Shop Assistants That Don't Want To Be There

I guess it helped that we knew what we wanted before we went in..some others would probably come away empty-handed due to the unhelpfulness of this particular member of staff.

I do agree he should have tried a bit harder to be friendly there is nothing worse than a mumbler. At least towards the end of my shift I try to speak audibly in a professional manner if I am on the earlier shifts. Even if it does come out as "blusahjbuhwbgfyubf" and accidentally ask people if they want potatoes instead of a paper receipt at least I am trying more than that guy that you got lol. The problem with local or family run companies though is they don't keep up to date with the generic retail business models that the multinationals have. I have decided to totally by pass homebase altogether too as their customer service is ridiculous. I went down one of the DIY aisles to look for large gold hooks of which there weren't any and I needed them that day, so I stood in a queue for 15 minutes while two of the girls sat on the phones obviously talking to either their friends, family or boyfriends as it wasn't in anyway work related gauging on their conversations. Finally got a girl who didn't really listen to me and pointed to the aisle I had already been down when I said could you not look in storage for them and she just said "no we don't have any" with ought actually going to look or phoning someone up or even pretending to look or even if she had have said "another person was looking for those and we checked a few minutes ago and we will be getting some new ones next week." I think any of those responses would have been more plausible than just saying nah I cant be assed helping you today. I only work in a garage and I would have went through all of those procedures to keep the customer sweet.

We haven't boycotted Homebase, with us it's B&Q..which is only down the road, incidentally and we only go there if we really, REALLY have to, such is the poor customer service. In fact, it's been taken over by those self-service tills, so it gives any staff that are there yet another excuse to become 'invisible.' We've bought a few items from Homebase (including our kitchen units) and we've never had a problem with them. The reason why we went to Andersons was due to the fact we knew their hand-rails would be cheaper. Judging by the fancy prices Homebase are charging on their website, we've saved about 50 quid!!

No, I haven't worked in retail but I do try to understand the problems people who DO work in retail have to face on a daily basis. Stroppy customers, for example. The thing is, in this case, we were the only people being 'served.' The place wasn't exactly brimming with customers and it was a Saturday. If Andersons want to compete with the likes of B&Q and Homebase they really do need staff that will go that extra mile to help people as they will go out of business if they do not. I got the impression that complacency had set in..the fact they've been around for a 100 years or something. That counts for nothing in this world..and, judging by the lack of customers, is a bit worrying. Maybe it's busier during the week as tradesmen will be loyal to the place I suppose.

Well, thank you kindly my friend! I'd be ok in the background I suppose but John is the one who is really good at the face-to-face contact. The guy yesterday was not..and it showed. If we hadn't a clue what we wanted before going in I doubt he was in a position to advise us, one way or another..and that's bad..as we may have ended up at one of their bigger rivals.

Yes, we got there in the end, due to the fact we knew what we wanted before going in. If not, no doubt his attitude would've driven us away. It is a good store though. The in-laws bought a couple of interior doors from there a couple of years ago and they're really nice for the price. I saw some unusual door handles in there as well that are now stored in my head for future reference!

That's just it..with it being a family firm I want them to stay in business for that very reason. That's why I was a bit annoyed with the guy's attitude. Anyway, hopefully there may be different staff on when John picks up the brackets, which are due to come in on Tuesday. We shall get his Dad in to put the thing up too, seeing as he's got a planer, etc. I'm not going to let him varnish it though!

You little devil. LOL. Well, thats a good thing. I hope it looks good and that you varnish it. Nice!!!

I should imagine this place is very busy through the week i.e. Monday to Friday and, perhaps they open on a Saturday because they feel they HAVE to, in order to compete with the big boys of B&Q and Homebase. Fortunately, we knew what we wanted BEFORE going in. It's like we weren't tradesmen so what on earth were we doing in there? That's the impression I got, anyway. Oh well, at least we can contact the FIL to get the thing put on the wall!

Yes, it helped that we knew what we wanted before going in. I've looked at similar rails on the Homebase site and they start at around £45! What a rip-off for a bit of wood! John will contact his Dad during the week as the new order for some brackets won't come into Andersons until Tuesday..so I'm hopeful we can pick some on Saturday (along with his Dad in tow, probably), then he can put the thing up for us. I know he will do a good job as carpentry is his thing.

John hasn't asked him yet lol. He will though and I'm sure the FIL will oblige..for his sake if not for mine.

Exactly! There is a similar business near to where my Mum lives (100 miles away from me) and the guys there were brilliant with my Mum, letting her try out a ladder in the store. We were all in stitches..and they got a sale too. Compare that experience with someone who didn't even move away from the counter and you get an idea of what it was like. I used to work in an office many years ago where a Saturday morning rota was in place so I can well understand those people who hate working on Saturdays (and, increasingly, on Sundays as well) as I wasn't a fan of it myself. Having said that though, I wasn't in a job where I had to meet and greet members of the public, something that is quite specialised and you have to be dedicated in order to be good at it. Another possibility is that this particular bloke was called into work and it wasn't his 'turn.' Somehow, I doubt it though, with it being a family firm and all that.