Why is it so hard? I don't get it and can't understand

It seems like in the last few weeks no matter where I go the conundrum I run into is not that there is a lack of availability of product to buy. Nor is there a lack of places to buy the product. No the issue is usually that either the people that are supplying the product have such poor attitudes that  I can't shop there or the people are asked to do too much with too little support. Secondary to the issue of not enough folks on the premises in order to take care of the business, is the one where some brilliant strategist gets the absolutely great idea to try and replace people with machines and then have those machines wait on people. It never works.

In the first case it looks like somebody is at the controls of an airliner and they're purposely trying to fly that airliner in the ground and managing the business into a slow painful excruciating decline.  In the second case it seems sort of pointless because it's never any faster, it's never more accurate, and it aggravates the hell out of the customers. My problem is that I am watching these people that supposedly know how to run businesses manage theirs into the ground, by making poor choices about capitalization expenses, the utilization of labor, hiring decisions (which is different than the selection of staff), and day-to-day operations.


I see it everywhere I look. And trust me it's not hearkening back to the good old days where there were 62 people waitingto take my two dollars. Trust me I'm not naive, I've been in business a long time. Either as an employee of someone else's business or as an owner of my own I understand how hard it is to make a dollar. I understand sometimes it is more about what you don't do that about what you do.

Go into any big-name big brand box store. Almost all of them have tried this. Some people will tell you they actually enjoy it. At the front of the store there will be 15 or so checkout lines, maybe more, in the space where 2 or 3 of them used to be is now the automatic check out yourself cash register. At the end of the self service cash registers will usually be one person overseeing the operation of the registers (If you are lucky). During the peak of the day this person looks like they are managing an insane asylum and are running back and forth pulling their hair out trying to keep up with all the crap generated by self checkouts. Authorization problems, errors, pricing mismatches, entry errors, you name it they have to run back and forth and swipe their card and fix whatever. Every once in a while one person will walk up with a pack of batteries scam them and pay for them and walk out the door happy as a clam. Usually though, the customer looks more harassed than the employee, and by the time they leave you can see almost exactly what they're thinking on their lips. It's almost as if the business wanted them to say "I'm never coming back here again."

Go into any restaurant, it doesn't make any difference whether it is fast food or sit down you will see the same things.

In a fast food restaurant where they do not seat you, you will stand in line during the peak time longer than if you had cooked the food yourself. When you finally make it to the register to order, the person taking your order doesn't know the menu, doesn't have a clue, can't answer basic questions, has the math skills of a turtle, and is about as fast as one.

In a full-service restaurant where you do wait to be seated, the person at the front door who is your hostess, is also probably a 16 or 17-year-old very pretty young girl, who because she cannot get an alcohol serving license, is the poorest trained person in the building. Somebody told her her job was to triple seat the server (who is a table hog) that scares her the most. Secondary to that she thinks her job is to get your cardiovascular exercise in for the day by running to the other end of the restaurant, waving the menus to get your attention, showing you where the table is with a downward point , all the while throwing the menus down on the table and passing you on the way back to the front door, telling you to "enjoyyourlunchKatieisyourservershe'llberightwithyou." Zoom, zoom .

Harassed servers with that deer in the headlights panicked look on their faces, not a busboy in sight, management that you couldn't find if you had an electron microscope, and then when you go to pay your bill and either you pay the harassed server or the person at the register has to find a manager because he doesn't know what to do with the seven cents you just handed them. Yep, I'll be coming back here.

Keep cutting labor costs though, because that is exactly the answer to the problem.

Does anybody else see this lack of service that I see? It is pathetic and ridiculous.

I called my cable provider yesterday and asked where the application was that allowed you to reset your cable box. Then I spent two hours searching for it online. I'm hardheaded, I should've just said "Please reset my cable boxes they are displaying the wrong time", but no not me, I have to do it myself. So I go where the lady sent me. It's not there. I call them back "You guys said the DVR reset application was at whateveritwas.com and it is not there". She actually says to me "That's where it is at on my computer!". If I had not been so aggravated and pissed off to begin with, I probably would've laughed. Instead I said "Obviously you don't know if the difference between the Internet and an intranet. Please put a supervisor on the phone". after another 10 min. of hold and getting to the supervisor I find out that I'm right ,they are wrong, they reset my boxes and they work now. And it's my fault. I am so stupid.

Next I call my wireless phone provider. I discovered on my bill that they charged me for something I should not have been charged for, and I have a double charge on one phone. I explained to the woman very politely what the problem is, and she promptly tells me I am wrong and Oh by the way I'm an idiot,like every other customer that calls in to speak with "Customer Service Representatives"  well not in so many words, however her condescending tone, her superior knowledge and attitude, and the audible sigh that she could put into her answer made me understand just how stupid I was.

Then, as we got into the details of the bill I discovered that I'm not so stupid after all. After $20 in removed charges and $80 in adjustments later, She actually says to me, "is there anything else I can do for you today, have I answered all your questions?". I said "yes ma'am, there's something  you can do for me and for every other customer you talk to for the rest of your employment with this company. I said "You can go attend every customer service training class that your company offers because you don't have any skills, and you made my face red and my blood pressure go up by treating me like an idiot."

I don't think anybody had ever told her the truth before, I'm not so sure she understood what I said or why I said it. Oh well.

Then the poorest choice of the day comes next. I really am an idiot for subjecting myself to this crap again. I went to Walmart. The largest company on the planet with the largest number of locations, I'm not sure but probably the most employees, the biggest buildings you've ever seen, staffed by some pretty nice people who just don't have a clue. So I was led to believe that it had become a quieter less aggravating place. All my family and friends said "Oh you should try it, its quieter, they remodeled it, the people are friendly etc, etc, :::::: Ha ha ha - I call Bullsh## !! Same old overhead mic every 5 minutes, same old unfriendly staff, same old stupid crap waiting forever on a 15 minute thing. No way I'm gonna do this ever again.

I am pasting a note that I sent to Walmart on their website yesterday. the upshot of this story is that 3 tires, 1 tire moved from the front of the car to the back of the car, 2 windshield wipers took 3 and 1/2 hours to complete. I know it probably won't do any good, and that any response I get if any will be some canned were so sorry letter, will try to do better in the future, our management has been apprised of your complaint, and then somebody can get bitched at because I complained. Not the way they should go about it but that's what'll happen. Next Saturday they will probably be busy too, and guess what ? I will wait until Monday and buy my tires for my other car at a local tire shop. Obviously they don't need the money.

Here's the text of my note to Walmart:

I had not been the Walmart in my town (in NW Georgia) for a couple of years. It is so aggravating to shop there with the constant loud overhead microphones and the lack of staffing . Today was the first time I have made a decision to go back here to make a major purchase. I just spent3 to 3 1/2 hours or so in the auto section purchasing $401.29 worth of tires and assorted items.

Most of that time I spent waiting. Waiting in line to tell you I wanted to spend money, waiting in line outside at a fence line to tell the service technician what I wanted done to my car and then waiting and waiting and waiting some more while I had 3 new tires balanced and rotated and had 1 tire moved to the rear end of the car.

Didn't you guys know that on Saturday in the springtime at 12 o'clock noon you were going to be busy in the auto Garage ? If you did know that you're going to be busy, then how come there was not enough staff there to handle the business? It was and is ridiculous.

See here's the thing. No matter what the reason is for how long it took, it is irrational and unreasonable for you to expect the customer to understand it. Should it take 2 hours let alone 3 to 3 1/2 hours to get 3 new tires? How long should it take? What should happen when it takes longer?

I did speak to a couple of your folks. A supervisor named Sheila and I spoke to manager named I think Edem. They were very apologetic and listened and responded appropriately and sincerely with great empathy. In my view she was good and he was perfect. I also spoke to one of your associates whom I think was named Brandon, as well as one of your technicians in the shop. All of your folks were great. They were nice pleasant people trying to do too much with too little. Your manager instructed the cashier to take money off my bill as an apology for the wait or service. I didn't want that and it wasn't the point of my complaint, and I didn't allow the cashier to do it.

I understand that labor hours must be watched very closely because it is one of your largest expenses. For whatever it's worth whoever is paying attention there doesn't understand. If the point of cutting back all the people in that section is to save money, I think you're looking at it wrong. If I could have found someone when I was very aggravated I would have got my keys back and left, and followed the other three or four people who left rather than purchase tires because they did not want to wait. they left and didn't spend somewhere between 300 and $1000. Save two or three man hours or sell $1000 worth of tires, on Saturday at noon in the springtime? Which one do you think is a better way to look at it?

I'll tell you one thing, from the look on your managers and associates faces from having to deal with people like me and other angry frustrated customers I would not want to work for you under these circumstances. I'm surprised you can even keep the staff you have. I would've quit long ago.
 
 
In I could've went on and on and on but you get my point.
 
You guys have a good day. Thankx for reading my rant !!
 
- Big Mike

I sent this letter to Wal-Mart the other day....

I hate complaining, I really do, BUT... these clowns really make me annoyed.

Surprisingly enough , no response.

Go figure.

 

 

Dear Wal-Mart,

 

Stop being so customer unfriendly and get in your stores to see what the affect the polices you put into practice has on your customers, not to mention your employees.

 

Here are five good ones. I could not believe this, all in one night, again. I hate to gripe, however I can't believe you want it to be this way. If you don't, do something about it.

 

1. Cigarettes are only available in one line. OK. I get that. Then you made that line 15 items or less. Smooth moronic stupid move. Now if you want groceries and intend to buy cigarettes, you have to stand in your long, slow lines twice.  If you don't really want to sell cigarettes, get out of the business. If you do want to sell them, dedicate one line for that item only (or drinks, gum, or end caps stuff whatever or a kiosk). However, to purposefully piss people off, and then blame it on the government is insane and a chickens*** way to do business.

 

2. This is a supercenter. Act like it. You have what? 25 check out lanes? I've never seen more than 6-7 open. Ridiculous long lines always. Frustrated cashiers. Pissed off customers (including me). Put some of those folks who are walking around doing nothing to work helping customers get out of your stores. Open check out lanes on demand. Be flexible and customer friendly. Trust me, in this location, you are not. When every line snakes out into the aisles, open more registers. Cross train everybody to be service oriented. You need help here. They don't get it.

 

3. A box of discounted DVD's and Cheap DVD's is a good idea. Putting it into a 5 foot wide by 5-foot deep box is stupid. No one less than 5 foot five can get into it. How can you sell them if you can't reach them? How can we see what is in the bottom? How many do you think you didn't sell, CAUSE YOU CAN"T GET TO THEM? Geez!!

 

4. Have you ever heard of pagers? They were invented 25 years ago. Or walkie talkies? Or cell phones? Do away with the extremely loud and very annoying overhead microphone system! It is not `cache to not be able to hold a conversation with someone right next to you because the loud ass speakers over your head go off every two minutes. It really makes me see RED!

 

5. No cashier ever gets all the security tags turned off. I don't even bother stopping at the front door anymore when your official mechanical voice tells me to. Screw it. Train your people, get better technology, fix the problem, whatever it takes, cause I'll make you chase me to my car every time until you do.

 

 

 

 

 

Thankx for reading my rant ! 

 

bigmike

 

Visit my blog online at http://bigmikerant.blogspot.com/  

 

I encourage you to leave your own comments or reactions to my rants (even if you don't agree with me) in the comments section on each post.

 

Send this on to your favorite company or place where you get piss-poor service

 

If you read my rant about restaurants the other day, you know that it really yanks my crank to get poor service, in a place where really the only thing different they have to offer is service. Read between the lines, because this applies to a lot of businesses and not just restaurants. Here's my take on it and a why I think most company's (like restaurants) don't get it and spend their money promoting their brand in exactly all the wrong places and treat selection and training just like they do pricing the food. Its pretty basic.

 

• The food is not really the reason we come to a restaurant (for example) to begin with. It might be why we come the first time or two , but once you have tasted a Big Mac, you know what it tastes like and it probably is not the reason we went back and bought another one or a tenth one. We went back to your restaurant the fourth or fifth time because we like how we were treated by your employees. It either wasn't bad or it was great. You have a 50-50 chance of seeing me again if it wasn't bad and probably an 100 % chance of seeing me again if it was great. You have a zero percent chance ( 0% ) of seeing me again anytime soon if your people should be cleaning gutters instead of waiting tables.
• Everybody has burgers. Everybody has French fries, Everybody sells drinks. Yours, while made to your specifications in your extremely special way, is not really all that different than anybody else's. A burger is a burger is a burger is a burger. Taste may dictate the purchase and it may be that you like Big Macs over Whoppers for example, but if you get treated like a nobody where they make the one you like, chances are you will not go there as often. Treat me like I don't count and I won't come back. I'll eat my second choice ten times before I'll come back where I might like the food better but you hire morons,  so you make it easy for me, I go somewhere else where they don't.
• Cute Uniforms and goofy accessories you make your employees wear really has no affect on where I spend my money or how many times I visit you. I can't remember the last time I decided to go visit a place again because the employee I interacted with was wearing a certain color shirt, some button with a cute saying on it or some goofy ball cap with your latest promotional saying on it. I came back over and over again because the employee inside the uniform wearing your button treated me like I meant something. They were polite. They said please. The called me sir (or learned my name and used it). When I said Thank you, they said you're welcome. They were prompt. There hands were clean. They didn't interrupt me while a conversation was taking place at the table. You either have to hire that characteristic in your folks or you may find it in people who will need your help to develop it by being trained extensively. The point is if you hire a rude moronic ding dong to wait on me, they will cost you more in the long run than it would have to spend the money to hire the right person and spend months to train them in the first place. Hiring the wrong person makes as much sense as lighting your gas appliances with hundred dollar bills.
• Past visits dictate future business. Where we eat has nothing to do really with how cute your latest building is or your latest marketing slogan. You are wasting money thinking I will come into your business just because you put a red stripe on top of it or add neon signs to a window. My wife and I are probably just like a lot of people. We eat out a lot. 1-10 times a month , more or less. The conversation goes something like this. "Hey honey, you want to go out to eat?". "Sure", she says. "Where do you want to go", I say? "I don't know where do you want to go?", She says. Then we start naming restaurants. "Want to go to  (Insert Name)?" The very next thing said will determine whether or not I go to your establishment and I guarantee you it has nothing at all to do with TV commercials, Billboards, Logos, uniform or cutesy reader board signs. I'll say "How about (Insert name) and she'll say " Remember the last time we were there?".  At this exact moment in time, your future business depends upon her answer. If the last time I was there, your service sucked, we will go somewhere else. Period. All the money you put into everything else may as well have been burned in a pagan ceremony in front of your corporate headquarters extolling your stupidity. It probably also will make me think twice about visiting your other locations.

 

Every business that depends upon repeat customers would do well to read this article. My repeat customer business and my continuing loyalty has nothing at all to do with how much you spend on Marketing.

My advice is this. If you run a customer dependant business , remember the customer as you create your budgets. Then while you are determining how to spend the money you have allocated, quit viewing the training of your staff including the staff selection process as a line item cost. When you do that you will actively encourage your front line managers to figure out ways to reduce their costs in order to make the profit statements look better. Instead, make sure they spend the money on the selection process to get the right people and on the training process to encourage them to treat me right when I make the decision to show up at your front door. Put all your efforts into making sure my wife says your service doesn't suck and you won't need more billboards or cuter buttons.

 

Lets start a revolution back to good service . Send this on to your favorite company or place where you get piss-poor service

Thankx for reading my rant ! 

 

bigmike

 

Visit my blog online at (click here) http://bigmikerant.blogspot.com/  

 

I encourage you to leave your own comments or reactions to my rants (even if you don't agree with me) in the comments section on each post.

 

Check out my business at http://answrtek.com

 

A Trip to Wal _ Mart - Too Funny !!

Got this from a friend of mine. I think it is hilarious. Read on.

> Subject: A TRIP TO WAL-MART -- TOO FUNNY!

You are in the middle of some kind of project around the house. Mowing the lawn, putting a new fence in, painting the living room, or whatever. You are hot and sweaty. Covered in dirt or paint. You have your old work clothes on. You know the outfit, shorts with the hole in crotch, old t-shirt with a stain from who knows what, and an old pair of tennis shoes. Right in the middle of this great home improvement project you realize you need to run to Wal-Mart to get something to help complete the job. Depending on your age you might do the following.

> In your 20's:

> Stop what you are doing. Shave, take a shower, blow dry your hair, brush your teeth, floss, and put on clean clothes. Check yourself in the mirror and flex. Add a dab of your favorite cologne because you never know, you just might meet some hot chick while standing in the checkout lane. You went to school with the pretty girl running the register.>

> In your 30's:

> Stop what you are doing, put on clean shorts and shirt. Change shoes.

> You married the hot chick so no need for much else. Wash your hands and comb your hair. Check yourself in the mirror. Still got it. Add a shot of your favorite cologne to cover the smell. The cute girl running the register is the kid sister to someone you went to school with.>

> In your 40's:

> Stop what you are doing. Put a sweatshirt that is long enough to cover the hole in the crotch of your shorts. Put on different shoes and a hat. Wash your hands. Your bottle of Brute Cologne is almost empty so you don't want to waste any of it on a trip to Wal-Mart. Check yourself in the mirror and do more sucking in than flexing. The spicy young thing running the register is your daughter's age and you feel weird thinking she is spicy.

> In your 50's:

> Stop what you are doing. Put a hat on, wipe the dirt off your hands onto your shirt. Change shoes because you don't want to get dirt in your new sports car. Check yourself in the mirror and you swear not to wear that shirt anymore because it makes you look fat. The cutie running the register smiles when she sees you coming and you think you still have it. Then you remember the hat you have on is from your buddy's bait shop and it says, "I Got Worms".

> In your 60's:

> Stop what you are doing. No need for a hat anymore. Hose off the dog crap off your shoes. The mirror was shattered when you were in your 50's. You hope you have underwear on so nothing hangs out the hole in your pants. The girl running the register may be cute but you don't have your glasses on so you are not sure.

> In your 70's:

>

> Stop what you are doing. Wait to go to Wal-Mart until they have your prescriptions ready too. Don't' even notice the dog crap on your shoes. The young thing at the register smiles at you because you remind her of her grandfather.

> In your 80's:

>

> Stop what you are doing. Start again. Then stop again. Now you remember that you needed to go to Wal-Mart. Go to Wal-Mart and wonder around trying to think what it is you are looking for. Fart out loud and you think someone called out your name. The old lady that greeted you at the front door went to school with you.

>

> In your 90's:

> Stop what you are doing.

 

Thankx,

Mike

Check out http://answrtek.com my new business

 

I subjected myself to Wal mart once again

Ooops, I did it again. I went to wal mart. Big Mistake.

 

Here's what happened and the letter I wrote to them about it.

 

 

****Letter to Wal mart****

 

I think it is shameful the way your company thinks and acts in relation to customers. From what I see and experience, it seems like you do not want me to shop here, as frequently and from the way the cashier position staffing always goes, you do not want me to buy groceries or come during late night at all.

 

In the past, I had almost quit shopping at this store because of the sheer aggravation of the overhead microphones and the cranky sullen employees. Since you remodeled this unit, it is quieter and seems to be cleaner however; the service at the door, on the floor and from your supervisors is pathetic and truly substandard. It is insulting and borderline rude.

 

At the entry door tonight, there is an obviously grumpy older woman who is tired and does not want to be there. No greeting, just a big sigh and some rolled eyes.  The supervisors (if you can call them that) are more interested in locking the doors and gossiping with the cashiers than they are in providing any real meaningful service. Your people on the floors have to be the least customer trained I have ever met. They literally avoid you and avoid eye contact at all costs.

 

Do not even bother to try to ask a question or you may get the response I did tonight, “Excuse me ma’am where is the automotive department now? “Same place it’s always been” she says without breaking stride, looking my way or even pointing the way and she just walks off.  She just walks off? I am astounded.

 

I just do not get it.

 

You people spend big huge bucks to remodel the store, you are going to change the outfits on 1.3 million associates and the single only smile I saw once again tonight is the cashier. No joke, literally everyone else was either bitching or laughing. Do you really think this is going to solve the problem? Your cashier forced a smile, but she smiled. She forced a smile because the line at 10 pm was once again out of control and once again only two check lanes open. A 200,000 square foot building with 40 check lanes and only two are open. This is genius at work.

 

I cannot understand how you do not have the foresight to direct the labor at customers! The obvious stress in your employee’s faces is incredible. The angry faces on your customers should be a pretty major clue if you ask me.

 

Finally yet importantly, I am literally almost in the breezeway on my way out of the store and the woman locks the East doors right in front of me. You are going solve the problems in your units and act to stop shrink by doing what? Pissing customers off and getting the crowds down to where your barebones staff can handle it? How does this help security or the theft of goods when the only thing you have at the other end is some a senior citizen or no one at all?  

 

Tonight I learned you have a staffing crunch and a hiring freeze. I also found out that nobody wants to pay to fix the cart machine. I dodged carts in the lot once again and I found out that even though the store is prettier and cleaner, it is just as ugly on the inside as it has always been.

 

I did not ask about any of these things, I experienced them first hand.  Ask yourself, Is this how I want my customers treated? I will tell you this, from now on its Kroger for groceries, K-Mart for soft goods, Good Year for automotive and Home depot for household. It may cost a little bit more, but I will not have to put up with your rude staff. I say if you did not want it this way, it would not be this way.

 

Your executive team could fix many of these kinds of issues just by actually going into a store and being a consumer occasionally.

 

Thankx,

bigmike

Check out http://answrtek.com my new business

 

WE Love Wal-Mart because (let me count the ways)

This post is my anthem as to why I think Wal-Mart has lost their focus and is now nothing more than a big ole cash register, and that is all they seem to care about.

They are a money machine and a stock price, an ROI if you will. Nothing more and nothing less. The cha-ching is all that matters.

WE Love Wal-Mart because :

...Americans love to stand in long ass lines (on any typical night - not Christmas !)

...We love to be annoyed by the overhead speakers so loud and so frequent that you can't have a conversation with the person next to you

...We love the "bong bong " We're sorry ..security announcement and an old person pawing through our stuff to make sure we paid for it, because the security tag never gets de-activated by the over worked cashiers!

...We also love ignoring the announcement to see if the fat person at the door will get off her lazy butt and chase you down to your car and how many times they will yell "SIR" at you when you just don't respond to their screaming!!

...We love hearing the employees bitch about how rotten it is to work there because of the slavedriver management, and then also hear how they have "gotten them" with the latest scams to get even.

...We love to be treated rudely by red-shirted people who could give a crap less about those "annoying customers".

...We love to see one cashier for 35 check out lanes.

...We love to wait for 25 extra minutes at midnight because "The registers do this automatically, nothing we can do SIR !!!"

...We are thrilled with digging into a shipping crate 5 feet deep full of crappy DVD's in the middle of an aisle

...There is nothing better than dodging a cart full of speeding teenagers coming straight at you on Saturday night is there ?

...We need the exercise of dodging all the pallets and boxes stacked everywhere

...We like being run down by the stock people who move all the pallets and stock around

...We love arrogant managers. I like being told "I just don't understand".

...We love walking 5 acres back to our car after they locked the door we came in two hours ago, (and we stood in line for an hour of that time)

...We are thrilled to have a cashier tell us what we have to do with products that are bought and paid for

...We like being called "Sir" or "Ma'am" in the loudest voice possible by the fat person sitting on their butt at the door.

...We love standing in line (twice if you smoke) to get gigarettes in the 10 items or less line and then being told they won't ring up your other stuff because you have too many items in your cart, even though the only line you can buy them in is the 10 item or less line.

...Americans just adore a good stiff stupid corporate policy !!

and finally the number one reason we love Wal-Mart


...We adore playing "obstacle course" driving around the 500 shopping carts all over the parking lot while one scruffy teen-ager with a cart machine tries to wrangle them all with a cart machine 6 city blocks long.

What's not to love ? I mean 20 acres of shopping a whole afternoon killed and you get to experience a whole different culture in your own home town ?

This is why me and Wal-Mart don't get along !

Me and Wal-Mart in my town have a long history (mostly an unfriendly one) and maybe I am a bit overbearing about it, but ..... and I do mean but, they are a global multinational company that wants you to believe that they have good products, policies and service. Their marketing would have you believe that they are a bunch of down home country boys and girls just looking to sell stuff to us folks at good prices. What a load.

Here is but one small missive of why we do not get along.

Stop being so customer unfriendly and get in your stores to see what the affect of the polices you put into practice has on your customers, not to mention your employees.

Here's 5 good ones. I could not believe this, all in one night, again. I hate to gripe, however I can't believe you want it to be this way.

If you don'twant it to be that way, do something about it. My assumption is that you want it to be this way, or it wouldn't be.

5 Reasons why me and Wal-Mart don't get along !!!

1. Cigarettes are only available in one line. OK. I get that. Then you made that line 15 items or less. Smooth moronic stupid move. Now if you want groceries and intend to buy cigarettes, you have to stand in your long , slow lines twice. If you don't really want to sell cigarettes, get out of the business. If you do want to sell them, dedicate one line for that item only (or drinks or gum or end caps stuff whatever or a kiosk). But to purposefully piss people off , and then blame it on the government is insane and a chickens*** way to do business.

2. This store is a Supercenter. Act like it. You have , what ?, 25 check out lanes? I've never seen more than 6-7 open. Ridiculous long lines always. Frustrated cashiers. Pissed off customers (including me). Put some of those folks who are walking around doing nothing to work helping customers get out of your stores. Open check out lanes on demand. Be flexible and customer friendly. Trust me, in this location, you are not. When every line snakes out into the aisles, open more registers. Cross train everybody to be service oriented. You need help here. They don't get it.

3.A box of discounted DVD's and Cheap DVD's is a good idea. Putting it into a 5 foot wide by 5 foot deep box is stupid. No one under 5 foot five can get into it. How can you sell them if you can't reach them ? How can we see what is in the bottom ? How many do you think you didn't sell, CAUSE YOU CAN"T GET TO THEM ! Geez !!

4.Have you ever heard of pagers? they were invented 25 years ago. Or walkie talkies ? Or cell phones? Do away with the extremely loud and very annoying overhead microphone system ! It is not `cache to not be able to hold a conversation with someone right next to you because the loud ass speakers over your head go off every two minutes. It really makes me see RED !

5.No cashier ever gets all the security tags to be turned off. I don't even bother stopping at the front door anymore when your official mechanical voice tells me to. Screw it. Train your people, get better technology, fix the problem, whatever it takes, cause I'll make you chase me to my car every time until you do.

How can I help you?

How can I help you? You ever hear these words in a restaurant or C-Store? You walk up to the counter or you sit down in the restaurant or call someplace and the first thing they say to you is "....How can I help you?" Then, in the flash of an eye, you get put on hold or interrupted or told "I don't handle that". Next !

Wait a minute, did you want to help me or not? I haven't even finshed explaining to you what it is I want yet and already you are yelling next ! Give a me the common courtesy of your undivided attention and try to figure out how to help me solve my friggin problem !

Why do people say things like this anyhow? It means no more than the usual "How are you?" greeting that you get from most folks when you first see them. If you answer this phrase as it is asked, they look at you like you just ran over their foot with their car. They don't really want to know, they just want to hear you say fine. Irks me to no end. You don't want to know , don't ask.

Here's another one. There are about 300 million people in the USA (estimate). Most of those people are born here, educated here, work here, vacation here, retire here and die here. Almost all of them speak English (in varying degrees). Yet, when you call some place, the automated menu says "To continue in English, press one". Like I need to know what language to speak in , in my own country?

I am not insensitive to non-English speakers. Whenever I can I try to learn conversational phrases in the language of the area in order to be able to communicate in the language of the people around me, or I take somebody who can translate for me. Why on gods earth then do I need the phone company to ask me if I want to continue in English?

Assume I want English, I live in America, ask If I want to communicate in another language. "To continue in Espanola, press dos". Seems pretty ignorant to ask the high 99 % majority of the people who call if they want to communicate in the predominate language in the country you are in. If I was in Japan, I wouldn't expect for the voice prompt to say, to continue in Japanese, press one, I would expect the message to be in Japanese, because I am in JAPAN !!! - duh!

You ask me , we have went too far to the left in our cultural sensitivity.

Oh I'm sorry, you don't speak English or you are deaf, don't worry, I'll talk louder !

Here is another stupid decision, where we are busy trying to be all things to all people and never to risk offending anyone with our products, goods or services.

I'll bet almost everyone in America has used a drive thru ATM. Most people have used them more than the inside of the bank. I am sure there is a segmant in America who has never used anything but an ATM. The access to the keypad is designed so that you can use it from your car. The drivers side of the car is usually the side you transact your business from.

If all of that is true, then why pray tell are there braille indicators on the keypads at a drive thru ATM? Who is ever going to use that particular function anyhow? Is this designed for the legally blind yet totally functional driver who will occasionally need to go to the ATM late one night who does not want to get out of the car because the seeing eye dog is afraid of the dark?

What the heck is this all about anyhow?

How did we become such a society of idiots anyhow?