Woolies confused about Canberra?

I don’t think there is a customer service industry associated with the management of a checkout in any major retail chain in Canberra.

Where do you fairies get these impressions ? A long lost magic kingdom hiding somewhere ?

Greating WTF?! I mean greeting!

CanberraResident, El and Hingo – lets face it, generally the customer service industry is lacking in qulaity these days.

I think that if you don’t notice a greating (or lack of), or don’t want one, then you are probably a rude customer anyway. You know those one’s that the checkout chick will say hi to and all they can muster is a grunt or totally ignore the operator anyway.

My take is that CanberraResident would probably reply with at least a “good thanks”. People that expect good customer service usually are good customers themselves eg: not rude or impatient

I’m a boy though….& the girls are still quicker at scanning for me. Or perhaps it just *seems* quicker, you know…’cause I’m trying to look down their tops. 🙂

JB – thats because its a boy scanner and a girl customer… They’re probably too busy trying to look down her top.

Boy scanner and boy customer is generally pretty fast.

>> boys usually scan faster than girls

My wife has the exact opposite theory. She specifically avoids the checkouts operated by guys, ’cause they’re generally slow & useless. I must say that since she pointed this out to me, I’ve noticed the same.

I agree with Ari though…& the same applies at ATMs. “Oh, it’s given me money. Oh, it gave me my card back.” Shock! Horror! Hehe

Also, queues with more blokes in them move quicker since they generally don’t act completely surprised after the last item is scanned and the total cost is presented … slowly realise that they will actually have to pay some money … fumble around in their overstuffed handbag for their purse … then root around in their purse for a credit card … and finally present it to the checkout operator. 😉

The length of the queue really only becomes relevant when the trolleys are stacked to the hilt, 3 deep.

Look at the operator, and how fast they are scanning. A fast operator will beat a slow one with less stuff to scan – I’ve already tested this.

Another factor you may consider when selecting your queue, is that boys usually scan faster than girls, especially if you (the customer) are a boy. I think it has something to do with nothing to perve at, on the checkout side of the house, so they move you on quickly.

I don’t know what you expect me to say CanberraResident. Does the fact that I’m satisifed with the service (despite the checkout chick saying hello to me) really bother you that much? Remember, I’m not the one one having a whinge. I don’t get upset all that easily.

I regularly patrol up and down before I select a checkout to ascertain which is the faster operator

So do I but always seem to luck out with the longer queue always overtaking the shorter one I am in.

Teach me the wisdom of your ways O grasshopper.

My big problem with checkout operators is they are sloths. The faster people get dumped out in the aisles because they stock shelves more efficiently, or they end up in the 10 item lane with a few more sloths to keep up throughput momentum.

I regularly patrol up and down before I select a checkout to ascertain which is the faster operator.

hingo, I was speaking in general terms. Sheeeeeeesh. Hair splitting or what. Good v friendly. Pffft.

CanberraResident, friendly customer service does not equal good service. Simple as that.

cortina, smile mate, it might make you feel better, and besides, it’s free!

something tells me my life is a whole lot happier than yours.

You know, you’re probably right.

Does me admitting that make you feel even happier?

Anyway, I have a small group of friends, who, when speaking with them, will ask me how my day was/how I’ve been. I don’t need a stranger behind a checkout (who likely doesn’t give even *half* a shit anyway) for that.

And maybe, just maybe, the checkout operator you experienced was having a bad day. Maybe, she’d just experienced a death of a loved one and was trying her best to keep her shit together. Who the hell are you to judge? There’s a hell of a lot more important things to worry about than what happens at a supermarket FFS.

I mean, just the other day some poor bloke posted on here about how he’d been overcharged for his take-away pizza by $4….

Haha, cortina etc, judging from your last response, something tells me my life is a whole lot happier than yours.

I find the quicker I can get out of there, the better. I don’t give a shit if they don’t talk to me – take the cash + dispense the change is all that’s required. While pleasantries are nice, I can’t say that a customer service person has ever gotten on my nerves by not asking how my day was.

Perhaps you could get a life?

hingo, who said anything about my “day” being ruined? Learn how to read please.

So then, you can honestly say that a moody, less than friendly customer service person who doesn’t utter one word to you has never gotten on your nerves? You’d be lying if you did.

People like and EXPECT good service, and you’d be in the minority if you think it’s ok to not utter one word to your customer. Now get back to your checkout, and start talking to your customers. Hop to it!

If your day is ruined by somebody not asking how your day was, then I suggest you get a hobby. I shop at Gungahlin Woolies and sometimes they don’t say hello or thank you but who really cares? They still do the same job and it works for me.

BD: a shire is the name given to the area enclosed by a local government border – e.g. http://www.maroochy.qld.gov.au/ A general area of a socio/economic catchment (which I believe is what you are referring to) is often called a region. Usually people keep the term regional for areas other than the major State capitals, but this is erroneous too – by definition every area even cities are in regions.

bd84, from the crap you’ve gone on with above, it seems to me that you’re the one with the problem.

You don’t know me from a bar of soap, so this comment: “You’re a friendly customer CanberraResident? looks to me like you’re a whinging complainer from what you’ve said above. I wouldn’t be smiling at you either”.

Well, well, well, isn’t it great how you’ve totally ignored all the positive remarks I made about the store and staff? Selected reading???

Just quietly, I think you’re a customer service person, (probably a checkout operator) who’s been pulled up by the ‘boss’ before, and now it hurts when someone talks about it.

Smile why don’t you … it might just crack you up in more ways than one …

Supermarkets and department stores always go to immense efforts to look their very best… when there’s a regional manager coming from a visit. Store managers will go to extraordinary lengths to pretend that everything’s fine when their superiors show up.

You’re a friendly customer CanberraResident? looks to me like you’re a whinging complainer from what you’ve said above. I wouldn’t be smiling at you either.

Did she scan your groceries and put them in your bag? then process your transaction, take your money and give you change? Looks like she did that fine, so does it matter either way if she was in a happy bubbly mood or a bad mood?

You know when the shop assistant asks you how your day has been they dont really give a flying fuck? it’s like “would you like fries with that”. People have bad days, simple. It makes me think of the runners shop ads, stupid, but true when they say “good service but you may not always get it with a smile”.

Also you were probably correct about it looking clean there, things happen when area and store managers visit, the stores normally get prior warning of the visit and pump double the number of staff the store budget will allow.

Anyway getting back to the main story, I think you will find the ad wasn’t actually designed to refer to council areas, rather the area in general. The shire would include areas including the immediate surrounds in nsw such as the stores in Queanbeyan, Yass, Jerra, Cooma etc. I can’t see how the words “the shire of” would be used elsewhere in the country if it was council areas.. could be wrong of course 😉

Just when you think the whinging can’t get any better:

The moody checkout chick in the express lane spoilt it all by not asking me “how has your day been?

ROFLMAO. LOL. ROFLOLZOMGWTFBBQ.

Woolies also has signs up about “council regulations” prohibiting the dumping of trolleys or something like that. Pity we don’t have a council…

Snahons_scv6_berlina, you say “its more likely she realised how little she earns and the how unfulfilling her job is..”

Ok then. So the other happy staff at Gungahlin Woolies – and there are many of them – are either:

1. either very happy with their job and don’t care about their pay; or

2. Are very happy with their pay and that’s what keeps them smiling; or

3. Are happy they have some job to make ends meet; or
4. Are just great at customer service!!!

If this moody checkout chick can’t crack a smile to a friendly customer (yes, me!), then she can give her job to someone who wants it.

Providing good customer service is not that difficult, and if all you think about is how much you take home at the end of the week, then get the hell out of customer service and go clean public services offices at 9pm at night! Most ACT Government Departments are well clear of staff by that time, so it should be right down her alley … no-one to contend with …

yeah.. i was in Woolies Gungahlin at 9 this morning… there was about 200 woolies staff walking around… they out numbered shoppers by 3 to 1… and yep.. the shop looked great… now, if we could just them to Dickson.

CanberraResident, its more likely she realised how little she earns and the how unfulfilling her job is..

The managers on the otherhand get to boss around either 14yo’s or 44yo’s.

Sounds like a good time and place for the weekly shop, though! (Did they have any of the seafood crepe things Woollies has been stocking recently? I love those.) Might be worth a journey north.

Probably it’ll go the way of Manuka Coles in 6 months’ time, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

It was the same this morning. Couldn’t move around the place for groups of employees being lead around being given pep talks by managers. Shoppers definitely in the minority, the place was sparkling and you felt bad taking stock off the shelves and spoiling the perfect rows. Don’t know what was up, but there were also many large groups of green shirted employees walking down the road to the Raiders Club. Maybe there was an something strange in those storm clouds last night and all Woollies staff were replaced by aliens?

Just got back from Woolworth Gungahlin about 15 minutes ago. There were literally about 20 Woolies managers walking around as one group.

This is what I saw: schmick clean; deli fully stocked and all the meats lined up perfectly, deli assistant they went out back to get salami so not to spoil the display; was offered Easter Buns as a bribe as I walked around with my very clean trolleyl was ushered over to an empty checkout by a very friendly manager (how did I miss it???)

BUT …

The moody checkout chick in the express lane spoilt it all by not asking me “how has your day been?, no smiles at all, and she didn’t say thank you when she gave me my change and docket.

I guess she knew the managers were in the dairy lane at the other end of the shop?

Its the Canberra voivodship.

I think they’re onto something. We’ve been calling it the Canberra Shire Council for a bit of a while now at our place. Along with Shire President Stanhope and Aldermen Gallagher and Hargraves.

Woolies just thinks we are Hobbits, nothing to see here, and don’t make any trouble Mr G, its frowned upon amongst us shire folk.

That’s amusing on so many levels.