Report or not Dilemma ?

[IDB1]

I would have taken his name and written to head office

On what grounds?

Being treated as a thief. .

Surely to be treated as a thief, the OP would have had to have been stopped by the member of staff and asked accusing questions?

According to OP, all the staff member did was tail them a bit and find a (non) customers tone offensive.. :?

 

[pigman]

Probably better to invest that money in a small business than to buy a kitchen....

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day teach him how to fish and he will eat forever" and all that.....

Anyway good luck silverclaws

a few years ago I'd have agreed with you. Now I'm not so sure. first there's a recession (and i dont think its really started yet in a big way) and second prudence and hard work dont seem to get rewarded later in life (unless you make it big). Those that have had new cars, big hols, peed it up down the pub every night tend to get looked after. The savers/investors tend to be penalised. If it werent for having kids and their futures, I'd probably spend what i had (well, with a small contingency fund .. .its in my nature)
so live for today silverclaws and buy what makes you happy

 

[Neil]

Probably better to invest that money in a small business than to buy a kitchen....

Surely it depends, though?

What if, his house represents his biggest asset. With that in mind, would it be completely foolish to invest some money in it?

Plenty of small business will go to the wall, unless you've got an endless supply of money.

 

[Neil]

I would have taken his name and written to head office

On what grounds?

Being treated as a thief. .

Surely to be treated as a thief, the OP would have had to have been stopped by the member of staff and asked accusing questions?

Or observed as if he was (a potential thief)?

Surely we've all seen or observed something similar - people being followed or watched.

Not that that in itself is any big indictment for B&Q... but:-

According to OP, all the staff member did was tail them a bit and find a (non) customers tone offensive.. :?

From the sounds of things, not ending up being a customer may have been related to how they treated him.

And I think that's a bit rich of them, too - if you follow somebody around, and treat them as if they are suspicious (accepting that retailers have a right to do that), you have to accept that some people will take offence. To then be a bit stroppy rather than exhibit a decent veneer of customer service and care, does sound very poor.

From other accounts of appearance and such, I suspect it wasn't exactly a left-fielder for them to keep an eye on him - but all the same, when challenged about it, should have treated him better.

 

[IDB1]

Saw no comment about how he was treated in the original posts.. just that the watcher didn't like the (non)customers tone.


Sorry, but, shop staff watch people all the time.. I suspect it's happened many times, to the OP, without his knowledge. I fail to see why someone would be offended because a shop employee, possibly under instruction, perhaps because he was bored, maybe even because he saw a couple of tatty dressed people looking (in his opinion/experience) shifty - who knows.

 

[MikeD]

Blimey, scruffy people in a DIY shop, whatever next? Must remember to pop on a shirt and tie next time I run out of screws or silicone or something in the middle of a job

 

[Neil]

Saw no comment about how he was treated in the original posts.. just that the watcher didn't like the (non)customers tone.

Sorry, but, shop staff watch people all the time.. I suspect it's happened many times, to the OP, without his knowledge. I fail to see why someone would be offended because a shop employee, possibly under instruction, perhaps because he was bored, maybe even because he saw a couple of tatty dressed people looking (in his opinion/experience) shifty - who knows.

Shop staff do watch people all the time.

And I think it's fair point, that some won't like it - on principle.

What does seem most poor customer service and ineptitude, is how they dealt with it when he questioned them about it.

If somebody working in retail can't deal with a stroppy customer - and in fairness, being visible, and incompetently stalked is - IMO - a reasonable reason to question what's up - then you have to say they're not doing a good job, and the customer has a good reason to be irritated.

You may think it's no grounds to be annoyed. Well I get annoyed when overly eager sales, um, people accost me when I enter a store. I also get annoyed when there's no sales people to assist me when I want it - now that may seem full of contradictions - but I expect them to pitch it right. Not make me feel like I have to justify why I'm there, but visible and available if I want help.

Personally, I don't think that's unreasonable.

 

[IDB1]

What does seem most poor customer service and ineptitude, is how they dealt with it when he questioned them about it..

That's part of my point.. OP only mentions that assistant was irked about the tone of the (non)customer and, while potential customers should expect to be dealt with efficiently and fairly (and rightly so), shop staff also deserve to be treated with a modicum of respect - they are human after all (well, mostly).

Well I get annoyed when overly eager sales, um, people accost me when I enter a store. I also get annoyed when there's no sales people to assist me when I want it - now that may seem full of contradictions - but I expect them to pitch it right. Not make me feel like I have to justify why I'm there, but visible and available if I want help..

I'm no different Neil..

Having previously worked in retail for a period of over 10 years and ran my own shop, managed another etc., can see both sides of the coin from experience..
And shop staff meet more stroppy potential customers than vice versa.

 

[Neil]

What does seem most poor customer service and ineptitude, is how they dealt with it when he questioned them about it..

That's part of my point.. OP only mentions that assistant was irked about the tone of the (non)customer and, while potential customers should expect to be dealt with efficiently and fairly (and rightly so),

Thing is, though, how could the assistant know whether he was actually going to buy anything?

shop staff also deserve to be treated with a modicum of respect - they are human after all (well, mostly).

Thing is, I haven't seen suggested that OP spoke to assistant with total lack of respect - I infer that he may have merely come across (with reasonable grounds) as irritated or annoyed.

Well I get annoyed when overly eager sales, um, people accost me when I enter a store. I also get annoyed when there's no sales people to assist me when I want it - now that may seem full of contradictions - but I expect them to pitch it right. Not make me feel like I have to justify why I'm there, but visible and available if I want help..

I'm no different Neil..

Having previously worked in retail for a period of over 10 years and ran my own shop, managed another etc., can see both sides of the coin from experience..
And shop staff meet more stroppy potential customers than vice versa.

Probably quite true - but hardly unexpected.

And in all of this, there's cause and effect - treat potential customers with suspicion, in a retail environment, and you're bound to put their backs up - hell my ire can be raised by less than that.

So if you do treat potential customers like that, then it bears a certain responsibility (if you have any intention of half-decent customer care - and I'm making a rather large assumption that B&Q, as a business, do...) that you valet park your high horse when they might appear a tad irritated that you've been treating them like pond-scum.

 

[marin man]

I dont see that silverclaws over reaction to being followed means he was being treated like pond scum.. :?

The employee could have shown a little more subtlety maybe but who really cares...not me

Do you have a bike neil :?: never seen you post any where other than off topic thats all.....and you dont have any links to click on :?

Makes you appear a bit like sgw....