How I worked at Macy's for an hour

Staffing is such an issue in so many places. Glad you got a remedy !

Wow, this sounds crazy!

Oh boy... quite a story!

Sheesh!

When all else fails, go find the manager!!!

sounds annoying!

omg.. Glad they gave ya some money for that ;)

And Im glad ya told them about that lady! Thats funny

What a bummer. At least they gave you $20 for your trouble.

Wow...crazy story! Glad you told the manager and collected your "salary"...lol.

Staffing right now everywhere is next to none. Its a shame, that the comapnies cant pay people to work the floors for them. Then the ones they do get are either young kids who could careless or elderly people that are slow and try, but just cant keep up. Also alot of them get nasty with customers.
I am the same way, I go to the managers of the store and form a complain. If im going to spend my money there, I should get good service and not have to deal with nasty employees. With out customers they would not have a job. I have worked in retail for many of years and never got nasty with customers not even the lady who come in daily and always referred to me as the "b***h". She got a daily smile and a have a good day from me. It peed her off more then anything and after awhile I didnt see her anymore. Not that I was upset over it. My emplyees couldnt believe I could smile and be so nice to her. Kill them with kindness is my sight on it. Im being paid to take care of my customers and be kind to them.

That's really crappy customer service. The shove was just too much. I think I might have threatened an assault charge so I could get $50 an hour. I'm SURE it was on security camera. LOL.

If they paid the sales people $20.00 an hour, people would come begging for those jobs. But, they don't. These people are paid minimum wage, so the stores have to take the only ones who apply. This woman must have needed the job to take one that is so low paying and having to put up with us. Next time you go out to eat, take a look around. Servers earn less than minimum (In Virginia, it's 2.13 per hour) and for that they have to wash the walls, windows and anything else management can dream up. So next time you have an encounter like this, stand up for the poor person who is doing their job. Tell the manager to shove his 20 in favor of the clerk.

I'm sure it was. When I did complain, four managers came to me. Four managers and one employee to work customers. Something stinks at Macys.

The Macy's I shop at (which isn't too often) always seems to be short staffed. I have always had great service at JC Penneys where I shop more often.

Unbelievable and unacceptable! Have you begun writing your letter to corporate?

The manager told me she wouldn't fire the woman over it. I told her, I'm not mad at the woman, I'm mad at Macys.


Monday Glitter Pictures

I think it is a shame when there is unemployment all over and the companies still won't hire people at a living wage. Glad you got some happiness out of it.

I think the days of good ole' customer service is gone. I think now the customer has to serve him/herself.

What an increadible story. How irritating!

i don't think it was because the woman was old. I tend to see worse attitudes among younger workers. It is the abysmal pay and short-staffing that burns out this woman and the other employees. This is why I prefer to shop online.

way to go, great article!

"Servers earn less than minimum (In Virginia, it's 2.13 per hour)"

Not true. Employers of servers are required by law to make up the difference between the $2.13 and minimum wage in the server does not make that with their tips.

Carol- Sorry you had such a bad experience there. Hopefull the store manager will have a talk with her about her attitude and what her job is.

There's no such thing as "customer service" the way we remember it anymore. Now the customer has to serve themselves.

That's really something else. It's almost impossible to get help at stores anymore, but I thought Macy's was a little better than WalMart. :)

So if I'm looking to make a quick buck just go to Macy's and look for little old ladies working the floor alone? What a crazy story.

That is a inexcusable way to treat a customer.

I agree,.."
I think the days of good ole' customer service is gone. I think now the customer has to serve him/herself.
vickey w, Mar 17, 2008, 9:31pm EDT

Many of our stores just let you check yourself out. I love it. Then I can only be mad at myself. LOL!!!

Yes, servers here also make way under minimum wage and it doesn't have anything to do with tips. If they don't get enough tips, oh well.

Carol that is so funny. OMG I have to share this with the people I work with, they will fall down laughing!

I wish I could give you more than a *10*

My store manager would not be happy of that happened.
(no I do not work at Macy's)

Customer disservice again. at least at Wal-mart they actually have a place to take returns. I got the thrill of checking myself out today at a Wal-Mart neghborhood Market, trained the guy behind me in line how to work the machine. Swell.

From one bad back to another, kudos to you! What took you so long to speak up? You should have been screaming for the manager from the beginning. I keep saying if we hit these stores in the pocket book, where it hurts they may eventually bring back customer is always right platforms. Bet you won't be spending your rebate at Macy's this year!

You are crazy Carol!!! I wouldn't have bothered to do the lady's job! But I give you credit.

Wow, sounds like I would have high blood pressure after that.

That's crazy. I know all to will what it's like to go into an understaffed store.

Hmmm... This seems to happen to me, too, in many places of business... But, especially, offices where office staff don't seem to understand how their own filing systems work... Invariably, I have to be the one to suggest where a particular form or paper can be found... Maybe they should make ALL these places "self-serve" -- seems like we'd all save a lot of time -- and, ostensibly money -- if they did...

Holy cow!!! I feel for you Carol, but I can't help but feel for the elderly woman also. She is obviously not capable of handling things on her own, yet they put her out there alone... I wonder how she handles customers that are not as helpful and polite as yourself!!

Self-serve just ticks me off. Nothing like going to a store and PAYING to service yourself. hahahaha

No store employee ever has the right to push a customer, no matter what the reason. I, for one, would never go back to that store and I would be letting all my friends know about it, too!

Sounds amazing!

That worker reminds me of a couple that work at a Penney's near me. They've been with that same branch of Penney's since the 60's (I'm serious, these women have for to be in their 80's!) , when it was a much smaller store in the downtown area. (It's in a shopping mall now), and they act like they're the patriarchs of the WORLD and can treat people any way they want, and they usually DO. :o\

That's just really rude! I'm really glad that they gave you some compensation at least.

I think the old lady should have been fired for pushing you. I wonder if she was the manager's mother?

It was just plain rude of the sales person to do that to you.

I work part-time at Macy's. I don't understand what exactly you mean by, "She wouldn't go throught receipts." I take it that you had several receipts, as well as the several items you returned. Well, why is it the salesperson's job to go through YOUR receipts to find the one YOU need in order to process your return? In my opinion, she was not wrong for not sorting through your itmes. You yourself said you had developed a "system" to match the receipts to the items, which indicates it took you a while to do so. Not to mention, the task was a bit tedious. Why, then, would you expect the salesperson to do that? You should have gone into the store a bit more organized than you did. The problem with customers like you is they feel the are entitled to be treated as if they are gods. And please, don't take this the wrong way. I, too, am a customer. But, I try to treat everyone in a respectful manner, no matter which side of the counter I'm on. The customer is not always right. Some customers are rude and they try to treat the salespeople as if they are lower than they are.

I admit, everthing else the lady did AFTER she told you she would sort through your receipts was out of line. She should not have pushed your clothes aside in order to take the next customer. She should not have left you alone while she continued to hang up clothes. But, refusing to sort through your many receipts is YOUR job. She could have offered to help you. But, again, I say you should have gone into the stoe a bit more orgainized. Before you are so quick to judge others, think about things from their points of view.