This kind of crap happens to me all the time. I'm pretty sure the jerks don't realize how rude they are (but then again, they probably do) so I'm going to point it all out so you can hopefully avoid this stuff. Remember: I may be smiling and acting polite on the outside, but you have no idea what I'm really thinking!!
1) Don't stab me with your credit card. A lot of people just THRUST out their card and poke me in the soft part of my hand. Don't do that. Gently hold it out please. I will get it. I won't drop it. I promise.
2) Don't put your money on the counter if I am holding out my hand for it. That really makes me want to throw the change at your face.
3) Don't move your hand away if I'm giving you your change or receipt in an order that you don't want to receive it in. God forbid you take an extra second to move your change to where you want it. I didn't like playing hot hands as a child, and I don't like playing it now. Take it how I give it to you and move on, I've got a line.
4) Don't ask me if a different store has a certain product. Do I look like I work at that store? Why would I help out a competing store? Do a little research yourself.
5) Don't buy $20 worth of pet stuff and then tell me how spoiled your pets are. I drop more than $20 a DAY. My favorite are the people that buy shitty pet food and then tell me their pets are spoiled. They're not spoiled, they are malnutritioned. Huge difference.
6) Don't bitch about prices to me. I don't set them. I don't care.
7) Don't bitch about us not having a certain item that you want. I don't order them. I don't care.
8) Don't tell me long drawn out stories about how happy your betta is to wiggle around when he sees you coming. That's stupid. And I don't care. I will initiate conversation with you if I feel it necessary.
9) Don't complain to me about the size of the animal's cages - that kind of stuff needs to be taken up with the owner or corporate or somebody waaaay more important. I can't do anything about it and it just makes me feel like I'm a big lump of crap. Go to the top of the food chain.
10) Don't try to return things you bought at other stores. We're actually aware of what products we sell, and what we don't.
11) Don't call the store to get prices on a million items. Come in and shop like normal people. No pet store has a staff just to go around and check prices for people who call. Usually it's the cashier, who usually has a line of people to ring up.
12) Don't assume you know more than the salesperson. I agree, pet store people are notoriously stupid. However, I have not met anybody who has known more about birds than I, except my professors at college, of course. I had to lecture somebody the other day who started to complain about the size of a bird's cage - even though it's bigger than the minimum size AND she gets out ALL the time! Also, I would say I am an expert on fish, turtles, and dogs. So if you're coming to me with a cat question, you've got me. But don't just assume that pet store people don't know what they're talking about.
13) Don't infer that I am lucky to have the job I have. I am terribly overqualified for my current position, and every single time I walk in the front door it is a reminder of how horrible it is to work in this economy with a house payment, car payment, bills, and some fuzzy dependents. And you trying to make me feel like I'm lucky really makes me want to chop my head off.
14) Don't ask to see the manager just to hand her an application. She hates that, it wastes her time. I hate that, it brings her close to my register so she can find something to complain about. Plus, my hands work perfectly well at grabbing and filing an application.
15) Don't ask for the manager if you have a pet question. Ask for whoever is an expert in that area. I don't know how many managers our company has that don't even OWN pets. It's a lot though. We've got one at our store, one at a nearby store..
Ok, I am really tired now. So I'll stop. I'm sure I've got a lot more though. Can you tell I really hate customer service? That's gotta be some of the hardest money ever earned. Well, have a nice night all!
Friday, April 21
Greenies are not evil.
Wow, a post with nothing in it about the store! :)
So, I'm sure a lot of the dog lovers have heard about the recent Greenies accusations. That said, let me tell you all this. I have worked in pet retail for years. Every time they have a slow newsday, they run that story. It's true. And for the next few weeks, we get a lot of Greenies returned, and after a few months, Greenies sales go back to normal. Every time I tell a customer that this story gets run a lot, they look at me like I'm stupid. WHO WOULD KNOW? You, or the person who sells them? I get absolutely nothing out of selling you Greenies, why would I make something like that up? They also run the story about dogs that need adopted, about puppy mills, and about "designer" (in other words, mutts) dogs. They rotate them pretty regularly, but you hear all four stories in a year, every year.
Now, back to Greenies. I feed my dogs Greenies. I am not stupid, uneducated, or foolhardy. In fact, I find that most of the people that refuse to feed Greenies after watching the news have not researched it farther than that. Let me be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as an unbiased media source. I don't watch the news if I can help it - they make everything out to be ten times worse or ten times better than it actually is. It drives me nuts. They can take something like a person tripping over a tree root into this long, horrible story. So, number one, don't trust the news. You have to sift through many, MANY different sources, from both sides, to find out what you think. That means you've gotta use your noggin. You may not arrive at the same conclusion I did, but well, this is my blog and only my opinion is going to be represented. So nyah.
Again, keep in mind that I have a degree in Zoology, and years of experience in pet retail, dog kennels, dog training, and at a vet's office.
Greenies are not evil. Greenies help prevent tooth and gum diseases that could otherwise cause your dog illnesses and even death. According to the Greenies people, the recent case is the first one they've been contacted about. So if there are all these problems with Greenies, why are they just getting official complaints NOW? I'm not saying Greenies are perfect. If anything, we've learned there is no perfect dog treat. Greenies are not 100% digestible. Duh. Nothing is. If it were 100% digestible, then your dog wouldn't poop. And dog food companies would make food like that. Can you imagine how great it would be for a dog not to poop because it has absorbed everything in its food?? Yeah, it's not going to happen people.
If your dog swallows a big chunk of anything, you're going to have problems. That's why you've got to supervise your dog when you give it treats and chews. They're like little kids, always getting into trouble! Case in point? My sheepdog, Roofus, at about four months, got a lamb bone (from the pet store, $1.29) for a chew. The next day, he had an intestinal blockage. $620 later, he was ok, but sheesh. Did I sue the bone people? Did I rant and rave about unsafe bones? No. My other dogs did, and continue to, do fine with those bones. Now I know not to give Roofus any of that kind. He does well on Greenies, which he only gets occasionally as they are really expensive and have a very high protein level.
Nothing is safe, watch your dog.
Yes, I've seen the photos of dogs getting Greenies removed surgically. I've also seen the photos of dogs getting pieces of the sofa removed, keys, pennies, remote controls, carpeting, etc removed. SUPERVISE YOUR DOG. If he can't chew that stuff, don't give it to him or give him the Lil Bits they've got. If he likes to chew your sofa while you're away, lock him in a crate until you get home or restrict him with a baby gate. Pet owners are not helpless, you need to use common sense and do what's best for your pet without bashing everybody around you.
The whole Greenies thing actually reminds me very strongly of McDonald's and the coffee thing - the person suing them because the coffee was too hot and they got burned (loser). Yeah, coffee is hot. Now McD's has signs up all over saying how hot the coffee is. Trouble is, Greenies has always put "Supervise your pet while chewing" on every single bag of greenies. I guess you could beat people over the head with a jumbo greenie, but I somehow think they still won't get the point.
I'm just tired of people harassing me about Greenies when they don't know what they're talking about. After the tenth customer of the day it gets pretty old. I'm sorry you don't like Greenies, I really doubt I'll change your mind. But it doesn't make me stupid or uninformed, quite the opposite. Some people at the pet store actually DO know what's going on. Too bad the customers don't.
So, I'm sure a lot of the dog lovers have heard about the recent Greenies accusations. That said, let me tell you all this. I have worked in pet retail for years. Every time they have a slow newsday, they run that story. It's true. And for the next few weeks, we get a lot of Greenies returned, and after a few months, Greenies sales go back to normal. Every time I tell a customer that this story gets run a lot, they look at me like I'm stupid. WHO WOULD KNOW? You, or the person who sells them? I get absolutely nothing out of selling you Greenies, why would I make something like that up? They also run the story about dogs that need adopted, about puppy mills, and about "designer" (in other words, mutts) dogs. They rotate them pretty regularly, but you hear all four stories in a year, every year.
Now, back to Greenies. I feed my dogs Greenies. I am not stupid, uneducated, or foolhardy. In fact, I find that most of the people that refuse to feed Greenies after watching the news have not researched it farther than that. Let me be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as an unbiased media source. I don't watch the news if I can help it - they make everything out to be ten times worse or ten times better than it actually is. It drives me nuts. They can take something like a person tripping over a tree root into this long, horrible story. So, number one, don't trust the news. You have to sift through many, MANY different sources, from both sides, to find out what you think. That means you've gotta use your noggin. You may not arrive at the same conclusion I did, but well, this is my blog and only my opinion is going to be represented. So nyah.
Again, keep in mind that I have a degree in Zoology, and years of experience in pet retail, dog kennels, dog training, and at a vet's office.
Greenies are not evil. Greenies help prevent tooth and gum diseases that could otherwise cause your dog illnesses and even death. According to the Greenies people, the recent case is the first one they've been contacted about. So if there are all these problems with Greenies, why are they just getting official complaints NOW? I'm not saying Greenies are perfect. If anything, we've learned there is no perfect dog treat. Greenies are not 100% digestible. Duh. Nothing is. If it were 100% digestible, then your dog wouldn't poop. And dog food companies would make food like that. Can you imagine how great it would be for a dog not to poop because it has absorbed everything in its food?? Yeah, it's not going to happen people.
If your dog swallows a big chunk of anything, you're going to have problems. That's why you've got to supervise your dog when you give it treats and chews. They're like little kids, always getting into trouble! Case in point? My sheepdog, Roofus, at about four months, got a lamb bone (from the pet store, $1.29) for a chew. The next day, he had an intestinal blockage. $620 later, he was ok, but sheesh. Did I sue the bone people? Did I rant and rave about unsafe bones? No. My other dogs did, and continue to, do fine with those bones. Now I know not to give Roofus any of that kind. He does well on Greenies, which he only gets occasionally as they are really expensive and have a very high protein level.
Nothing is safe, watch your dog.
Yes, I've seen the photos of dogs getting Greenies removed surgically. I've also seen the photos of dogs getting pieces of the sofa removed, keys, pennies, remote controls, carpeting, etc removed. SUPERVISE YOUR DOG. If he can't chew that stuff, don't give it to him or give him the Lil Bits they've got. If he likes to chew your sofa while you're away, lock him in a crate until you get home or restrict him with a baby gate. Pet owners are not helpless, you need to use common sense and do what's best for your pet without bashing everybody around you.
The whole Greenies thing actually reminds me very strongly of McDonald's and the coffee thing - the person suing them because the coffee was too hot and they got burned (loser). Yeah, coffee is hot. Now McD's has signs up all over saying how hot the coffee is. Trouble is, Greenies has always put "Supervise your pet while chewing" on every single bag of greenies. I guess you could beat people over the head with a jumbo greenie, but I somehow think they still won't get the point.
I'm just tired of people harassing me about Greenies when they don't know what they're talking about. After the tenth customer of the day it gets pretty old. I'm sorry you don't like Greenies, I really doubt I'll change your mind. But it doesn't make me stupid or uninformed, quite the opposite. Some people at the pet store actually DO know what's going on. Too bad the customers don't.
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