I am convinced that Macy's doesn't have its priorities in order — Page 4

Eris - Unfortunately, the atmosphere where I worked was quite different. The manager would just plop something in front of the register and tell us we had to sell X mount of items by the end of the day/week. Nobody needs a suede coffee cup sleeve for $9.99. And from the amount of them lying around the store, nobody wanted them, either.

I actually do what i have to at work

Really? You have to "get back" at customers? In a customer service position? I'd love to read that employee handbook!

You don't ever have to put up with name-calling, which most (good) managers and HR and customer service departments will support. Either you don't know how to handle the situation, which means Macy's has terrible managers and training, or you simply do not want to behave professionally, which means you should be in the stock room or somewhere where you have no customer interaction (which would be my recommendation if you were one of my employees).

One wonderful outlet for stress we had in a store, particularly during the holiday season, for dealing with challenging customers was a customer "slam book" of sorts. We had a large beautifully bound notebook (it was one of the first large bookstore chains) kept in the break room where we could anonymously log in particularly frustrating or hilarious situations. It was a way to silently vent and keep our cool when dealing with stressful situations and it made for some HILARIOUS reading while on break. We never used names or resorted to personal attacks on customers. We only described the event or situation. I remember one particular entry I made in the diary:

"A lady came up to me and asked if we had a very popular book in stock, but couldn't remember the title, the author or the subject of the story. She described it (using her hands) as being 'this big and green'."

Working at that bookstore was one of my all-time favorite jobs. The managers knew I could handle anything thrown at me, so I worked with little-to-no supervision all day every day. Even rude customers simply couldn't ruin it for me, but I totally give credit to the excellent management.

---

I was wondering the same thing, Stockard. I worked retail one Christmas and vowed to NEVER do it again. In lots of jobs in lots of years, I have never once been called stupid in the workplace.

---

Mister Matt, like i said earlier in the thread, Macys only trained me on how to use the cash register. they never even told me what department i was going to work in til after i was done learning how to use the register. the macys i work in has 3 floors and i had no idea where my department was on the 1st day because the didnt show me. I had to ask another employee where the department is. also i know nothing about dress clothes and ties and stuff. they didnt teach me any of that.

Mister Matt, working at a bookstore is a favorite experience of mine as well.

---

Funny that I should see this thread now, as I'm starting my job as a jewelry associate tomorrow at Macy's.

Unlike Winston, I'm grateful for being hired.

Is it hard to deal with customers, especially around Christmas? Yeah, it is. But either suck it up and deal with it, or quit your whining.

---

Updated On: 12/14/09 at 05:11 PM

Really? It's clear you're clueless on the topic of raising children vs. the way they turn out.

It's clear you're clueless as to what I was actually saying. I didn't say blaming his parents or their generation was valid, I said it was equally as invalid as chocking alxscrz2's behavior up to a generational thing. I'm sure you disagree with that, but don't feel compelled to tell me why. I'm sure there are valid points there, but I don't often agree with the way you communicate them. As somebody who belongs to the group you vilify it will always be a pointless circular argument.

I just don't find people around my age working customer service to be consistently rude enough to make that generalization, is all. I was discussing the idea of doing secret shopping with someone, and pointed out that I'm even more likely to get a rude young person because they don't feel that have to be polite to their peers. I've still probably had my worst customer service experiences with women in their 30s-40s.

alxscrz2, don't take my comment so seriously. I'm sure your folks are great. I'm sure they're super proud that you're doing your damnedest to transform yourself into a sociopath. If you work in retail customer service is always a part of your job description. Hell, it's a big part of most jobs, retail or not. That means it is your job to be polite. No, that doesn't mean take abuse, but you should be able to withstand it long enough to receive assistance.

And stop whining that you weren't trained on things that it'd take you an hour of initiative to learn. If it will make you more comfortable and capable in your job, go out of your way to learn what you need to about the store you work in. You'll be happier. It's not that hard.