Shop Talk
What would you do with this guy?
This is a hard one because it deals with a really great person.
There is a coffee house in the same shopping center as my store and there is a friendly old man that pretty much sits there and drinks coffee all day (and I mean all day) with his friend.
At one point or another every day he decides to walk in to my store and hang around. He signs in and waits for a rep and basically just wants to talk. He literally comes in every day and NEVER buys anything and just wants to talk about the phones (turns out he is a tech wiz as well as a retired marine)
This wouldnt be a problem if he didnt keep the rep that calls on him for LIKE AN HOUR!!!! We could be busy as hell and I will have to sit and talk to this guy for an hour when I could...
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There is a coffee house in the same shopping center as my store and there is a friendly old man that pretty much sits there and drinks coffee all day (and I mean all day) with his friend.
At one point or another every day he decides to walk in to my store and hang around. He signs in and waits for a rep and basically just wants to talk. He literally comes in every day and NEVER buys anything and just wants to talk about the phones (turns out he is a tech wiz as well as a retired marine)
This wouldnt be a problem if he didnt keep the rep that calls on him for LIKE AN HOUR!!!! We could be busy as hell and I will have to sit and talk to this guy for an hour when I could...
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I would talk as long as it's not busy and if people come in I would politely tell him that I'm going to help those people and then we can continue talking. I think he would probably be ok with waiting, considering he really doesn't have anything else to do 🙂
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I'm sure having retired from the USMC, he'd appreciate a candid talk and respect you when you discuss the importance of the sales representatives making sales and servicing existing as well as potential customers. I could see if he stopped in daily and chatted maybe 5-10 minutes tops, but an hour is excessive which I'm sure you'd agree. The USMC prides itself on leadership and the direction of their missions and I bet he'd understand the store's need for a strong leadership and the drive towards the mission of sales.
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I have no doubt that he would respect it. The thing is is that he isnt "all there" if you know what I mean. I would almost feel bad telling him that I cant talk anymore that I have people to help. I really dont think the idea that my job requires me to help as many customers as I can because thats how I make money doesnt occur to him. I think everyone In my store is just having trouble with how to put it to him without sounding like we are blowing him off.
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once upon time u were travelling on a cruise and it so happens that the cruise ship got shipwreck..however u survived and landed up on an island filled with canibals....but these unlike any canibals they were fair and did just eat people without a chance to keep ur life.... so they capture u eventually and then started they took u to their cheif and then carry u to two doors guarded by two guards one at each....one is liar( the liar will tell a lie no matter what u ask) and one is a truthful person(will tell the truth no matter what u ask....) remember u don't know which is at which door and who is the liar or who is the truthful person.... so chief says to you one of these doors lead me to your death and one of these doors lead you to a sa...
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THAT IS GOD TESTING YOU, IT COULD BE A WAY TO REDEEM YOURSELF EVERYDAY. MAYBE!
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You might try explaining that you really don't mind talking to him as long as they store isn't busy... If he's nice and everything I certainly wouldn't mind a way to kill time but see if you can tell him that when the store gets busy you have to help customers but would be happy to get back to your chat once the other customers have gone. Then he gets his chat time and feels good and you still get to work with your customers. I don't think it would be easy though, just a thought.
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Good Day stranger!!
Long time no see on the forums. How is everything going?
You still with T-mob in the front office and off the phones or what?
Long time no see on the forums. How is everything going?
You still with T-mob in the front office and off the phones or what?
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I'm still here but not... changed things around (especially my schedule) for school. Doing really good with all that though my Yoga instructor is out to kill me.
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I am glad to see that you haven't left us totally..
You feel like a pretzel?
You feel like a pretzel?
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This I feel is an excellent way to approach the guy. I agree 100%. Just let the guy know that you'll be able to talk with him provided all the customers are being taken care of as they have needs to be addressed. Quite diplomatic of an approach I think.
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If it were me I'd want to talk to him, I like talking to old people for a lot of reasons... just so long as it's not getting in the way of my job.
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May God have a special chair for you when you get to Heaven where every imaginable feature in a wireless handset is at your whim.
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🤣 🤣 🤣
have a co-worker dressed in camo jump out from behind the counter screaming bloody murder.
have a co-worker dressed in camo jump out from behind the counter screaming bloody murder.
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When I worked for Radio Shack I used to have this little weird guy come in all the time that we lovingly referred to as "The Troll" because he looked like a little grey haired treasure troll... And he would spend hours on end in the store bugging us about little bits and peices, and he always wanted to apply for a phone but said that he would have to ask his mom if it was okay (the guy was like late 40's) I definitely feel your pain and I would just tell him that I had work to do or tell him straight up that he is affecting my pay due to all the loss of sales (which Im sure as previous military he will understand)... Tell him that maybe one day during your lunch break or something that you would happily sit down and chat with him but thats ...
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you need to nicely explain to him that you dont mind talking with him all the time but that you work on commision and if you are not here to buy anything you cant spend an hour of your time with him. If he cant understand then he wont come back and it works out for you. If you have to be a liitle mean about it so be it. If you did make a sale in the past or may make one in the future its still not worth all the time you put into it considering all the money you lost or will lose talking to him.
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I've had a customer just like this when I worked for Staples back in my home town. He was an older guy, very tech smart, and really fun to talk to.
Everyone couldn't stand him though! They avoided talking to him at all costs because once he started talking, it would take at least an hour to get away from him.
I talked to him all the time though...we didnt get commission, it made the time fly by, plus I usually learned a thing or two!
Everyone couldn't stand him though! They avoided talking to him at all costs because once he started talking, it would take at least an hour to get away from him.
I talked to him all the time though...we didnt get commission, it made the time fly by, plus I usually learned a thing or two!
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