Is my experience in retail hell a glimpse into the future?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Well, if it were actually a more effective system, I might agree, but it isn’t. The machines screw up and you have to wait for an employee almost every time. If you get more than a few things, the thing that weighs your groceries goes off and says, “bagged removed, bag removed” and won’t allow you to continue on until somebody shows up and fixes it.</p>

<p>it takes longer to do the self checkout than the line. One time, I was waiting fifteen minutes when they were busy and nobody came to help. I left the groceries there. </p>

<p>So, not a fan of ineffective automated systems. >>>>>>>>>>>></p>

<p>yep, yep, yep. I honestly don’t think I have EVER used one without a glitch requiring you to wait for help. Another “not a fan”.</p>

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<p>Has nothing to do with being able-bodied, as far as I’m concerned. I have no problem with self-checkout if the machines work properly, but they are not designed for a cart full of groceries. I have bagged my own groceries at the clerked line when there is no bagger and that is the case at most of the places I shop now.</p>

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<p>Garland’s Shop Rite sounds like my Publix, hiring older adults and lots of handicapped people. The stores near my home and by office were set up as organic, but demand brought back regular food too. The corn I bought yesterday was white, grown local. I do love going to farmer’s market and the farm stands, when I have time.</p>

<p>The politics of Walmarts top personnel has made me bypass this store for years. </p>

<p>Costco’s has the self check out lines, but too many people get in them without knowing what they are doing, so no advantage. At the airpport, a clerk thanked me for waiting in line, as it meant her job. That made me mindful.</p>

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<p>Not sure if it’s because I’m in the middle of a city, but I’ve found a lot of the farmer’s markets here are really lousy. I could swear a lot of the stands just go to the local supermarket, buy a few boxes of fruit, and them cart them over to their stand and charge 200% more. I’m looking forward to when I finally get my garden going properly so I can hit up my neighborhood’s homegrown food exchange.</p>

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<p>Also not a fan of self-checkouts but H is. He was a retail manager for years and gets really irked at how clerks bag things. He is Mr. Speedy. I will admit ours don’t think too well–bread and fruit at the bottom, etc. He hates when they mix chemicals and food in the same bag too. If he can’t self-checkout he hurries to the end of the counter and takes over from the bagger.</p>

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<p>I go to the local hardware store rather than to Home Depot 90% of the time. I am like a blind person when I get into a store like that, and I need guidance and expertise. </p>

<p>A lot of these stores, Walmart, included are losing out to online shopping anyways. Nothing like a few experiences in trying to find something , have a selection and get info about the produce in stores like these. My brother and SIL like to buy high end merchandise, but where their quandry has been is with the prices stores have to charge for carrying those sort of things. The cost differential is often times too great when on line prices are so much less.</p>

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<p>My (masters level education) husband has been stuck working at WalMart for just over a year. Management does not care one iota about their employees because they are expendible. They will hang you out to dry every time.</p>

<p>One of his coworkers was just reprimanded for spending too much time assisting a customer instead of stocking shelves quickly enough. Husband was just ordered to stand on the top step of a ladder to take down a bicycle - against all safety standards. One manager will order them to do something and another will come along and yell at them for doing it. He was just told that he cannot take his accrued week’s vacation time all at once, but only two days at a time.</p>

<p>All the OP can do is take the abuse from customers and get through the shift as best she can. If a customer tried to kill her with a butter knife, all management would do is offer to sell the customer something sharper…</p>

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<p>To the OP: sorry that you’re going through this. </p>

<p>Back in the day, when I was scooping ice cream, a customer who was about three times my age asked me out on a late-night date. When my manager heard about it, he told me that if the guy ever came back that he would serve him so that I did not have to. No, the customer is not always right - the customer is sometimes rude, counterproductive, or harassing.</p>

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<p>I usually shop only for myself, and hate the idea of spending ten minutes getting groceries and then twenty minutes in line. Stores aren’t doing it because people with small baskets are “more important” or you are all “chopped liver”; it’s because having an express-only line fundamentally does not change how long you will spend in line, but does change how long people who are coming in for milk and a head of lettuce will spend in line.</p>

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<p>"…We’re not supposed to turn them away, and I find that stressful and annoying. The lines and trolleys aren’t built to pack that many groceries, it takes forever, holds up the line, and the whole process ends up being so counter-productive, it’s crazy. Other customers end up getting annoyed, and they take their frustrations out on me, instead of the customer who wasted everyone’s time…"</p>

<p>Seriously, if you are stressed and annoyed, the customers will absorb that and reflect it right back to you. We are a social species, and emotions are contagious. </p>

<p>That’s one reason this work is so challenging: you are in the position of maintaining a good attitude for perhaps 8 hours, standing on your feet, and having similar conversations for all that time - no matter if you are tired, hungry, or depressed due to family strife or illness. And if you have to go to the bathroom, you’ll be waiting until your meager 10 minute break.</p>

<p>If you can project positivity, though, in spite of all that, I promise things will be easier. You just have to let all this frustration about the system go. You are not there (right now, anyway) to redesign the system.</p>

<p>Also, it’s interesting reading the comments here. I will never understand the “type-A” grocery store approach, in which people get furious at the person in front of them for putting 16 items on the belt, when it’s a 15-item maximum line. There are better avenues for one’s passion and anger. If one doesn’t have time for a 5 minute grocery line, maybe that’s not the time to shop?</p>

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<p>Typed out a huge response, then my laptop ran out of battery. Argh!</p>

<p>On my old ob: Spoke with my old boss, and she invited me back, since my position was temporarily filled but then vacated again. Old flame is still there, but I have the job whenever I want it. I accepted the offer.</p>

<p>Walmart: Today I worked 9am-5:30pm. Around 11 a woman comes into the twenty items or under line (all the drama ensues for me there, so it seems) and at first, the conversation is pleasant and it looked to be a smooth transaction. She informed me while I was scanning her items that she wanted her twelve items into no more than three bags, and to stuff them full. “Don’t worry about what it is- it’s all going to the same place!”. So I packed them full, and totaled her out. But she didn’t pay right away-instead she started to unpack the bag and told me, “You packed EVERYTHING WRONG. You put the shampoo with the cans of beans, and that could leak out!” She then informed me that I didn’t know the rules of grocery bagging, which I do (cold, frozen stuff together, double bagged, meats separate and double bagged, chemicals away from food, etc). I only packed it that way because she encouraged me to- as some customers do. Not everyone wants their items separated.</p>

<p>She told me, 'I should retrain you… I should tell a manager." I apologized and asked her if she wanted me to help her repack them. She said, “NO. I prefer to pack my OWN groceries!” I tried to be relatable and told her, “I like packing my own groceries too… trust me. Everyone does it differently. I normally just head over to self check out if it’s empty.”</p>

<p>this got her really angry and she translated that into me saying “GO TO SELF CHECK OUT.”, which I didn’t say, nor imply. She then got huffy, got my name and told me she was going to go speak to a manager and have me fired. I told her where one was and I said, “have a great day. And I’m so sorry about your groceries! It was a misunderstanding on my part.” She said, “YES HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.” and ran off to go tattle. </p>

<p>I heard her speaking to a male CSM who was on duty, and she said, 'you look too young to be a manager! I want to talk to a REAL manager." Then minutes later I was told to turn my light off and head up to the office and wait outside the door. I asked if it was about the lady that came through my line, and the response was “Yes.” I guess the manager must have been on the phone because I was told to go back to my register.</p>

<p>Two hours later I was told to cut my light off again, and to go back to the office. Two CSMs were in there and notified the manager that I was waiting for her. She was in a meeting, so once again, I was brought in there for nothing and I did not get a chance to speak with her or anyone. Once again, I asked if this was about the customer that came through my line, and they both nodded, but were mum on the details.</p>

<p>I have to assume the worst here and say that I think they were going to write me up or give me a coaching on it. On what basis, I have no idea, probably just the sole complaint of the woman… Which is ridiculous.</p>

<p>Nothing came of it (they never called me back in). If they do tomorrow, well… like someone else said, I might as well go out in style… I’m going to be honest and tell them that the management quality is lacking and their support of their employees is of an even crappier quality. I don’t need the reference… my resume is already beefed up! </p>

<p>My two weeks notice has been put in :slight_smile: I’m happy!</p>

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<p>I don’t want to redesign anything… I have no interest. Walmart isn’t a career for me… just a survivor’s job. I just don’t want chicken and jars thrown at me while i’m at work!</p>

<p>I am positive and happy at work… i never let it show that I’m upset. customers come through my line with their own moods, ideas, and agendas. I can only attempt to help them and make them happy within the few moments that i am with them. The moments are fleeting, but some are difficult. I can only do so much.</p>

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<p>Don’t do this. Seriously. You never know when you might need a reference. I suspect WalMart doesn’t really give them but your file will say “left voluntarily” or terminated. It’s much better to have “left voluntarily.” It’s only a couple of weeks, so smile and hang in there.</p>

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<p>OP, congrats on getting your old job back, and I hope it all goes well!!
That customer you had today sounds crazy! It must be a great feeling knowing you’ll probably never have to deal with her again.
BTW, even if you get written up (which truly would be unfair), I don’t think it would show up in any reference.</p>

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<p>OP, congratulations on getting your old job back!</p>

<p>Do not burn any bridges as you leave one job for another.</p>

<p>Walmart simply needs to remove the “Express Lane” signs. Problem solved. Most of us try to follow the rules, and most of us are annoyed by posted rules that are routinely ignored by the business posting them. </p>

<p>I rarely shop at WalMart, but when I do it is only for price or when it is the only game in town. I have exactly zero expectations of “customer service” at Walmart, so I am never disappointed.</p>

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<p>It seems that every self-checkout machine I’ve ever used suffered from dementia, too. Is having a machine nag at you loudly in public considered progress nowadays?</p>

<p>I don’t go near the darn things anymore. I figure if it can’t tell when I’m doing something right, it also wouldn’t know if I was intentionally doing something wrong. I don’t want to steal anything, but I get this overwhelming urge when I’m there to want to beat the machine – to figure out how to fool its logic and sensors. OK, it’s not exactly like beating Watson at Jeopardy, but it’s still tempting. So I stay away.</p>

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<p>I also had a bad experience at work today. Claims is where we take everything that is pulled off the sales floor and sent back to headquarters. I got yelled at and called stupid for using the wrong type of box to pack up returned DVD’s in. Because I work as a vendor there is no way for me to document the way that I have been treated. The claims person takes out all her anger on vendors because she knows that we can’t do anything about it. She told me to take off the security boxes off the DVD’s, which my boss yelled at me for doing and then caused me to be 10 min late clocking out which means I will get written up and that will go in my file, if that happens 2 more times in 6 months I get fired. I usually try to turn my emotions off at work, but for some reason today that really made me cry. I was trying to do the right thing and I ended up getting yelled at by 3 different people for it. I just have to keep telling myself this is only for a little while longer.</p>

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Why would you give them two weeks notice at that hell-hole??</p>

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<p>was at Home Depot self check out, the machine actually will allow you to put checked stuff into your cart. Each item you are not bagging, you need to answer the prompt: “Are you skipping bagging?” It became a nuisance because HOW do I bag an 8’ 2x4?</p>

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<p>Artloversplus, at the self check out at Home Depot they have a clerk stationed. They can scan your big items and override the scale so they stay in the cart. Just ask when you get to the checkout. You can then scan the rest of your stuff at your station. </p>

<p>I think I spend too much time at Home Depot lol! My H is always buying plumbing fittings and they don’t scan on the self checkout so we do this all the time. </p>

<p>OP, glad to hear you got your old job back. That’s the thing about retail. If you don’t like one place, it’s usually easy to get another that treats you better.</p>