Know your stuff before you take a job where customers rely on you!!!!!!

Ok so I just came here to rant about somethin that has been getting under my skin as of late! stores like wal-mart target etc hireing people and putting them in a department that they know little or nothing about. after a few occasions recently i have walked into a department of a store and asked the person assigned to that area(who i have seen assigned there for a couple of months now) a simple question and got a dumb look or wrong directions to for instance in one case i walked up to an employee in sporting goods and asked them "excuse me sir where are your tackle boxes" my answer was "three aisles down about in the middle" so i say thanks and proceed to the aisle which turns out to be tents and sleeping bags. i ended up finding the tackle boxes 3 aisles beyond that right on the end. on another instance i asked for a copy of the hunting regulations for 2011. my respons was a blank stare and an "ummm what are those?" thankfully a manager happend to walk by and without hesitation pulled one out from under the counter and handed it to me. these are a couple of examples there are many more in many departments. now dont get me wrong im not bashng sales associates as a whole just the ones who are clueless... ok i feal better now even if no one reads this haha thank you ats

lol.. I agree stores have a lot of people who do not know what they are doing, but at least they are employing people

Reminds of an old British army joke.
You there! can you play the piano.
Yes Sir!
Good.....come and help us move this one.

Yeah I agree with what you said, or they hire people who have the knowledge but assign them to a different mundane job like cleaning bathrooms. I guess not everyone is privileged enough to work in Sporting Goods, Automotive or Electronics even though they may have lots of experience

People should take general knowledge tests before they can work in a specialized department like Sporting Goods.

reply to post by JROCK2527


But I love the 70yo lady in the electronics dept!

Originally posted by JROCK2527
Ok so I just came here to rant about somethin that has been getting under my skin as of late! stores like wal-mart target etc hireing people and putting them in a department that they know little or nothing about. after a few occasions recently i have walked into a department of a store and asked the person assigned to that area(who i have seen assigned there for a couple of months now) a simple question and got a dumb look or wrong directions to for instance in one case i walked up to an employee in sporting goods and asked them "excuse me sir where are your tackle boxes" my answer was "three aisles down about in the middle" so i say thanks and proceed to the aisle which turns out to be tents and sleeping bags. i ended up finding the tackle boxes 3 aisles beyond that right on the end. on another instance i asked for a copy of the hunting regulations for 2011. my respons was a blank stare and an "ummm what are those?" thankfully a manager happend to walk by and without hesitation pulled one out from under the counter and handed it to me. these are a couple of examples there are many more in many departments. now dont get me wrong im not bashng sales associates as a whole just the ones who are clueless... ok i feal better now even if no one reads this haha thank you ats

You should try living in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its like that everywhere you go. Even the bank personnel have no clue about the different type of accounts offered by their specific bank, and that is their job and one assumes they are trained for it. And it's not just one place, its all of them. Another thing that is common here is that there are about 5 store employees hanging around talking loudly to each other and ignoring the customers who are waiting for some help. I no longer ask for service in stores. If I can't find it then they have lost out, and I have saved money.

You have a point but there are many factors that could be involved.

I used to work in a video store, everybody has different tastes, correct? You could'nt possibly expect to ask me what I thought about every new release video. Like the employee has time to watch every new movie that comes out. even if we do get free rentals, which we did.

I currently work in a grocery store, and I stock shelves. that means I know all the grocery, frozen, and dairy. I don't know jack about produce, or HBC, yet I get customers asking me about it all the time. Im not a dumbass, it's just Im to busy knowing the other 75% of the store.

reply to post by Mikeyy


Although I've certainly met some like in the OP, I can honestly say that most reps I meet go out of their way to help, oftentimes coming with me to show me where that elusive item is.

Originally posted by JROCK2527
Ok so I just came here to rant about somethin that has been getting under my skin as of late! stores like wal-mart target etc hireing people and putting them in a department that they know little or nothing about. after a few occasions recently i have walked into a department of a store and asked the person assigned to that area(who i have seen assigned there for a couple of months now) a simple question and got a dumb look or wrong directions to for instance in one case i walked up to an employee in sporting goods and asked them "excuse me sir where are your tackle boxes" my answer was "three aisles down about in the middle" so i say thanks and proceed to the aisle which turns out to be tents and sleeping bags. i ended up finding the tackle boxes 3 aisles beyond that right on the end. on another instance i asked for a copy of the hunting regulations for 2011. my respons was a blank stare and an "ummm what are those?" thankfully a manager happend to walk by and without hesitation pulled one out from under the counter and handed it to me. these are a couple of examples there are many more in many departments. now dont get me wrong im not bashng sales associates as a whole just the ones who are clueless... ok i feal better now even if no one reads this haha thank you ats

OMG I agree!


I really hate asking for anything anymore anywhere I go. Nobody knows what they are talking about and when you ask them to show you they get all pissy..

I was in Books A Million and asked the sales lady if they had any Buffy books. She said no and I asked her to please check in the computer. I know that these books aren't always in the obvious spot because I looked. She acted like it was so hard for her type in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." It came up with 3 books! I bought all three because they were buy 2 get one free. Each book had 3 books in it so I got 9 books total! I told her now see had you not looked you wouldn't have sold these. Their job is to do this kind of stuff yet they act as if it's extra.

The other day I was in Walmart and asked a lady who has been there for as long as I have lived here, 3yrs, if they carried a certain Italian rice. She said no but check the Asian section. I look at her and said it's Italian rice (for risotto) it wouldn't be in the Asian section! To me that showed she wasn't even listening to me when I asked. Out of curiosity I looked and it wasn't there either. If it is in that store I will have to look myself one day when I have the time. I find it hard to believe they don't have this rice.

Another example, Pizza Hut the other day. I ordered delivery and they said it would be 45mins which was no problem. Well when I got my food it was cold! I called and complained and her immediate response was "we only have one driver." I told her that was a very bad excuse and she actually apologized and said you are right then didn't know what to say. They are 5 mins from my house, there is no excuse why it was dead cold! It is probably why I got sick that night!! I had to reheat a pizza that probably sat out for 45mins before I got it!


I could go on with examples. I have stopped asking anyone for help anywhere, they are usually never helpful or rude. I was joking with the girl in the yogurt place last night saying how they need smaller cups because the big ones are dangerous. The cost is by weight and they have these huge cups, no other size and by the time you put anything in it it's about 7 bucks! My ice cream was around 8 bucks last night. I was joking saying how they should have smaller cups so people don't get fat and go broke and she got all pissy with me! I wasn't being rude in any way. I was like wow get a sense of humor..I actually said that to the girl at the cafe at Barnes and Noble one time.....THREE years I have lived here and she never smiled once! She has no personality and is rude, she drove me nuts one day and I told her to seriously try and find a sense of humor or personality. I know that was probably mean but come on! Smile!!

Ok now Im ranting lol but this is so true!


It's like they don't care about their job. I always made sure I knew my job well to help others. That is MY job! I have also noticed companies dont train like they use to and this is probably part of the problem!


Nice rant

Don't shop at walmart. They pay minimum wage, what do you expect to happen? Need electronics, go to Best Buy, havent' had too many problems there.

reply to post by JROCK2527


Stores like Walmart hire (lowly paid) clerks, not necessarily someone knowledgeable about products on the shelves. Products on the shelves are just that. You wanna a partial experienced person to talk to, go to a store such as Home Depot or Lowe's that sells parts of things, whether a part of an electrical system, water system or a particular type of paint. Do you understand the difference?

You want knowledge:? Arm yourself by hitting the internet, talking fo family or friends that know something of what you want to discuss or get a bid for the job...or, lastly, get a book.

I think that perhaps your title should be changed??? A person can only know so much "stuff" BEFORE they take the job. Half of this problem stems from improper and/or insufficient training. How can you know where things are in your dept. if your boss tells you to stay at the counter? How do you know details if you're not taught? Everyone has to start somewhere. Don't you remember your first job?

The other half of this problem lies in the attitude of the employee and that is the "bigger" half, so to speak. If the employee doesn't know where something is and cannot leave the counter, they should page someone to the counter who CAN assist the customer. Customer service has gone out the window as far as I am concerned. Company leaders must TRAIN their employees that the customer is NOT an interruption of their work, but the PURPOSE of it. At Safeway (groceries) here in Canada, the employees are not allowed to point to where the customer needs to go...they must physically TAKE the customer to the item they are looking for. I was in retail sales and in management for many years and was taught well and believe me when I say that ladies wear can be the most demanding type of retail sales. One of the problems is that nowadays, people just don't seem to take any pride in what they do for a living, regardless of their station in life.

Remember, if you took the job, you must have wanted it...if not either get out or make the best of it by being good at what you do. People notice.

i agree, many people dont take pride in their jobs. However there are those who do and i have no problem with those who make an effort. The ones i have the problem with are the ones that dont even TRY to learn their area and when they are asked to preform the duty that they are being paid to preform it is as if your bothering them I mean hello you are getting paid to do the job, i mean heck there is no shame in saying i dont know but let me call someone who can help you. I understand some people are only assigned to certin areas as the groceryman commented earlier and yea you may not know produce but if someone asked you something about it I believe you wuld find someone from produce to assist. I am talking about those who basicly give off the "screw you dont bother me" attitude, now dont get me wrong here folks I am not talking out of lack of experience I have been on both sides. my current job is all about customer service and the whole "idea" of our buisness is AT YOUR SERVICE. we are required no matter what our position to know the majority of the services offered at our facility and where everything is at. I agree there is a major lack of training these days

This is sort of off topic, but this is something that *really* bothers me. I know of several companies that I have worked for who will hire, fire and rehire the same person over and over again. They get caught stealing from the company, or don't ever show up for work, or are just generally bad employees, but it seems they will rehire them (again and again) before giving anyone else a chance. They'll take the crappy employee over someone who really needs the job and would be a great worker. I just don't understand it.

Double post removed.

I believe that the stores prefer you to hunt yourself. That way you are much more prone to impulse buying of more things that you spotted during your search.

have to agree with you on that one there are a few companies out ther that do that. some cases it is because someone in management knows them ore likes them. that is the most logical excuse but it still burns me that they waste their time on people that have already proved they aint no good

A lot of it is management simply not training people. Instead of talking people through stuff during slow hours, they just expect them to stand there twiddling thumbs or send them to do something like taking inventory. (And just because somebody is counting boxes in the back, it still doesn't mean that they'll be familiar with the product. How much can one learn from shuffling boxes and scan-beep scan-beep?) Often businesses expect turnover so they don't invest time in their employees, and many places expect people to learn things on the fly. By going with the sink or swim approach, having somebody become competent takes more time.

And even if the employee is good in one area, they're not going to be able to know everything anyways. Often people get shuttled about between departments.

Not to mention what's intentional. Often it's CYA behavior involved in hiring decisions or placement of existing employees. Do you think some lazy manager wants to have somebody likely to move up in the company under them? Get somebody too competent, and either they head off somewhere else (one less body under a department) or they become a threat to the existing manager's position.

good points made here thank you all. now to share another story, the other day i went to a certin store purchased my products and walked up to pay. the person behind the counter who i know is not new because ive seen them several times over the last 3 months didnt even know how to operate the debit card machine im sorry but this shuld be day one stuff here.

Wow I wish that I lived anywhere near a Wal mart that ever had people in those sections working let alone that knew anything. I also wish that I lived near the Best Buy that Knox speaks of because the amount of tech knowledge combined that the whole staff at the one near my house has is laughable. Sadly this type of behavior seems to be the norm anymore instead of the rule. People just want their money and that's all. Not many people care about their work anymore and I feel that it is a reflection on our society a a whole. However at the same time I'm sure that these corporations just want a body there and at the end of the day and really could care less about the service anyhow.

Trowa