Customer service etiquette

[Reika]

If you call a customer service line and the rep says something along the lines that they're pulling up your file, please don't start humming hold music. I'm sure you find that funny, but over my headset it's incredibly annoying and painful.

[Black Delphinium]

-Please do not ask me to confirm/deny anything in the Leaked Holiday Ad. Until it is officially released to the public, I could lose my job for commenting on it.

[Ponytail_Palm]

Customers:

Please don't rip signs off shelves or fixtures to "prove" that something is supposed to be on sale. An employee needs to verify that the price you cite actually refers to the item you're buying, and it's much easier for them to walk back with you than to replace the sign after you've torn it off.

Please, please do not say "you look too young to work here!" to the cashier. If she's working here, she isn't.

Do not expect employees to watch your children while you shop.

Not every employee in the store is able to do the job you want done. Employees folding clothes or stocking shelves might not be trained on register, and even if they are they might get in trouble were their numbers to show up in the register system. Cashiers may also not be allowed to leave their stations to help you find something (but of course, they should promptly find you someone who can!).

As annoying as it is, cashiers are often required to ask customers a set - sometimes an excessively long set - of questions. Not asking for zip codes, customer service surveys, charity donations, and especially credit card sign-ups may lose the cashier his job. Cashiers understand all too well that this can be incredibly frustrating for the customer, but there's nothing they can do about it. If you find it to be a hassle, most cashiers will gladly tell you where to direct your complaints.***

Keep in mind that cashiers may work in every department of a large store and thus may not know everything about Product X. Don't be nasty or imply that the cashier doesn't know how to do his job because he says "I don't know, but let me find you someone who does." I was often assigned to run register in a commission area of the department store where I worked, and anything I knew about the products in the area (quite a lot by the time I was done, but not everything) was purely bonus and not required by my job description.

This should go without saying, but sadly it can't: never make assumptions about the cashier's knowledge or skill set based on his or her gender!

If an employee doesn't understand what you want or doesn't know how to help you, never assume that she's an idiot. She might be new.

In many stores you are not allowed to use someone else's credit card. Period. It is usually a violation of both the terms and conditions of the card and store policy. Many cashiers disregard this policy for the sake of speed and customer satisfaction, but just because "that lady who was here yesterday accepted the card" does not mean your current cashier can't refuse to do so. In these days of identity theft, do you really want someone to be able to walk into a store and buy things on your dime?

Remember the golden rule of being a customer: you can ALWAYS catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar!

***If you only remember one thing from this post, remember this. I can't tell you how much verbal abuse I and my fellow cashiers had to endure because corporate didn't have a clue how annoying customers find endless questioning. I counted once and I think I determined that I was required to ask customers up to 11 questions before they could pay for their items. And if I skipped a single one I'd get in trouble.

[Orisha]

Customers:

Please don't rip signs off shelves or fixtures to "prove" that something is supposed to be on sale. An employee needs to verify that the price you cite actually refers to the item you're buying, and it's much easier for them to walk back with you than to replace the sign after you've torn it off.

POD.  Add to that, when the cashier asks someone to verify a sale, it's not an attack on your character.  It's company policy...and if there is a mistake, we need to let management know to correct the signs.

Also to Customers:

1.) If you have an extensive or complicated return, please try to avoid peak hours, like lunchtime or just after work gets out if you can avoid it. 

2.) Do not make derogatory presumptions about a CSR's education level because of their job.  Some people don't go to college either because they can't afford it or they know it's not for them...doesn't mean they're stupid.  Not only that, there are plenty of people with advanced degrees who are working retail and waiting tables these days with the economy such as it is. 

3.) Retail stores are busy.  Please do not call us with a 20-item list and demand that we gather all these items and have them waiting for you when you get there.  We are not your merry little elves.  (And yes, this has happened numerous times.)

4.) Do not EVER touch a CSR.  "Excuse me" is more than sufficient to get our attention.

5.) If there is CSR up on a ladder, please give the ladder a safe berth.  If the ladder is blocking something you need, just let the person on the ladder know.  Most times, we're happy to get down and get that item for you.

6.) If the closing announcement has been made, gather your stuff and get to the register.  Do not expect the staff to sit around waiting for you to finish shopping and do not give a CSR attitude if they politely remind you that the store is closing and you need to bring your purchase up to a register.  When it's closing time, it's time to go. 

7.) If a CSR approaches you and you don't need help, a polite, no thanks is sufficient.  There's no need to be rude or to shush us. 

8.) Take note of who helped you if you had a question about a sale, return policy, etc.  If an issue comes up, saying "they said" or "employees told me" will get you no where.  If anything, it usually sends up a red flag.

[ginlyn32]

*If you have a coupon granting you a percentage off your entire purchase, please read the exclusions before trying to use the coupon. The store I work for has a very long list of exclusions for all of their coupons, most of the time it is on the side of the mechandise being excluded. For example, if I am ringing you up and you present me with several Everyday Value items and a 20% off coupon, I will tell you that your items are excluded from the coupon.

No it's not because we, the cashiers, are being mean. Yes I can still scan the coupon, but it'll be excluded. No, yelling at me will not help. Yes, even if the item is Everyday Value and it's on Clearance, the coupon is STILL excluded.

*There is no Double Dipping when it comes to coupons and Card Rewards Discounts. You can use one or the other, not both. If you use your coupon, you do not get the Use Your Card Discount (usually 15% off).

And yes, please if you have complaints about the way the sale sign is worded or the way the store runs it's business, contact the Store Manager or Corporate Headquarters. Yelling at the cashier accomplishes nothing except making you look like an idiot.

*Please be aware that while you may have been able to return items to any dept in the past, this has now changed. Now you must take the item back to the dept where it was purchased. This is to avoid people ripping off tags and putting new tags on their items and basically stealing from the store.

ginlyn

[Orisha]

If you live in a home where there is a heavy smoker, please keep any clothing items carefully wrapped and away from the main smoking area until you're sure you're keeping it.  The store cannot resell smokey clothing.

[iridaceae]

Threatening someone's job because the answer is not what you want to hear is a truly soulless thing to do.  Do you understand how this makes an employee feel?

[camlan]

Threatening someone's job because the answer is not what you want to hear is a truly soulless thing to do.  Do you understand how this makes an employee feel?

When I worked at the translation agency, we hired high school students to work part-time after school. It was a program run by the local high school, to help the kids learn basic job skills. One girl I hired was the sweetest, smartest, most willing worker I've ever met. She was quick to learn, always on time, willing to take on any task. Prior to working with us, she'd been working at a supermarket, first as a cashier, then as a clerk at the customer service desk.

At her one month review, I asked her how she felt about working with us. "No one yells at me," she said. "You don't know how good that feels." Cue me astonished to discover that people yell at supermarket employees--doing this had simply never occurred to me. I mean, the big problems are usually corporate policy or a mistake that someone else would have made. Yelling at the person at the CS desk probably isn't going to help much. But now I know why, sometimes, when I go to the desk with a problem, the clerk seems relieved when I state my business--because it's probably clear that I'm not going to start screaming and yelling at them. And this girl, well, she was so sweet and helpful, it was hard for me to imagine that people would start yelling at her--it was clearly not her personality to be snarky and unhelpful.

I'm very, very grateful that my parents taught me both manners and that I should use them all the time.

[JonGirl]

To the women who work with my dh at major department store at major shopping centre:
DO NOT FLIRT WITH HIM IN FRONT OF ME!!   
That is one of the reasons why I don't shop in your nasty store anymore.
And grunting at a customer who asks you a question is not the right way about it either. 

[Muffin]

To the women who work with my dh at major department store at major shopping centre:
DO NOT FLIRT WITH HIM IN FRONT OF ME!!   

Ohhhh, POD! My boyfriend works at Banana Republic-- which sells mens clothing, but he's one of maybe TWO straight men. The flirting is incessant. He has a lot of girl friends too, so saying to me when I come to visit, "Wow, he's in here with a different girl every day..." makes me not want to shop in your store.

[Orisha]

Threatening someone's job because the answer is not what you want to hear is a truly soulless thing to do.  Do you understand how this makes an employee feel?

I think they know exactly how that feels, but don't care.  Then again, only really small people think it's ok to verbally or physically abuse staff.  We've had the police come pretty much on a daily basis because some customer was screaming in a cashier's face, shoved or hit an associate or even spat on them.  And they back off right quick when the cop approaches them.  The only way this is going to change is if staffers who are spat on or hit press charges for assault and if employeers are willing to ban violent people from the store.  I swear, so many retailers are more concerned with alienating even a single customer than caring whether their employees have a safe work environment.

Also, for customers:

1.) If a cream or lotion isn't explicitedly marked as a tester, please do not use it.  It's absolutely reasonable to go to a member of staff and ask if a tester is available, but using a non-tester means that a store can no longer sell it to another customer.  In other words, it's stealing.  (We had a customer help herself to use of a $16 tube of handcream yesterday, and then had to damage it out because no one wants to buy a pre-used lotion with product missing...especially for $16!)

2.) If a product is recalled, you need to go to the product's manufacturer.  It's their faulty product and their responsibility to make it right.  The one exception is if the item is something that was recently purchased at our store, proved defective and you still have the receipt.  Then we will gladly issue a refund or make an exchange in accordance with our store policy.  Otherwise, do not scream at us and demand a free *item* or a coupon. 

For Stores:

If you have a loyal guest program that involves sending out coupons in support of special promotions, it is corporate's responsibility to make sure that each and every member of said program receives the coupons to which they are entitled.  Especially if you aren't going to give us extra coupons to have in store. 

[Ponytail_Palm]

That reminds me:

Customers, stores are not obligated to keep extra coupons on hand. Some do, some don't, but generally it's a good idea to make sure you bring your own. Screaming at me that you "left it at home and home is 20 miles away!" will not make me disregard store policy. The reason many stores require you to bring your own is that they are intended to be distributed one per customer, and if you pull that spiel at every register (which sadly, some people try to do, so stores have to assume that everyone might) you could be getting more of a discount than you're supposed to.

Bring receipts, too. Many stores cannot do a return without a receipt, period.

[Orisha]

That reminds me:

Customers, stores are not obligated to keep extra coupons on hand. Some do, some don't, but generally it's a good idea to make sure you bring your own. Screaming at me that you "left it at home and home is 20 miles away!" will not make me disregard store policy. The reason many stores require you to bring your own is that they are intended to be distributed one per customer, and if you pull that spiel at every register (which sadly, some people try to do, so stores have to assume that everyone might) you could be getting more of a discount than you're supposed to.

Bring receipts, too. Many stores cannot do a return without a receipt, period.

I hate that.  So many customers throw huge hissy-fits when coupons aren't automatically supplied for them.  Talk about entitlement.   Why do those types of customers always decide that their lack of organization is the associate's problem? 

[Winterlight]

For mail-order CSRs, if your company has screwed up, apologize! "Ma'am, I'm so sorry this order didn't go out on time" goes a long way. It may not fix the problem, but it recognizes that there is one and doesn't blame the customer.

Likewise, customers who are irritated, remember it's not the fault of the person on the phone. Unless it's a tiny business, that person didn't pack or ship the order.

[judecat]

I don't agree here, When I worked in a store I was not going to enable a SS to bother my manager, and my manager appreciated it if we could handle situations like this ourselves. It is very simple, if there is nothing I can do, there is nothing I can do, why should I call a manager to tell you the same thing?

Also if what you CAN do does not work for the customer and he keeps asking for something you can't do, then that is where it ends.

On the second, I never said you should acquiese to their demands. You can of course tell them "no" to things you cant do ("I'm sorry sir, we dont offer discounts for extended time in line.  But we can take care of you right now/set you up with our speedpass account so things will go faster in the future/show you how to use our online site to answer your questions/give you the number to our corporate office." etc.) But the conversation shouldnt end there on your part, you should keep offering them the alternatives that you *can* do.  It's about framing the conversation and being proactive about actually resolving something. 

And by the time I've done all that for one customer,  I've lost 5 customers I could have helped.   In other words customers need to realize they are not the only customer in the store,  while I may in fact be the only covering lunches for 3 departments.