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  • Old Guy Hanging out, Helping Customers

    I've gotten a FT job at a big box hardware store. I prefer to work outside at the lawn & garden section. Over time I've had to encounter this old guy coming in and BS'ing for too long. He talks to coworkers, talks with them and customers, shares candy and cookies from the grocery store, takes loaded carts out to customers cars while escorting them. Seems some of the coworkers are ok with this since he seems nice, but me and a bunch of other people think he just gets in the way. I'll say that he doesn't get in the way all the time, but read on...

    Every time I see him go out, he ends up talking with customers even when they're in their cars (who here is impressed by the correct usage of that word? j/k). I had a couple check out today, and they didn't seem to be in a hurry, yet I could tell the wife was uncomfortable when she said, "Who's that guy?", and I said, "Eh, just some guy that hangs out here.." I and others have even suggested he just get an application.

    I had one lady buy about 15 bags of mulch. She pulled her car up to the loading area but no help had arrived. I had to call another two times. After the third call the old guy asked me if someone needed help.

    Me: "Yeah, this lady who bought mulch. I've already called for help a couple times.."
    Old Guy: "Aw, I'll go take care of it.." (starts to walk out)
    Me: "No! We can't have you liable if you hurt your back or anything!!"
    Old Guy: NAW ,it's okay..."

    After that I got fed up, called for a manager and ended up talking to the store manager and relaying the info to him. I also talked to the younger lawn & garden manager who agreed that he can't be hanging around anymore. I talked to the Sr L&G manager and relayed the same thing, but that despite other coworkers liking him, I didn't want to be a jerk and tell him that the old guy can't be here anymore.

    I don't know what will happen, but does anybody else have a person like the old guy hanging out at your store? Like I said, I hate to be a jerk, and he's just being sociable and chatting it up, even helping customers out to their car. It's not even my call whether he can be there or not, but I am wondering how other retail workers handle people like this.

  • #2
    but if he gets hurt your company can be fucked

    now you can't stop him from approaching the customer in the parking lot, but his "help" in the store is putting your company in a bad spot i think

    Comment


    • #3
      Well, that, and permitting him to help is a violation of Federal labor law, unfortunately. It's considered the same exact thing as forcing someone to work without pay (basically because an employer could intimidate someone into working for free, to a certain extent). He has good intentions, but it opens up the store to all sorts of issues, and potentially puts him in harm's way. Sooner or later you're going to get one of those SC's who doesn't feel that pedestrians should have right of way over her vehicle...
      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
      "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
      "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
      "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
      "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
      "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
      Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
      "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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      • #4
        I feel kinda bad for him. He sounds like a nice guy who's bored and lonely. It's a shame it's a liability issue for you company.
        He needs to either be hired, or directed to a volunteer organization.
        Aliterate : A person who is capable of reading but unwilling to do so.

        "A man who does not read has no advantage over a man who cannot" - Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Exactly! He's got a wedding ring on, but who knows if it's just a prop or what? That's why I do feel bad for him, but also bad that I have to be the bad guy and try to prevent him from helping out. The HR manager came out to the lawn & garden center with the Sr lawn & garden manager so they could see for themselves. When they went back in, the guy was still there. So, I don't know if they're devising a plan of attack or if they plan to do anything with him hanging out all the time.

          To be honest, it's nice to have him load the big bags of mulch when I call and nobody comes. But I'm more concerned about liability issues.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth emax4 View Post
            I'm more concerned about liability issues.
            THIS! If your bosses want to be safe and avoid a potential lawsuit if he gets hurt on your property either hire him or ban him, it's a shitty choice I know but if anything should happen you've covered your ass.
            ......../\
            ....../__\
            ..../\...../\
            ../__\../__\

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            • #7
              The minute he got hurt though, the company would indeed be fucked, and who is the first one that would be pointed at? "Oh, but emax4 said I could do it!" Good job going to the higher ups on this, protecting yourself and the company. (P.S.: I am impressed at the use of they're/their, since no one else has come forward to say it yet! Ha!)
              "And though she be but little, she is FIERCE!"--Shakespeare

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              • #8
                Quoth BrenDAnn View Post
                The minute he got hurt though, the company would indeed be fucked, and who is the first one that would be pointed at? "Oh, but emax4 said I could do it!" Good job going to the higher ups on this, protecting yourself and the company. (P.S.: I am impressed at the use of they're/their, since no one else has come forward to say it yet! Ha!)
                You know.. I thought about that, that if I was called in for questioning, if my exact, verbatim words would be used. I never said, "No sir. You are not permitted to do that", but simply said, "No, we can't have you liable if you get hurt", or something to that effect. On top of that, I told four or five people about the incident, but relayed the info of the old guy lifting heavy bags of the mulch to the two lawn & garden managers, in addition to the store manager.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth EricKei View Post
                  Well, that, and permitting him to help is a violation of Federal labor law, unfortunately. It's considered the same exact thing as forcing someone to work without pay (basically because an employer could intimidate someone into working for free, to a certain extent). He has good intentions, but it opens up the store to all sorts of issues, and potentially puts him in harm's way. Sooner or later you're going to get one of those SC's who doesn't feel that pedestrians should have right of way over her vehicle...
                  Agreed 1000%.

                  It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios.

                  You did the right thing by bringing it to the attention of management. Now it's management's turn to do what they have to on this.

                  If you see they have not, your only recourses may be the District Manager (if you have one) or HR to apprise them of the matter.
                  Human Resources - the adult version of "I'm telling Mom." - Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (NCIS)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth infinitemonkies View Post
                    I feel kinda bad for him. He sounds like a nice guy who's bored and lonely. It's a shame it's a liability issue for you company.
                    He needs to either be hired, or directed to a volunteer organization.

                    This, exactly. He wants to be useful again, and who can blame him. Sadly, all the reasons for NOT letting him help out are perfectly valid. He really does need to volunteer at some charity that could use his help.
                    I no longer fear HELL.
                    I work in RETAIL.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth BrenDAnn View Post
                      (P.S.: I am impressed at the use of they're/their, since no one else has come forward to say it yet! Ha!)
                      Oh, they might not have expressed their opinions yet, but they're out there.
                      Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        When I used to frequent a certain hobby shop in Dormont, you could guarantee that John would be there. This guy would spend hours leaning on the display case in the train room, annoying the owner and most customers. Nice enough guy who really knew his Pennsylvania RR steam engines, but people would go out of their way to avoid him. Some would actually look in the front door, see him leaning on the counter, and continue down the street! Not surprising really, since John apparently hadn't showered since about 1958, wore the same clothes for days (complete with food stains), and claimed to be an expert on all things railroad. John quit coming to the shop, after the owner kicked his ass out. He got tired of seeing customers leave, tired of dealing with complaints...and got tired of John's "ass prints" on one of the display cases!
                        Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          My guess is that the wedding ring is now a widower's ring.

                          And yes, he could be a valuable assistant walking and socialising dogs with the local SPCA or talking with lonely frail aged people or in some other role in society.
                          Seshat's self-help guide:
                          1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                          2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                          3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                          4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                          "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth protege View Post
                            When I used to frequent a certain hobby shop in Dormont...
                            Was this hobby shop shaped like a big red barn? I only remember going through Mt Lebanon and seeing a hobby shop like that (no longer in biz). Although in bygone days there was Hobby Horse in Century III Mall.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Reminds me of a nice traveling gent passing through and stopping at my mall. He was outside the doors of one of the stores, in an area where EVERYBODY and their mother sits to wait for rides, have a cigarette, talk on the phone, etc. He was dressed interestingly, like a news-boy/steampunk/hobo, but clean. He was strumming his guitar and waiting for his phone to charge nearby. The store told him to leave because 'they didn't want someone who looked like him' loitering. Wow, so guys with their pants falling down, people chain smoking and baby mamas screaming into their phones can sit there for hours, but not the nice singing guy. And no, he didn't have any sort of collection hat out. I told him to go over to a nearby bench and ignore the store if they bothered him again, since the bench was nowhere near their lease line.
                              "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

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