As long as the calls are business related it's called multitasking, and I grin and bear it. A dolt customer yacking on the phone in front of me...that I don't like and ask them to hang up or move out of the way.
Right or wrong?
- Thread starter grover99
- Start date
I worked at, then ran a gas station in the 70s - police work later was much less trouble!
When in high school (1960s) I had a job with a large supermarket. Part of my work was as cashier/packer or take out. I met a lot of people that way, many were decent and many were just looking for a reason to complain. Take out was the best as the people helped seem to be a better class and as tips wer allowed by management I made plenty of untaxed money!
After school I was a member of at different times two construction unions, most times you did not have much to do with the general public. You were working with your own peer group, which in most cases was a better bunch of people.
I was at a barber shop a few years back and it was fairly new and run by some young guys. The guy cutting my hair faced me away from the mirrors - red flag #1. Then he takes a call on his cell, - he didn't say, "I have to take this call", it was obvious it was personal - red flag #2. Then he took another three calls.
In the meantime my haircut is half done and there was nothing I could do or I would've walked out.
My haircut is simple, #1 guard on the sides trim on top. He wouldn't go short enough and kept asking if it was OK. If he had faced me toward the mirror, we'd have gotten done sooner. I was in his chair for over an hour! We were both getting frustrated. I was unsure why he was frustrated, he created the problems.
Then, as I pay him, he had the stones to ask, "Where's the tip?"(!) Here's my tip "Learn customer service" as I walk out.
In the meantime my haircut is half done and there was nothing I could do or I would've walked out.
My haircut is simple, #1 guard on the sides trim on top. He wouldn't go short enough and kept asking if it was OK. If he had faced me toward the mirror, we'd have gotten done sooner. I was in his chair for over an hour! We were both getting frustrated. I was unsure why he was frustrated, he created the problems.
Then, as I pay him, he had the stones to ask, "Where's the tip?"(!) Here's my tip "Learn customer service" as I walk out.
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Messages
- 19,624
- Reaction score
- 31,132
I'd say you are mostly right. The only exception would be if the phone call was a real emergency - then he would have the right to take it. Other than that - I agree with you 100%.
I find it just as annoying to be taking on the phone and get put on hold so the other party can take another call. That's what busy signals and voicemail are for. They put me on hold to talk to someone else, I hang up. My kids included.
HOLD = Ignore
HOLD is a work used to misdirect the listener and it really means Ignore.
Bekeart
HOLD is a work used to misdirect the listener and it really means Ignore.
Bekeart
Doug M.
Member
Some entities try to staff at minimum levels, and combine that with other poor leadership issues, make it a crummy experience for both customers and employees.
I have been working on our RV project for a few months, part of which was making sure I had insurance for the period of time that the chairs cab is in my possession before the build. My insurance agent retired and we got transferred to a new one. The woman with whom I had been working went on vacation, no sick for this time of year. Someone else of a lower level picked up the ball and ran, getting the final parts done with only vague familiarity of the work we had done. She did a great job and I made darned sure to tell her such in an email, then let the woman for whom she covered know too. It important to me when folks say good stuff about how I handle their needs at work, and I owe the good folks I encounter the same. You never knew when that positive comment will improve their evaluation, pay, and the like.
OTOH, when people who ought to know better simple cannot get it right, I am scathing in my feedback. The higher the level of a person in an entity, the higher the standard I expect. I am especially harsh when the error involves fiscal or medical stuff. There is no excuse for doing a crummy job in those fields.
I have been working on our RV project for a few months, part of which was making sure I had insurance for the period of time that the chairs cab is in my possession before the build. My insurance agent retired and we got transferred to a new one. The woman with whom I had been working went on vacation, no sick for this time of year. Someone else of a lower level picked up the ball and ran, getting the final parts done with only vague familiarity of the work we had done. She did a great job and I made darned sure to tell her such in an email, then let the woman for whom she covered know too. It important to me when folks say good stuff about how I handle their needs at work, and I owe the good folks I encounter the same. You never knew when that positive comment will improve their evaluation, pay, and the like.
OTOH, when people who ought to know better simple cannot get it right, I am scathing in my feedback. The higher the level of a person in an entity, the higher the standard I expect. I am especially harsh when the error involves fiscal or medical stuff. There is no excuse for doing a crummy job in those fields.
Last edited:
kamloops67
Member
Parts store in town gives preference to in store customers at the counter , they often have parts guys that deal strictly with phone calls
If you ask why you were on hold so long they straight up tell you they give preference to people that take the time to come in .
It’s the people in the store that drop the cash
If you ask why you were on hold so long they straight up tell you they give preference to people that take the time to come in .
It’s the people in the store that drop the cash
Yup, that is the only logical explanation I've ever been able to come up with.
If you register your complaint or give a specific negative review, management knows who/what needs correction.
If you don't, they don't know, and nothing gets fixed.
It is worth the effort, IMO.
Last edited:
Model 15-4ever
Member
The LGS that I frequent only answers the phone if an employee is available. They don't pick up if there are customers in the store waiting. Some complain that they can't get through on the phone, but the store prioritizes customers who actually come in to the store.
Having heard some of the ridiculous things that people call into a gunshop about, probably the best policy when you are short-handed.
Having heard some of the ridiculous things that people call into a gunshop about, probably the best policy when you are short-handed.
I never thought about it that way before but you’re right. $1.60 an hour and glad to get it (Ford dealerships in DFW area). Anything over forty hours was time & a half and my take-home pay was usually just over $100 a week during the Summer.
You got PAID?!?
I worked in the hay fields on my grandpa's farm all summer, every summer, from age 8 to 16. Never got paid a dime - just room & board.
I wasn't a substitute for "illegal alien labor" - that wasn't even a "thing" back then. By your definition I was SLAVE labor!
But I learned what it means to really WORK. A lesson that served me well for the rest of my life.
It was worth it, IMO.
Hair Trigger
US Veteran
I've worked retail for a while and was taught the guy at the counter was there, so serve him first. If I answered a call because I was the only one available to take it, I was supposed to ask them to wait, or I would promise to call them back at their convenience. Since they were a potential buyer and to keep the promise, I would call them as soon as I was free or when they said they'd be available. It is rude to make someone wait for service when they made the trip, compared to someone who just called.
Now that’s the right way to do business. It seems like common courtesy isn’t so common anymore... but I refuse to give in (in that I will always treat people the way I’d like to be treated).
Muffler Shop - Walk Out
Years ago I walked in a local muffler shop.
Owners was talking with a customer.
I waited for my turn.
Somebody walked in.
Owner greeted the new arrival and started talking about personal stuff.
I headed for the door.
No Service = No Profit!
Bekeart
Years ago I walked in a local muffler shop.
Owners was talking with a customer.
I waited for my turn.
Somebody walked in.
Owner greeted the new arrival and started talking about personal stuff.
I headed for the door.
No Service = No Profit!
Bekeart
Jack Flash
Member
This stuff about answering the phone and leaving me to cool my heels is unacceptable. I leave.
A similar situation: Once, I was a at the fresh meat / seafood counter. The only customer. The woman behind the counter was unpacking some products. She would open a box, walk over to the display case and deposit the contents, break down the box, then walk it over to the recycle bin. Pretty inefficient. After about the fourth box, I began to walk away.
"Oh sir, I'll be with you in just a minute!"
"That's ok, I'll come back when you aren't so busy."
Last time I ever bought anything there.
A similar situation: Once, I was a at the fresh meat / seafood counter. The only customer. The woman behind the counter was unpacking some products. She would open a box, walk over to the display case and deposit the contents, break down the box, then walk it over to the recycle bin. Pretty inefficient. After about the fourth box, I began to walk away.
"Oh sir, I'll be with you in just a minute!"
"That's ok, I'll come back when you aren't so busy."
Last time I ever bought anything there.
Hair Trigger
US Veteran
I went to a tire service about a mile from my house, quite a few years ago. The owner is a neighbor I don't know very well, but I thought I'd give him my business and buy local. I had my crew dually, so that was a set of six tires. When I got there the place was empty, no customers, just the owner and his helper. They were sitting around the mounting machine rocked back in their chairs. It was about 0830 on a Friday morning and I had errands to run later and needed the truck.
He asked what he could do for me, I told him I needed a full set of tires and gave him the size. He went to his desk and looked up what he had and offered me a choice of two styles he had; either one was suitable and I picked one. He gave me the price and then said, "Can you leave the truck?" I told him I needed the truck later to haul some stuff. He then told me he couldn't get to it before lunchtime; I commented it wouldn't take more than an hour and he didn't have any other customers (he didn't take reservations, either). He started complaining about how he had to change the wheel adapter on his mounting machine and balancer for the Bubs wheels that were on my truck and how mounting those kind of wheels was a pain in the butt.
I said to him, "I guess you don't need to sell a set of tires that bad, do you?" and then said I'd find another place that wanted to do more business in the future because I had several other cars that would need tires. I walked out and haven't been back, that's been about 20 years ago, I suppose.
He asked what he could do for me, I told him I needed a full set of tires and gave him the size. He went to his desk and looked up what he had and offered me a choice of two styles he had; either one was suitable and I picked one. He gave me the price and then said, "Can you leave the truck?" I told him I needed the truck later to haul some stuff. He then told me he couldn't get to it before lunchtime; I commented it wouldn't take more than an hour and he didn't have any other customers (he didn't take reservations, either). He started complaining about how he had to change the wheel adapter on his mounting machine and balancer for the Bubs wheels that were on my truck and how mounting those kind of wheels was a pain in the butt.
I said to him, "I guess you don't need to sell a set of tires that bad, do you?" and then said I'd find another place that wanted to do more business in the future because I had several other cars that would need tires. I walked out and haven't been back, that's been about 20 years ago, I suppose.
