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The unit I’m currently living in is rather small, has no air conditioning, and no cross-ventilation. The recent warmer (not yet hot) days Sydney has had has made the temperature rocket up inside. The increase in the sound made by the various cooling fans in the PCs I have has been quite noticeable.
So, I decided it wastime to buy a new fan – just a cheap pedestal variety – nothing fancy.
My first port of call was Myer on Pitt Street Mall – it was also my first mistake.
Now, Myer DID have fans once, as I bought one there a few years ago.
Myer have decided to move EVERYTHING on floors 5 and 6 around. I went to level 6 where electrical goods such as computers, TVs etc are. around 50% of the floor has been reallocated to Christmas Decorations – a whole quarter of a year before Christmas – talk about getting in early. After circling the floor twice, and finding nothing, I asked a sales assistant in the “portable air conditioning” section where I might find them. He paused for a moment, and said if they did have them, they would be on the floor below and he indicated in which corner they should be. How stupid of me to think the cooling fans would be anywhere near portable air conditioners.
Down to level 5 I go, to be presented only with acres of manchester, and about 25% of the floor dedicated to kitchenware – some of which consisted of electrical items (the corner I was directed to) but only finding microwave ovens, toasters, and some other kitchen gadgetry which when purchased will spend its entire time in the original box, packed away in someones kitchen cupboard.
No fans.
Now – note to Myer: Put up some FRAKING signs that show where stuff is on each floor.
Cheaper retails outlets such as Target, hang signs from the ceiling showing you where different types of goods are on display – kitchenware, electrical, mens and womens clothing etc.
Myer have spent literally MILLIONS of dollars printing red and white signs saying nothing mre than”Mid Year Sale” and hung them from the ceiling at a coverage of about 5 signs per square meter. It is NOT decoration, and it is NOT attractive – WAKE UP!
My second port of call was Bing Lee. Now I know they’re in the Skygarden arcade, and are accessed by a 3-floor-long esculator from Pitt Street Mall. When I get there, there is a large fenced off area blocking the entrance. Therefore I have to go up 3 sets of esculators inside the Skygarden arcade.
Again, the Saps fail me, and decide that standing 2-abrest on the esculator is perfectly fine when people behind them are in a hurry.
Note to Saps: Falling down a set of esculators is a fine example of Darwinian selection – especially when I push you.
I get into Bing Lee after tripping over a wooden speed-hump they have at the door that houses what I expect to be the cabling for the RFID theft detectors. No markings, no yellow paint, no ‘watch your step’ at eye level, brown wood on a dark blue linoleum floor – great.
Without too much fuss, I locate the fans. A few to select from – this looks promising.
I’m crouching down at one of the more expensive models, just checking it out, when I am approached by a female sales assistant “Ya want some help there?” she asks, hardly pausing from chewing her gum to wrap her mouth around a few superfluous syllables.
I told her I was looking for just a cheap, ordinary pedestal fan. Her response to that was “We have 10% off all fans”. My dear, that is NOT what I asked. If you are going to ask if I need help, be preparede to actually GIVE some help.
I could not be bothered with her at this point, so said thanks, and walked away from her to a second display of more fans.
Within no more than 2 minutes, she approached me again and asked me if I wanted any help, apparently not realising she had asked me a few moments before.
By this point however, I had made my selection and decided on the fan I was about to purchase. I pointed to the one I wanted and told her “I’d like one of these please”.
She said that she thought that the one I wanted was the last one in stock. I paused, as I dont consider this to be a problem, and she stared at me blankly. I asked her if it was a problem for her – thinking maybe they aren’t allowed to sell floor stock or something.
She said that I would have to take the fan “as is” and it would be a bit difficult to carry. I said that wasn’t a problem, and that they do dismantle quite easily.
She then said that they dont keep the boxes of display models.
I said “Well, do you have another box I could put it in?”
Her response was a simple “No”
I then asked if she had plastic bags – surely they have those?
She hesitantly replied that they did have large plastic bags that they could put it in, but she would have to get another sales person to help me, as she needed to go to the toilet.
WHAT THE FUCK?? Does my money smell or something?? Didn’t they want the sale??
I have honestly NEVER had such an atrotious customer service experience.
But it didnt end there.
She called over 2 other sales staff and a ’storeroom boy’, and it took them 5 minutes to take the base off the fan (done by removing a hand-tight wingnut) and taking off one half of the neck of the fan (fell out by itself when they lifted the fan off the display).
I go up to the counter and hand them my VISA debit card, and am asked “Savings or Credit” – I really want to say “neither” at this point, but I stay calm, and say “VISA please”.
She attempts to scan the card at least 10 times, each time, the machine beeps asking her to rescan it.
She then hands me back the card saying it wont work, and asking if I have another card. I dont have another card. Why would I have another card?
She takes it back and asks a guy behind the cunter with him what to do.
As she starts reaching for a plastic bag and some stickytape, I tell her to stop. I inform her that its idiots that think wrapping the card in a plastic bag, or putting stickytape over the magnetic strip – are the reasons the magnetic strip gets worn out.
I then told them that if they actually knew how to operate the equipment they’re using (and being an electronics store they have even less excuse for not knowing) they would simply enter the data into the EFTPOS device manually.
I pick up the EFTPOS handset and proceed to how them how its done – card number <OK> expiry date <OK> and its all done.
Neither of the sales ssistants said thankyou – not for showing them how to do their own job, nor for my custom.
Oh, and Bing Lee – if you are going to offer 10% discounts on items, best you get the POS software to work out the discount, because your sales assistants most likely failed basic mathematics – an item that is $69.00 after a discount of 10% does not equate to $60.72
<sigh>