[mtdjed]

I went into Bealls with my wife today. What an experience at checkout! Torture may be banned for terrorists but not for Bealls customers.

Hello, how are you today? I am glad to hear that. Have you had the opportunity to obtain a Bealls credit card. No? Well I can help you get that right now. OK . do you have any coupons? Oh isn't this pretty and at such a good discount and with your coupon, it's a steal. You know, if you apply for a Bealls credit card you can even get a better price. By the way, can I Have your EMAIL address so that we can send you more coupons. Thanks. Will this be all today? That will be $5.48. How would you like to pay for that?

Thank you for shopping at Bealls. Here is another coupon that will be good on February 16.

[skip0358]

So what was the Torture ? An employee just doing their job.

[claricecolin]

The way most retail works either they knew they were about to get a "shop" or they just had one and the score wasn't good. Doing bad on one of these can be a warning in your file or sometimes a termination. FYI most retail companies hire a company to send people to go in, shop and grade their stores. Some companies have certain things they expect to be said to a customer during various interactions and if that is not done it lowers the grade.

[Allegiance]

I feel sorry for retail workers. Good jobs are hard to find. Just smile and say "thank you,no."

[spring_chicken]

What gets me is all these stores that want your name, address, phone, and email to make a purchase. This has happened to me at Radio Shack and at outlet malls (Ralph Lauren Polo store was the worst).
Nobody is required to give their personal information to make a purchase and it amazes me how many naive people do this.

[manaboutown]

This sounds so typical of the retail experience these days. I hate it!

[graciegirl]

I think that my high school English teacher would have taken points off for too dramatic a title.

[PattyCakes]

Publix has, or at least did have, "Secret Shoppers" and if you did not respond in a certain way, reminding the customer of other items on sale, etc., your department, like the Deli or Bakery, got a bad mark. People who have never worked in retail have no idea how difficult it is to please very grumpy, cranky people. Please be nice to sales people. At least, don't be angry because of conversations like this. It's their job, and they can lose it if they don't follow through and do their best. Just smile and say No Thanks. Please!

[rhood]

When I shop, either at Bealls or anywhere, all I want to do is check out without any delay. I know the clerks are doing what they are told but it is irritating when the line doesn't move.

[claricecolin]

I can appreciate that it may be irritating but they are doing their job. "Secret Shops" are taken very seriously by corporate offices and people can lose their jobs over bad ones. So as an earlier poster said just smile and say no. Trust me in most cases they don't want to go through that spiel either but they know they have to.

[DonH57]

I never worked retail but I worked for service companies that contracted mechanical equipment work for them. It's sad what these corporate minds expect out of retail workers and the rewards for when they do right is pretty slim.

[Sandtrap328]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

I went into Bealls with my wife today. What an experience at checkout! Torture may be banned for terrorists but not for Bealls customers.

Hello, how are you today? I am glad to hear that. Have you had the opportunity to obtain a Bealls credit card. No? Well I can help you get that right now. OK . do you have any coupons? Oh isn't this pretty and at such a good discount and with your coupon, it's a steal. You know, if you apply for a Bealls credit card you can even get a better price. By the way, can I Have your EMAIL address so that we can send you more coupons. Thanks. Will this be all to day? That will be $5.48. How would you like to pay for that?

Thank you for shopping at Bealls. Here is another coupon that will be good on February 16.

It sounds perfectly nice to me. If you do not want the credit card or to give your email address, just smile and say, "no, thank you".

It is lots better than having a clerk frown, ring up the sale, and just tell you what the total is.

This is The Villages. Be friendly. We are retired. The clerks have a job. Make it easy for them and be pleasant!

[HoosierPa]

Another reason I do 95% of my shopping at Amazon.com from the comfort of my sofa. Click, click, place order !

[Steve9930]

Here is my conclusion. Putting 100K Plus Seniors in one geographic area is a bad experiment.

[justjim]

If I was "Emperor" the first thing I would do is eliminate all coupons! What a nuisance.