Updated: Wed Aug. 27 2008 18:02:50

ctvbc.ca

A record number of Canucks are abandoning their shopping carts, delaying purchases and even leaving stores and restaurants out of frustration over long wait times, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Maritz Research survey, which looks at customer wait times, found 86 per cent of Canadians have left a store after waiting too long for service.

The survey, which polled 1,300 people between the ages of 18 to 64 across Canada, shows that:

• Nearly 70 per cent of respondents would tell others about their negative retail experiences.
• Seventy-eight per cent of those who have walked out because of wait times said it happened in a department store.
• Sixty-four per cent had left a public transit outlet after waiting too long, followed by fast-food restaurants (64 per cent) and convenience stores (54 per cent).
• Those who walked out because of long lines in banks or medical institutions - places long renowned for delays - only happened 54 and 50 per cent of the time, respectively.
• And only 40 per cent of walkouts happened in a grocery store.

The research also shows customer expectations about wait times were strongly influenced by what each individual retailer's attitude towards the way they treat clients.

Word spreads fast

Study authors found a strong "ripple effect" in the research. Consumers who experienced negative service were less likely to spend money in that store again and were more likely to share their experience through word-of-mouth.

Study authors say the implications for retailers are obvious: In a slowing economy, businesses need to remember that customer is king.

"Competition for most retailers is plentiful. Customers who are leaving stores due to long wait time have other options," said Rob Daniel, Maritz Research president.

"Enhancing the customer experience is the best way for most retailers to set themselves apart and retain customers."

Still waiting

Most consumers polled considered eight minutes a reasonable wait time in somewhere like a grocery store, but they would consider leaving after 15 minutes.

People also felt there were factors that could influence the amount of time they were willing to wait.

Eighty-two per cent of those polled said they would increase their wait time if they felt compassion or apologies were offered for the wait. Another 67 per cent said they would wait longer if they were given an update on their status.

The online poll was conducted in August 2008.

Comments are now closed for this story

Josh in line
good things come to those who wait

Cliff
Americans yell and complain at the store but will come back, Canadians will not yell and complain, just leave don't come back and tell everybody they know why not to shop there. The Canadian way in my mind is a better way as it forces the issue that if a store won't change they will lose market share (and hopefully go out of business) where the American way just promotes false apologies and lip service without any action to fix the problem.

STEVE LONG
WELL I SHOP AT NO-FRILLES IN BARRIE AND THE EXSPRESS LINE TAKES LONGER THAN SOMEONE WITH A FULL CART.AND WHEN PEOPLE COME TO RETURN SOMETHING THEY DO NOT HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE ,SO THEY HAVE TO BRING IT BACK AT THE EXSPRESS LINE ,SO I WAIT MORE.OH I ALMOST FOR GOT THEY TRAIN THEIR CASHERS ON THE EXSPRESS LINE ,SUCK WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE A HALF HOUR FOR LUNCH..
STEVE IN BARROE ONT

Larry
I agree. Today I had a doctor's appt. for 2:30.

I was there on time only to find out he was seeing another patient and there were 6 people ahead of me. I would have had to wait 1.5 hours.

Why do these think that they are better than any one else doctors. They have no respect for the time of others.


So I walked out

Bruce G Calgary
How about those self scanning checkouts, who needs them, what’s next, do I have to unload the truck as well! These things only increase wait times for the majority of us who refuse to use them as the stores seem to cut back staff once they put them in. I already have a job, so why do I want to do the stores job!

Kaleigh
Walmart is the worst. I walk out of that place all the time. 15 minute wait for 2 or three items, I will go to Shoppers Drug Mart and pay twice the price instead of wasting my time.

Double Double to go
Except at Tim Horton's.

Go figure. What's up with that?

Grant
Tims Horton's executives are you reading this news? You certainly should be. 12 minutes in line for a cup of coffee! Never again, never again will I wait that long, its coffee, pour it move on enough of this waiting in long lines.

Elaine
Big box stores being the worst of the offenders for lacking in Customer Service and long wait times...I am sorry to say the lack of service is contagous and has spread to other stores as well. The biggest problem is the age of the employees. They want the paycheque, but they do not want to work for it. Thay have no manners, and do not know how to smile. My sister and I did a wee survey of our ouwn just last weekend. Six out of six stores failed our consumer test, which was, "How many of these clerks will say please or thank you?' Answer: NONE

Steve in Aylmer
I`m guilty, the most frustrating times are seeing one or two employees working cash registers trying to serve long lines while other employeees stock items on a shelf. That`s a managerial issue!

Serve the customer first. Why else do you spend money on advertisement and promotion. You get me in the store but frustrate me with long lines. Seriously, stock shelves at night but serve the customer in the daytime.

Michelle
And I'm definitely one of them. And they wonder why e-shopping is gaining in popularity. Personally, I avoid big chain supermarkets, where service is longer and more surly than at my local farmers' market.

RRor
I thought I was the only one, its nice to know there are more who feel the same.
The service industry in Canada is in bad need of a shake up... just how do you do it though.
My first step would be to stop hiring people more concerned with texting their freinds than waiting on customers.

Salty C Dog
Quite frankly, I'm amazed that it takes a poll and a survey to tell retailers what should be inuitively obvious to them. Canadian retailers are, far worse at retaining cutomer loyalty then their American counterparts. Need an example of how bad Canadian retailers are at kkeeping customers? Just look at banks and special promotions for new customers. None of the big banks offer any customer loyalty programs. Once they've signed you up for a mortgage, you're completely forgotten about.
If business hasn't learned that it costs far less to retain customers than it does to entice them for the first time, then they deserve to founder and go under in tough economic times. A $10.00 Tim's card from the bank each year at Christmas is not a lot to ask from a Bank that makes several thousand dollars a year off of my mortgage payments.

NLDanielle
I think Canadian retailers believe we'll wait in line because there's not much choice. I hate having to go to Wal Mart because I know it's their policy to not have all their cash registers open, even though they have have at least 20 available. In my opinion it's just a place to put extra merchandise and not to make it a good customer experience at all. And yes, I could go to another store but there really aren't that many in my area.

kew
can you blame us
nothing worse than waiting too long for service or pay for something.'I find too many dept stores with less cashiers.
hell I only wait just under 10mins most of the time in my Dr's office

Frustrated by lines
I've walked out of grocery stores because of line-ups. It drives me crazy to see line-ups that stretch up the aisles and only about one-third of the cashes open.

Another pet peeve are people who don't have their cash or card ready when the cashier gives them a total. You've watched them ring in your order; you know you have to pay; why don't you have your wallet in your hand, ready to pull out your cash or your card?

Mark M
Go into any kind of superstore and you'll find long line ups and about 25 checkout isles...ALL EMPTY, maybe two or three running..WTH??? Why put them in if the store won't man them?? Then add coupon clippers in front of you, or people digging for the exact change, etc. I'm surprised no one has gone postal at some of these places yet!

Jeeves
I WAITED A LONG TIME TO HEAR THIS.

Marc
I hate being behind the person who in 2008 seems to have never made a debit card purchase before, and time out, or simply don't know they have to accept the total, put in their pin number and such. I have also waited for a price checker to go find out if the can of soup is 10 cents less then it is being charged. My time is money as well, so I will usually just throw the customer a quarter and then get a dirty look from the person disputing whether the soup was labelled $1.10 or $1.20

SirBluff
Good service is dead power to the companies like TD who bring it back

Exhausted
People would be more patient if they were offered an appolgy or some compassion??? Try being the person who is working the other end of the line up...feeling the glares of all the cutomers waiting and with each new customer instead of them replying back with "hello im fine" they begin to yell at YOU for the line-up!! another way to get through lines faster-wait until you are called up to the counter/desk/teller... until I finish with their paperwork i cannot properly process yours! when will someone survey this poor workers???? and by the way...the more you complain the slower i work.... NEXT!!!!!!!!

Stephen
This isn't really new, news. People who experience good service tell 1 person, those who experience bad service tell 10.

The big box stores i.e. wal-Mart are the worse, 20 cashes only 2-3 open.

I actually like the self checkouts as the wait times are often considerably less than one with a person on the other side. But people if you are technology stupid please do not use these machines, as you standing there not knowing how to use the machine only creates a line up and angers the people waiting to use them, who know what they are doing at them.

As at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, I watched someone try to scan their individual tomatoes, and onions. And watched as they looked and looked all over them for a bar code.

jack
The worst line I was in and walked away from was just recently at a Ministry of Transport location where I was waiting with my son so he could write his beginners drivers licence. We waited 20 minutes and the line only moved 3 people. There were another 15 people ahead of us. And only one wicket open. Ridiculous

rM
Same longitude as the former USSR - we won"t "stand" for it! (bread lines)

...but still there is a huge market for weight loss programs for middle aged fat (sorry, poverty challenged) people.

Talk about the pain/pleasure principle.

Mike Webster
I often turn around and leave to go somewhere else because of lineups. In particular, I flat out refuse to line up to buy over-priced gasoline that has people excited over a 2 or 3 cent price drop. If I go into a store and see long lineups, unless there is something that I urgently need, I turn around and leave and I never wait for a table at a restaurant. Why stand around waiting when I can simply go across the street?

not waiting long anymore
Further to what Larry said about the wait in the doctor's office; Doctors say that you must give 24-48 hrs notice of a missed / cancelled appointment but then they don't keep it anyway (delays count if you work, just not to them). Dentists are the same. I have only had one doctor (a chiropractor) who kept his appointments on time, day after day, and he was always asking for referals because he actually helped the patients get better. Long live Dr. Hayman (now retired...that figures).

Deepak
Canadian stores are the worst in the whole world in the customer service area. I'm surprised that even with modern equipments of scanning, it takes such a long time for them to bill, while in India, it is much much quicker.
Even banks in India are much quicker than the banks here
CANADIAN POLITICIANS SHOULD INTRODUCE MORE COMPETETION. LACK OF COMPETITION IS KILLING THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, BETTER PRICE MANAGEMENT, BETTER PROMOTIONS TO RETAIN CUSTOMERS.

Mario in Ottawa
Jeez... impatient people much? In our "now now now" society, people tend to forget that sometimes, stores DO get busy and that there's someone JUST LIKE YOU working that cash and trying to clear the line up out so that they don't hear about how long the wait was. Show a little patience people!

Annie
I work retail and I will tell you that the Head Office is more interested in the 'hours budget' and financial outcome than the customers time.

Yes, they all preach customer service but, everyone that works in my workplace have too many jobs to take care of because of the cut in hours to save money.
The demands put on the workers are getting unreasonable and the public that we are there to serve feel it.

I do try hard to make our customers dealings at the store pleasant, they are the reason I have a job at that store.
Sometimes we do fall short but, it is not on purpose.
The other side of the coin is the customers that treat us as if we are less than human. We are not there to be yelled at and called names, this behaviour is common.

I have worked retail for 20 years, I love what I do.I enjoy the interaction with the customers. I am not there because I am incapable of a 'better' job. I am however, getting sick of the do more with less attitude of big business and the finger snapping, condescending and belittling customers, as are most of the people I work with everyday.

If the customer is not happy with how long the wait is you must make your concerns clear to the Company via the District/Regional Manager or President.
Please do not yell at the person on the front line, most of us are trying to do our best.

Jack
I don't wait more than 5 min. if I can help it. I'd rather go to a fast food joint than wait for service. At least when you wait in line you have a spot. Unlike a restaraunt where the waitress can serve anyone she wants regardless of the order in which you came in. On the other hand if the waiter serves coffee first I will wait for however long it takes. Serve me a drink and I commit to your establishment.

CC in Regina
It seems the people who complain here have never worked the other end of the service industry.

Generally a small number of employees on hand means that payroll for the store is very tight, especially in the summer.

We have a life, too. We don't want to be stocking shelves all night. I'm up at 5 every morning to go in and stock and setup for my store. The same people who complain that people are doing stock are the same ones who complain when there is no stock for them to buy!

Wake up and remember that the sales associate helping you is a person too.

Zand
rM, I'm sure there was some well meaning, socially redeeming quality to the comment you wrote, but I'll be darned if I know where it was! What has a person's age, weight or income have anything to do with anything about waiting in line?

I have walked out of restaurants, banks, doctor's offices amongst other things because I had been waiting too long. The sad truth is there are things we can control (don't like waiting at the grocery store? Use the self sever check out, or find alternate places to shop) and things we can't (we don't know what the patient in front of us is discussing with his/her doctor).

Patience is a virtue. Some of us have it, some of us don't.

There has to be a reasonable expectation that there will be delays in some places. Surly or rude service is not something that has to be expected though.

Students and young people have just as much right to be in the work force as someone who has completed his/her education. I don't really believe that it is a common occurance to have someone texting while trying to serve a latte.

Jim-Surrey
Very true!
Companies want your business and your money but they refuse to staff their stores properly.
You stand in long lines waiting to pay for your goods and as you wait you see 20 tills with only 6 working and the lines are so long you can't even get in line properly and there is no staff on the floor to assist you either!
Walk out you bet, buggy full and product left on shelf. God knows we are charged enough for goods we should get GOOD service.

Ki-Som
I have worked in the customer service industry for over 17 years, and one thing I can say from working on the other side, those who are providing the service do not need to be treated like they are the slave of the customer. Many times I had to bite my lip because the customer feels that they have the right to treat me like trash, talk down to me or make me feel that I am worthless. One thing I will tell these people who get upset with the person who is trying to serve them, you would most likely get better serve if you treated the person who was serving you with more respect. I know I have turned down many sales, because I rather lose a sale then be treated like trash.

RootBear
Drs, Dentists, etc - 10 minutes. No more. My time is just a valuable to me as thier time is to them. Make an appointment - keep it.

Long lines - I will go elsewhere or find out when the lines are shortest and come back then.

Cathy
My dentist is amazing! When
he say's you have an appointment at 1pm he actually means it - it's not 2:00 or 3:00 like it is with my doctor. It explains why my dentist no longer accepts patients - he's an extrodinary young man and very funny to talk with while he works on you. As far as my doctor is concerned, one time I missed my appointment and she charged me $25. It appears it's ok for her to miss the appointed time but it's completely unacceptable for me to. Maybe she's just angry because I call her by her first name rather than "doctor"?

korie
out here in BC there is a program called 'Super Host' and they teach this little trick called resetting the line! to acknowledge a person who is waiting in line does a lot to improve the mood of that person as well as others. just a few quick words..."thanks for waiting folks, we will get to you as soon as we can" keeps the customer in line, they know that they are not forgotten.
in places like Wal Mart where they suck you into those express lines to only have 1 cashier...Cranbrook's Wal Mart is very bad for that...try this, take your purchases and your complaint to the service desk, you will get through faster and can make your dissatisfaction known!

me
I used to go to Tim Horton's but when I see 10 or 15 cars lined up I just drive by and go somewhere else. Now I hardly ever go to Timmy's. WalMart is terrible cuz sometimes they have only a few checkouts open while a dozen cash register sit vacant...why don't they just pay cashiers $20 an hour and the company will earn thousands more in revenue? I avoid WalMart now. Self serve checkouts are something else I avoid...let them hire someone and pay them a decent wage. And finally, did you ever see customers walking out of WalMart when the door alarm starts beeping and then the customer freezes lika a criminal even though they have paid for everything? I pay for my purchases and if the door alarm rings (in error) when I'm leaving the store that is too bad!

Are the items restocked?
You forgot to state the cart stays in the aisle or in front of the cash. More work for the store employee....Managers may not be dumb,but they are sure slooooow learners: people wait too long, they leave = lost sales. Full carts to re-stock = more work Incredible.....I do nt blame the cashiers or stock persons but policies and managers. BTW, if some managers mentions chain policy, what has he/she done about correcting the situation?

Jeff in MTL
My Purchases go towards their pay.
If a store's employees can't treat me like a human being or are so dis-organised that they don't or can't have enough cashiers to attend to the number of customers in line then I won't give them my business. There are plenty other stores where I can buy the same items without the headache of bad service

Heresyourchange
As much as I hate waiting in lines, I actually am a cashier and so the situation is a bit more layered to me. I admit that I don't work for a huge corporation and that my store is more based on customer service, but we are still under staffed.
I have seen many angry customers and unfortunately they don't give up (though we usually only have customers waiting around 3-4 minutes. And as much as I don't like hearing why they are more important than the customer behind them that is waiting even longer than them, I know how htye feel and can try to do something about it. I'm not saying yell at me if there's a way around it, but when a customer makes a complaint, at least where I work, it IS passed on.

Stan
I refuse to line up for a table at a restaurant. Some restaurants tell you to wait in the bar while you have a drink or 2. Then when you get a table and walk in, you notice there are lots of empty tables. No thanks. Bad service and I go elsewhere.

Cathie
Cashier are faster in the US. They talk to much to each other and bag so slow in Ontario. American cashiers get fired for being to slow, in Canada, not so much. Productivity bonues get paid in the US. Not so much in Canada. Good cusotmer services goes all the way to the bank

Tim Hortons, what can we get for you?
I work at a Tim Hortons. It gets busy sometimes people. Sometimes its busy, sometimes its not. You have to remember, its not our fault you wanted to get coffee the same time 20 other people did. And also, to Grant who said just pour the coffee and go: we don't just serve coffee, we have sandwiches and bagels and a whole bunch of other stuff. And some people are picky about their coffee as well. Some want milk in it instead of cream, some want a flavour shot in it, or whatever. We try our best. Not everyone wants to work at a tim hortons you know, they have a hard time hiring people (where I work anyways). And like some have said, if you're not being a jerk, maybe we'll serve you a bit faster. You waste time complaining to us, complain to the the manager or the owner for crying out loud.

Phillip
Reading these posts I am certainly disheartened by such mentality considering population of our planet is unhealthy and line ups are not because of the poor souls who are there working themselves to death trying to get the lines moving but there is volume; simply too many people... i think instant gratification is evident in peoples expectations and they seem to demand it from everything irregardless of reality and that is where we need to use our suppossed higher intellect to exercise some patience and understanding.

Julius
I've worked in retail in the past, and what I found was that 90% of the time, the reason a line took so long was typically because of customers in line: slowly counting out change, dealing with their children, not having store membership cards ready and then expecting cashiers to look them up, etc etc etc. So before we complain about retailers, maybe we should look at ourselves and wonder what we can do to be more courteous to each other and speed things along. Oops, I must be dreaming again...our me-first attitude doesn't allow for that.

Mr. Manager
In response to Elaine's post: I think you've been to some bad stores. Many stores are like this. I'm a manager at a Chapters store in the GTA, and all of our staff are very courteous and always say "please" and "thank you". What I've found in my years with the company though is that usually, it's the customers who don't express the same niceties. I always greet customers with a "hi, how are you?" and many times get nothing more than a grunt in response. I hope you aren't one of those people if you are criticizing staff for perhaps being a tad dour. I think part of the problem is when you put up with a lot of crap from customers who feel they're better than you because you work retail, it sometimes becomes difficult to do your job with a smile on your face. Everyone should work retail for a few months to see what it's like, I think more attitudes would change as a result.

Brad
Canadian Retailers are so behind the times. All they care about is their money not there customers. There are so many things they can do to improve the line ups,, such as Self Check out, Self Service through Kiosks. My wife told me the other day she stood 30 mins in line in a so called express lane @ Wal-mart. This was to buy Windex,, She will not shop there again until they get another option to check out faster.

KD
This is true. I expect good customer service and I won't hesitate to walk out of a grocery store, a restaurant or even the Dr's office. If my appointment is for 2, then I'd better be in there by 2 or I take my business somewhere else. If they aren't offering respectful customer service then obviously they don't want my business and they don't need it.

Start demanding better, people. We hold the power, not them.

Phil
I've only done it once...after waiting for service, then waiting for the cashier to doddle her way through several people in front of me. I left (with commentary) and never went back. Not only did I tell everyone about it, I also lauded the outlet where I bought the merchandise instead.

Jason Daniel Baker
Some people walk out with what they were going to buy too. Stores even know about it.

I hate line-ups but they seem to be getting bigger. There have been times when I have just dropped what I was buying near the counter and split.

Dan
Wal-Mart and Tim Horton's are the worst. Why does the entire Tim's line come to a halt when someone orders a sandwich? Can't another employee deal with the coffee orders and keep the line moving? At Wally World, some stores do not have express lanes, so if you want to buy one quick thing, you have to get in line behind the people with full shopping carts. I have started drinking my coffee elsewhere and I am shopping at stores other than Wal-Mart whenever possible. A slightly higher price for better service at these alternative shops is worth it to me.

CC
I work at a Shoppers Drug Mart, and I will say that in my store, we do our very best to decrease the lines. If a line has more than three customers, we will open another cash. Our store is a very busy store, and most customers are understanding, but there are a selected few who get frustrated and leave. I understand my customers' frustration and I try to make their experience enjoyable when they are up to the register. But in my experience, you cant win them all.

leroy
How about this? You are waiting in line for say 15 minutes, still 2 people ahead of you & the person at the cash register is exchanging something. There are 4 people behind you. Another cash register opens up next to the line up you are in & the cashier does not say "I can help the next person in line" or, which would be more courteous, come over & get the next person in line. Noooo, everyone behind you rushes over to the newly opened cash register without a thought to the people who have been waiting longer. The bottom line is "everyone for themselves". I don't see an end in sight to all these problems, sorry! Maybe we need to look at the bigger picture & be thankful that we have the choices we have. Many countries do not. Just a thought...

Wil
Well Bruce G from Calgary I want to thank you for staying out of the "self check out" lines - while youre standing in the reg lines, grumbling about the wait and REFUSING to do "their job for them" Ill be cruisin right through!

By the time youre dont Ill already be home ;-)

Lines are long.... complaining about them make them even longer

tony
Thank god you have an option of walking away from a store line but try walikng or driving away from a traffic jam bottleneck on the highway. No go.

Shane
I worked at one of the major movie theater chain at the concession stand. I can tell you my best days were the slow days where I'd get to talk to each person that came up to me. Even on busy days though I'd be sure to be as polite as possible while moving people through.

It was a small market theater, and there was an extremely small employee ratio compared to other similar sized theaters. On our busy days we'd have to move through 600+ people in less then an hour with only 6 or so people on til. It was crazy at points, and we would get complaints about lines. If you were kind about your complaint, I would be too. If you weren't, then I would listen, and move on quickly to the next customer. Take the complaint to management where it is more effectivly heard, itstead of delaying those behind you in line.

It is not our fault that only so many are employed, the customer base did not make a larger staff profitable.

When I walk into a store and see a line, I look at the cashier and know what its like, I wait and am as polite as possible.

I've walked in their shoes.

RMW
As a head office member of a quick serve restaurant, I applaud and thank the writers of the article and the folks who have posted. I have read this article and will see to it is posted for our staff to see. Frustration around wait times is an issue for everyone - on both sides of the counter. I bet there are some really good ideas to mitigate this problem out there. When you see an issue like this at your favourite establishment, PLEASE take the time to send a quick email from their website. We appreciate - and will act - when we hear from you.

MJ
WOW this is amazing timing.
Yesterday, I was in a Zellers store. There were two cashiers open. One was serving a customer, so I proceeded to the one that was empty. When I got there, she said "I'm closing".
So, I went to the other one. THEN I realized that the other girl was ringing in another customer, and 2 more in her line!!! She hadnt closed at all.
I asked my cashier why she had done that. She replied, AND I QUOTE, "How should I know, why dont you ask her?" That set the tone for the rest of my transaction. She was abrasive at best. I asked her if I had done something to offend her in some way, she replied, "NEVER MIND".
This was at 10 am.....cant imagine how she would have been in such a FOUL mood so early in the day!
I reported this incident to the manager who seemed to be patronizing me. It goes without saying, I wont return to that store, EVER.
Also, I went into Toys R Us just after that to get my grand daughter a chubby pencil for her first day of kindergarten. I didnt find that (there was no floor staff to help) but I found markers she would like. With markers in hand, I proceeded to the register. There was 9 people in line and ONE REGISTER open. I didnt stay and buy them, I went elsewhere.

All that in just one morning.....

to answer the question, there is NO CUSTOMER CARE anymore......AT ALL.

fed up with shopping....

no wonder ebay is doing so well.

Dave in Niagara
I am a true commando shopper (In & Out). I only shop where I know I can get the product I want at a reasonable price. Life is short ... I don't want to spend any more time than I have to ... to get the necessities. There is nothing more aggravating than to waste my time standing in a line-up waiting for either the cashier or people who don't know what they want. And if there's an unreasonable lineup ... I leave.

p.s. I avoid left turns too!

Rosie
People who work in retail are part of the most competitive markets in the world.You are not forced to go to a certain store,you have a choice.Most stores are open at least 12 hours a day,some 24.And all weekend as well.Contrast that with gov't services,they are open 8-9 hrs monday to friday,as well as being paid ,including benefits,at least 3 times as much as retail staff.Lets whine more about that rather than picking on those who struggle to make ends meet.

Jim R
I used to work in a big-box store and trust me: There is no way it will ever work right.

The rate of employee-turnover is staggeringly insane (can you guess why?$) and the inventory systems are hopeless -- would you ship an equal number of men's size 7 & women's size 13 shoes as sizes 9 & 10? And if they were manufactured in Seattle and bound for Vancouver, would you ship them through Toronto with today's cost of transportation?

Informing head office of their "mistakes" only gets you under the microscope for possible firing (or dashes your hopes of a 10cents/hour raise). All of the focus is on the spin of marketing campaigns and none of it is on fixing obviously-broken systems.

Any manager who speaks up to head-office is sure to be tortured with a string of distasteful transfers (to troubled stores &/or far-off locations). Maybe you're getting a sense of why things never improve in some chains.

I feel really bad for the people who have the misfortune of getting stuck working for these "organizations".

Bernice
Yep! I too hate long, slow moving lines, but 'sometimes' it isn't always the fault of the cashiers. They just happen to be the last people we deal with when checking out.

I blame businesses for the LACK of proper and consistant training in customer service, product knowledge and problem solving. I think these are 3 main ingrediences in making and maintaining your customers happy and coming back.

Whether an employee is full-time or part-time or a summer student, the training should be the same across the board. As a customer, I don't care WHO serves me. I care about HOW I am being served.

If any business wants my patronage and money, they'll have to work for it.

It all starts with management!