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Minor things that bother you

Started by planxtymcgillicuddy, November 27, 2019, 12:15:11 AM

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Beltway

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 02:19:46 PM
Quote from: Beltway on January 02, 2020, 01:18:35 PMWhat is irritating is when no receipt is delivered, so you have to go into the store and compete with others in line to be able to get a receipt in a timely fashion.
That is a total nonstarter for me--once I go in, I have to think in terms of specifying the pump by number (not always easy to find), and sometimes the transaction they fish up is not the one I just completed.  It might be different if I used receipts to document fuel purchases for direct cash reimbursement, but the cellphone photo of the pump readouts at least ensures I have a timestamped record no matter what.
I have a dedicated credit card for fuel purchases and items such as car washes, oil and other minor car items.  I keep the receipts in an envelope and then balance them with the monthly statement.

So having a receipt is important for me.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)


crt08

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 12:11:49 PM
Aside from my first car, a 1978 Chevy Impala that had the fuel filler behind the license plate, I don't think I have ever owned a car that didn't have the gas cap on the driver's side.  These are my refueling-related minor annoyances:

*  Gas caps that are tethered to the filler neck with no convenient resting place (the 2005 Camry has a holder clip inside the fuel filler door, which does not work well; the 2009 Fit just allows the cap to dangle below the door, where it will gall the paint if there is any wind)

*  Fuel pumps with displays that are hard to read under conditions of extreme glare (I typically take cellphone photos of the readouts immediately after I finish pumping gas--I've encountered several pumps that wouldn't take legible pictures no matter what)

My previous car had a hanger that worked pretty well for the gas cap, the current one is capless.

I haven't had so much an issue with the glare, but one Shell station here had an issue with some of its pump displays being completely illegible, looked like snow on a TV. So it was impossible to make any selections and start pumping without going inside to tell the attendant first. I just made a mental note of the "bad" pumps and started avoiding them at that station. I think they've gotten new pumps since then anyway, IIRC.

kphoger

Quote from: vdeane on December 31, 2019, 11:21:47 PM
having a calendar that goes from -1 to 1 makes zero (pun intended) mathematical sense whatsoever, so I have no idea why it was done that way

Because the culture that developed the BC/AD system of years had no mathematical concept of the number zero.

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 02:19:46 PM
once I go in, I have to think in terms of specifying the pump by number (not always easy to find), and sometimes the transaction they fish up is not the one I just completed. 

This is why the first thing I do after starting to pump gas is to identify the pump number I'm using.  That way, if I have to go inside, I already know what it is instead of getting frustrated trying to find the number at the last second.

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 12:11:49 PM
*  Fuel pumps with displays that are hard to read under conditions of extreme glare (I typically take cellphone photos of the readouts immediately after I finish pumping gas--I've encountered several pumps that wouldn't take legible pictures no matter what)

At this gas station in Naturita (CO), the pumps have no awning or roof.  One sunny summer day, I honestly thought the pump display wasn't working at all.  I went inside and had the clerk come outside with me to show here it wasn't working, and she informed me it was just the bright sun glare.  Fortunately, she knew by memory what steps to take in order for the pump to take my card and dispense gasoline.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

texaskdog

Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 01, 2020, 09:07:37 PM
People who say "real quick"
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".


Genius

and if you don't find it "reach out to me"  :P

dlsterner

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 02:19:46 PM

As Beltway notes, the "Receipt?  Yes/No" prompt disappears pretty quickly, and I generally find it is displayed immediately after I put the nozzle back in the holder (I suspect there is a sensor that signals the nozzle has been put back).  Waiting for the prompt with the tank uncapped is thus the only foolproof way not to miss it, even though I would rather put the cap back on right after I park the nozzle.  This is why I would prefer to be asked about the receipt before I start dispensing gas.


Indeed there is a sensor in the metal flap in the nozzle holder.  I once was mindlessly drumming my fingers on the pump, touched that flap, and noticed that my transaction had been terminated.  Had to start a second transaction to continue filling up.  And my OCD kicks in and I'm bothered by having two credit card slips for a single fill-up.  (Yes I know I can just add them together  :pan:  but OCD can be a powerful thing   :-D  )

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.

Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.

texaskdog

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 02, 2020, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.

Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.

Made worse when they have to call the customer a "guest"

DaBigE

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 02, 2020, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.

Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.

Apparently the art of being able to read your customer has become lost. Vocal and facial clues can tell you when you can skip the canned sales pitches. When I used to run a cash register in a major chain, I could tell those who just wanted to get the hell out of the store vs those I might be able to hawk a new credit card account to. Or when I was on the floor - who was stumped looking for something specific vs someone who just wanted to be left alone.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: DaBigE on January 02, 2020, 11:59:42 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 02, 2020, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.

Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.

Apparently the art of being able to read your customer has become lost. Vocal and facial clues can tell you when you can skip the canned sales pitches. When I used to run a cash register in a major chain, I could tell those who just wanted to get the hell out of the store vs those I might be able to hawk a new credit card account to. Or when I was on the floor - who was stumped looking for something specific vs someone who just wanted to be left alone.

Don't most companies still have quotas for credit card applications and warranty sales?  I can't recall the last time I ran into a commissioned sales person at a retail store. 

SSOWorld

TBH - Retail employees - especially at big box stores - have to follow procedures laid out by their bosses - this includes trying to make the sale to loitering customers, plugging store cards, pushing rewards programs, etc - even the cash registers are programmed to not let transactions finish without these steps as prerequisites.  So yeah that can annoy both employees and some customers.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

texaskdog

Okay here's one, those annoying people who work for Spectrum who bother you in Walmart.  I pretty much tell them to f*ck off now.

DaBigE

#586
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 03, 2020, 12:08:57 AM
Quote from: DaBigE on January 02, 2020, 11:59:42 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 02, 2020, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.
Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.
Apparently the art of being able to read your customer has become lost. Vocal and facial clues can tell you when you can skip the canned sales pitches. When I used to run a cash register in a major chain, I could tell those who just wanted to get the hell out of the store vs those I might be able to hawk a new credit card account to. Or when I was on the floor - who was stumped looking for something specific vs someone who just wanted to be left alone.
Don’t most companies still have quotas for credit card applications and warranty sales?  I can’t recall the last time I ran into a commissioned sales person at a retail store.

Can't speak for all of them, but we didn't have quotas. We had a whopping $1 incentive for every new account that was opened.

Quote from: SSOWorld on January 03, 2020, 12:28:54 AM
TBH - Retail employees - especially at big box stores - have to follow procedures laid out by their bosses - this includes trying to make the sale to loitering customers, plugging store cards, pushing rewards programs, etc - even the cash registers are programmed to not let transactions finish without these steps as prerequisites.  So yeah that can annoy both employees and some customers.

What they told us to do and what we actually did are two different things. Again, I can't speak for all the boxes, but we were held accountable for the customer experience, not how many accounts are opened. You do reach a saturation point, especially if you get a lot of repeat customers (what the big box is really targeting). Yes, there were programmed steps in the registers, but they are easily bypassed. There's still a lot of discretion left to the employee. At certain times, we were supposed to track ZIP codes. That prompt was easily bypassed by hitting 'Enter'...which would represent someone who declined to offer their information. If there was a long line forming, the enter button tended to get hit more often than not. More often, this task is pushed at the self-service credit terminal, virtually eliminating the cashier from the task.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

GaryV

Another one from yesterday:  People who stop, on both sides of a 4-lane road, for a school bus when the signal lights are NOT flashing.

SSOWorld

Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 01:04:02 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 03, 2020, 12:08:57 AM
Quote from: DaBigE on January 02, 2020, 11:59:42 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 02, 2020, 11:28:47 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 02, 2020, 06:17:21 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on January 02, 2020, 05:16:23 AM
Retail workers on the floor often seem unexcited to be there since I hear them ask me "are/did you find(ing) everything OK?"  The way the question is asked annoys me to no end, but sometimes (if the worker gets it) I'll slip in a sarcastic response about some "problem in Aisle 6".
Minor things that bother employees: When they're simply trying to do what management requires them to do, and customers give them sarcastic responses.  They simply want to get thru their day just like anyone else.
Yeah, seriously. Working in retail already sucks enough without customers making it worse.
Apparently the art of being able to read your customer has become lost. Vocal and facial clues can tell you when you can skip the canned sales pitches. When I used to run a cash register in a major chain, I could tell those who just wanted to get the hell out of the store vs those I might be able to hawk a new credit card account to. Or when I was on the floor - who was stumped looking for something specific vs someone who just wanted to be left alone.
Don't most companies still have quotas for credit card applications and warranty sales?  I can't recall the last time I ran into a commissioned sales person at a retail store.

Can't speak for all of them, but we didn't have quotas. We had a whopping $1 incentive for every new account that was opened.

Quote from: SSOWorld on January 03, 2020, 12:28:54 AM
TBH - Retail employees - especially at big box stores - have to follow procedures laid out by their bosses - this includes trying to make the sale to loitering customers, plugging store cards, pushing rewards programs, etc - even the cash registers are programmed to not let transactions finish without these steps as prerequisites.  So yeah that can annoy both employees and some customers.

What they told us to do and what we actually did are two different things. Again, I can't speak for all the boxes, but we were held accountable for the customer experience, not how many accounts are opened. You do reach a saturation point, especially if you get a lot of repeat customers (what the big box is really targeting). Yes, there were programmed steps in the registers, but they are easily bypassed. There's still a lot of discretion left to the employee. At certain times, we were supposed to track ZIP codes. That prompt was easily bypassed by hitting 'Enter'...which would represent someone who declined to offer their information. If there was a long line forming, the enter button tended to get hit more often than not. More often, this task is pushed at the self-service credit terminal, virtually eliminating the cashier from the task.
I'll give you that - you're doing your job and it's good that in your environment you're given the ability to flex.  I do my best nowadays to take it in stride and work with it as I don't frequent big box stores (I have no reason to do so since I have the stuff I need *cough* I mean want 😉

The moral to the story is YMMV in every aspect of any business.  there are some out there that insist on procedure following and won't let you by without completing the sale - they're rare though, and mainly self-service kiosks (as you said) and the web would be the place.  Same can be said for phone support companies who read from a script.  We're on autopilot most of the time. 

Sometimes I just have to tell myself "OK boomer" and move on. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

renegade

Quote from: texaskdog on January 03, 2020, 12:52:55 AM
Okay here's one, those annoying people who work for Spectrum who bother you in Walmart.  I pretty much tell them to f*ck off now.
Yeah, with me it's DirecTV in Sam's Club.  I always tell them if they can beat "free"  then they can have my business
Don’t ask me how I know.  Just understand that I do.

kphoger

Around here it's Cox.  My reply to salesmen both in person and on the phone:  "I work for a company that contracts for Cox so, if I ever wanted to change my service level, I could key the work order in ICOMS myself."

That catches them off guard!
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

DaBigE

Quote from: texaskdog on January 03, 2020, 12:52:55 AM
Okay here's one, those annoying people who work for Spectrum who bother you in Walmart.  I pretty much tell them to f*ck off now.

Them, and I'd also add the aggressive replacement window/siding/bathroom remodel folks at the mall kiosks. Whenever we do finally buy a house, I'm still going to tell them we rent.
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

DaBigE

Toyota's "Jan"
Chevy's "Real people, not actors" host
All Lincoln commercials that feature Matthew McConaughey
"We gotta find this road, it's like Bob's road!" - Rabbit, Twister

roadman

Quoteauthor=DaBigE link=topic=26000.msg2467869#msg2467869 date=1578027582

Apparently the art of being able to read your customer has become lost. Vocal and facial clues can tell you when you can skip the canned sales pitches. When I used to run a cash register in a major chain, I could tell those who just wanted to get the hell out of the store vs those I might be able to hawk a new credit card account to. Or when I was on the floor - who was stumped looking for something specific vs someone who just wanted to be left alone.

Back in the days of Radio Shack, there was one store near me that I used to patronize frequently for minor parts, connectors, cables and such.  I always knew exactly what I needed and exactly where to find it.  The manager picked up on this pretty quickly and would skip the "May I help you?" bit when he'd see me enter the store.  So one day, I walk in and there's a new kid at the register.  He starts in on the "May I help you find something?" routine just as the manager walks in from the back.  The manager sees me, and then tells the kid "Save it.  This guy probably knows the place better than you do."
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

roadman

Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 04:44:40 PM
Toyota's "Jan"
Chevy's "Real people, not actors" host
All Lincoln commercials that feature Matthew McConaughey

The GMC "Hey Hey Goodbye" ad about the magical tailgate that apparently can do everything but cook you breakfast.  Shown ad-nauseum (pun intended) during every NFL playoff game last season.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

kphoger

Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 04:35:52 PM
Whenever we do finally buy a house, I'm still going to tell them we rent.

When I was growing up, we lived in a parsonage (my dad was a pastor).  Those were fun sales call conversations:

–  Hello, do you own your home?
–  No.
–  Oh, so you rent, then.
–  No.
–  Ummm................ Uhhhh.........
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 04:44:40 PM
Chevy's "Real people, not actors" host

Aren't actors real people?

I just notice the other day, the commercial was captioned "real Chevrolet employees, not actors".  Oh, like that's any better??
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

texaskdog

Quote from: J N Winkler on January 02, 2020, 02:19:46 PM
Quote from: GaryV on January 02, 2020, 12:38:42 PMIs there some reason you need to complete the transaction on the pump before you fasten the gas cap?


Quote from: Beltway on January 02, 2020, 01:18:35 PMWhat is irritating is when no receipt is delivered, so you have to go into the store and compete with others in line to be able to get a receipt in a timely fashion.

That is a total nonstarter for me--once I go in, I have to think in terms of specifying the pump by number (not always easy to find), and sometimes the transaction they fish up is not the one I just completed.  It might be different if I used receipts to document fuel purchases for direct cash reimbursement, but the cellphone photo of the pump readouts at least ensures I have a timestamped record no matter what.

[
Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 04:44:40 PM
Toyota's "Jan"

As much as I hate Flo she's at least a character.  What is "Jan".  Does she sell? Or is she a receptionist who just oversteps?  She has no particular charisma or anything.

Receipts have to be manually refilled.  But someone has to actually do it and almost every cashier is not going to bother unless they have to. 

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: kphoger on January 03, 2020, 05:05:40 PM
Quote from: DaBigE on January 03, 2020, 04:44:40 PM
Chevy's "Real people, not actors" host

Aren't actors real people?

I just notice the other day, the commercial was captioned "real Chevrolet employees, not actors".  Oh, like that's any better??

I suspect Lizard People or Androids given the lack of human behavior demonstrated in the commercials.  Either way I'd be more likely to listen of the caption said "real Lizard People"  or "real Androids."

texaskdog

Quote from: renegade on January 03, 2020, 04:19:26 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 03, 2020, 12:52:55 AM
Okay here's one, those annoying people who work for Spectrum who bother you in Walmart.  I pretty much tell them to f*ck off now.
Yeah, with me it's DirecTV in Sam's Club.  I always tell them if they can beat "free"  then they can have my business

I told the guy we don't sign contracts and he said it wasn't a contract it was an agreement. Okay whatever.



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