The Customer is Always Right, But He's Usually Wrong

Are people getting ruder, more stupid or just more ignorant? He's a not-so objective analysis.







Unfortunately, my job entails me dealing with the Great British public, and the not-so great British public. However stupid, gormless, ignorant, condescending, arrogant or obnoxious an individual may be, I have to stand there smiling and take the abuse. I can get away with having a go back sometimes, but there’s a fine line between getting back you respect, and joining the queue at Eastgate Job Centre.

On the section I work, it’s basically a ‘trade counter’. I basically work in a small part of the store, selling small parts which don’t really merit shop floor space.

Despite this, Leeds’ laziest see this as a ‘personal shopper’ service and head straight to said counter like a steaming train (usually walking straight past the item they actually want). After which, they’ll just make some inaudible grunt to the effects of “one ‘o them”. Any attempt to establish what “one ‘o them” is, is usually met by a shrugged shoulder and a “I don’t f**king know, you’re the expert”.

Firstly buddy, wrong on two counts:

1. If I were an expert, I wouldn’t be working here on a Saturday afternoon earning sod-all.
2. Even if I were an expert, you still have to throw me a fricking bone and at least give me an idea of which device or orifice you unearthed it from.

I used to think that this sort of ‘shopping experience’ was reserved to the society’s delinquents. It was usually smelly old men who adopted this approach. Those who carried one of those whisky flasks everywhere they went and couldn’t string two coherent sentences together without the work “fuck” in there somewhere. But lately, it’s getting more and more common. Men, women and children all seem to be adopting this approach. This, “I want you to get me it, without asking any questions and you’ll fucking get me it right now” approach is fast becoming the norm. It’s getting exceedingly rare to get the most basic recognition of a “please” and “thank-you”.
I even had one muppet today, coming in about 3:45 with what I first thought was his weekly food shopping list, who “had to have it within five minutes or I won’t get home to watch the football! – Hurry I said!”

I quite enjoy dealing with these people in a sort of way. There what you might refer to as a ‘born complainer’. Those who firmly believe in the “Customer is always right” mentality.
You see, what these people don’t understand is that the salesman always has the last laugh. Perhaps these people don’t realise that electrical retail is a very easy industry in which to sell and that if the more you get my back up, the more I’ll try and get out of your wallet. I can’t remember what his final bill came to, but he left 10 minutes later than he wanted to anyway.

There’s also those that expect shop assistants to bow to the customer. Thinking that you have to do everything they say, no matter how much you can’t be arse or no matter how un-commercially viable it is. Wrong again matey.

One individual today in particular came into this category. He wanted one, yes one discontinued part, which we didn’t have (after all, it’s a discontinued part) at a total cost of £1.09. I suggested that other stores had the part in stock and that he may wish to try there. At which point he expected me to transfer the £1.09 part to Leeds for him to collect, which I couldn’t do.
After an irate outburst from him, I explained that I was not prepared to pay £20 for a courier to carry a £1.09 component and that even the phone-call to DHL, let alone the mountain of admin work and paper that needs going through for this sort of thing, would probably cost more than the part he wanted. In short, it wasn’t worth our while. I offered him an alternative part, of exactly the same spec, to perform the exact same function, but he was adamant that it was completely different and that I was a “fucking clueless moron”.

It’s not just in shops though. Driving is another area where people are getting more ignorant. There was once a time (and I’ve only been driving 2½ years) where you’d let someone out of a street, or give way to someone on a narrow road and you’d get a friendly wave or flash of the headlights. Not any more. Instead they come steaming round the bend, forcing you to break and just give you a completely gormless look when you even dare to expect some sort of acknowledgement. To be honest (and I risk a public lynching here) but it’s certainly the school-run-mums that are the worst of the bunch, closely followed by the infamous BMW 3 Series driver.

I know that people are forever bemoaning the lack of manners from today’s teenagers, but I’m fairly sure that the example being set is to blame.
I was always up with the ‘say please and thank-you’ mentality, as I imagine most people are and working in retail does give you an appreciation of how hard the job can be. Maybe it’s just me? Are my standards too high, or are people just generally becoming even bigger arseholes?