I have a complaint and it involves Christmas shopping.
At the moment, I'm working on a seasonal basis at a very well-known electronics store in Canada. I'm using this time to gain a professional reference in Canada and earn a little extra on the side. While I'm doing this, I'm also creating a portfolio and networking, as well.
But back the original point -- what's annoying.
Customers are freakin' annoying. Stupid, too. Here are some of the gems I've endured so far:
1. "You said everything is 50% off!" - No, the sales insert clearly states that select items are 50% off. Learn to read.
2. "If this is the last item, can I get a discount?" - This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If an item is in such demand that it's virtually sold out (and supply is low), why would I offer it at a discount? If anything, I'd jack up the price.
3. "Do you know where such-and-such item is?" - This might normally be a sane question. However, I've come across this inquiry when the customer is standing right in front of the requested item!
4. "Why do I have to show you photo ID?" - Because it's company policy, you idiot. More importantly, this is done for your protection since we need to match the name on the credit/debit card to the name on your driver's license.
Most people actually appreciate this small security check, but there are those who simply will not comply. They'll state something like, "My bank doesn't require me to show ID!"
Okay, maybe your bank doesn't (although I find that difficult to believe...), but we aren't your bank. We're a business that's designed to sell you stuff you supposedly want. If you don't want to show your ID, that's fine. However, we won't complete the sale.
5. "Will this work with [insert software]?" - This sounds unbelievable, but I had a customer call me a few days ago who insisted that if she used Outlook Express, Thunderbird or webmail, her friends who use Outlook wouldn't be able to receive her e-mails.
I tried explaining to her that the program the receiver had doesn't matter. She either didn't care or simply refused to listen. She kept on asking, "Can my friends get my mail if I don't have Outlook?"
I finally relented and told her she'd have to contact our software department. I work in the computer/printer/scanner section.
6. "Can you exchange this software or give me a refund?" - I've been on the customer side of this one before, so I know how frustrating it can be sometimes. However, nearly all electronics stores have their return/exchange policy printed on the back of your receipt and sometimes even on the wall of the store (in huge lettering, I might add).
It's extremely common for stores to disallow returns on opened software. It's too easy to copy the programs nowadays and then attempt to return it for a full refund. While we can exchange the item, it's normally for the exact same piece of software. This generally assumes something was defective with the original copy.
Going back to the lady in complaint #5 who kept badgering me about Outlook, she claimed she bought the "Home and Student" version of MS Office. That includes Word, Excel, Power Point and OneNotes. Outlook is not part of the package.
She wanted to return or exchange her already opened and activated copy for a different version of MS Office which included Outlook. If this woman had actually looked at the back of the software where it explains the contents, she would have known what it did and didn't include.
7. "So how many gigapixels is this?" - I was asked this question out of the blue one time. It took me a moment to process what this person was trying to say. I then asked, "Are you looking for a computer or a digital camera?"
She responded, "I'd like a laptop with a digital camera built in. It needs to have gigapixel capabilities."
I then politely explained that hard drives are measured in gigabytes, processors in gigahertz and digital camera image size in megapixels. She then asked, "What's the difference between the 'mega' and 'giga' part?"
I said, "A gigabyte is 1000 megabytes."
She nodded and then responded, "So a camera that could do gigapixel quality images would be better than one that did megapixels, right?"
I was about to explain that the overall quality of a photo is based on the image sensor, shutter speed, f-stop, ISO, and eliminating the use of digital zoom, but then I thought better of it. This person obviously wanted a camera (built into a laptop, I might add) that could take images far beyond what hand held digital cameras were capable of doing.
I eventually turfed this woman onto someone else.
8. "Is the price?" - If the price tag says an item is such-and-such amount, then yes, that's the price. If the price is labeled incorrectly (such as a recent sale and the tag hasn't been replaced), then you can get it for the sale price. However, if there's no sale or all tags have been properly inserted, then the price is whatever you see written.
9. "The customer is always right" - No, they're not. If customers were always right, then no retail store would still be in business. Customers want everything at rock bottom prices (or even free) and demand that their every need is catered to, as if they're at some sort of resort in Maui.
I do believe in assisting the customer as much as possible, but just as the store isn't always right, neither is the customer. Each situation needs to be assessed and dealt with on an individual basis.
10. "You said you had this in stock!" - No, we didn't. Our company flyer may have said that, but it's not pointing to one store in particular. While this store may not have it, another one might. The product could have also sold out. You're not our only customer and therefore, not everything is made for you.
I kid! I kid! But I agree - not to the... uh, extent that you have detailed... but I think it's mostly because people go crazy during Xmas shopping... and everyone, for a time of cheer and such, becomes very, very rude... and difficult to deal with. So that's my real qualm.
That's funny. I had an annoying beef with an electronics store guy last week.
I was trying to buy one of those electronic picture frames, but all the samples were kept behind a glass and I was looking for one with specific connections. Problem is, all the clerks were busy except for the most useless guy in the store. I'd ask him which ones support USB and he'd just shrug and tell me I should go on the website to find out (yes, he expected me to drive home, look it up on a computer, and come back.) I asked him if he could open the glass so I could look for myself and he kept saying something about how they're just display models. Otherwise, any questions I asked were met with a "yeah," "maybe," "I dunno," or a long awkward silence. It was like he didn't want me to buy anything.
Couldn't just be the holiday rush. Every other clerk I met in the mall was brilliantly helpful.
DeadPoolX wrote:8. "Is the price?" - If the price tag says an item is such-and-such amount, then yes, that's the price. If the price is labeled incorrectly (such as a recent sale and the tag hasn't been replaced), then you can get it for the sale price. However, if there's no sale or all tags have been properly inserted, then the price is whatever you see written.
There are times when things are not marked on sale and when I take them to the cash register, they are scanned in as a sale item.
With the economy and Christmas comming up, sales were everywhere in the mall. I handed three tablecloths to the cashier asking if any of them were on sale, even though none of them were marked down. Turns out the one I wanted was $30 off! Sometimes it pays to ask.
DeadPoolX wrote:8. "Is the price?" - If the price tag says an item is such-and-such amount, then yes, that's the price. If the price is labeled incorrectly (such as a recent sale and the tag hasn't been replaced), then you can get it for the sale price. However, if there's no sale or all tags have been properly inserted, then the price is whatever you see written.
There are times when things are not marked on sale and when I take them to the cash register, they are scanned in as a sale item.
With the economy and Christmas comming up, sales were everywhere in the mall. I handed three tablecloths to the cashier asking if any of them were on sale, even though none of them were marked down. Turns out the one I wanted was $30 off! Sometimes it pays to ask.
At the cash register, it definitely makes sense. More often than not, however, the salesperson won't know the details unless they consult the store's computer database. When it's busy (like now for the holidays), the chances of any salesperson taking that much time out for one customer when there are hundreds or thousands walking around is highly unlikely.
Maia and I were volunteering at the local SPCA last Saturday. I was taking "Christmas with Santa" photographs of animals (dogs, cats, bunnies and hamsters) with and without their owners.
I liked it. That was fun.
While in between customers (I'm not sure what else to call them), some of the volunteers working there told me "so-and-so needs two or three pictures." That's fine; however, I don't know anyone there on a first or last name basis. So when they started reading off the names, it didn't mean a whole lot to me.
I suggested they e-mail me what's needed. I did receive an e-mail, but the information given was sparse, at best. They wrote such things as, "Number 23 on the list needs two pictures -- one with and without the children."
Okay, that's not an unreasonable request, but there had to be over 30 customers there and I took well over 300 photographs. I don't know anyone there by name (except for the manager) and I wasn't given a list of who was who.
So... how was I supposed to know who "customer 23 on the list" is supposed to be? Even if they wrote down the name, it'd still mean nothing to me. I took a lot of photos that day. People were coming in and out. I didn't have time to socialize with the people there.
I created Christmas-themed borders (for vertically and horizontally aligned photos), fixed up the pics with Noise Ninja, and then put everything together with Photoshop. After that, I recorded all of the files (in JPG format) to a CD-R for them to have and print out.
I got a phone call one day later with the manager telling me I was short two photos and wanted me to send her the missing photos. I told her that I needed specifics on which pictures were needed and who was in them. She started reading off information to me and I stopped her. I suggested using e-mail, bit apparently, her e-mail service was down.
She then suggested sending her all of the original photos. That'd be 1.15 GB, which I explained that I couldn't reasonably send over an Internet connection (especially if her service was unavailable). She then asked about the edited photos, but those were in PSD format and she couldn't open those (and even if she could, those take up over 850 MB).
I asked her if I could FAX it over. She replied, "We don't have a FAX machine here."
I wasn't about to hot-foot it over to the SPCA, either. It was night out and quite cold. At the moment, Maia and I don't have a car (we're getting mine shipped up here soon).
Using the brief information she gave me, Maia and I were able to piece together what she wanted. I then re-edited those images and sent it to her using two different e-mail addresses she'd given me.
I suppose what irritated me about this wasn't the requested photos. It was the automatic assumption that I'd know everyone there well enough to go names and I'd have a perfect mental image of the sign-in list (which I didn't have). If they wanted that, they should've have at least given me a hardcopy of the list or e-mail it to me.
I have to agree with Therogue and DeadPoolX about everyone on the road. I don't care if there on foot, bicycling, or in a vehicle. The road does not belong to you. You can not do whatever you wish on the road and if you hit someone with your vehicle, the speed you are traveling at and all that metal and plastic is going to hurt someone one. You must keep your eyes open in the parking lot and roads around the world, there is something called common sense.
What annoys in the past is not getting my way, because I was a spoiled brat, ask my oldest sister, she's said it all the time when we were growing up.
What annoys me is when people try to force their point of view on you or what they believe you must do. It goes without saying that's my life with my Daddy. You have to be so careful with him I've told Mom he's not made of eggshells and I'm not going to listen to non-sense when he discusses it. I mean true non-sense like his words trying to demean people because of their gender, thier age, their any cosmetic difference, and his own ideas of how we disrupt his life.
Like he stays up all night, and doesnt get up until twelve the next day and it's my fault of Mom's fault he missed the gunshow/fleamarket or movie that was at seven in the morning. Well, you told me not to wake you and you do things like that all the time.
I don't live in his world, he just tries to pull me into it.
Maybe that's why he has all girls in his family, to drive him crazy for all the craziness he puts others through. But, it's all good, my sisters and I have had plenty of unintended laughs from his silliness. But, the next time he tells me that my dog needs a bath because she stinks, I'm gonna tell him "Thanks. But, remember you don't do anything for them, so why do you own any dogs?" I'm not mean or trying to rub it in his face, I just don't see the principle of being a know-it-all who doesn't do anything.
I don't know how many of you have played (or currently play) any of the gaming consoles, but Maia and I do. We've played on the Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo Wii.
Before that, my console gaming experience included the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo Gameboy (the original monochrome model), Sega Genesis, Sega CD (which was a add-on device for the Genesis), 3DO, Sony PlayStation 1 (originally referred to as the "PSX" but now dubbed the "PS1"), Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) and going back even further, I've even used the Atari 2600.
As you can plainly see, I've played many, many games on consoles over the years. All of this brings me to my current annoyance: the badmouthing of the Wii.
I have a Wii and I really, really like it. There are numerous games (including Nintendo-only titles and franchises), motion-controlled gamepads (called the "Wii Remote" or "Wiimote"), online play and browser capability (using a modified version of Opera), and the ability to download older games (from previous Nintendo consoles and non-Nintendo platforms as well, such as the Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Neo-Geo and TurboGrafix-16).
The downside, as I see it, is that the Wii lacks a large hard drive, which is measured in blocks instead of gigabytes (although an SD card of up to 2GB can be added) and the graphics are not that of the Xbox 360 or PS3. In fact, many console gamers refer to the Wii as an "enhanced Gamecube."
I don't see that as true. Sure, the Wii's graphics would never rival the imagery on either the Xbox 360 or PS3. But the graphics are still very good and much better than anything the Gamecube had to offer. The reason some people think the Wii isn't capable of high-end graphics is because some games were ported directly from the Gamecube.
What I find interesting is that nearly all the talk for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and against the Wii has been related to graphical capability. As I said, the Wii has very nice graphics, but they aren't as good as the other two systems. Nothing is said about overall gameplay. The games on the Xbox 360 and PS3 are no different from previous generation games, with the exception of exceptionally improved graphics. The controllers have changed very little from the Xbox and PS2. The greatest improvement is that the controllers are now wireless (as are the Wii's controls), but they still look and perform the same.
I find the Wii's games -- with few exceptions -- to be much more enjoyable than what's offered on either the Xbox 360 or PS3. Most Wii games involve something unique and really get your arms, legs and sometimes your entire body, into the game. A big plus is being able to swing your Wiimote like a sword, aim as if it were a gun, and or use it to steer when playing driving games. A couple of analog sticks with a bunch of buttons can't emulate that!
Even more importantly is that graphics don't make the game. They can improve it, that much is certainly true. But I still like playing old games on the NES! That console was released in 1985. It's now 23 years later and some titles on that antiquated system are still just as fun as they were years ago.
I'm sure many of you here can relate, seeing as you like to play games from the late-to-mid 80s to the late 90s, all of which include EGA, VGA or FMV. How enjoyable a game is usually comes down to more than just graphics.
There are some games I'd love to play on the Xbox 360 or PS3 -- most notably Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Mortal Kombat vs the DC Universe. Most other games for both systems are readily available on the PC, provided your computer is powerful enough to play them.
Interestingly enough, the Wii is the platform of choice for new Adventure Games. Some of these include Safecracker, Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked! and the first season of Sam & Max: Freelance Police, in addition to a few Agatha Christie titles. This makes sense, since the Wiimote is perfect at emulating a mouse.
Last edited by DeadPoolX on Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You can not do whatever you wish on the road and if you hit someone with your vehicle, the speed you are traveling at and all that metal and plastic is going to hurt someone one. You must keep your eyes open in the parking lot and roads around the world, there is something called common sense.
I've told Mom he's not made of eggshells and I'm not going to listen to non-sense when he discusses it. I mean true non-sense like his words trying to demean people because of their gender, thier age, their any cosmetic difference, and his own ideas of how we disrupt his life. 