Please let this trend stop. (The floor is still not a table)

[notalwaysright]

I've complained about this before, but it's started really bugging me. As most of you know, I work at a fabric and craft store chain. Recently I have been working early mornings, but generally work a bit after the store is open. So here are some common sense failures:

Just because it's not zombie-apocalypse busy doesn't mean you can camp out on the floor. Seriously, don't lay out your whole project on the floor and then sit in the middle. Why have I seen this repeatedly lately? You know what I'm doing early in the morning? I'm stocking, from a large cart filled with boxes. They are heavy. I do not want to be forced to detour because you felt the need to contemplate on the flipping floor. For the most part I like the early shoppers. These people though, they assume that we don't have any task other than customer service. I'll stop and laugh for a moment.

The floor is dirty. So hey, maybe don't lay out your fabric on the floor! Just a thought. Don't give me a look when I offer you a cart. Don't give me a look when I suggest laying the fabric on the pattern table or table in the quilting area which is there for this exact purpose.

Don't play with your kids on the floor. We have some stuff that is for kids. That does NOT mean to take that product off the shelf and sit your butt on the floor with your toddler and play with them. This is not your house. The floor is beyond gross, and other people want to shop and I need to stock. Move.

Yes, if I see you opening products I will come and talk to you about it. If I see one more person who thinks it's cool to open products and spread them on the floor I will scream. Especially things like bandannas. So maybe someone opens one, to see how big it is. I still think this is unacceptable, but whatev. But opening ten and laying them on the floor? No. Just, no. And then when I ask if I can help them with anything (basically a polite "stop it.") they're like like "oh, no I'm fine." And I'll offer a basket, or if I'm really pissed I'll flat out ask if I they know which ones they want so I can fix the ones they don't. This usually brings a look of confusion to their face. Don't try that. You just wrecked product and you damn well know it.

[MoonCat]

I haven't been able to go to a fabric or craft store for a long time (there are none on easy-to-reach bus routes) but back when I did, I never saw this kind of thing! Weird!

[WishfulSpirit]

One of the reasons I like working in a hotel. You break something? You already gave us your credit card chump, you're getting charged for it. Your kid takes candy from our shop, tears it open, takes one bite and throws it on the floor? Yeah, that's going on your room. Don't bitch. I'm not going to credit it. Watch your damn kids next time.

[Mr Hero]

When SC's lay out their projects, I guess you could say they "Let the hobbies hit the floor."

[ladyjaneinmd]

I was once at a fabric store on Black Friday (yeah, I was young and crazy then), and the place was crowded, and it was raining, hence the floor was muddy. While I was standing in the very long line to the register, I saw a couple of kids playing soccer with some puffball toys that they'd picked out of a display. On the muddy floor! I yelled over to them. "Are those yours?" They gave me the 'Huh?' face, so I yelled, 'Did You Pay For Them?' They said no, so I yelled "So put them back where you got them from! Don't dirty up the good merchandise!" They did, and some other lady in the line gave me the glare of death. I didn't care. I had the Headache From Doom and right then I just wanted to die, but I wasn't going to let some obnoxious kids ruin perfectly good merchandise.

[Lovecats]

When I worked at Bullseye people were always taking down the rugs and spreading them out on the floor and just leaving them. Drove me crazy. Then there were the ones that opened up the Bungee chairs and left them out (usually in the middle of the aisle). Those were horrible to get folded back up.

[XCashier]

I don't recall seeing anyone laying their fabric out on the floor (though I do not doubt it's happened in my store), but they do like to lay it out across the lion's share of the cutting table. How the heck are we supposed to cut other customers' fabric when I've got maybe two feet open after you've spread all of your crap out?!

(The floor is still not a table)

And the cutting counter is not a chair. Get your ass off of it! (I wish I were kidding. It's mostly parents plunking their kids onto the counter, but I've also seen adults who should know better, including a man well into his senior years, hop up and sit on the cutting counter! ) If you need a seat that badly, go ahead and borrow one from the pattern table right next to us. Oh, and please put it back when you're done, TYVM.

[wolfie]

And the cutting counter is not a chair. Get your ass off of it! (I wish I were kidding. It's mostly parents plunking their kids onto the counter, but I've also seen adults who should know better

Not for the kids (after all, it's not their fault that their parents plunked them on the counter), but with the "adults" is there any way you could "accidentally" clip their clothing while cutting the fabric?

[notalwaysright]

When our store remodeled about a year ago we got a new cutting counter... The old one had a solid front, and the back had shelves and drawers. The new one has shelves on the front and the back, and we have product on the front shelves. It doesn't have that solid "come sit here" look anymore. This has dramatically cut down on the sitting. Sure, some parents still set their kids/babies on it. If they are anywhere near where the scissors need to be, I simply say that I can't cut while their child is there. Then I do nothing until they move the kid. On the rare occasion a grownup sits there (really hasn't happened much) I say that it's not stable enough for sitting.

Oh, there's been so many more. The lady who sat in front of the books and read them for a while... The lady who took the expensive home dec fabric off it's roll and laid it on the floor, taking up the entire aisle... The people who spell things with the wooden letters on the floor and then leave them. It's getting close to a daily occurrence.

[Sparklyturtle]

I've never seen anything like what is described, and I'm a more than frequent visitor to my local fabric store. Then again, I get in and get out, because I spend more money if I stay there too long. I have heard the children who screech from the instant they clear the front door until the instant they leave, and I've also heard "Mom! Mom! MOM! MMMOOOOOMMM!" There was one time I was looking at patterns, and happened to sit right next to a display of Frozen fabrics and related items. Young girls would come across this display, and not only would I hear "Mom! Mom! MOM! MMMMOOOOOMMM!" I'd hear singing with varying degrees of ability. After 20 minutes of this, with three different occurrences, I couldn't take any more so I went elsewhere.

[WishfulSpirit]

When I'm queen of the world putting stuff on the floor in a shop (well, fabric stuff or anything else that can be damaged) is going to fall under "you break it you bought it" rules.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Back when I worked in the pet store within the garden centre, this issue would occur regularly with the rolls of bubblewrap, plastic, mesh etc in the Sundries section. The idea was that customers were supposed to obey the sign (HA! I made a funny!) and ask a member of staff to cut them off a piece and label it with how many inches it was and the price. There were loads of SCs who ignored the sign, cut their own pieces off the rolls (usually crookedly) and used the floor to do so, therefore completely blocking the gangway for anyone trying to get round the back.

This would result in headaches for the staff of that area (two, of whom one at least would be around to ask whenever a customer wanted a piece off the rolls) cuz they would be spending their time either clearing up the mess an SC left, having a verbal battle with an SC after catching them on the floor hacking at a roll, or having to clearance mark jaggedly cut pieces that SCs had cut and discarded. Therefore, perpetuating the cycle as it meant that the two Sundries staff were even less likely to be around to help people.

In the end, there was so much wastage along with headaches for the cashiers as they then had to call the supervisor to try and work out the price of an SC-cut roll piece, that the rolls were placed out of customer reach, with the Sundries staff then having to climb a rickety stepladder to get them down to cut off pieces for customers. Before you ask, yes, there were a few dim SCs who would try and get the rolls down themselves, usually knocking a few items off shelves as they did so.

[wordgirl]

Thought about this thread this weekend, when at a local BBQ restaurant.

At the table near us - about four adults, happily chowing down. Under the table -- three kids, ages about 3-6, having themselves a "picnic on the floor." (Yes, this is what they called it.) Every now and then an adult would pass down a drumstick or a fistful of fries. The server was being a good sport and playing along (I would have preferred the disapproving, frozen politeness approach) but when the party left they had to basically disassemble the entire area to get the disgusting slurry of pulled pork, fry grease, ketchup and spilled milk off the floor.

[Android Kaeli]

I'Yes, if I see you opening products I will come and talk to you about it. You just wrecked product and you damn well know it.

And that's why I don't get the stuff that's been opened, because I have no damn clue who has done what to which item.