2 Pet Peeves From Your Friendly Saleslady

As you must know by now, I've been working as an ordinary saleswoman in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, a medium-sized "clothing for the entire family store" for well over four years.

In the past I worked in stores, even in New York before I got married. But this is the first job like this since cellphones became the norm for all to carry around.

And that is "pet peeve" number one:

Please don't walk into a store shouting or even talking loudly on the phone.
It happens too often that people are in  the middle of a conversation that has nothing to do with what to buy in the store. I know that, because I can hear every word. More often than not, the telephone-talker drowns out the actual customers and staff. We can't work because of the noise. The atmosphere in the store becomes very unpleasant and is dominated by rudeness. And no doubt many of you will mention that it is also a problem when the sales staff is too busy with their own phone-calls to pay attention to customers. I agree. Now that it's the norm for people to have their cellphones with them 24/7, we all have to learn when to keep them quiet.

Please ask; don't just search through the shelves and stock.
When we, the salespeople are serious when we ask if we can help. And even if nobody offered assistance, please don't be shy, ask. We can save you time. We can help you find what you want or save you from uselessly searching. Frequently, people waste time and energy looking for what doesn't exist.

"I want this style shirt in a men's medium."
"Sorry, this is a children's model, and it only goes to size 16."

That conversation frequently is heard after the frustrated customer has made a total mess of the shirts on the shelf. And if you are in one of those stores that has awful staff, then you can take the initiative and ask for help. Hint: many labels have the "size range" printed, which is one of the ways that we salespeople know what sizes can be found.

Happy Shopping!