Hardware Store Rant

So why is it when you need help in a hardware store, there's no one to be found, but if you know what you need and you're on a mission, you get accosted by "helpful" employees every 10 steps?

Went to get a fill valve seal for the leaking toilet & some light bulbs. Overslept and was trying to fly in and out--just needed those 2 items. Swung by the light bulbs first, and while I'm happily checking out the latest LED bulbs, an employee comes up behind me while I'm comparing lumens and interrupts me--"Do you need any help." No, I'm fine. Grabbed my lightbulbs, walk 10 steps, turn the corner and flying along to the plumbing section, and the same employee with another in tow GET RIGHT IN MY PATH and asks "Do you need any help?" NO, you just aked me that 10 seconds ago, you ignorant twit. Get to the plumbing section, and OF COURSE they have the row blocked off. Another employee comes up--"Do you need any help?" Well, I think what I need is in this blocked off row. Where are replacement soft goods for toilets? "Do you mean TOILET SEATS?" Urge to go to the tools section and get a very large crescent wrench and lay it upon them with a vengeance. NO! THUD! I need! THUD! someone who KNOWS! THUD! what they're DOING! THUD THUD THUD! before they interrupt me to offer THUD! HELP! THUD THUD thud. Tap.

Then when I went zipping out to the parking lot the guy collecting carts stopped me to tell me to have a nice day.

Really should have bought that crescent wrench.

 

ROFLOL

 

Sounds like a fun trip. I'm glad you didn't have to call a local KKForaer to bail you out of jail

 

Sounds like a felony brewing. no bail. have to see the judge first!

 

Only one thing to make all this better. New knife day.

 

I've actually had people give me a look of annoyance that they couldn't help me, or more so that I didn't want their help.

 

My local ACE hardware store is that way and it's stocked with a bunch of high school kids whose only use is to carry out stuff because they barely know what the difference between a screw and a nut is. My last trip was interesting trying to explain that spark plugs come in different sizes and that they didn't carry the kind I needed.

 

Isn't that the truth!

And on those times when you could actually use some help, you couldn't round up a workerbee with a trail of twinkies and a bear trap.

 

im at my ACE so often that when they see me come in the door they say hi. i lso get a Xmass card every year for spending so much $ there often times i come in and get that one thing i need and ask them what other stuff im forgetting

 

I first read that as "beer trap", but yes that seems to be the trend for me.

 

They are probably getting hammered by their bosses to get that customer service score up. So their response is to chase every customer they see asking if they can help and hound them. Highly ineffective tactic. You need only make an initial contact and make yourself available. After you make that first contact and ask if they need help you've established a first impression and broken the barrier. 9/10 customers are self serving. You've asked, they said no, that's that. When they take the survey they will say you asked. Typically if a customer says they don't need help but later on actually do they will find you or someone else to help.

But now look what happened. You got hounded and now you dislike that store. A routine shopping trip that would have resulted in a positive experience is now a negative one.

In my years of retail I've learned that anyone can be a manager but not everyone can be a leader. The managers at that store are looking at the metrics and telling their associates to get that score higher. But they are not being leaders. They are not evaluating how they can improve it. "our customer service scores are low. Go help customers!". WRONG.

And who knows....maybe you just happened to meet a new associate that's eager to please. Or was just messing with you. I sometimes did that when I could tell someone was irritated with me