I've been in the retail game for over a year and a half now. I swear I could write a book on the top most annoying customer habits. While retailers strive to create the "customer experience", perhaps we are doing too much and instead creating added stress on employees and customers. For example, If I'm trained to follow a customer around and probe you with a million "engaging" questions, what normal person actually enjoys me being up in your business? Usually old ladies who have all the time in the world and like the attention (no offense to old ladies). Here's my issue. While I understand that retailers want to drive sales through an impractical model of customer engagement, I believe that it creates added stress. The creation of stress can have a big range. More specifically, If I'm greeting a customer and they don't even glance my way, that's annoying. I know you heard me. Or if I try to ask a customer a question about a customer they are clearly looking at and they respond with "I'm just looking". I'm sorry, did I ask you if you were just "looking" or about the the product.
At this point I think it's best to stop my angry rant and think about this in a critical way. The bottom line is that capitalism is stressful. We are bombarded everyday with a plethora of ads and promotions from retailers telling us to buy now and save! Every time I see one of those e-mails my mind goes through a series of conversations; is that really a bargain, should I be spending or saving my money, do I really need another pair of shoes? After a while it can become extremely overwhelming!
I think it's important to think about the intentions behind retailers. Are we really here to make your shopping experience warm or fuzzy, or do we simply just want you to buy more? So if the retail world can create this stress, how do we combat it? I feel as if it is best to first understand the intentions of retailers and the driving forces of capitalism. Perhaps, we can also keep in mind some succinct words of wisdom such as "back to the basics". Capitalism wants you to consume more than you need, it doesn't encourage simplicity. And one last thing, be conscious of your spending habits. I like to keep a log of what I spend daily and keep to a budget. It's a great way to slow down and think about what you really need instead of succumbing to impulsive spending habits.
