ok, so we all know i occasionally like to point out the flaws in the logic of some peoples' commentary regarding retail. this is because, to be honest, most retail establishment is full of employees who are on their feet for 8 hrs a day, and are used to shoppers' rude behavior all day long. in clothing stores, you get people leaving clothes strewn all over the dressing room floor. in department store makeup counters, you get the people who want to sample every product and buy the cheapest lip gloss available. in food service, you get people who order an extra-large, nonfat, soy latte with extra foam, no whip, caramel syrup, sprinkles on only half the whip, hold the actual expresso, with a half-twist. and get annoyed when it takes you longer than 20 seconds to heat the soy milk. you get the point here, i presume.

and i would like to believe i am nowhere near this bad to other retailers. i've worked convenience, food service, clothing, specialty shops, toys, etc. i really have had a wide range of experience, from being a paeon to being management and having to juggle everything. when i go out to eat, if you don't get a 20% tip from me, you were over the top rude or lousy. if you only got 20%, you were just ok. i have been known to tip outrageously, to the point of billy looking at me and going 'hun, can you DO math?! you just gave a 50% tip!' well, the server was awesome, and this probably makes up for the CRAP customers at the other table who threw a temper tantrum bc three drops of salad dressing from the on-the-side cup spilled over onto actual lettuce. (and yes, this truly did happen once. swear to god.) retail is often a thankless job, where the District and regional managers are regularly asking you to do more with less. less staff, less hours, less novelty, less time, less supplies, less everything. i try to make their jobs easier, bc i would appreciate the same in return. i stack my dishes at restaurants (to billy's annoyed chagrin), i face the aisle at walgreens when i shop past 6pm, i do the surveys where you're asked how your experience was, i email places when people are awesome, i seek out managers to tell them 'so and so was AWESOME!'. why? bc often, moments like that are what keep retailers from strangling the next rude person who comes in off the entitlement train.

believe it or not, build a bear is not exempt. my store is a happy land of stuffed animals and making children happy. or so you would think. as with all retail establishments, often times there are two groups of customers - those who are open to having a good time, and those who truly think you are there to make their lives somehow complete, and when you do not appease them in the manner they feel entitled to, they get upset. and when they do make a negative comment, one of two things happens in my mind when i read it - i either go 'yeah, we can work on that', or the much more common 'you have GOT to be kidding me!'

we just got our july scores, and while i most likely shouldn't talk about them, i will. bc honestly, who is going to call me on it? i will NOT quote them, but i will remark on them.

for our july survey, we got 15 positive remarks. that means someone took the time to share more than the usual hit-the-number thing, and said positive things about us. fifteen. that's actually pretty damn huge. and of those 15, three staffers were called out by name. (and what the hell? not tooting my own horn, but i was one of them. yeah, go me!). there were 3 negative remarks. they go something like this:

1. i was only allowed to use one coupon per transaction.

here's my reply to this one. on the coupon itself, it says "MAY NOT BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY OTHER DISCOUNT, PROMOTION, OR OFFER". this means that, no, you may not buy a bear for 20$, and use two 5$ coupons in order to get it for half-off. you may use ONE coupon, and use the other to get an outfit or accessory or whatever else you may like. but when the fine print flat-out says 'MAY NOT BE USED...', why do you expect us to make an exception just to placate you? find me any other retailer that will let you use multiple coupons on ONE item! please! at walgreens, i know for a FACT that if you buy a tube of crest toothpaste, and you hand them two coupons from crest, one will go through and the other WILL BE REJECTED BY THE COMPUTER! why shouldn't we be the same? to me, that is cheating, pure and simple. and to get mad at US bc our company asked us to actually stand by our word is wrong.

sidenote to this: build a bear will accept an expired coupon UP TO 30 DAYS PAST THE DATE! find me retailers that regularly take expired coupons!

2. have more people working, and only have one party at a time.

the computer will only allow us to book one party at a time. if one party runs late, and runs into another party, that's usually not our fault. that's usually because the first party group arrived late, or the group wouldn't really follow instruction well. and IF there is party overlap, it's usually 10 min or less.

as for having more people working - we'd love to have four people on every shift. seriously. we can't. why? because, like with every company on earth, we have to control costs, and payroll is the number one place to do it. we have 2 people per shift mon-thurs, usually 3 people on fri and sun, and at least 4 people on saturday, usually more like 6. and really? the only day where we NEED more staff than we schedule is saturday. and that isn't all the time, it's usually only for an hour or two at most. but, payroll is the EASIEST controlled cost for every retailer, and if we've only been trending to need 4 people on x day, we will only schedule 4 people. it sucks, but that's the way it is.

3. we had to wait over half an hour to be served.

the only way that is possible is if it was a saturday. and if you came in the store, looked at the line, and saw that it was fairly long, YOU MADE THE CHOICE TO WAIT IN THAT LINE! it is not OUR FAULT that we got busy - everyone else in michiana wanted to come see us too at that particular moment. WHY hold us responsible for something so out of our hands as your bad timing AND your CONSCIOUS CHOICE to wait that long?! that would be like me getting mad at applebees for being busy during lunch rush! or starbucks for having a line at 8am! seriously, people - USE YOUR COMMON SENSE!

so, in conclusion, i implore my good flisters to do me this one favor. before leaving negative feedback with any retailer, take a second and ask yourself these simple questions:
- is my ire logical?
- is the reason for my ire something the retailer could control?
- am i just being a bitchy asshat?

because, honestly - we do our jobs to make a living, and to make people happy. end of story. and being told 'you suck bc i'm not happy' really chagrins our dazzles.