Monday, November 23, 2009

Retail Rant Revisited - Episode Five - Wood Glue To You! And A Scrapbook Paper Too!

Through my years in retail, I've often wondered what happened to common courtesy. It seems like all manners and politeness have taken a back seat in people's lives.

I was always taught to be courteous to others. Ask politely if you need help, and always thank the person who aided you.

Some customers try to adhere to this policy. "Could you help me please?" "Can you tell me where something is?" I have no qualms helping these people find whatever they need.

But there are those that can't even take the time to form a complete question. These people walk up to me and simply blurt out items. "Yarn." "Glue." "Candles." As if I'm supposed to know from one word exactly what they need and why.

It's like they are using some kind of secret greeting, a substitute for "hello" or "hi."

One of my coworkers gets this even more than I do. One day, he'd had enough. He was working in an aisle, and a customer walks up to him and blurts out "wood glue!"

He smiled politely and waved. "Wood glue to you, too!"

Luckily, the customer had a sense of humor and laughed, then asked in a complete sentence for help finding a certain kind of wood glue.

So, in his honor, wood glue, everyone! And a scrapbook paper too!

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