Customer Service 405

Yesterday was my last day at the store here in Fredericksburg. I am taking off dead week to relax and enjoy the time with my friends. There is only one downside to getting along with your co-workers, and that is that you miss then terribly when you leave. I have been spoiled the past two semesters working with a great group of individuals, but now it is time to move back home and transfer back to my original store for the summer. The adventures in Customer Service will continue, just not here.

Thanks everyone who read this blog, hope you enjoyed it.

-Mary Wilkerson

Here it is folks!

http://mwilker2.umwblogs.org/sherlock-holmes/

Working second shift means you never really see your store manager or assistant manager for more than maybe an hour of overlap at a time. Depending on how you feel about your store manager, this could be either just okay or “thank god.”  The supervisors I work with most are the regular shift runners. These folks really make or break the shift, if they don’t have their head in the right place, it makes for a rough night. I have been bouncing around between two different stores for about a year now, and have worked with numerous shift runners. The store here near my school, has the best I’ve worked with yet.  They are extremely proactive, great with the customers, and good at fielding any issues that crop up. Problem solving is key.

The ever important fun factor is also determined by these folks. Here are a few examples of the sillier things that happen on a given shift:

• Reading Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter over the loudspeakers at the pump while one of us was outside, don’t worry there were no customers.
• Singing into the headsets loudly, especially if you can’t sing (a favorite of mine).
• Sneaking up on the one person who is always easy to scare (they almost made me cry last time, but I’ll get them back).
• When a friend wants to speak to a co-worker, call it in as a belligerent customer, then watch them run
• When they leave you alone on register and go to fill the cooler, tell them that the deli is getting bum rushed by a bus that just arrived. Then watch everyone run
• Rubber bands…dangerous. Be wary.
• Packs of cigarettes are good projectiles.

So this post, it’s kind of a thank you to the shift runners. You make every Wednesday and Saturday 2nd shift pretty awesome.

Training is always a fun part of a new job, or as in my case, a fun part of a job I’ve been doing for almost a year now. The company I work for is relatively up-to-date in their training methods: having videos, interactive courses, quizzes, and certifications all online. This is great, but also time consuming and often mind numbingly boring.

My training was a special case. The first manager I worked for apparently didn’t care if I was officially trained. They taught me what to do, I did it well, they never bothered to ask or tell me to do the computer training, not once over an entire summer. I transfer to a new store when I move back to school, the first two managers up here don’t say anything either. By the time I get to the 6th and 7th managers, someone brings it up. “You haven’t even completely Gas levels 1 and 2? You’re not supposed to be working in the store until those are finished.” Big surprise for me I can tell you. This past week I have finally completed the training I should have had from week one. There were training segments on everything: knife safety, deli practices, fuel safety procedures, using a power-washer, using the trash compactor, carding customers, sexual harassment, shoplifting, walk-in cooler practices, etc. You name it, there is a training module. Other than one or two obscure things I had not heard of, this training was all review. It may have been boring but now it is done, and hey, at least I know I have been doing my job correctly for the past year.

Yes, the above math is incorrect and nonsensical, rather like half the inner workings of a convenience store.

The head of any given store is the General Manager. They have the long term game plans: they push you to do your job better, work harder, help you with training, etc. A good store manager, one that is equal parts professional, friendly, and proactive, is difficult to find. After working with 7 different store managers in just 10 months, I can size a new one up in  just a few hours.

I would describe the turnover rate of store managers as the biggest problem I have with this company. Just as one manager settles in and starts to make positive changes, they are taken to a bigger and better store, and a new manager appears. This is hard on the entire crew, and also unfair to them. If they are not with one manager long enough, they never have time to improve. Give them enough store managers over a period of time, they stop listening, cause hey–this one is gonna leave too. So now I present for your consideration a practical list of do’s and dont’s of store management that I have witnessed first hand.

DO

• Be friendly with employees
• Enforce the rules, with a little leniency
• Listen to employees
• “You’re really good with the customers, you do a great job on register”
• This is a long one but it really works–earn your employees respect, build them up, then don’t get angry and yell when they make mistakes, just tell them you’re disappointed.  There’s nothing like a healthy guilt trip from an authority figure to make you work twice as hard.
• Have fun with the job, it improves the mood of employees and customers can tell the difference too.

DON’T

• Try to be your employees best buddy, they won’t respect you.
• Lay down the law like a Nazi or disregard the rules all together.
• Talk AT employees, this is work, not story time. A simple question=a simple answer.
• “You’re gonna be a pain in my ass aren’t you?”
• Yell at lower level managers in front of regular crew members, it embarrasses everyone.
• In fact, don’t yell ever. Employees are less inclined to listen to you. They’ll just want to avoid you.
• Whine about other employees/managers to regular crew members, it’s unprofessional.

At work one of our bosses decided to tape short Emily Dickinson poems to the top of the cash drawers, I’m not sure if these poems are supposed to be inspiring or calming…but the irony always makes me smile. Of all the places for her poems to be reproduced, on a register at a convenience store. Well, here is my little tribute to her.

Attempted robbery is a frightening topic in this line of work, particularly for a store than is open 24/7. So, when it is just you and one other co-worker at 4AM any yahoo with a gun could waltz in looking for some easy money. I’ve worked at two stores, both have been robbed, both on 3rd shift (11pm-6am). No one was injured. The store here in Fredericksburg was luckier, before the man could get any money a police officer pulled into the lot. The would be criminal ran. They train you how to handle a robbery–stay calm, give them whatever they want, don’t call the police or pull the silent alarm until they have left the parking lot. Do not force a confrontation. I have never been working during a robbery, and I hope I never will, but it is a very real threat.

Shoplifting is something you hear about, but do not concern yourself with on an everyday basis. This is true for the average individual unconnected to retail on a personal level. Working in a convenience store, shoplifting is a huge concern. The first time you see it, you are shocked. The second time, infuriated. That someone has the guts to take something from your store, and think they can get away with it, makes me extremely angry. Does it really hurt you to pay for the $1.47 Kit Kat Bar? REALLY? Apparently so. I’ve seen two myself thus far, both while stocking the cooler. The customers cannot really see me through the rows of drinks, but I can see them in the aisles, the major blind spot from the register.  My co-worker confronted one gentleman about stealing two cans of Budweiser beer, which I had seen him stuff in his coat.He confessed when we threatened to call the police.  Most do. The second guy, Mr. Kit-Kat man got away. I couldn’t confirm it was a Kit Kat, so we had to let him go, plus it was only a Kit-Kat as my boss saw it. It wasn’t worth the risk of confronting the customer and being wrong. Check out the attached video, prime example of a couple of young punks.  Typical Punk Shoplifter footage

Almost all regulars are great! Great for business, good for a friendly chat amidst the monotony, maybe even a laugh or two. I work at a store off the beaten path, that had most of its business taken away when another location was built just two miles down the road right on Route 1. This means that most of of business comes from regulars. Regulars make your shift more comfortable. You can see 30 people who you do not know, and swap the same inane pleasantries. Then, a regular appears and for a minute or two things are interesting.

For me, being a cashier is a means to an end, it may be a easy job but that does not mean you cannot do well and take pride in your work. I always try a little harder with regulars, it does not take too much effort to remember what kind of cigarettes they smoke, if they always want a bag or matches, or if they like their hoagie made a certain way (yes, I do work in the deli but not as often). It makes them feel special, and makes me feel better about my job. A win-win situation.

Now, we come to the “almost” from the first sentence. As with everything else in life there are exceptions. Example 1: there is a customer, an ex marine, who comes in at least once during my shift, sometimes twice. Always gets the same type of cigarettes with whatever else he purchases that day. No matter what I do, I cannot please this customer. Hardly speaks. Never smiles. Oh well, you cannot win them all I suppose. Example 2: this is the opposite of example 1. Here we have a customer that always wants to chat, and he tells jokes. The guy does a pretty good Rodney Dangerfield impression, actually. Although, when you are trying to serve the next customer with a line behind them, and someone is loudly telling a joke about “the bad economy” and “gay bars” things get a little more complicated.

Another one of the customer's favorites: "I was tired one night and I went to the bar to have a few drinks. The bartender asked me, “What’ll you have?” I said, “Surprise me.” He showed me a naked picture of my wife."

Carding is the hardest part of being a cashier. I am not sure why people take carding so personal, but they most certainly do. Customers reactions vary greatly–flattered, amused, angered, indifferent, annoyed, bemused, etc. The tough ones are the belligerent ones, and they are not as few and far between as you would think.

Part of what makes carding difficult are all the rules involved, state laws and store policies. We are constantly told to keep the customer happy, but obeying the laws and policies comes first. Our policy is basic at first glance, we have signs and buttons that say “21 to 41, NO ID NO SALE.” That seems straightforward, but it gets complicated very quickly. Within just a few seconds you have to decided “well, does this person look 41? Maybe not, but they look old enough…do I card? What if they are just buying cigarettes, I can tell they are definitely older than 18…” That is just one example of an everyday dilemma, and a small one at that. If they don’t have an ID, or it is expired, it is tough luck for them. I apologize politely and explain why I cannot sell them the alcohol or cigarettes. Some try to get whoever they are with to come over and purchase it for them. Once they ask they friend I am not allowed to sell to that person either, even if they have a valid ID, because I know they are buying for the person without an ID. It just gets worse from here on in–what about young looking police officers? I had the misfortune to card a state trooper for cigarettes and he was none too pleasant, and he is supposed to know the law!

It doesn’t take much to set some folks off, and the worst I have ever been treated by customers were the result of carding. I’ve been called every name, yelled and cursed at, had a complaint called in, and even been threatened with arrest. The last bit was because a lady, maybe mid 20′s to early 30′s came in and told me she had no ID and wanted to know if she could buy cigarettes. My first response was to say no, and I stuck by that. She brought her husband in and I couldn’t sell to him either. I ended up having to call my supervisor to back my play, who calmly explained our policy to them (again, as I had already). The man got right up in my face, pointing at me, and informed me that he was going to look up the law and if I was wrong he would bring the police to arrest me personally. The gentleman did not have a leg to stand on, but it is unsettling all the same sometimes. Moral of the story, please have your ID, and don’t take it personally.

Our button is a modified version of this-- with the 21 to 41.

My meaningful image, a parody of sorts.