Commentary by George Anderson
You know what they say about real life being stranger than fiction. Traveling around to retail stores over the last several months has provided me with a number of those "you've got to be kidding me" moments.
Employee Relations
There was that time I was on the checkout line at a Trader Joe's and the person ahead of me was buying some items before heading off to work at one of the big box retailers. Being nosey by occupation, I listened to the conversation that took place.
The big box associate wanted to know what it was like to work at Trader Joe's?
After the TJ's crew-member told her what the starting wage was (evidently higher than the big box associate was being paid after more than a year on the job), the no contribution retirement plan, health benefits, product discount, etc., you could see the blood drain from her face.
She then went on about how awful it was to work at the big box (I believe she used the term degrading) and how badly she wanted out. She paid her bill and walked right over to the Captain's Desk to apply for a job.
Cultural Sensitivity
On another occasion, I stopped in at a national consumer electronics store in a strip mall to pick up a few odds and ends for cell phones carried by various members of Clan Anderson.
The visit was uneventful at first, with a smiling store employee quickly finding what I needed and bringing the items to the checkout counter.
When it came time to pay, the electronic touch-screen gave me the option of conducting the transaction in Spanish or English.
As I proceeded to navigate my way through the transaction without saying a word, the employee felt the need to inform me in very strong (even vulgar) terms what a disgrace it was that there was an option for Spanish at all.
"Why don't they learn to speak (expletive) English in the first place? There should be a (expletive) law. You don't speak English, you can't live here. Period."
As someone with a strong Libertarian streak, I'm inclined to support people who speak their minds even when I don't agree with them. In this particular instance, however, whether I agreed with the employee or not wasn't the least bit relevant. This worker didn't know me from Adam or the Ants. What if I was offended by the comment? What would make someone working in an area with large Latino populations nearby say something like that to a complete stranger?
There was something positive that came out of the buying trip. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him what I do for living and the likelihood that our encounter would get broad exposure through RetailWire. As the ad campaign goes, the moment was "priceless."
Discussion Question: Do you have retail moments (negative or positive) that left you shaking your head?