Sometimes I wonder what I hate more...

[peryvissed]

Actually working for Aafes with it's crazy work schedule..hiring of idiots, unfair policies or customers...I think I hate customers more. Now I work here because its one of the few available employment options for me. I live in japan. Now I have been working for about a year. Atfirst I wanted to help customers and I prided myself on that. However nowadays I see that alot of people are crooks and inconsiderate. I may have a red vest on but I am still a human and you will treat me with respect. How would you like it if I came into your job and yelled at you for something that was out of your hands. I have really awesome fun understanding customers but those nowadays are few and far between. I work in one of the most frustating parts of Aafes. Mainstore customer service! Woohoo..attracts some of the dumbest people on the planet. Seriously..does yelling at me for 5 minutes really going make me return your ipod that broke after you used it for 6 months and you don't have box, accesories or receipt won't change the policy. Apple does have an excellent service for you ipod, they will fix it for you. Don't come to aafes after our return policy is out. Like everyone that has worked for aafes or any retail store for along period of time you start disliking customers. Alot of them don't respect you. Unless they are being rude to you, you have no right to be angry with them. I get paid to enforce aafes policies..sadly it's my job. Sure even i disagree with some of the policies but I don't have the power to change them. if you have problem you talk to manager or better get on the phone and take to a representative from Headquarters. If you wonder why alot of the Aafes employees hate customers, you should work a week in our shoes. With all the uneducated airmen, spoiled dependent wives and big headed officers we have to deal with..its a miracle that people still work in the aafes stores. If I offended anyone..I really don't care.

[NotTelling]

To borrow a phrase from another post here "Somebody peed in your Cheerios"..... Peryvissed, I WISH I were one of your customers, and for ONE minute you gave me the attitude you display here - one of two things would happen if you treated me with that attitude - you would be    '
stuck looking for a new job or if you really gave me attitude you would  run from 
customer service in tears.
'
YOUR attitude is WAY too prevalent with AAFES employees. Customers who have bad experiences come to your counter in a defensive mode, it is your job to change that.                                                           

[jenn1000p]

I get what you are saying, but there are stupid people everywhere. Look at Wal-Mart, there are some major morons walking through those doors everyday. I get rude customers, but I don't let those few ruin my day. Just because one is rude does not mean the next one will be. The best way to deal with a rude customer is to "kill them with kindness". For me 99% of the time that I have a rude customer it is another AAFEES employee or an officers wife. Officers wives tend to walk around with sticks up their backsides 24/7. They are completely void of personality or a sense of humor.  Luckily, they are usually too tired after a day of talking bad about others, getting fake tans, hair done, nails done etc... to come into the Class 6. They just send their little puppets into shop for them.

[gimmeabreak]

Let's drill down to a single point here.  AAFES hires idiots.  So what does that say about you as an AAFES employee?  You idiot!

[jenn1000p]

What are you, a caveman?

[Thatguy4]

I am actually feeling for peryvissed on this one.  I have a feeling i know exactly what AAFES they work at.  What i would ask you to understand is that a lot of the people stationed in Japan are bored and there are not a lot of places for them to go unless they speak Japanese.  As a consumer I rarely go to my BX (not because of the service) because of all the people there who have nothing better to do.  I do still think your attitude towards them could stand to improve.  there are ways to deal with people even if you can not immediately give them what they want.  I would suggest taking the time to come up with a solution with them.  In your case i would say that they really just want someone to chat with or someone to listen.  Being in a different country can be mind numbing for dependants with nothing to do.  A lot of families make frequent trips to the BX just to do something.  However before going off the handle and calling everyone idiots we need to remember something.  Not everyone has the knowledge we do. 

I am going to stress this because I think there is a lesson here so forgive me for being preachy.  Not everyone has the insight as what you have.  That is why this forum is a good place for us to all come together.  To share our knowledge.  I do not know what goes on behind the scenes in my BX and I assume I am like most shoppers there.  When someone comes to you they need help and of course they are not going to be happy about it.  The best you can do is talk them through what you know.  I know this is repeating a lot of information you probably find boring but eventually the person will have to leave knowing you did everything you could.  Lets say you have a broken airplane you want to be fixed because you have a trip to take tomorrow.  Its expensive and you really really want it fixed.  Your may be upset because your going to miss you trip so your angry or agitated all you know how to do is contact the person you got it from.  Well at that point the person can be irritated you do not know how to fix an airplane or they can give you the information you need to fix it or where it can be fixed.  If they can do it they will.  From that point on you have the information.  So if it happends to your friend you can tell them what to do or who to contact. 

I do not know if that helps but what i am trying to say is that giving someone all the information may make it more readily available which in turn will help you because the person seeking answers will already have them from another source.  Well that and there is nothing you can do about bored people.  Make a game of seeing how many people you can get to smile or laugh walking away from you.  make a joke or two.  I really don't know because I am not you, however I do know that if you can crack a really upset persons armor they become a lot more accommodating.  To close, no not everyone is an idiot.  We just do not always have the wealth of knowledge that you do.

[jenn1000p]

We have been told by people that they come into our store because we have personality. We joke around with them. We also treat our "regulars" like kings and queens. When somebody asks me something that I can not help them with, I point them in the direction of somebody who can help them.  They change their bad attitudes when they are dealing with an associate who is actually doing their job and trying to help. Some customers just require a little more patience than others.

[Uknowit]

I may have a red vest on but I am still a human and you will treat me with respect. How would you like it if I came into your job and yelled at you for something that was out of your hands.

I completely agree with you on this point. As mad as I get at AAFES, you are not the one they should be mad at. I had a friend that worked in customer service in Germany and people would try to bring back pantyhose after they had been worn and had got a runner in them. That's just ridiculous.

[mommy34]

I had a customer try to return half of a six pack of beer.  He said he did not like them! He got upset when I stood there and laughed at him. Everybody in line was looking at him like he was crazy.  I asked him if he was drunk. He did not understand why I was asking him that.  I told him there must be something wrong with him to think I would take that back. It is like eating half a candy bar, then saying your full and would like your money back.  I am extremely nice to the customers except when they are being ignorant like that man. 

[Tiredofit]

At my post our management would refund the pantyhose and the beer just to shut the customer up.  Our main store is not making much of a profit, hours are being cut because sales are down, merchandise on hand is limited and lets not even talk about morale.  I am no manager but it seems that if someone would stand up to some customers and refuse to take their CRAP back 6 months later (most items have extended warrantys) and not give them SHUT UP discounts of 25% per item, the store may eventually make a profit. 

[alan1973]

At my post our management would refund the pantyhose and the beer just to shut the customer up.  Our main store is not making much of a profit, hours are being cut because sales are down, merchandise on hand is limited and lets not even talk about morale.  I am no manager but it seems that if someone would stand up to some customers and refuse to take their CRAP back 6 months later (most items have extended warrantys) and not give them SHUT UP discounts of 25% per item, the store may eventually make a profit. 

Well said.
Customers come in with the wrong attitude, AAFES is NOT a charity. 

[Don_Coyote]

Man, how'd I miss this one?

Peryvissed... you got a point, there. Not only are we human beings (by "we", I mean anyone that works in customer service), we're also there to help people, and having nothing better to do with your time is no reason to be pissed off at us, even if they're stressed about something... it's not our fault, so there's no need to take it out on us (unless, of course we're the ones that pissed em off). It's very hard for me to reccomend that your attitude improves, because I agree with you on so many levels. But... before I continue... I understand that some of you think that peryvissed needs a little attitude readjusting... read what he wrote a while back:

Unless they are being rude to you, you have no right to be angry with them.

...what? I see nothing wrong with that. We may be required to maintain a sense of professionalism, but we're NOT a daycare, we help grown-a$$ people, and if they wanna act like little kids, then they can gets to steppin, and take that sh!t to Chuck E Cheese's where they'd be better accomodated. Don't get it twisted, I'm not bitter against customers, but it's hard to help some of em when all they do is whine about things, and not listen to what you're trying to tell them. Yeah, some things are out of our hands, and yeah, it is our job to look sh!t up and at least find someone who can find someone who can find someone that know the answers, and I can kinda... KINDA understand that someone may be bitter with customer service because they've had some bad experiences with one of us, but this is a place of business, and if we gotta check our sh!t at the door, they should too, cuz lord knows, 99.9% of us have some pretty nasty customer stories too.

[ISPY]

Let's drill down to a single point here.  AAFES hires idiots.  So what does that say about you as an AAFES employee?  You idiot!

AAFES don't hire idiot just idiot customers.  That ok the spouses that work for AAFES is a loyal spouse.  While other spouse who decide not to find work while hudsband deployed.  Hello jody my hudsband gone for 1 yrs.  Lets have fun.  He's to dumb to know.

[SevenFortyFour]

English my friend. I have no clue what you just wrote.

[bnthrdntht]

Hey, don´t be mean to SPY.  English is his second language and he worked hard to come up from a janitor to be a shoppette manager!