They're Made by Humans

Add a Comment

Comment by David Mark on October 25, 2009 at 4:32pm

@Ricky - thank you for your contribution. I appreciate you sharing your stories as well.

@Michael - Too funny. I'm still laughing.

Comment by Michael R. on October 20, 2009 at 8:15am

The question is though, David, did those jeans make your butt look big?

Comment by Ricky Potts on October 16, 2009 at 4:14pm

I would like to have been in your shoes when the sales clerk said that. I have recently been having a multitude of issues with various businesses whether in food and beverage or in retail sales. For example, recently I had a very intolerable situation with the Fox and Hound on 86th street here in Indianapolis. Long story short I called the Fox and Hound corporate phone number the next day to speak with someone about the issue. They were very polite on the phone, which was a complete mirror of how I was treated in the restaurant, and eventually the issue was resolved. That location will never see my face again because of this and now I have started driving out of my way to visit the location in Carmel. They are nicer and fit to the style of service I demand as a consumer.

That being said, the excuse of, "I am human," does not go over very well with me. I understand that people make mistakes, and your jeans might have been a mistake. But that is no reason for that sales clerk, no matter the age, to act like that. I have always lived under the philosophy that you check your attitude, and any excess baggage you may have, at the door. This means when you come to work you are there to work, not to bring whatever attitude of personality you might have to the customers.

The way that this employee should have answered this was by first, apologizing. It was not his fault but he needs to take the responsibility off of you, the customer. After he did this he should have asked what he could do to make you happy. I do not care where he is working, small retail shop or Walmart; it should be his reasonability, as an employee and a representative of that organization, to take care of this issue. If he did not have the ability to do so then he should ask for you to hold on for a moment while he got a manager involved who could give you the solution that you were looking for.

I might be a little more critical than others as I am sometimes looking for things that set a business apart, whether it is good or bad. But try going into an Apple store with an issue and see how you are treated. Or how about getting a pizza with the wrong toppings on it from Papa John's. These are places, and just off the tip of my tongue, that will take responsibility, whether their fault or not, for the issues that you, as a customer, have experienced.

I applaud you for not getting upset at the sales clerk. But I look at this from the bigger picture and the image that he is giving for this retail chain. The blame should never have been shifted to you and because of this I would be on the phone with a manager to make sure this does not happen again. Thank you for sharing your story and I hope it shows that I too write from the heart.