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**Lilosh** · 12-17-2002, 03:12 PM

While I empathize with your plight, and As "Seethe Seethe Seethe" can prove, I know the levels of your frustration, I must say.

Edit out the profanity.

Other then that, Im with you 100%...

-Lilosh

**Heartsong_Steelsoul** · 12-17-2002, 03:33 PM

I don't know much about retail (closest I come is two summers at a gas station), I can say that I have encountered morons who think women don't know computers. Went to one store trying to find a new power supply and my husband got asked all the questions. Fortunately, he's pretty close to me in computer knowledge level.

**Unidin** · 12-17-2002, 03:37 PM

I'm also in retail, and I always try to speak to the person that's the dominant speaker in the buying group. You may know alot about the computer, but if your husband is doing all of the speaking, I'll continue to ask the same person the questions until I realize that he doesn't know what he's talking about. This has meant that I've sold to 10 yr olds as thier parents drool in the background with thier checkbook open

**Glatius2** · 12-17-2002, 04:39 PM

I've purchased from retail, and while I admit that I don't know much about computers other than what I've managed to teach myself while building several systems (hardest problem I've had is the initial formatting of the disk drive and laying down the operating system) I also know that frequently the person on the floor may know even less than I do.

As a customer we don't know who has the knowledge. Just having a name tag means you're there as a sale's person or counter clerk, it doesn't tell us anything about your background or knowledge base. And when we are asking to talk to a tech, in a round about way we're asking if you're a tech, while giving you the face saving opportunity to point us to one if you're not.

Simple response to the question, "May I speak to a tech," is "I'm knowledgable about computers, may I help you?"

**splunge** · 12-17-2002, 05:16 PM

Wear a button that says 'i know more about computers then you do'.
Or wear a linux shirt. *shrug* Couldnt hurt.

**Verdandi** · 12-17-2002, 08:36 PM

If it's any consolation, it happens on the other side of the counter, too. Course, you probably have been there plenty as well....

But I'll never forget the day Mom asked me to go to [insert name-of-national-deparment-store-that-also-features-hardware here] to buy a replacement part for the grill. She's not especially an expert on grills but she's smart and figured it out. I'm even less of an expert on grills but I'm not afraid of them so I had her show me the part needing replacement, how it generally fit into the workings of the grill, and the various names there might be for it on the package in the store. The part needing replacement was really dirty and not particularly complicated so I didn't bother to take it with me.

I arrived at the store and found a few other people browsing the area but no huge horde. I found the section where grill parts of various sorts were on display and found something similar but I didn't think it was exactly right. I looked for help. I might as well have been looking for a snowball in the Sahara. There were lots of people working there, but apparently none of them could see me. I headed towards one, made eye contact and moved towards him, and watched him turn and offer to assist a man standing at another rack. The man had a question so I looked for someone else. Everyone else was busy heading in another direction.

I realized I was going to have to corner someone so I headed to the "Customer Service" Desk. :roll: There were two gentlemen at registers there. One was helping someone and the other was busy with some papers. I approached the one with the papers and once again made eye contact. When I was just a few feet away he turned, picked up the phone, called someone, and settled down to have what was obviously not going to be a brief conversation. Now more than a little miffed I got in line and waited until the other sales person was done helping his customer. When I got to the desk he had the unmitigated gall to tell me that he had to stay at the register and I'd have to get someone out on the floor to help me. Did he offer to find such a person for me? Heck no. He turned to the next customer and reached for the items they wanted to purchase.

I left. I'm tempted to say that next time I'll be sure to change out of my summer dress and into my jeans and construction boots, and maybe rub some grease on my hands for extra authority...but there won't be a next time at that store.

*still simmering after several years*

**Aoladari Raveynfyre** · 12-18-2002, 06:31 AM

Part of my reason for ordering a shirt yesterday that says

"C:/Dos
C:/Dos/Run
Run/Dos/Run"

I think they'll understand then..

**Ladyskunk** · 12-18-2002, 08:24 AM

Uhm... OMG... I wish I hadn't been eating a bowl of cereal when I read that post...

How about a shirt that says...

"Byte me!"

At least I hope you never have to hear what I get to hear on an almost nightly basis..

"I'm going to have your job.". It finally hit me like a ton of lead lastnight.. I almost wanted to ask the man.. Would you really like it? It pays per year what you most likely make in a month and you get to have all sorts of people wanting your position. But hey! its yours.. Oh and could I please have your job? Nope, don't have a clue about brain surgery/car repair/architecture/insert other high paying career. But then again.. I can learn..

Take care all.

*hugs*

LS

**Tebyen Trueheart** · 12-18-2002, 10:21 AM

Oh boy oh boy one of my favorite subjects to rant about, retail!

I used to work for a small dollar store, as a manager for a couple of years. (Never again, not for all the money in the world will I do that again.) Normally, there was only two employees in the store through the week, that being a manager, and someone to run the register and keep the front area looking neat.

Now, the section I commonly stocked and kept straightened was the cleaning supplies section, the dishes section, the automotive and the hardware sections. Our bleach display was 12 cases wide, 3 cases deep, and usually 4 cases tall. Each case being a little over a foot wide in depth, height, and length. The top layer of the stack would be nothing but bleach bottles. I would have people come up, lean on all these cases of bleach, and ask me do you sell bleach? ARghhh that got on my nerves sooo much.

Then there were the poeple who would come in on truck day, and actually demand that we get up in the truck, dig through all of the boxes (usually 1000 to 1400 pieces, sometimes more), and find a case of something or another so he could buy 1 out of the case. Umm, no, we're not gonna do that we'll tell these people, then they pitch a fit about about it.

**Thicket Tundrabog** · 12-18-2002, 10:42 AM

Heh... this thread brings back memories.

Many years ago my wife and I, with baby in tow, were in a major department store looking to buy a large console color television. We were all casually dressed. I was wearing jeans. We knew what we wanted to buy. We tried several times to get someone to help us, but we were totally unsuccessful. I guess we didn't look affluent enough.

We went home and I returned to the store alone wearing a three-piece suit. I adjusted my mannerisms to exude a 'big-shot' image. I instantly had two store staff helping me. I paid for the TV with a credit card. The normal procedure was to get credit card authorization by phone (I did say this was many years ago... Lol). The line was busy and the store couldn't get authorization. No problem. They would get credit card authorization later. They put the TV in the back of my station wagon and I drove off.

I still smile when I think about it.

Thicket

**wyrmbane_** · 12-18-2002, 12:07 PM

Another shirt - message

Since we are talking computers, and funny sentences from them, My favorite would be

Nibble Nibble me, instead of the potentially offensive "Byte me"

1 Byte = 8 Bits
1 Nibble = 4 bits
nibble + nibble = 4 bits + 4 bits = 8 bits = 1 Byte

Hence, Nibble Nibble Me = Byte me.

Of course, only computer programmers, computer science majors and geeks would probably figure it out.....but then, if they did, you would likely have immediate trust that you do know what you are talking about.

Silly things we think of at 2am during college after a few too many drinks.

wyrmbane

**Chenier** · 12-18-2002, 12:48 PM

lol...makes me think about a call I had to make once...

I was working a "fire drill" software case with one of our product managers who was on location in Montreal. I needed to get him a message which would solve the case, but he was out to dinner. So I called up his hotel in hopes of just leaving a message or voice mail.

Now, I speak French. Granted, not everyday, but I do speak the language fair enough. So when the lady at the front desk of the hotel answered in French, I replied in French, asking to leave a message for my colleaque.

She replied to me in English. She knew I was not Canadian by my accent, nor was I French, because of my lack of fluent ease - and was a bit snotty. Fine. So I left a message.

I had to call back in about 30 minutes with another message, but I didn't want to deal with the snotty French-Canuck lady - so I decided to do a high English accent - very Oxford.

Hup two! She was very polite then. =)

**Chenier** · 12-18-2002, 12:50 PM

And a thought on your "they-don't-think-I-know-what-I'm-talking-about" problem...do you guys wear name tags? If so, could you get "Senior Technician" or something added to your tag? May help...

**Aoladari Raveynfyre** · 12-18-2002, 02:28 PM

Heh, no name tags or uniforms. I work with 6 other people and 2 of those are owners. We are a very small company.

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