Raiders of the Lost Sanity...
Did some shopping today - actually went out hunting for a new bed, but ended up picking up some other things instead:
- An iron. It's lovely and shiny and silver and black *G*
- Some clippers, so I can continue avoiding paying for hairdressers
- Some PS2 games, 'cause I have no willpower (Max Payne , GTA San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Evil Dead Regeneration - all up, $75)
- Seemingly the only black bathrobe in Sydney (thankyou menswear dept of Target - the bathroom in my new place is about 4x10 feet, no room to change, and I'm not subjecting my male flatmate to nudie-dashes)
I also picked up some polar fleece to line a hoodie I'm making for a friend's 6-month old girl *waves to little Tara!*
Add to that the funky Industrial Strength shirt I picked up on the weekend at a market, and I've been a bad little spender *cringe* I justify it, however, by the fact that I worked 46hrs this week, and I'm flogging off a pile of clothing and junk that I no longer wear/fit into/like in the near future (I'll be posting it all on a couple of local LJ trading communities via a different ID, I'll link to it when I do - it's mostly womens AU size 8-10 pants and shirts, plus some books and things). Besides, after the week I've had, I needed some retail therapy dagnammit...
Work continues to be insane - the department store our shop is in is having their stocktake sale, and the place is crawling with bargain hunters who apparently have brains the size of walnuts. Our big trestle tables full of all the crap stock we can't give away have big honkin' signs over them saying "From $4.97" and so forth in large friendly letters, yet on an hourly basis I have conversations like this:
Customer: "Why does this say $9.83? It's on the $4.97 table."
Me: *sigh* "If you'll notice, the sign says FROM $4.97"
Customer: "So why aren't they all $4.97?"
Me: "FROM means prices start at $4.97 and go up from there."
Customer: "Well, that's stupid." *walks off in a huff*
Me: *makes stabbing motions at their back*
Customer: "There's not much on this table that's $4.97"
Me: "There's some, everything on that table is between $4.97 and $9.99, I assure you - I packed it myself."
Customer: "But there's not much that's $4.97, most of it is more expensive."
Me: "That's why the sign says FROM $4.97."
Customer: "Yeah, but if there was only one thing in there for $4.97, you could still claim the sign was telling the truth, couldn't you? Huh!"
Me: *restrains self from screaming "OH MY GOD! You discovered the secret of advertising! We're all dooooooomed! The entire retail system will fall! Run! Hide! Burn all the paperwork!"* "Your point is?"
Customer: "There's not much in there for $4.97."
Me: *walks off to go beat my head against a listening post*
Customer on phone: "I'm looking for a Pokemon DVD, I think it's called [stupid-pokename]"
Me: *checks the floor stock - nada* "Let me just check our database and see if any of our other stores have it." *checks, there's no DVD by that name on our database or company website* "Ma'am, are you sure that's the title? I can't find anything by that name on our database."
Customer: "Yes, I'm sure - I saw it on the website"
Me: "Alright..." *checks again* "..I'm sorry, I'm not seeing it here, what website was it? The [our store] or [affiliated store] website?"
Customer: "It was the Pokemon website. It was there, you have to have it."
Me: *sigh* "Ma'am, we don't have every DVD produced. It's possible the title you're looking for was released under a different name, or not released in this country at all, or it may be a deleted title. Maybe you could try ordering it through the website you saw it on?"
Customer: "Is that the right price?" *holds up item*
Me: *checks* "Yep"
Customer: "But, I saw it cheaper at [other store]."
Me: "So... buy it there."%
Customer: "I'm looking for a copy of Cars on DVD, do you have it?"
Me: "That was just released in cinemas, it won't be out for a few months yet."
Customer: "But my kids want it!"
Me: "Sorry ma'am, but they'll just have to wait."
Customer: "That's ridiculous. I'm going upstairs to see if they've got it on UMD." *heads for the escalators in a huff*
Me: "You do that." *facepalm*
The above scenario also regularly plays out for documentaries and specials that aired the previous night, and for the currently airing seasons of TV shows - the number of times I have to explain the concept of airing rights and release dates to daft bints looking for Desperate Housewives S2 is simply mind-boggling.On the other hand, people looking for House S2 and Scrubs S4 only ever ask if we have a release date yet. *hugs them*
As a result of all this, I made up a new tally sheet and stuck it to the counter, next to our sales tally sheet, where we could keep track of things - it looked something like this (answers added for clarity):
"There's no such thing as a stupid question... no, really..."
- Where are the iPods, PSPs, games, consoles etc etc
(Answer: one floor up from us, where they've always been)
- Is this the real price?
(Answer: yes. Sale stock has the discounted price on it, not everything is on sale - that's why all the signage says "selected titles only")
- Do you have any more out the back?
(Answer: no. If we had any, it would be on the floor, where we could sell it. Asking "Are you sure? can you check anyway?" Will only make us want to hit you. #)
- Where is/do you have any classical music?
(Answer: See that big room up the back of the store, with the glass walls and door with the big sign over it saying "CLASSICAL"? Yeah, it'll be in there.)
- Do you sell DVDs?
(Answer: Yes. Half the store is full of them, in fact. The only possible way for someone to get into the shop without seeing the DVDs is to walk around the rest of the level, through toys and books, and enter from the back.)
- [So-and-so-lame-pop-single] is supposed to be released this week, where is it?
(Answer: New releases come out on saturdays, come back then. This answer is almost always followed up with "If I go to [Other Store], will they have it?" Answer: No. It's called an embargo, nobody will sell it to you until the actual release date, it's the law. One customer argued that this was stupid, and we should sell the single to him because he wanted it right then. It hadn't even been delivered yet. We explained the embargo concept to him, and the fact that the store would be fined if we were found selling it, but he still insisted that it was stupid because he wanted it now. We patiently explained that we didn't even have it in stock, but he went up the back to the singles section to check anyway *facepalm*... then came back and whined some more.)
# People seem to be under the impression that looking something up on our magical computer will somehow open a wormhole and allow us to pull the desired product out of our arse. It doesn't work that way.
% I've given up on justifying our bloated prices, seriously. We're a large chain store in a department store in the middle of the city - that's like the Holy Trinity Of Overpricing. I don't undrestand why people think they're going to get a bargain from us. If they're worried about price, why are the shopping in the city? Stay in the suburbs, kiddies. Hell, even with a 25% employee discount I generally only shop during our sales, when I'll get up to 75% off *G*. Otherwise, I shop at JB HiFi like everyone else.
- An iron. It's lovely and shiny and silver and black *G*
- Some clippers, so I can continue avoiding paying for hairdressers
- Some PS2 games, 'cause I have no willpower (Max Payne , GTA San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Evil Dead Regeneration - all up, $75)
- Seemingly the only black bathrobe in Sydney (thankyou menswear dept of Target - the bathroom in my new place is about 4x10 feet, no room to change, and I'm not subjecting my male flatmate to nudie-dashes)
I also picked up some polar fleece to line a hoodie I'm making for a friend's 6-month old girl *waves to little Tara!*
Add to that the funky Industrial Strength shirt I picked up on the weekend at a market, and I've been a bad little spender *cringe* I justify it, however, by the fact that I worked 46hrs this week, and I'm flogging off a pile of clothing and junk that I no longer wear/fit into/like in the near future (I'll be posting it all on a couple of local LJ trading communities via a different ID, I'll link to it when I do - it's mostly womens AU size 8-10 pants and shirts, plus some books and things). Besides, after the week I've had, I needed some retail therapy dagnammit...
Work continues to be insane - the department store our shop is in is having their stocktake sale, and the place is crawling with bargain hunters who apparently have brains the size of walnuts. Our big trestle tables full of all the crap stock we can't give away have big honkin' signs over them saying "From $4.97" and so forth in large friendly letters, yet on an hourly basis I have conversations like this:
Customer: "Why does this say $9.83? It's on the $4.97 table."
Me: *sigh* "If you'll notice, the sign says FROM $4.97"
Customer: "So why aren't they all $4.97?"
Me: "FROM means prices start at $4.97 and go up from there."
Customer: "Well, that's stupid." *walks off in a huff*
Me: *makes stabbing motions at their back*
Customer: "There's not much on this table that's $4.97"
Me: "There's some, everything on that table is between $4.97 and $9.99, I assure you - I packed it myself."
Customer: "But there's not much that's $4.97, most of it is more expensive."
Me: "That's why the sign says FROM $4.97."
Customer: "Yeah, but if there was only one thing in there for $4.97, you could still claim the sign was telling the truth, couldn't you? Huh!"
Me: *restrains self from screaming "OH MY GOD! You discovered the secret of advertising! We're all dooooooomed! The entire retail system will fall! Run! Hide! Burn all the paperwork!"* "Your point is?"
Customer: "There's not much in there for $4.97."
Me: *walks off to go beat my head against a listening post*
Customer on phone: "I'm looking for a Pokemon DVD, I think it's called [stupid-pokename]"
Me: *checks the floor stock - nada* "Let me just check our database and see if any of our other stores have it." *checks, there's no DVD by that name on our database or company website* "Ma'am, are you sure that's the title? I can't find anything by that name on our database."
Customer: "Yes, I'm sure - I saw it on the website"
Me: "Alright..." *checks again* "..I'm sorry, I'm not seeing it here, what website was it? The [our store] or [affiliated store] website?"
Customer: "It was the Pokemon website. It was there, you have to have it."
Me: *sigh* "Ma'am, we don't have every DVD produced. It's possible the title you're looking for was released under a different name, or not released in this country at all, or it may be a deleted title. Maybe you could try ordering it through the website you saw it on?"
Customer: "Is that the right price?" *holds up item*
Me: *checks* "Yep"
Customer: "But, I saw it cheaper at [other store]."
Me: "So... buy it there."%
Customer: "I'm looking for a copy of Cars on DVD, do you have it?"
Me: "That was just released in cinemas, it won't be out for a few months yet."
Customer: "But my kids want it!"
Me: "Sorry ma'am, but they'll just have to wait."
Customer: "That's ridiculous. I'm going upstairs to see if they've got it on UMD." *heads for the escalators in a huff*
Me: "You do that." *facepalm*
The above scenario also regularly plays out for documentaries and specials that aired the previous night, and for the currently airing seasons of TV shows - the number of times I have to explain the concept of airing rights and release dates to daft bints looking for Desperate Housewives S2 is simply mind-boggling.On the other hand, people looking for House S2 and Scrubs S4 only ever ask if we have a release date yet. *hugs them*
As a result of all this, I made up a new tally sheet and stuck it to the counter, next to our sales tally sheet, where we could keep track of things - it looked something like this (answers added for clarity):
"There's no such thing as a stupid question... no, really..."
- Where are the iPods, PSPs, games, consoles etc etc
(Answer: one floor up from us, where they've always been)
- Is this the real price?
(Answer: yes. Sale stock has the discounted price on it, not everything is on sale - that's why all the signage says "selected titles only")
- Do you have any more out the back?
(Answer: no. If we had any, it would be on the floor, where we could sell it. Asking "Are you sure? can you check anyway?" Will only make us want to hit you. #)
- Where is/do you have any classical music?
(Answer: See that big room up the back of the store, with the glass walls and door with the big sign over it saying "CLASSICAL"? Yeah, it'll be in there.)
- Do you sell DVDs?
(Answer: Yes. Half the store is full of them, in fact. The only possible way for someone to get into the shop without seeing the DVDs is to walk around the rest of the level, through toys and books, and enter from the back.)
- [So-and-so-lame-pop-single] is supposed to be released this week, where is it?
(Answer: New releases come out on saturdays, come back then. This answer is almost always followed up with "If I go to [Other Store], will they have it?" Answer: No. It's called an embargo, nobody will sell it to you until the actual release date, it's the law. One customer argued that this was stupid, and we should sell the single to him because he wanted it right then. It hadn't even been delivered yet. We explained the embargo concept to him, and the fact that the store would be fined if we were found selling it, but he still insisted that it was stupid because he wanted it now. We patiently explained that we didn't even have it in stock, but he went up the back to the singles section to check anyway *facepalm*... then came back and whined some more.)
# People seem to be under the impression that looking something up on our magical computer will somehow open a wormhole and allow us to pull the desired product out of our arse. It doesn't work that way.
% I've given up on justifying our bloated prices, seriously. We're a large chain store in a department store in the middle of the city - that's like the Holy Trinity Of Overpricing. I don't undrestand why people think they're going to get a bargain from us. If they're worried about price, why are the shopping in the city? Stay in the suburbs, kiddies. Hell, even with a 25% employee discount I generally only shop during our sales, when I'll get up to 75% off *G*. Otherwise, I shop at JB HiFi like everyone else.