
And I would call that Ballet School and get some answers. That definitely deserves a WTF!
You certainly have more than your share of crappy experiences in the retail world. I shop at a "discount" grocery where mostly kids work but they are always diligent, polite and acceptably dressed even though I know they don't get paid a whole lot. I don't know about phone charger purchasing because I let my husband do it but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of places he knows where he can pick them up and I doubt he ever goes to the "brand" store to do it - so it's pulling it off a rack and paying bottom dollar. Garbage vandalism? Dogs, raccoons I can understand but is there no regular entertainment or convenience stores for the kids to hang out at? I'd buy a paintball gun and lie in wait for them next time...but show them one of your most impressive guns that you're gonna use if it happens again.
I'm glad I wasn't the Sprint rep that called about your shopping experience. I'm glad I'm not a Sprint re. Janet is right about the ballet class. I took ballet as a kid and it is good for self-esteem, grace, poise and fun. But dance is also serious, there's no excuse for a "play day" when you only have class once a week.
Oh yeah I have no problem calling managers and bitching. if it's warranted.
I also have no problem calling and giving big Kudo's when it's an amazing job.
This is why stay at home parents should stay home [and batten down the hatches]
Yours,
the ostrich
Go to one of the Big Box Electronics stores or even Wal-Mart to get stuff like chargers and accessories. They're a LOT more willing and ready to help you and the stuff is usually cheaper. I also found out last week that since AT&T (you know, with the Death Star logo) took over Cingular they no longer do repair work on cell phones at their cell phone stores. But they were happy to give me a card for some repair dork across town. Or try to sell me a new phone.
And I want that tree in front of my house! I've got a big oak out there that has possibilities. Maybe if I approach it as a large-scale bonsai ...
Dude! Are you my husband??? LOL You just described my life.
john: When I get good treatment I'm almost jumping for joy :)
alison: You're right. I think people's standards are much lower now and most are unwilling to complain.
nancy: Indeed, it's infuriating. I wonder how these kids act in front of their parents.
casdok: Happy to oblige :)
JP: I hear ya. I call my withdrawl "hermitizing" and it seems to be my only way to stay sane.
Guyk: Oh yeah the scam warranty that isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Just another way to add $50 to the bill. I keep saying "no" too. Maybe I should have walked out after the 5th time they asked.
crystalchick: That sucks about your daughter. My nephew was a model employee for 8 years and they did the same to him.
dana: If things continue this way I'll start doing everything online.
jenafear: Best buy is exactly how you describe. I had to walk around for 15 minutes to find someone to sell me a TV
supergurl: Thanks :)
joan: Maybe I could hire you to make some calls for me ;)
plegmy: I'm wondering where the ambition and spark has gone . I'ts rare that I'm impressed with customer service but when I am I call and give kudos.
matt man: Me too. I always mind my ps and qs hoping it will rub off on them.
tysgirl: your experience takes the cake. I would definitely call and gripe about that one!
goldbloom: Wow it's great to hear from you! thanks for stopping by!
kuckie: stoned. Yep I think that probably explains half of it.
jeannie: sounds like you live in a pretty nice area. I have a feeling my vandals are 6 year olds from down the street
kat: I went easy on the rep but mostly griped about their flawed system of customer care. who knows if they'll listen.
burfica: you reminded me that a couple months ago I called a manager and heaped praise on a checker that didn't give em a hassle when several items wouldn't ring up. They said they were going to reward her. Who knows if they did.
maddy: I sure feel like it sometimes :)
jami: You can bet I'll never enter one of those phone stores again. I've never had a phone fixed. I usually just call up and add two years to my plan for a free one.
Yeah I wonder how I could prune my tree to look like that lol
aprilwine: lol I'm not sure. Maybe we are leading parallel lives ;)
thanks for stopping by :)
Holy flippin cows, Hammer. No wonder you walked out of that ballet class. Hopefully you're changing the school or called to complain?
Luckily the grocery store I go to doesn't have the twits that yours does, and I wouldn't shop at any that do. Good job you called them on it literally.
I HATE stores that make you go through clerks, and avoid them like the plague.
Geez I must sound like a grumpy old lady, but I figure there comes a time when enough is enough.
wow....that a long list of complaints. I wouldn't complain about the kids in the grocery store. They are KIDS. They will grow up eventually that is a phase. The rest are good complaints, in my opinion.
You're just too much...sometimes I wish I had you standing next to me so you can react quickly off the top of your head for me. I have to think about it on the way home and by then it's too late to get the full effect.
i imagine them all in a room playing scissors, paper, rock - and sayin' - "i ain't callin' him!" "well, i'm not callin' him!"
I admire you to speak your mind frankly. I am the one who doesn't dare to answer back although I should do sometimes.
Blue: I'm a lot different now that I'm older. I never used to make a fuss but now I'm out for revenge.
Karen: I'm just helping them learn not to act like punks ;)
nanc: lol I sure hope so.
Kitem : I was once exactly the same but it brought me much regret and hard feelings. Now I spit my venom at deserving targets and sleep well at night :)
Mushy: I spent too many years thinking up comebacks I should have said. now I've got a shitload to pick from.
Ok, good. I tend to say, "thanks dude" and stuff when I'm talking on the blog and AIM and stuff...but I've never used it at work. I'm trying not to say it as much AND I'm trying to cut down on cussing too but it's VERY hard...
I know just the punk ass kids you are talking about...I see them here too..
When I see them, I point to them, then tell the gremlins if I EVER see them acting that way at a job, I will kick their ass in FRONT of their boss..lmao.
Sounds like typical events from today's society. Which is why I told my wife last weekend I just wanted to stay home all the time.
Especially after last Saturday in the parking lot of Sam's Club. A lady cut me off with her minivan then jus smile at me when I flipped her off and called her rude.
Oh, did I mention that I was walking at the time? Yea, I was cutting across an aisle to put my empty cart into the corral and she came driving across empty parking spaces and turned into the aisle I was in the middle of just missing the cart I was pushing.
I wished afterwards I had thought to park my cart in front of her when she had to stop in the same aisle waiting for a car to back out of a space. Bitch.
I actively avoid younger cashiers. Guess I've turned into an old fart too.
If possible, I look for a middle aged or older person. They might be slow, but they're steady. And, you don't get the attitude.
Cell phone car chargers are the bane of my existence. One day when I die, God will tell me where all my lost socks and lost cell phone chargers went.
I completely agree. My absolute FAVORITE is when cashiers are talking on the PHONE while ringing you up. Good customer service is relatively non-existent these days. We also have issues with kids stealing and causing damage to our property. We came home from vacation on Christmas Eve to find that my husband's vehicle had been broken into and subsequently damaged. Nice. We have since installed closed-circuit cameras around the exterior of our home.
I agree it is totally screwed up at the sprint, t-mobile etc...store. It is so stupid. I went through the same thing for a charger, waiting while they sold plans to people. I was so mad by the time they got to me 1/2 hour later. That I wasted another 10 minutes of my life telling them how messed up their system is.
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