Customers

One of the top complaints from vendors is that when they have filled up the shelf and all other displays, there will be that one customer that comes in and buys up all of one package type you have. Leaving a big gapping hole for the next customer to see and request that very same item. So, as you proceed to leave the store you notice that said customer with a shopping cart filled up with your product in it. Therefore, you walk over to your section and sure enough, there is a huge gapping hole with a manager and customers just begging and waiting for you to fill it up again.

A local grocery store chain had a huge sale going on with my company’s product. And people were going crazy grocery shopping Thursday and Friday because a group of storm cells had bunched up together with weather phobia weathermen acting like ‘Chicken Little’ thinking that Tropical Storm Danny is going to be the next Katrina. Therefore, it was a little extra busy at work lately. I mean it’s not like last year when Food Lion ‘MADE’ every store remove all their Produce, Meat, Frozen and Dairy items from the shelf only to put it back out a few hours later when the so-call threat of a non-hurricane turned out to be nothing more than a night time rain event. I mean my kids toys never moved from where they were laying outside.

Anyway, as I am filling up the shelf area, a customer approaches with the look as if he planned to do some shopping. As some spaces on the shelf were still empty, this customer began complaining the usual speech. The one where every time he comes into the store he can never find what he’s looking for. The shelf is empty or doesn’t have enough speech. After he finished flexing his feathers to prove he was ‘the customer’ with ‘the customer is always right’ speech I asked what item he was looking for. He stated the item and at that point, I asked him to follow me.

As we came to the end of the isle we were on, he noticed a pallet display of our product. We continued to the next isle where there are three more pallet displays of our product and by the following isle, he saw two more pallet display of the product he was looking for. He could barely utter a thank you, as we both knew his whole speech meant nothing more than a man in dire need of a breath mint. Of course, he was busy loading up his shopping cart as quickly as he could. Lord knows you can never have enough although sometimes I think he wonders as well about these kinds of people. Usually it’s the gas stations and small restaurants that come in and buy all of our products but there are many individuals like this guy who stock up for weeks and months at a time.

One of the tricks told to me by other vendors and co-workers was that as you prepare to leave the stores, never walk down the isle you service. If you do then you take the chance of seeing empty holes that need filling up. Of course, if any of my supervisors are reading this, don’t worry, I always walk down the isle I service. Trust me.

Working the 4th of July

If the end of the world were to take place in a few days it is a sure bet the first place people will go to is the grocery store. The planet will disintegrate into a million pieces but not before we stock up the fridge. I had to work during the Forth of July Holiday and I have never seen the likes of people shopping except in times of blizzard or hurricane. These people were buying drinks and foods as if they were having a cookout for the entire state.

I only wished the Masked Magician was there to explain how so many 12 pack drinks kept disappearing. I loaded up a cart with over 100 12-packs on it and rolled it to the drink isle. I then left the cart and walked over to check a few pallet displays to see how they were. When I came back, the cart was nearly empty. And after many days of long hours with little to no break I am finally glad this holiday is over.
Luckily I was able to get home just in time to take my family to see the fireworks at the local baseball stadium.

My kids love parking along the roadside along with other family as we all listen to the game on the radio, drinking drinks while chatting away about the good ole days. When the game is over and the lights go out, it’s as if time has stopped and all eyes are to the sky. No matter how old one gets it is still pretty cool to watch. The down side was that we didn’t get home until nearly midnight when I had to be at work by 6 AM.

And now on my day off I shall treat it like the directions of a shampoo bottle. Sleep, turn over and repeat. No more listening to customers asking questions only to hear the answer they don’t want to hear. Going to the back room to look for a certain drink package that you know is not there but you do it anyway because you can stop off at the water fountain or go to the bathroom, then go back out to the customer to tell them you’re out of it and it that it might be on the next day’s delivery.

No more dealing with shopping carts lined up on the drink isle with customers staring at you like a junkie looking for a fix. Having to fill up a section of drinks only to see that particular customer, who you know who has been watching you, come by and take everything you just filled up while you’re in the backroom. Then has the gall to not only ask for more but to apologize, when we both know it is a fake apology, for taking every last package off the shelf.

These next few days I shall truly enjoy my day off knowing that if it wasn’t for those customers helping to support the economy by keeping the stores from closing down and other companies from downsizing; I might not be able to support my family as well. And to them I am very grateful for their business. Yes on my day off when I take my family shopping, I may very well be that customer. But with a little more respect towards my fellow venders and merchandisers.