A Random Rant

I was originally going to make this a hub, but I think is a tad bit inflammatory. So I didn't. But y'all might get a kick outta it!


I was picking up trash and water bottles at my sister’s track meet today, and thinking: why are people so rude? Can’t they pick up their own trash? With every bottle I picked up, the more annoyed I got. Eventually I had a full plastic bag (which had also been abandoned on the ground) and could not pick up anymore. The trash went into the trashcan and all the bottles are now awaiting the recycle center.

But it got me thinking about a similar topic: why are people so rude in retail establishments?

This is the way I look at it. You are a GUEST in any retail establishment. A paying guest, true, but a guest none-the-less. People who stay at spas or hotels are paying guests, yet you rarely see the kinds of behavior you see in retail stores.
I was raised to be courteous and respectful of my host. This means no breaking property, screaming, or stealing. Remember the old adage: you break it, you buy it? There was a reason for it.

So why should you behave yourself in a retail stores?

Rude people raise prices

I know you think I’m kidding, but I’ve worked retail for years, and it’s true. Rude, messy people raise the price of goods for all people. Maybe not as much as skyrocketing gas prices and raising minimum wage, but it’s still an increase.

#1: Picking a product up and abandoning it later

It’s okay to decide you don’t want a product! And I completely understand not wanting to truck back across the store and put it where you found it (or attempt to do so in some cases). However, throwing it down behind the toilet paper or kicking it under the shelves is not a good way to deal with it.

When you misplace an item, the employees have to discover said item. This is especially tricky if it’s hidden. If it stays hidden long enough, the item may expire or may not be counted as in-stock (even if it is in the store). This means the company loses money on that item. Guess how they’re planning to make up that money from all the “lost” items? Your wallet.

The solution to this problem is easy. Take the item up front and give it to the cashier. Just say you don’t want to purchase it. The cashier will ensure that it returns to where it belongs with no extra effort on your part. You have to go up front to check out and leave anyway!

#2: Destroying displays or mixing up items

There is no need to go rooting around a shelf like a pig in mud. Shelves are designed to make it easy for customers to find what they need because they are organized and correctly priced. When you scramble them up, you make it difficult for the next customer to find what they need, so you’re being rude to your fellow customers. But that’s not what’s going to raise prices.

When you create chaos, someone has to come back and clean up your mess. Depending on how many messes there are, the manager may have to keep employees on the clock into overtime. This means the company has to pay the employees more money. Also, fellow customers may be under the impression that an item you misplaced is X price instead of Y price. What does this mean? Your fellow customer will be unhappy and ask for a price change. If the manager gives them a price change, then the company loses money. Store prices go up to adjust for the loss of money.

Be careful about what you do. If you knock something off the shelf, replace it. If you’re not sure where something is, ask an employee! They’re paid to help you. It’ll save you time and energy and ensure you leave with the correct product anyway, so it’s in your favor to do this.

#3 Opening Products

Designers are paid thousands of dollars to make a product visible from inside packaging. That’s why there are so many pretty pictures and text capsules on the outside of the box. I’m sure if you look hard enough, the dimensions, color, and amount are in fact on the box. There may even be instructions.

Let me let you in on a secret: cardboard is not sturdy. It tears very easily and does not tape back together well. Let me let you in on another secret: those slave labor children in South East Asia are practiced. They may be able to assemble the product into the box in five seconds, but chances are, you will not be able to do the same in five minutes. What does this mean? Companies have to throw “damaged” products away and cannot sell them.

You don’t want a product you think has been opened or tampered with, do you? Then why would you think someone else would? If you are unsure about a product, ask an employee to help you. They may answer your concern or they may carefully open the packaging for you, so you may look inside without inadvertently causing damage to the packaging.

#4 Returns made in bad faith

Everyone buys something they don’t need every once in a while, but it’s one thing to buy the wrong sized vacuum bag or salted peanuts, but it’s another to purposely buy a product with the intention to return it after use.

I don’t think I need to explain this one, but returns=damaged goods=trash. Companies lose money and raise prices.

If you are tempted to do a return in bad faith, considering finding another way to get what you need, such as renting or reselling the item afterwards.

#5 Screaming Fits

There is absolutely no reason to pitch a screaming fit in the middle of a retail store, unless someone just whacked off your toe with an axe or something. Aside from being completely disrespectful towards the person you’re screaming at (who is most likely a stranger! And not deserving of your ire), it is disrespectful to the people around you trying to shop.

How does pitching a fit raise prices? You’re tying the hands of at least one employee (more likely 2-3 once you work your way up the chain of command). The more time they spend listening to you rage, the less time they have to complete tasks like stocking, inventory, and other vital functions that keep the store clean and functioning.

Ranting may get you what you want the first time, but don’t expect any help the next time you enter the store. You’ve been marked by the store employees and the gossip mill as a customer to avoid like the plague. Eventually you’ll stop coming because you get poor service because the employees are afraid to be screamed at. You’ll get better results if you are calm and rational, providing facts instead of outbursts.

#6 Wild Kids

Is it too much to keep an eye on your children? You should be doing it anyway. How many amber alerts could be prevented a year by closer supervision of children? How many hospital visits and accidents could be prevented? Your child is a representative of YOU when in public.

Children do not understand all the rules of polite behavior. One little girl loved to hide the fish food in fish tank stands while her parents were five aisles down. It was cute, I admit, but what if every child had done it? It wouldn’t be cute, it’d be time consuming, especially if I didn’t know she was hiding them there. Imagine finding five cans of icky, expired fish food when selling a stand!

Easy solution: watch your children. Ask them not to pick up or open items. If they do open or break something, inform an employee instead of leaving it all over the floor. If they need to put something back, supervise them and tell them what a good job they are doing being responsible.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is, by behaving in a retail store like you would as a guest to someone you love and respect house, everyone will be better off. Retail associates have a tough job. Say please and thank you, leave the store the way you found it, and keep prices low. Really, it’s in your favor and everyone else’s’ too.