Do you think shop staff should be trained in what goods they sell?

mumsy I'm not prepared to trade insults with you. Carry on without me

FFS? whats that mean?
trotted! I told you I dont ride horses!

FFS try for a little originality mumsy that's exactly what you trotted out last time

And d'you know why? Because I hadn't said a single thing against you. You had me mixed up with another poster with a similar name

Dont ride horses Anya!
Pot / kettle springs to mind!

Get off your your high horse mumsy it won't win you any friends and I've had a sample of your own brand of nit picking for which you failed to apologise.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion Mumsy but ..........

Thank you must.

John Lewis train their staff about the products they're selling.

Im absolutely gobsmacked how this thread has gone with the nit picking comments! Still its given me a good laugh for a Monday morning

Re Lullydullys throw away comment about the cleaner Im 100% sure she wasnt making a derogatory remark on actual 'cleaners' she was merely pointing out as the cleaner wasnt actually working on the shop floor she might not have any knowledge of the books on the shelves, whereas the shop assistant should have.

Just to clarify the assistant wasnt reported to the manager which some have presumed.

My husband was a store manager for years, employed by several major companies, and he never got any product training - everything he was taught was based on the way each company merchandised their goods, ran their promotions, handled their paperwork, etc. As far as I know, the people on the shopfloor also aren't taught much about the products they're selling. I think it is usually assumed you'll pick up that sort of knowledge after a while. I think one of the few times my husband was genuinely baffled by a product request was when he worked for Superdrug and an old lady asked him for a Tweeny Twink...Took him a few minutes to work out that it was a home perm!

Anniebach I said nothing in either of my posts about reporting anyone. You have inferred that.

I tried the first two parts of your quiz, anno, and gave up, feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself And I was just considering applying for a voluntary job at our central library!

Mind you, an assistant once asked me what my veg was, at checkout. I'd forgotten myself and had to run back to check (it was fennel).

I'd only ever complain about service if it was rude. Nobody's perfect.

BBBevan, you would have reported the girl for that ? And been happy is she had been dismissed

I think it's more of a question of customer service skills, rather than literary knowledge, as others have pointed out.

But your opinion of cleaners LullyDully and yes it was offensive

I just feel sorry for this assistant, imagine growing up not knowing about 'Pooh sticks" or "WOL" or about "Roo and his medicine". This was a deprived child!
My favourite shop is the hardware store near us. It's family run and all the staff offer DIY advice with your purchase. Brilliant!

A poster in another forum provided a link to a test devised by the Strand Bookstore in New York for aspiring job applicants. I must admit that it made me feel thoroughly inferior - I wouldn't have got a job there!

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/14/nyregion/strand-quiz.html

Story off subject slightly but concerns Waterstones- each year DD sends DH a book token for his birthday. He reads reviews and makes a little list,quite excited. Token duly arrived, off to his favourite bookshop, books chosen. Up to sales counter. Assistant, nice young man,said " I am sorry sir but you cannot use this token here" Turns out DD had sent a Gardening token for a change!! Red-faced he bought the books any way. LOL

Yes.........I once asked at the greengrocers if they had any King Edwards? The reply was, "what are they?"

Yes, the assistant should have thought before they said what they did. However, I don't believe it warrants reporting to the Manager - what is gained from doing that? Self satisfaction? power? compensation? revenge? making someone else's day even more miserable than it already is (that's real power)? We all have 'off' days, even shop sales staff.

I agree, Bohemian, good post!

I wonder how much the person slaving away at writing that got paid? A darn sight more than the £6.80 an hour the shop worker, who's supposed to be the one rushing around providing customers with their irreplaceable pleasure gets.

Several years ago I went into Waterstones in Notting Hill, and asked an assistant for the astronomy section (I spoke very clearly) and she led me to the astrology section.
I repeated the same request and she looked at me as if I'd just landed from Mars.
I gave up and went elsewhere.

Working at Waterstones

At Waterstones, everything we do is about our customers, and we work hard to provide them with the best possible shopping experience, one that will make them want to visit time and time again. We strive to consistently deliver fantastic customer service, whether recommending a book or a gift, keeping our shops beautifully stocked, helping out in our lovely Café Ws, or keeping the wheels turning efficiently behind the scene. Working with us, you will get to use your expertise and enthusiasm to bring to our customers the irreplaceable pleasures of a good bookshop (including a virtual one).

I might add that you ought to know that WTP was a book before it was a film!

I would expect staff to have a basic knowledge of the merchandise, depending on where they worked, e.g. shoe sizes, or what's on the menu, etc., but wouldn't expect an employee of Waterstones, who is probably on minimum wage, to know every author or childhood character.

What do you want, blood?