Monday, July 18, 2011

Running Store Stories - Episode 2 - Procrastinator Perpetrators

Well, I say it is episode 2, but somehow my episode 1 of Running Store Stories went bye-bye!  I dont know if I somehow deleted it by accident, or if blogger ate it, or if somehow it got lost in the re-design.  All I know is that it makes me mad because I liked that one, and you guys had some great comments about it, which if you remember it covered vanity sizing...oh well...

Today we tackle the procrasinator perpetrators, and I sure hope none of you are guilty of this tragic crime!

It does not matter what day of the week it is, but ever since I have worked at the LL, whether it was full time or now as part time, there isnt a day that goes by where I dont answer the phone and at least 3 times a day I get the question "What time are you open until today?"

What they are really wanting to know is what is the latest time I can walk in the door and you still have to help me?

Now LL is one of the specialty running stores where the majority of our customers come in to be professionally analyzed on their walk, run or gait in general and then specifically fitted for shoes.  This process, depending on the person and what associate you get, can take upwards of a half an hour.  Sometimes an hour and just yesterday one of the guys was with a couple and 1 kid for about 2 hours.  And generally on Saturday and Sunday, there is a wait list which can be upwards of a half hour or more, again depending.  And this is with 7 guys working...

Anyway, I digress...

The procrastinator perpetrators are not just for the shoes, but it is the majority...

What exactly is a procrastinator perpetrator?  The person or persons that walk in anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 minute to closing...Seriously?  Do you not think that that is rude?  You come in knowing full well that we are about to close and you want to be fitted for shoes?  You have known all day long you wanted to do this, but you couldnt pull yourself away from Starbucks, Facebook or whatever game happens to be on the television?  Why must people wait until the last minute and then make others who have been working all day stay that much longer?  Its not like you are running in to buy a pack of cigarettes and then out the door.

And not a day goes by that I work there that this does NOT happen...now I will say that I am one of the lucky ones, that I generally am off at the close and never on the schedule to actually be a 'closer'.  And thankfully I am only there 1, maybe 2 days a week at most, so I dont have to deal with it as much, but still.

Yesterday afternoon, I was helping out in the shoes, taking names in the order they would come in, and around 4pm, there was no wait list.  Amazing!  But within 15-20 minutes all of a sudden people started coming in like crazy and now I have a list again!  Gah!  And yep, right about 5min to 5pm, 3-4 more people came be-bopping in the store.  And then get a bit peeved because there is a list?  (honestly these people need a post all their own; another day...)

I don't know, maybe its not something people think about, but I would suggest you should.  If you know you need something, or you want to 'shop' then you know, maybe come in an hour before its due to close.  People that work in retail have lives too.  Families.  Errands to run.  And Sundays especially is the only day of the week where they get off 'early' (5pm).  Maybe they would like some pool time or park time with their kids...or to be able to go to dinner and a movie and still get home before 10pm.

I know everyone is busy, but its the weekend...do you really have to wait until the last possible minute on either Saturday or Sunday to come in for something you know is going to take a while?  I have a suspicion these are the same people that are late for everything too.  Rude.  Just plain rude.

What say you?  Am I being overly picky here?  Are you a procrastinator and purposely put off something until the very last minute time and time again?  Have you ever been professionally fitted for shoes?

3 comments:

Bert said...

Some people are clueless, others are just downright selfish. But really how rude is it to walk in 5 minutes before closing time and expect someone to spend 20 minutes with you? On a Sunday!! Maybe you should hang up a big sign that says the 'shoe kitchen' closes at 20 minutes before the store does.

saroy said...

Hmm. This one's tough. I have definitely walked into a store at the last minute before...BUT I would never do that if I knew I was going to be there for more than the time it takes to grab what I need and check out (i.e. 5 minutes, tops). I definitely would not walk into a store at closing time expecting to receive a service that takes 30+ minutes.

Bert has a good suggestion -- perhaps a policy that the last shoe fitting of the day is 30 minutes (or whatever) before closing time. Like how restaurants sometimes have signs indicating that the kitchen closes X minutes before the restaurant does.

Junie B said...

good idea, but NEVER gonna happen. They wont even allow us to lock the doors until 5 min PAST closing time...just in case a customer needs to come in...