POLL: Luscious Luxuries and Loquacious Losers, Retail Horror Stories, and More!

[Magmar]

Customers are know-it-alls and think they can boss us around... but really they're ignorant. That's just what I'm adding, since the title has much alliteration. This is a two part poll....

PART ONE: LUSCIOUS LUXURIES

I work at a Restoration Hardware and it's oh so fun for TPM's favorite potty mouth to pretend like I know everything about color coordination and drapery. We sell high end stuff.



So here's the poll:

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

I still haven't bought textbooks, never mind luxury goods.....

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

Ooh, I'm pessimistic.

And here's part II:

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

Yes, and my first retail job was as a cashier at BJ's Wholesale Club... and my supervisor was a racist bitch who treated me like crap for speaking Spanish...

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?

NOO!!!!!!

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

No, in all my life, I haven't bought as much stuff as last year. Including a sofa, Nintendo Wii and a laptop.

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

There is going to be an upswing. There always is.

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

Never. I'm not sure if I understood what this means in Finnish, but I believe I haven't. My only job this far has been as a Japanese teacher. Not too interested in working in a shop, though I admit you have to work with people there. Both interesting and boring ones.

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?

See above.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

I don't feel the economy crisis at all. Since it happened I bought a second Twin Famicom and Virtual Boy and a rare 1st edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.


2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

Like I said, I don't even notice it. It's what happens if you spend money you don't have, I've never done that in my life and never will. But generally I'm optimistic because so far economy has always risen like a Phoenix from the ashes.


3. Have you ever worked retail?

No, never worked retail.

[midnightangel]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?
I've only bought things that are necessary for the apartment--food, pay the bills, rent, etc. I did get a used couch because I almost fell through the last one, and a microwave because the last one burned out. I don't think I spent any more than a couple hundred bucks at the most.
As for anything else--I can wait for it.

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?
Neutral since I have to pay for my apartment anyway, naturally everything that runs out or burns out is a part of it
But I am about to get ugly with the phone company if the phone/DSL bill goes up any higher.

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?
I worked a a dollar store in town. It was my first job and I had no real complaints. I only left because the new management was stealing from the company and tried to blame a couple of our cashiers.

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?
I'm never going to say never at this point since If I cut my hours at my current job, then I might go back into another profession, like retail.

[mr_pikachu]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

I bought a kickin' anime collection a couple of weeks ago. That's about as "luxurious" as I ever get, so no, not really.


2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

Pessimistic in the short-term (next five years or so). Optimistic beyond that. Ideally, it'll pick up right when I jump into the job market.


3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

Nope.


4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?

Under the current market conditions, many people have to work with whoever will give them a paycheck. It happens... if that's the case, I suppose I'd just have to deal with it for awhile.


Good poll.

[Jeff]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

Not really. I might buy a DSi when it comes out, but that's it.

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

I was optimistic until the Obama administration's answer to it became "spend all our money on useless things"

And here's part II:

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

Oh yeah, I have a story...
Not retail, it was a gas station/deli. My worst horror story from there involves an apparently not-too-bright customer. He ordered a chicken breast sandwich "plain, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and cheese". Mind you, "plain" means just the chicken and roll, and besides that, all that's on a chicken breast sandwich there is lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and cheese, so that made me pause for a second and ask him what that was again just to clarify, and he said the exact same thing, starting to roll his eyes and shake his head. So I showed him the menu and said, do you want it plain, or like it says on the menu? His response? "Yes, plain, like it says there". Not wanting to drag the conversation out anymore, I wrote it on the slip as it was on the menu. He then ordered an Italian cold cut, I wrote it down, then he ordered a third sandwich, and I wrote that down. After his sandwiches were done, I put the first two in the bag and he tried to grab it, and I told him to wait for his other sandwich. He told me that he only ordered two, so I showed him the order slip. He said, "I didn't order an Italian cold cut!" I told him that he did and he shook his head and said "I knew there was going to be a problem with you when you couldn't figure out that I was ordering a chicken breast sandwich." I pretty much lost it after that and began arguing with him. The owner and his wife stopped me and gave the customer the sandwiches sans the cold cut. The story did end well though. The owner's wife told me that that man had been in before and was really rude then too, then she gave the cold cut to me. Not a bad reward for putting up with a rude customer.

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?
Every job has annoyances, but I think the money is worth it, especially in this economy.

[Dark-San]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

Nope. When the US economy sank to it's lowest way back in December, I am still busy shopping in downtown Tokyo, Japan. I had visited most of the shopping districts, starting from Harujuku, Aoiyama and Shibuya, and the shopping centres, located in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.

The stuffs I bought. Well I rather keep them a secret.

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

The economy is in a horribly fucked up condition. Although the Singapore government has been implementing measures to ease the recession but I am still feeling the pinch of it. In what way? I am still unemployment. Two months and counting. Ooh, I am VERY VERY PESSIMISTIC!

And here's part II:

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

Yes, only once when I was sixteen. I was working part for a book retail company. And my main responsibility is to go to these schools and set up temporary stores to sell those books.

While I do not have much problem with selling books and the customers (most of them are children and they are really nice), Stock keeping was the pain the ass. I had to keep track of the books sold and usually in big numbers. It is a very tedious and energy sapping process.

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?

Never in my life would I even want to consider it again.

[Thorne_Darkrose]

1. Have you stopped buying luxury goods (things that are unnecessary to spoil yourself) since the U.S. economy crashed?

I don't think anyone has, but because of the whole no money thing I can't afford to even if I wanted to.

2. Are you pessimistic, optimistic or neutral about the economy crashing?

Pessimistic, I figure we are screwed either way -_-

3. Have you ever worked retail? If yes, where, and what is your worst horror story?

I worked for a sears and roebucks here where I live in the USA, worked MPU, which is merchandise pick up to those of you who don't know the lingo. This meant working in the warehouse portion of the store where all the extra electronics that were sold are kept, as well as where we would receive new items for the store. Naturally this job sucked right off the bat for a few reasons, like falling off of a ladder, which thankfully never happened to me. But I suppose the worst of it was when I was unloading a truck with minimal help and I had a 400 pound treadmill fall on me. I had to grit through the pain and put it in one of our holding bins, but as soon as I finished I tried to take a couple minutes to recuperate when the customer who had already paid for it online showed up, meaning I had to drag it back out and take it to their car with only one other person to help me.

4. If you worked retail, would you ever work retail again? If not, would you consider it?

For the sheer fact that I need the money, yes, but I wouldn't if I had much of a choice in the matter.