Retail Stores . . .

I have been going to Home Depot recently to get assorted 'stuff' for the house and even the boat . . . Today I went to both Home Depot and West Marine. With both stores I noticed a dramatic increase in the number of sales staff that come up to you and ask if you need any help, etc. As soon as you get rid one one sales person another one comes up and asks the same question, . . . then a third, and a forth. Every aisle you turn down, there is another one. :facepalm:

I just got in the store, let me look around for a while (in peace) . . . the 'management' must have a kill people with kindness campaign going on or something.

Then. . . when I finally needed some 'help', at both stores, there was not a sales person to be found . . . I start wondering around looking for them, who only minutes ago were descending on me like mosquitoes. They are gone . . . where did they go? Finally, after 5-10 minutes, I get somebody to assist.

I'm just wondering if it is just me or do others experience the same sort of thing??? It seems like the sales people at these stores can tell when you don't need any assistance, so they come asking; and they also can tell when you do need help, so they head for the back room

Re: Retail Stores . . .

It's the busy season staffing ramp up, TP. Now - Where are they when you need them? I think that's part of the New Hire training program, pester customers until they need you then vamoose. LOL

BTW I've noticed more orange aprons at my local Home De Pot too. And they disappear too.

Re: Retail Stores . . .

That's kinda' funny ... at my local "big box" home improvement stores, I can typically NEVER find someone easily to ask a question (season doesn't really matter). One is better than the others, but it's still more difficult than I would like.

A few years ago I wandered into one of our local hardware stores (locally owned family hardware type of deal), and was floored. EVERY time I walk in, someone not just asks me if they can help ... they walk me to what I'm looking for. The people at the cash register remember me (some even by name). And if I just wanna' wander and look that day, they back off ... but are easy to find.

Viva la small biz!

Re: Retail Stores . . .

I get a kick out of this.. It's true but there is an explanation. At HD you are required to greet every customer you see. Really all that means is that you greet them with a hello but no one ever gets that explained to them. Theres no commission based sales people at HD they are all working in constant fear of loosing their jobs. If you want the best help at HD just ask the person that casually say's hi when they pass. They've been there the longest and know their stuff. Problem is, they are also the ones in high demand so you can never find them.

Yes, I was a department head at HD... In the paint department no less, I hate paint. I knew tools inside and out (ran a high end tool store) but they gave me the paint department... Talk about dumb logic! I lasted a year and then went back to private IT consulting where I belonged. It was a nice break for a couple of years though.

Re: Retail Stores . . .

In HD & Lowes, I've found it depends partly on what time of day I go. When I go early in the morning, forget it. There are so many employees trying to help that you forget half of what you came in for! But when it is busier a little later on, it's tougher to find help if you need it. And to be honest, I'd rather just be told where stuff is when I ask instead of being escorted there, I might be looking for other things and want to stop in a different department on the way.

Same thing in my bank. All the younger tellers say to me (verbatim) "And how is you day going so far?". I'm sure they have been instructed to use those exact words and that would be fine if I thought they really gave a rat's ***. Same exact phrase at every branch, but the older ones at least can make real conversation, and say something original and more genuine! I appreciate that a lot more!

Re: Retail Stores . . .

Only in America.

We go into a store and complain when we dont get enough help, from store clerks. We go into a store and complain, when we get too much help, from store clerks.

Re: Retail Stores . . .

mscher said:

Only in America.

We go into a store and complain when we dont get enough help, from store clerks. We go into a store and complain, when we get too much help, from store clerks.

Click to expand...

I know . . . what are we complaining about??? On average, the service was just right :facepalm:

Re: Retail Stores . . .

LOL... At my local Lowe's, I actively avoid browsing the tool section because there's a guy in that part of the store that absolutely will not back off with the small talk. I've gone so far as to buy tools from Home Depot (10 mile drive vs. 2 mile drive) just so I wouldn't have to deal with him. Dude is relentless.

And, honestly, if I have a question any more complicated than "where is", I won't ask retail staff anyway.

A few years ago while I was between jobs I signed on as seasonal help at the Geek Squad counter at Best Buy. I quit after 2 weeks because no matter how broke I was at the time, I couldn't bring myself to live up to my sales obligations with a clear conscience. During training we were instructed that a customer who bought a new laptop should not be allowed, under any circumstances, to leave the store without at least $150 worth of "add-ons" in their cart. If a customer insisted on buying just the computer and nothing else, the salesperson would be reprimanded for failing to sell the add-ons. Every item in the store, computers, televisions, etc... had a dollar amount of "add-ons" that needed to be sold along with them to keep the salesperson out of trouble. I have received personal training from a department manager on how to explain to a customer the foolishness of purchasing a $60 HDMI cable instead of the $230 HDMI cable. The phrase "make them feel stupid" was heavily stressed during this training. (This "training" is what finally pushed me to quit the job. Since I know how HDMI actually works, I couldn't bring myself to push either cable when a $7.00 cable from monoprice.com will perform equally with either of them.) The policy at Best Buy was so strict that it's actually better for the salesperson if you leave with nothing than if you buy a computer and $75 worth of add-ons. If you buy nothing, there's no record that you were there. If they ring up that laptop for you, there's a record of their failure to push the requisite amount of useless crap on you. (Add-ons are small ticket items related to the big ticket item you purchased. If you buy a laptop, I have to sell you $150 worth of mouse pads and flash drives. If you buy a $300 Xbox system, that doesn't satisfy that $150 requirement. That's another item that requires me to push MORE add-ons at you.)

I'm a talented IT professional with over 20 years experience. I took the Best Buy gig because it was the height of the recession and I lived in an area with zero job market. I figured this was something where I could at least put my skills to use. After two weeks in their environment, I quit and went to work at a packing house slaughtering hogs for even less money. It was much harder work, I was covered in blood head to toe for 9 or 10 hours a day, but at least I got to lay down at night not feeling like I had spent the day screwing people.

After that experience, I've been noticed the same behavior from staff in nearly any retail store. You get pounced on when you walk in because their children's next meal depends on getting you to buy something whether it fits your needs or not. You can't get help when you want it because you've probably been in the store long enough that they've tagged you as a "browser" and don't want to waste time on someone who's been there for 10 minutes and doesn't have the credit card out yet.

If you find yourself having trouble getting help, just grab a cart and throw a few items in it. Any items, it doesn't matter, you can ditch the cart later. If you look like someone who's spending money, there will be no shortage of "help" swamping you.

Just be smart and don't trust any "help" they give you beyond where to find a certain item. They are not there to help you fix your problem, they are there to get you to drop the largest amount of cash possible before you walk out the door.

Home Depot, specifically, abruptly ended a job interview when I answered a question by saying that I would not push a product that did not fit the customers needs, believing that honest, helpful advice would build a relationship that would be more profitable in the long run than selling someone the wrong product. The interviewer said, basically, "We're not worried about what the customer needs, we're concerned with what we can get them to buy. If they buy the wrong thing, then they'll come back and spend more to get the right thing."

Re: Retail Stores . . .

In west MI we have a Menards store that hires a lot of good looking ladies. Most of the time they can't help you with any thing heavy, but it's great when they ask you if you need help finding something, or they have to get on a ladder to get something down for you. (even if you know where it is)

Re: Retail Stores . . .

Well, Home Depot must have read my post here, because I went there this morning and they pretty much left me alone, except when I needed some help.

I got in and out of there in record time