Well, it's finally time that I weigh in on stuff that annoys me...as Valerie will get upset (and annoyed) with me if I don't do my share of contributing to the blog. (Val, maybe you could blog about how annoying it is when friends say they're going to do something with you, and then actually flake and don't do anything at all!)
But, back to the business at hand. I've been doing some shopping lately--nothing exciting--a new bra at Macy's, some housewares at Williams-Sonoma, some shirts at the Gap--and I've noticed something that really bugs. The "Un-Thank You."
Maybe it's because I've worked retail before (my Mom's Hallmark store, from a tender young age, not to mention stints at the Gap when in graduate school!), but is it too much to ask to be thanked after you've just spent money at a store? Apparently so. Mom would not be pleased--the ultimate rule was to always thank the customer for shopping with us.
Enter what I call the "Un-Thank You." Rather than being sent on your way with some gratefulness, you get the "Buh-bye," the vacant stare, or the crumpled receipt wordlessly handed over into your outstretched palm. You never get, "Thanks for shopping at [insert over-priced retail outlet's name here.] Do you know what I'm saying, people?
Often, I find myself confusedly thanking the salesperson for the sheer privilege of purchasing a lemon-zester. Or nervously screeching, "thanks a lot!!" as the clerk has already forgotten that I was there, and has resumed the arduous task of chewing her gum. Crazy, I know. Old habits die hard.
Am I hideously old and suffer from an outmoded moral code? Are my manners Victorian? Do I need to get hip with the times and accept that the post-sale thank-you has gone the way of the dodo?
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2 comments:
Ah, KK, your first entry is spot-on! I cannot remember the last time I got a Thank You. I tend to shop at boutiques that are a bit intimidating (why I am intimidated by someone making $8/hour I will never understand) and I do feel like I end up thanking them for the pleasure of allowing me to spend money on a piece of overpriced crap.
Did your mom have a rule about offering a bag? When I worked retail I was not allowed to ask, "do you need a bag?" We had to ask "would you like a bag." It was considered rude to ask if people needed a bag. I wonder if that is still the rule today.
Amen, VK!
Judy's other rule (her store was "Judy's Hallmark," of course) was that you ALWAYS had to count out the change. For example, if the sale was for $6.42 and someone handed you a $10, you had to say, "You change is $3.58, 8 cents makes $6.50, 50 cents makes $7, [while counting the dollars], 8, 9 and 10. Thank you!"
Mind you, this was before the days of cash registers that automatically show you what the change amount should be.
Which makes me think (and laugh), when I worked at The Gap in grad school, they always made me work the register, because I was the only one who could make change!!!
Judy was proud, of course...
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