Am I over-reacting?

[Big Daddy Audio]

A Rant...

Today, I was on line at the Happy Valley and 15th Ave store.  There were two cashiers open (technically) but one was at the display case, and that cashier was helping some collector/reseller (you can tell who they are) look at every God-forsaken tray of costume jewelry in the case.  I had - get this - one blank tape - 49 cents worth - a cash transaction - but she had to make sure this guy stayed on the up-and-up.  The second line had a cashier who didn't know fecal matter from a certain antiquated name brand of colored shoe polish about working the point-of-sale system.  The customer had a store credit, and she couldn't deal with that, so cashier number 1 (with the display cases) had to come over and show her - took way longer than it would have taken her to ring up my ONE TAPE.  Then, cashier number two can't get the drawer to open - she finally figures that out without additional assistance from number one.  Then cashier number 2 makes the wrong change!  So she has to open the drawer again, NOT REMEMBERING HOW SHE JUST DID IT 30 SECONDS AGO!  Steam is shooting out my ears at this point.  She gives the customer the right change, and then takes her sweet time wrapping up each individual piece of earthenware in exactly 2 sheets of newspaper.  Cashier number 1 is now about 50% finished with helping the fat guy with the costume jewelry.  Cashier number 2 then starts jawing with the customer about the sale day on Saturday (50% off day - they have them every two weeks).  I'm usually pretty friendly with cashiers at these places (I see them frequently) but when I walked out of that store, I was using profanity.  I was really PO'd.  I was on line for more than 7 minutes (In my estimation that's unacceptable) - which is more than it takes me to drive to the next Goodwill at 7th Street and Union Hills.

That is all.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Nope. If that's how you felt, that's how you felt.  It can be frustrating to wait in line. 

Sometimes I see something I want, but don't want to deal with a long line. So I leave. No thing is worth my life's energy (I try to remember that) But I don't have control over the world, so something that I think might be fast (like you did today) might take a lot longer. Then I have to make that choice...do I want it or do I walk?

Was leaving it behind an option?  You strike me as a very mellow guy, so for you to be upset means the experience was, well, upsetting. 

SeSo

[Big Daddy Audio]

I'm typically very mellow, but I guess the short line plus the incompetence was what put me over the edge.  It wasn't a large purchase that the woman in front of me was making, and the line wasn't long - as a matter of fact, the cashier had already entered most of the items when I go onto the line.  It was more of a matter of having no clue as to how to work the equipment (she didn't even have a second hand clue, available at all thrift stores, nationwide).  It was also the other cashier who could have easily turned from the costume jewelry guy for the 18 seconds it would have taken to do my deal, and then help him out again - it wasn't like she was answering questions, she was just standing there, taking one tray out, watching the guy go through it, and then putting back and taking the next tray out.

I'll get over it, but I had to vent.

That is all.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

 
Big Daddy--Of course you'll get over it You are, after all, Big Daddy.

To watch this sequence of events unfold must have been unpleasant.  You are to be commended for not shouting out:  "There's a less time-consuming (thrifty!) way to do this..."   


You wrote:
>>It was more of a matter of having no clue as to how to work the equipment (she didn't even have a second hand clue, available at all thrift stores, nationwide)>>

Even "under pressure", you have a great sense of humor

SeSo

[Mattie]

Incompetence infuriates me.  I worked in retail for ten years and I could ring up one customer while answering another's questions, and I could accurately count back change, to boot.  Nowadays you're lucky if you get a cashier who knows how to punch the keys and scoop out the correct handful of change.  I swear it's another sign that the world is coming to an end.

In other words, I hear ya, BDA, I hear ya.

[Sprocket]

I've been there man...I once stood in line behind a man who was making small talk with the ONLY cashier in the place for at least 5 minutes.  I had my $3.39 aloha shirt in one hand a crisp 5 note in the other.  I eventually just plunked down the 5 on the counter and walked out. 

-Sprock

[Jay2TheRescue]

Incompetence infuriates me.  I worked in retail for ten years and I could ring up one customer while answering another's questions, and I could accurately count back change, to boot.  Nowadays you're lucky if you get a cashier who knows how to punch the keys and scoop out the correct handful of change.  I swear it's another sign that the world is coming to an end.

In other words, I hear ya, BDA, I hear ya.

The worst is when they cannot give you change without the register telling them how much to give.  I hate it when they accidentally enter the wrong amount as cash tended, so they call for a manager to void the transaction.

-Jay

[pop_ pirate]

big daddy (ooh, i've never said that before, felt good)...what was the cassette of?
pop pirate musing

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Yup, our one Goodwill has a couple of excellent cashiers, and then a couple who seem to work in slo-mo.

Typically (because I speed-thrift) I weigh the options of how worth it is for me to get into line when I know getting to the register is going to be an issue.

[Big Daddy Audio]

Cassette - Sony UX-60 (High Bias) - sealed.  My wife wanted it for a Girl Scout leader thing she is going to this weekend.

That is all.

[Other People s Junk]

Incompetence is something I have a hard time dealing with.  It is so very aggravating. 

And I'm with SeSo---> "You wrote:
>>It was more of a matter of having no clue as to how to work the equipment (she didn't even have a second hand clue, available at all thrift stores, nationwide)>>

Even "under pressure", you have a great sense of humor"

 

[alexandra]

As a former retail manager, I am astounded that very few store managers or companies realize that store profitability is directly tied to throughput at the point of sale -- meaning the faster you can move customers out, the more money you will take in.

Of all places I shop, the thrifts are where I am more likely to tolerate slow service -- since putting down my purchase means not having the stuff at all.

At the supermarket, I have been known to leave a full cart because the lines are too slow and the store is too cheap to adequately staff.

What no retailers seems to realize too, is that losing sales to slow service not only affects the $$ taken in, it increases payroll costs -- as someone must "re-shop" items left behind when someone gets fed up and leaves.

There's more satisfaction in walking out of the supermarket when you know they'll be dealing with a melting carton of ice cream...

But... all this rancor aside... I have noticed that I get pretty nice treatment because I don't complain about slowness at the thrifts I frequent.  Just as often, the clerk is biting their tongue over someone who is slowing everyone down.  I look at it this way; if I can keep from losing my temper enough, there's a better chance of getting a low price at the times I am interested in something without a tag.

But I think many of us must have internal tolerances and instinctualy methods of reasoning: i.e. is the value worth the wait, how likely is the wait given certain conditions, etc.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Jay2TheRescue]

I can certainly understand the plight of the thrift store.  I too have walked out from my local Goodwill several times in the last few weeks.  Just the other day I was in there and found an attachment that fit my blender.  I thought $0.59 was a very fair price, but then I saw the line.  Out of 4 counters they only had 1 lane open, and there were about 15-20 people in line.  I just put it down and thought to myself "Its not worth it".  Now if I had found a set of striped Pyrex that would be a different story, but for a $0.59 item I just left.  I consider Goodwill different from most.  Goodwill has paid employees, whereas other thrifts are at the mercy of volunteers.  Goodwill has a hiring/scheduling problem that could be solved if the manager wanted to.  I would have quit going to that store altogeather because of my impatience with their lines, but the store is right on my way home, and once in a while I find an item that is worth the wait.

-Jay

As a former retail manager, I am astounded that very few store managers or companies realize that store profitability is directly tied to throughput at the point of sale -- meaning the faster you can move customers out, the more money you will take in.

Of all places I shop, the thrifts are where I am more likely to tolerate slow service -- since putting down my purchase means not having the stuff at all.

At the supermarket, I have been known to leave a full cart because the lines are too slow and the store is too cheap to adequately staff.

What no retailers seems to realize too, is that losing sales to slow service not only affects the $$ taken in, it increases payroll costs -- as someone must "re-shop" items left behind when someone gets fed up and leaves.

There's more satisfaction in walking out of the supermarket when you know they'll be dealing with a melting carton of ice cream...

But... all this rancor aside... I have noticed that I get pretty nice treatment because I don't complain about slowness at the thrifts I frequent.  Just as often, the clerk is biting their tongue over someone who is slowing everyone down.  I look at it this way; if I can keep from losing my temper enough, there's a better chance of getting a low price at the times I am interested in something without a tag.

But I think many of us must have internal tolerances and instinctualy methods of reasoning: i.e. is the value worth the wait, how likely is the wait given certain conditions, etc.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[alexandra]

What I recently learned, is that not all thrifts are staffed by volunteers.  One of the chain thrifts I shop at has a policy never to pay overtime.  If a person goes beyond 40, they force them to count the time as "volunteer."

I am torn between my addiction to thrift and my conscience -- I'd like not to shop there because of it.  But then again, I shop at Walmart.  But Walmart got sued (and lost) for doing that... maybe I should tell the cashiers that?

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[nicejewishgirl]

Ooh they are breaking the law!  Personally, not to be all sanctimonious or anything, but I wouldn't shop there again.  I think that you express your values by how you spend your money. (Incidentally, this is why I don't shop at Wal Mart.)  I would probably tattle on them to your state's labor board as well.  But then again, I'm like that.