Please don’t…(Part 2 of 4)

Last week I covered the first five of the complaints employees make about Costco customers (Please don’t…(Part 1 of 4)…Here are the next five…

6. Abandoning your cart while in line at checkout

Sure, sometimes there are emergencies and people have to leave the store while in line. But, other than those times, not considerate.

7. Making threats

How odd! I actually wrote a post about strange experiences at Costco and how another customer threatened to kill my dad (The Costco circus: Strange shopping experiences)…so I guess customers and employees alike get threatened. Sure, Costco is a dangerous place due to the odd placement of some items (why do they store boxes of watermelons up high???) but death threats?

Similarly…

8. Attempting to start physical fights with the employees

What??

9. Complaining about store policies

I am a little mixed on this one. I can understand that expecting that an employee can make a change to a store policy is unreasonable. However, I can understand why customers would approach employees with complaints, concerns, or requests. The “proper channel” for these complaints/requests is customer service, a manager, or contacting the company through the phone number or email on the website. Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to share one’s concerns with an employee while in the store.  (Okay, I cannot resist sharing one of my all-time favorite “dad stories”…many years ago we were on a family vacation and went out to eat at the Olive Garden. Not the best food for sure, but should be reliable in a new place when food was not the “main event.” The service was just horrendous…the waiter kept saying “be back with the sticks”…but they did not arrive for a very long time and several reminders; the meals took a long time and, if I recall correctly, there may have been at least one error in the order. My family is not too demanding, but, due to my father’s job (will not mention to protect the anonymity), he thinks it is very important to let companies know when the service is not up to par. So, he left the rest of us while he went to find the manager. Several minutes later, he returns with quite the sheepish look on his face and says “let’s go. I’ll tell you what happened in the car.” In the car, he tells the story. He found the “manager” and said, “Sir, I don’t like to complain but, we have eaten in Olive Gardens in several states and are always pleased with the food and the service and expected the same satisfaction here. However, I have to tell you, the service tonight was just terrible [insert the specific complaints.]” Apparently, the response was “Sir, I’m very sorry that you did not enjoy your meal but I’m just a customer.” Hahaha. Yes, dad complained to a fellow customer who apparently (tie? air of authority? some other misleading cue?) looked like a manager!  (Of course, it begs the question as to why this customer let my dad continue with the entire complaint before cutting him off…) ok, back to the post…but at least maybe it is better to complain to actual employees rather than fellow customers)

10. Getting employees into trouble with management

Growing up, we used to go to a store in Connecticut called “Stew Leonards.” On the way to the checkout lines was a sign that said “Rule #1: The customer is always right. Rule #2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread rule #1.” Now, signs like this make the customers fell good. But…I agree with some of the Costco employees complaints that, if a customer is really unreasonable, it is irritating to be blamed.

How about these? Guilty?