Christmas Shopping or anytime shopping really!
Current mood: bullied
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Please read this and listen to it all you rude mean people that need smacked upside the head!

This note is from my friend Buffy:  * Please read the following article below (& pass it on)..........
it's definitely worth your time, a good read!
You'll be glad that you did.
Makes you appreciate those in retail
(like myself) or those that have ever worked retail,
esp this time of year.........

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

SHOPPERS BEHAVING BADLY

December 2007

Susan Reda, Executive Editor

Store associates take their fair share of lumps for bad customer service, but I'm willing to cut them some slack after what I witnessed this weekend. Rude, ill-mannered shoppers seemed to be out in full force, and I found myself rooting for the sales associates to fire back with a nasty comment – though, to their credit, none of them did.

My story begins in the parking lot, where finding a space threatens to end the shopping
trip before I set foot in the mall. I admit it, I drive like an old lady and I'm perfectly content to pull into a space at the far end of the lot to avoid aggravation. Since even those spaces were filled, I pulled to the side and waited for someone to leave.

In the ten minutes I waited, I witnessed some distressing sights. There were drivers speeding up and down the lot, stopping abruptly and turning without looking in an effort to land a "good" spot. My favorites are those who perform these maneuvers while talking on a cell phone.

And speaking of cell phones: I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is capable of shopping without one glued to their ear. I'm not talking about a quick call to check someone's size; I'm talking full-blown conversations taking place in the aisles, loud enough for all to hear. I watched as a sales associate offered someone help, unaware that the customer was mid-chat. The shopper glared at the clerk with such a look of disgust, it was scary. I couldn't hold my tongue: "That was rude," I blurted out – only to be given the same icy stare.

The conversation was still ongoing at the register where the cashier had to "interrupt" to ask about the method of payment, whether she needed a box and to request a signature. This shopper couldn't have been ruder to the cashier, and I found myself daydreaming about how cool it would be to give sales associates access to a signal jammer.

The next store I visited had a number of nice items, so I grabbed my size and headed for the fitting room. Once again, I was faced with the vestiges of shoppers behaving badly. Where is it written that, if something doesn't fit, you just leave it in a heap on the floor? Are people really this piggy? Do their bedrooms look like this? No wonder sales associates are scowling by 7 p.m.: they know they're not leaving until the place is cleaned up, and, from the looks of the fitting rooms, that could be 11 p.m.

Having worked in retail years ago, I'm definitely more sympathetic to sales associates, especially during the holiday season. It's a tough job and they deserve shoppers' courtesy. Yes, we all know the "customer is always right" credo. I'd just like to add an asterisk that reads "but that doesn't give you a free pass to act like a jerk."