Here's the Dear Abby Update

[Anthony K. S.]

DEAR ABBY: Being touched by customers happens to go with the turf in any meet-the-public job. If Nicki can't accept this basic fact, she should find a job in accounting.

Friendly people make more sales, receive more tips and earn more money. Face it: Friendliness involves a certain amount of physical contact, and it's human nature to reach out to people you like. That's why successful businessmen make a point of shaking hands. -- ALLEN IN GRAND ISLAND, NEB

How utterly predictable.

Whenever retail employees publicly criticize SC behavior, there will always be an outraged response from none other than the SCs themselves.


I could be wrong about this, of course, but . . . I strongly suspect that this Allen is, himself, one of those people who goes around poking employees in the back or shoulder to get their attention, grabbing employees by the arm and dragging them to the section of the store he wants to go, etc., etc.

Like most SCs, Allen probably never even considered the idea that there was anything wrong with his behavior. If he even thought about it at all, he likely viewed it as perfectly normal, reasonable, and natural, and just assumed everybody else thought so, too.

Then he comes across this "Dear Abby" column, in which a retail employee expresses the view that this behavior is rude, intrusive, and inappropriate . . .

Allen was probably startled at first, and then bewildered . . . What in the world is this person talking about, he wondered . . . How can anyone possibly think it's wrong for a customer to just touch an employee?

Then he became indignant, and then outraged . . . How dare this lowly, insignificant retail worker suggest that Allen, or any customers like him, were doing something wrong by touching her? Didn't she understand that the customers were paying her salary?


And this, of course, led to the defensive, self-justifying drivel you see quoted above.

Oh, yes, yes, yes . . . "It goes with the job!" . . . "It's perfectly normal behavior!" . . . "If you can't handle it, you should find another job!" . . .



. . . Oh, did Allen finish talking? Sorry, I faded out for a second there . . .


This is no different from a lot of the "hate mail" that Customers Suck! has received . . . The SCs themselves voicing their outrage that lowly retail peons dare to criticize them . . .


It exposes a certain naivete on the part of Jeanne Phillips (the current "Dear Abby") that she actually believes that this Allen person is speaking in support of her, or of her views . . . Or, worse yet, that she believes that Allen's opinion should carry weight because it is, in some fashion, an informed, impartial judgment . . .

The reality, of course, is that Allen is probably just trying to defend his own behavior (and his views, therefore, are anything but impartial) . . .

Ms. Phillips just doesn't get it. People like Allen aren't trying to support her. They're only trying to support themselves.

[Andara Bledin]

What's really funny about that quote from Allen in NeB about businessmen shaking hands is that it originally had nothing to do with being friendly and everything to do with making sure the other guy isn't holding a weapon.

^-.-^

[Apathy]

Didn't she understand that the customers were paying her salary?

This is the kind of thinking that makes people behave as if they own the place. Same kinda thing when people yell at police/government officials because "my taxes are paying your salary."

Guess what, that doesn't give you any rights or make you our boss. Get over yourself.

[Ree]

Just a reminder, for those who may be copying and pasting excerpts from Dear Abby columns, it is copyrighted, so please provide the link to the original source, as per site rules.

[wagegoth]

The "Beth in Hayward" letter is from me! No, my name's not Beth. I just signed it that way.

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...1&postcount=34

[Saydrah]

*high fives*

[BookstoreEscapee]

Myswtghst - love your last line!

http://www.uclick.com/client/jef/da/
Friendly people make more sales, receive more tips and earn more money. Face it: Friendliness involves a certain amount of physical contact, and it's human nature to reach out to people you like. That's why successful businessmen make a point of shaking hands.

Sorry, Allen in wherever you were from, there is a huge difference between a business[person] voluntarily shaking hands in pursuit of a sale and a customer grabbing an employee by the arm.

I am/have been friendly with numerous people who I have never touched. Friendliness in a retail setting involves a smile and a willingness to help the customer, not a willingness to put up with being touched by whoever feels like it. I'm not even all that touchy-feely with my actual friends most of the time.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Agreed. I have a bubble, and woe betide anyone who breaches it. I'm just not a very tactile person, and while I can put up with a light touch on the arm, anyone who grabbed hold of me would soon regret doing so.

[RetailWorkhorse]

It's not real. It's part of a blogging Radio drama type thing, but if only it was!

I dare you to rewrite it and post it to Dear Abby. I double dare you. I TRIPLE DOG DARE you.

Maybe your Writer's Block will be lifted.

[Evil Queen]

It's not mine, RWpony. Sorry.

[gunsage]

Dear Abby,

We know YOU don't have to worry about being touched, but what about those of us that don't look and smell like old fish?

Rainbows, Sunshine, and Pink Sprinkles,



Gun Sage

[mattm04]

A business man shaking hands to help make a sale, etc. is TOTALLY different than grabbing someones arm to get their attention. Even in retail a employee and customer may shake hands in some situations.

[Apathy]

You know the worst part of all this. Abby had a chance to make our collective lives marginally better, but she just advised SC's to continue being SC's. And then was too much of an arrogant jerk to admit fault. I know it's entirely useless, but here's my next letter to Abby. I know it's a bit long and she won't read it, but I feel better.

Dear Abby,
I was again disappointed in your response to Nicki the retail worker. Your original reply to Nicki was uncompassionate and somewhat unrealistic. In retail, there are no jobs that have less contact with customers than others; if you work at a retail store, you deal with customers. And your advice to find new work was equally unreasonable. For some, this is the only option, and especially these days, any jobs at all are difficult to find.
Your second response was rather condescending, in that you agreed that people had the right to disagree, but then went on to effectively say, “look who agrees with me.” However, only one of the letters you listed actually backed your point, and I believe that writer was rather off the mark. Handshakes are not the same thing as unwanted grabbing/pulling. As a role model, you have influence over the lives of many people, and instead of being magnanimous enough to admit that you might have been wrong, you marginalized the ones who disagreed with you and showed your bias against the service workers of the world.
As I said in my previous letter, perhaps you should get to know what it’s like to stand on the other side of the counter before you give advice to people who do, because your attitude clearly shows that you’ve never had to be there.
- Disappointed in Indiana

[BookstoreEscapee]

Hey Saydrah, I thought one of those letters sounded familiar!

Go you and wage- uh, "Beth"...I was hoping at least one of our letters would make it.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Again with the old jokes Gunsage. You crack me up.

I wanna try:

Dear Abby:

When one gets as old as you are, do they have to wear Depends undergarments? And what is the proper way to latch onto a store employee and schlep them over to the Depends aisle so they can find you the kind you need?

Too curious for my own good

P.S.-When one gets as old as you, do they also have to drink Metamucil every day? If so that would explain the Depends.