" Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding that limit." - Elbert Hubbard
Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoy shopping...for groceries, electronics, books, garden tools and assorted miscellaneous items. In a recession-laden economy there are bargains galore to be had by the adventurous and not-so-adventurous shoppers among us.
Stores that were once crammed with anxious bargain hunters are now less stuffed with bustling crowds. The product aisles are still very well kept. Most products of mass appeal are festooned with mark down stickers and that is a good thing for many customers. The only major drawback I can detect is a lack of enthusiastic sales personnel manning the department store floors.
A short time ago my wife ran out of her favorite hand cream. It is a special European blend of ingredients and emollients that promise to keep a woman's hands smooth, soft , lovely and of course younger looking. It has a nice fragrance too! It was necessary that I visit the cosmetic department of an upscale local department store located in one of those super shopping malls to get this hand cream for her. I happily volunteered to do this for her after work.
I entered the cosmetic department area around three p. m. and breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed that the crowd that day was minimal. A few early afternoon shoppers were out and about foraging for bargains and these few individuals were nowhere near the cosmetic department area I planned on visiting. I considered myself a lucky man to have chosen this time of day to do my shopping.
There were four female customer service representatives clustered around one of the service checkout stations. The women were deeply engrossed in their chatting and did not appear to notice me as I approached their sales area. I walked up to the women and politely asked if someone could help me with my purchase. I tried being polite as possible so as to not disrupt their animated chatter.
The women looked in my direction as if they were appraising me. Finally one of the sales clerks decided to assist me. She left the group and walked over to me and asked , "What do you want?" I guess I rubbed her ego the wrong way. I took a deep breath and told her the name of the hand cream I wanted to purchase. She told me that the store did carry that brand of cream and instructed to me to follow her to the cosmetic counter where the product was displayed and featured.
The hand cream was not at this station. She appeared upset and uttered a profanity under her breath. She then composed herself and led me to another area where the product might be stored. The hand cream I wanted was there but not displayed for public viewing. She hurriedly opened a multi-pack of the product and handed me one of the tubes to examine.
I told her that this was indeed the hand cream my wife wanted and thanked her for helping me. She then led me to another customer check out station to ring up my purchase. The counter tops in this area were cluttered with ribbons, store advertising fliers and assorted other bits of garbage. There was barely space for me to place my purchase on the counter top.
She took my credit card and then thrust the store receipt in my face. She did not thank me for my purchase nor make any type of eye contact with me. She hurriedly handed me back my credit card and asked me if I wanted a bag for my purchase. I told her a bag would be most welcomed.
She desperately looked about the area and could not find any appropriate size store bag for my purchase. In desperation she searched in a nearby garbage receptacle and found a slightly tattered and torn bag for my order. She placed the hand cream in this bag and started to leave me at the customer checkout station by myself.
As she was walking away she told me she had to leave because she was planning a surprise party for someone and had to make a number of urgent telephone calls. She then walked away leaving me there alone and feeling unappreciated as a customer.
I usually take things like this philosophically and try to see the situation from the other person's perspective. In this instance that approach did not work. The sales associates possibly lacked the proper training to interact properly with inquisitive and potential buying customers. Maybe she was just having a bad day. I know she did not add anything positive to my shopping experience. My wife liked the hand cream in case you were wondering.
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