Open Letter

[waitingman]

Please... people. Have a little consideration for those of us in sales at this time of year.

Try to remember that we are not gods. If your order has not yet landed on my delivery dock, I cannot simply click my fingers & make it appear. Neither am I willing to get in my car & drive around the state looking for the truck with your stock on it, just so I can tell the driver to go faster. Understand that our suppliers are only human too & that they are trying to co-ordinate stock shipments all across this wide, brown land to other people, just like you & me, who are making similar demands. They do their best & I cannot do any more about that.

Also, if you are ringing me to enquire about whether I have certain products available, please actually know what it is you're looking for. I don't have time to play psychic detective & figure out what picture is in your tiny mind. Neither do I have any interest in the fact that you bought it from my company 3 years ago from a lovely young man who... blah blah f@#%ing blah. He's not here any more & I can't ask him, so I'm asking you... for the last time... WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!?!

Now look what you've done ~ you made the nice Store Manager cry...

Many years ago, I made my escape from retail sales into the world of corporate & gov't sales consultancy. I swore I'd never return to retail. Unfortunately, I have & I continue to swear about it.

Comments

[sandypawozbun.livejournal.com]

I swear I won't endure another year of this. I swear I can't............

Oh praise the LORD! He sees light! We have extherthithed the DEEMUN! Srsly dude, you've been chewing on your own liver for long enough. Find another job. You deserve better.

And A Nice Chianti...

[waitingman.livejournal.com]

I know... I know... I've been saying/shrieking things like this for a while now... but I've been picky about what to go for & who to work for &, especially, how much to work for. It becomes a bit of a Catch 22 when you're looking for other industries/roles to apply your skills to, but nobody will take you on without you having worked in that industry/role before etc... Then you get tired of looking, or work gets busy & you stop, then things are okay for a while & you don't look around... you get lazy, or complacent... or something.

Then December arrives like a brick to the back of the head.

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

"OK, you spoke to someone on Friday, who did you speak to? You spoke to me? That's interesting, 'cos Friday was my day off and... oh you're absolutely certain you spoke to me? And what item were you looking for? A [thingy which could refer to any of twenty products]? And it had a [thingy which all those products have]? Did you have a part number? No, but you're sure I know what you're talking about? Did I quote you a price? Yes but you can't remember - but you know it was under [price larger than 90% of the products it could be]..."

Or there's the perennial favourite:
"What price is a box of [specific item]?"
"All [general item] are [price]"
"And what price is a box of [another specific item]?"
"All [general item] are [price]"

This is why I have internet access. I can type and talk like this at the same time :D

[shadow-5tails.livejournal.com]

Ah, retail in the Silly Season. You have my sympathy.

Still, if it's the wake-up call you needed to get out and onto new & better things, then has it actually served its purpose?